Mahogany Shelf c. 1940

This mahogany shelf was designed by Marie Lutrell, with what looks like pen and watercolor. It's like she's thinking through making, right there on the page, because the lines are so loose, but it all comes together to create the image of an object. I can almost feel the grain of the wood through the paper. The brown ink and watercolor sit on the surface, with the shadows lightly painted like a veil around the main structure. The whole thing is not quite square, not quite right, and that's what makes it sing. It feels intimate, like a secret little world contained within the frame. It reminds me of Forrest Bess and his visionary paintings, who also weren’t afraid to let their inner thoughts guide their hand. There’s an interesting tension here, between precision and playfulness, that keeps me coming back for another look. Art, at its best, is just that - an ongoing conversation that never really settles down.