Hungarian-born immigrant Mariska Karasz, a designer of appliquéd and embroidered fashions and textiles, gained fame in the 1950s and 1960s for her painterly approach to embroidery. Her method, seen here in her work "Spring Game," included abstraction of subject matter, freer stitches creating flowing lines and areas of uneven or variegated color, and the use of uncommon materials for embroidery of that era. In "Spring Game," Karasz may have depicted an aerial view of her garden in Brewster, New York, reduced to irregular squares and geometric units. She executed her design in a combination of custom made and recycled materials. The foundation is pieced of coarsely processed and woven linen, possibly salvaged from sacking or curtain panels. Many of her embroidery threads are handspun, vegetable-dyed, and intentionally uneven in twist and color. Others appear to be common household materials. Although it is difficult to identify specific elements with certainty, Karasz was also well known for using found materials, including bits of string picked up from the street, twine saved from packages or tied around meat bought from the local butcher, clothesline, shoelaces, cello string, and numerous other materials. Friends, such as textile designer Jack Lenor Larsen, sent Karasz Haitian cotton, while celebrated weaver Dorothy Liebes sent her the "thrums" or warp ends left over on her looms at the end of a weaving project.