Fabric piece c. 20th century

This is a small fabric piece, we don’t know when it was made or who made it, but it lives at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The dominant colour is yellow with motifs in purple, pink, and red, arranged in neat vertical rows. I love to imagine the hours of patient work that went into this, each thread carefully placed, a repetitive rhythm of weaving back and forth. What was the artist thinking about, as they worked? Did they have a clear image in their mind, or did the pattern emerge organically? The textures must be amazing close up. I’m curious about the repetition of the patterns: stylized flowers or geometric shapes, each one slightly different from the others, echoing folk art traditions and other forms of making around the world. This piece feels like part of an ongoing conversation, an exchange of ideas across time, inspiring creativity and opening up new ways of seeing and thinking.