Bedspread c. 1936

Mary Berner made this piece entitled "Bedspread," and the date of creation is unknown, using ink and graphite on paper. It’s a study, really, of textile motifs. The squares float on the page, each containing a botanical sample, like pressed flowers in a sketchbook. What strikes me is the quality of attention here. Each line feels tentative, felt after, almost as if Berner is asking the plant for permission to depict it. Take the flower in the top square. The pink petals are striped and layered, built up from tiny marks that give the flower a real sense of volume. You can tell she looked at it for a long time. There’s a kind of purposeful amateurism to this piece, which makes it feel related to the work of someone like Forrest Bess, who was also interested in finding the mystical in the everyday. Like Bess, Berner has a delicate touch and a sense of playful discovery. Ultimately, this piece invites us to slow down and appreciate the beauty in the simplest things.