Embroidery for Dress c. 1936

This "Embroidery for Dress" by Gladys C. Parker, which has no date assigned, is an invitation to think about how we approach making in general. The color is so flat, so one-dimensional, yet the image is trying to communicate a set of complex relationships, and even, perhaps, the idea of three dimensions. The paint is opaque, but it's trying to mimic something very light, airy, and textured. It makes me think about the difference between a sketch and a more realized, finished painting. There's something very simple about the way this object has been rendered which makes it appealing. The painting is concerned with craft and domesticity, yet it has been made in a way that reminds me of someone like Agnes Martin. Martin's paintings of grids and lines may seem like a world away from this image of embroidery, but both artists are using very simple means to evoke a sense of lightness, order, and beauty.