Strook kloskant met blaadjesrand c. 1920s

This length of bobbin lace with a leaf border was made by M. Schutten-Putters, at some point in time using thread and a bobbin. You know, I can really imagine the artist's hands, the repetitive movements involved in creating this delicate lacework. I’m imagining the intense concentration, the hours spent meticulously weaving, knotting, and shaping the thread. The tight weave at the top contrasts with these dangling leaf shapes which create this scalloped rhythm along the edge. It reminds me a bit of Agnes Martin’s grids, in that the repetitive forms become meditative. But where Martin's forms float on big canvases, these forms are so dense. There is a conversation happening, a call and response between artists across time and different mediums. Each inspiring the other, pushing the boundaries of what can be made, what can be felt.