Servet van linnendamast c. 1900 - 1925

This linen damask table napkin was designed by Chris Lebeau. I'm thinking about the artist making this--the planning, the intention. How does this textile come into being, shifting and emerging through trial, error, and intuition? I sympathize with the artist. What might it have been like to create such a symmetrical design? What might he have been thinking when he made it? I can imagine how the patterns and textures would shape our experience of the napkin, contributing to the resonances of the design. There's something quite natural about the repeated fish design, it communicates a meaning about nature. Artists are in an ongoing conversation and exchange of ideas across time, inspiring one another’s creativity. Textiles are a form of embodied expression which embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations.