Rug or Floor Pillow c. 20th century

This rug or floor pillow was created by an anonymous artist at an unknown date. Can you imagine someone patiently looping the yarn to make this thing? Like building a field, row by row. It’s so dense and nubbly—almost like a painting that’s been built up with thick strokes of impasto! I love how the maker has placed black marks over a vanilla field. It's as if they were drawing with the yarn, trying to create a dialogue between dark and light. You can sense the hand in the work, the rhythm of the loops creating an almost musical texture. I wonder if they were thinking of anything at all, or just letting their hands lead the way. Making a painting is much like making a rug. We build paintings up one gesture at a time, layering and looping color and form until something emerges. We artists, we are always in conversation with each other across time. It’s a playful exchange of ideas and materials. Every maker, painter, weaver, allows for multiple interpretations, meanings and feelings.