Silver Bird Sewing Holder c. 1936

James M. Lawson made this lovely drawing of a sewing holder, likely around 1991. I love the commitment to observation; the light and shadow, the delicate hatching in the wings, even the screw thread and the clamp are rendered with such care. The palette is muted and the surface is smooth, giving it a dreamy quality. There’s a particularly beautiful touch in the way the wings are depicted, each feather suggested by a delicate cross-hatching, like a woven pattern. It’s really amazing how Lawson gets a sense of form and volume with these simple marks. You can almost feel the texture of the metal. It reminds me a little of Giorgio Morandi’s still life paintings; a similar attentiveness to humble, everyday objects, and a fascination with the subtle play of light and shadow. This is a tender, meticulous study, that somehow transcends its subject matter, and becomes something more poetic and profound.