Textile c. 1936

James H.C. Vail created this textile design at an unknown date using watercolor and graphite on paper. Look at how the blues are layered to create such an intimate and decorative space. I can imagine Vail hunched over this design, obsessing over the minute details, the individual feathers on the birds, the delicate petals of the flowers, and the striations on those columns. Maybe he was thinking about the tradition of toile, that repeating pattern of pastoral scenes. But there's also a certain awkwardness to it all, like the bird with the shield. It’s so earnest. I’m touched by the obsessive, decorative impulse that probably drove Vail. Painting, like this textile design, is an act of devotion and love. It is something that is made by hand with dedication. It is about offering something to the world that is of yourself.