Dress 1935 - 1942

Bessie Forman made this watercolour painting of a dress, but we don't know when! The dress is teal, and is quite something, with its ruffles and high neck. I feel like Bessie's painting is an act of care. She takes the time to imagine its details, the folds of fabric, the texture of the embroidery, the careful handiwork that goes into its making. Maybe she painted it as a sample for a customer or just to document its beauty. Painting and dress-making are similar in some ways. With both, the maker has to work out how a flat material can transform into something three-dimensional. Painting, like dressmaking, is slow, allowing for improvisation, discovery, and change. Each brushstroke is a decision, a step in the process of making the image come alive. All artists, whether painters or dressmakers, are in conversation with one another across time, inspiring each other’s creativity.