Crazy Quilt: Detail c. 1942

This watercolor, titled Crazy Quilt: Detail, was made by Esther Molina, sometime during her lifetime, using paper and paint. You can see how the different sections of the quilt have been carefully rendered, right down to the contrasting textures. Look at the large brown velvet section in the lower part of the composition. The artist has rendered the pile of the fabric with subtle variations in tone. It’s pretty impressive when you consider that watercolor is usually more suited to transparent washes of colour. And how about the little floral decoration stitched onto the black patch right above? It’s like each section of the quilt tells its own story, but when they all come together, they create something new and quite wonderful. It reminds me a little of Gee's Bend quilts, in that both have a strong connection to the history of their makers, and both seem to find new ways to use pattern and colour. Each stitch and seam is like a brushstroke, building up the surface into something so much more than just a quilt.