Trivet c. 1942

LeRoy Griffith made this drawing of a trivet, sometime between 1855 and 1995. The whole form is looping and spooled out, described with precision but also tenderness. It is such an intimate portrayal of an object, the kind of thing you might find in your grandma's house. I imagine Griffith looking at the trivet, maybe turning it over in his hands. He wants to show its particular nature, so that you can almost feel its weight. He is thinking about the negative space and how it relates to the positive space. Maybe he starts with the outside shape, and then fills in all the curlicues, one at a time. This artist is inviting us to really look closely at an everyday object. He shows us how something humble can be beautiful. And that looking closely at things, the things we usually take for granted, is worthwhile, even meaningful.