Sampler c. 1939

This embroidered sampler was made by Edna C. Rex sometime in her long life between 1855 and 1995. It’s made of simple cross stitches in thread, forming letters and numbers against a ground of coarsely woven fabric. I can imagine Edna as a girl, practicing her stitches, each one deliberate, each one an act of patience and precision. The texture is so present, you can almost feel the roughness of the linen, the slight irregularities of the stitching. The sandy brown of the thread against the muted green feels like a natural pairing. I wonder if Edna knew that her sampler would one day be displayed in a museum? Did she imagine viewers like us, puzzling over her handiwork, connecting with her across time? It’s such a human thing to want to leave a mark, to communicate, to create something that lasts. It reminds me how art is an ongoing conversation, with artists responding to the work of those who came before, each adding their voice to the chorus. It's a wonderful act of embodied expression, with layers and layers of possible meanings.