Oefenstof
A continuous project in which Anna Lucia creates embroidered works of fabric based on an artistic algorithm of her own design.
About the project
This project is a further exploration of embroidery samplers. Originating as early as the 2nd century BC and found across diverse cultures, embroiderers and lacemakers used samplers as a practical record of motifs and stitches – for creative expression and for educational purposes. Samplers often featured scattered motifs, bands of decorative borders, animals, floral motifs, and alphabets. The project builds upon both the patterns and representations found in embroidery samplers and the act of recording embroidery work as a form of creative expression.
Oefenstof considers the relationship between automatization and alienation through code and craft. Throughout the project, Anna Lucia will use an embroidery machine and custom code to build her own library of embroidery samples, reinterpreting traditional embroidery patterns and motifs with computer algorithms thus complementing automated and manual processes in the creation process.
oefenstof translates from Dutch to “practice fabric” or “practice material” and is borrowed from the book Oefenstof by Joke Visser , a history of embroidery samplers from The Netherlands.
About Anna Lucia
Anna Lucia is an interdisciplinary artist exploring the intersection of code and craft. Her practice involves writing custom software that generates art and creating textile works using an embroidery machine, translating traditional craft techniques into algorithmic systems.
By integrating randomness, Anna Lucia establishes a mediumistic dialogue between the artist and the computer; and accelerates the exploration of her self-designed systems.
Her body of work includes generative systems on the block-chain, browser-based animations, machine-assisted textile works, and tattoos, each medium revealing its inherent aesthetics.