Trivet c. 1942

Glenn Wilson made this watercolor of a trivet – that's a stand to protect your table from hot dishes – and painted it in such a way that the object seems to hover against the paper's creamy ground. The careful shading gives the metal a convincing weight and depth. If you look closely, you can see the delicate washes and controlled brushstrokes that Wilson used to build up the image, layer by layer. I love the way the light catches the curves and edges of the metal, giving it a kind of quiet drama. It's like Wilson wanted to find the beauty in this ordinary, everyday object. It puts me in mind of those Shaker drawings, the way they pay homage to simple, functional forms. It reminds us that everything has a story to tell, and that even the most humble objects can be a source of wonder and inspiration if we take the time to really look.