Rebecca Nemser

In the nine­teenth cen­tu­ry, women in Shak­er com­mu­ni­ties record­ed their visions of heav­en­ly gar­dens in “spir­it” or “gift” draw­ings — sim­ple gifts that speak to the heart. The words, writ­ten in tiny, spi­dery hand­writ­ing, are fad­ed and almost illeg­i­ble, but the lit­tle birds and hearts and flow­ers make the feel­ings clear. 

Rugs and blan­kets, shrouds and shawls: tex­tiles touched the lives of the peo­ple who lived with them. Slum­ber­ing in store­rooms, rolled up and pro­tect­ed from light, these tex­tile mas­ter­pieces have kept their vibrant col­ors and some­thing of their human warmth. Now, unfurled, they look like mag­ic car­pets, poised to rise.