Kalenderblad november met bloemen, before 1904

This calendar page for November with flowers was made by Anna Sipkema at an unknown date, with colours that feel both bold and muted. It has that graphic quality that makes you think about design as a process. Check out the texture here, those soft greens and purples, against the paper that seems a bit aged, and how they make the surface sing. The paint isn't trying to hide anything, is it? You can see the hand of the artist. Look at the burst of petals at the top, this central flower has such a beautiful symmetry, yet you can see that each petal is just ever so slightly different in length and placement. It's like Sipkema is playing with both control and freedom. This reminds me of the work of Hilma af Klint, especially the way she used floral motifs to suggest spiritual themes. There's something about art like this, that embraces ambiguity, where the meaning isn't fixed, but always in motion.