Brace - For Drilling c. 1940

David S. De Vault made this drawing of a brace for drilling, we don’t know exactly when, using watercolor. I love the dedication to an object. I can feel the artist carefully considering this tool with their eyes, trying to really understand it and then describe it with the humble medium of watercolor. The watercolor paint is applied thinly, in layers, with different washes of earth tones suggesting age and use. De Vault’s description of each of the different sections of the brace reads like a love letter to this object. I imagine him thinking about how this brace feels in the hand. I can almost feel him turning the handle of the brace and watching the drill bit pierce the wood. This is how artists build an ongoing conversation across time, by noticing what is around them, no matter how small or insignificant. De Vault shows us how all things have the capacity to inspire us and to make us wonder.