Tomahawk Pipe 1935

Here’s a drawing of two Tomahawk Pipes made with graphite and colored pencil on paper by Mary Berner, dating from 1935. I love the way Berner approaches the subject with such a light touch, it feels descriptive, scientific almost, but also very personal. Berner’s drawing focuses on the material aspects of the pipes; the wood, metal and stone elements, and she seems fascinated by the textures. The light and shade are delicately rendered with graphite and the subtle use of colored pencils. There is a beautiful, tentative quality to the marks, an exploratory approach to depicting these objects, as though the artist is gently feeling her way around them. Look closely at the head of the lower pipe and you will see how Berner uses the colored pencil to draw attention to the brass material. This drawing reminds me of the work of Joseph Yoakum, another artist working at roughly the same time, who had a similarly intuitive approach to landscape. With both artists, there is a sense of an ongoing conversation, a quiet but insistent dialogue between the maker and the world they are trying to understand.