Shaker Dish Drainer 1935 - 1942

Lon Cronk made this lovely drawing of a Shaker Dish Drainer, we don't know exactly when, but let's dive in. It’s interesting to see this object so carefully rendered, it's like a kind of loving attention, that is almost abstracting it. I mean, look at the surface, you can almost feel the cool touch of the metal. The linear precision is so considered; it's more than just representation, it's like the artist is thinking through the form, stroke by stroke. The evenness of the tone and the way the light falls across the ribs of the drainer create this meditative rhythm, like a minimal sculpture. I'm reminded of Agnes Martin's drawings, with her subtle grids and delicate lines. Both artists share an interest in the beauty of repetition and the quiet power of simple forms. It’s a reminder that art can be found in the everyday, it can be a form of thinking, or a way of slowing down.