Punto in Aria ("stitch in the air") is one of the most beautiful forms of needle-made lace. It is a elaboration of the Italian Reticella, another form of needle lace where threads were removed from the ground of the fabric and then lace was worked in the opening provided by the missing threads. But Punto in Aria did away with the fabric altogether -- laying grounding threads (which were lightly tacked onto a cloth) and then painstakingly weaving a pattern with the needle between the ground threads. When done, the ground threads were liberated from the supporting fabric.
So here are three examples of Punto in Aria done by my great-great aunt Anna -- the maiden aunt of my family and dedicated needlework artist. I have done small versions of this -- with larger thread and no where near as gorgeous...but I strive for the patience...and at this point in my life a really big magnifying glass!
I was once criticzed for stating that I thought modern literary criticism was nothing more than an intellectual form of Punto in Aria -- at least it seemed to me that those who regularly articulated its elaborately entwined theories did so without ever grounding the criticism in actual texts. One could, I discovered, get an advance degree in contemporary literary theory without ever having to read a novel.
Also, if you want to see a really fantastic contemporary needlework artist, check out an earlier post I did on Dorie Millerson. Beautiful stuff, worked in Punto in Aria.
Midori Snyder is the author of nine books for children and adults, published in English, French, Dutch, and Italian. She won the Mythopoeic Award for The Innamorati, a novel inspired by early Roman myth and the Italian "Commedia dell'Arte" tradition....
