Plate 2: Jemez Book of Baptisms: From Portfolio "Spanish Colonial Designs of New Mexico" 1935 - 1942

This is a print of a Jemez Book of Baptisms, likely from New Mexico, and made anonymously. I’m drawn to the way the artist uses a limited palette, almost like a monochromatic embroidery, to create a sense of depth and texture. The surface is alive with tiny, repetitive marks—dots, dashes, and floral motifs—that build up to form these really intricate patterns. It's this kind of obsessive, almost meditative mark-making that makes me think about art as a process, a journey rather than a destination. Look at the cross in the center, how it's not just a solid shape, but a field of smaller shapes, like a microcosm of the whole piece. It’s both solid and porous, present and absent, all at once. The overall effect reminds me a bit of the work of Forrest Bess, though Bess was more abstract and overtly psychological. Both artists, though, seem to be reaching for something beyond the surface, using pattern and repetition to tap into deeper currents of meaning. Ultimately, this piece reminds me that art is never finished, only abandoned. It's an invitation to keep looking, keep questioning, and keep imagining.