Shaker Wooden Bonnet Mold 1935 - 1942

Charles Goodwin made this Shaker Wooden Bonnet Mold, sometime in the 20th century, with pencil and watercolor. It’s a straightforward rendering, yet the colour palette is so restrained, almost monastic. The brown of the wood grain dominates, varied with subtle washes of lighter and darker tones. You can almost feel the smoothness of the wood, rendered in such detail. Look at the bottom left corner. See that tiny splinter, it feels so real! The gentle curve of the bonnet shape invites touch, yet the flat presentation reminds us it’s an image, a representation. Goodwin shares something with artists like Agnes Martin, in his dedication to simplicity. There's a sense of quiet contemplation in this image. It's less about the object itself, and more about the act of seeing, of really looking at something ordinary and finding beauty in its humble form.