Group of three borders c. 20th century

This handmade lace trim, which lives at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, is the work of an anonymous artist. I'm instantly interested in that anonymity, and I get the sense that a piece like this wasn't ever supposed to find its way into a museum! The artist has employed a kind of delicate engineering. There's a beautiful repetition to its patterning and the way the light and shadow play across the intricate detail is incredible. I love to imagine someone, a person just like me, sitting down, maybe by a window or a fire, and methodically bringing this into being stitch by stitch. Each knot and twist, a tiny gesture, a piece of themselves poured into the process. There’s an ongoing conversation that all artists participate in, across time, inspiring one another's creativity. And sometimes, that creativity is expressed in the most humble and unexpected of ways.