Older work: XI

One of my older works.  This one has a pretty long history.  It's also my first cut/stitched canvas.



Title: XI
Year: 2004
Dimensions: 31.5 in. X 30 in.
Media: Acrylic paint and thread on canvas.

Commentary: This piece has a lot of my history behind it. It started as a canvas I stretched for a painting class I took in college. The canvas was intended for a project that was barely started; only a preliminary sketch was ever done. I took it home with me at the end of the semester, intending to use it for another work at a later time. Another preliminary sketch was done on it and never completed. One night in a fit of rage I cut the canvas to ribbons with a box cutter. I didn't have the heart to throw it away, so I saved it. Some time later I moved into my grandmother's house and took the thing with me. I sewed it back together as neatly as I could and painted it with layers upon layers of gesso to cover the previously made pencil markings. I abandoned the canvas yet again until years later when I moved into a friend's. I finally completed it over the summer of 2004. I didn't add much to it; it needed to be cleaned to remove layers of dust and the stain of cigarette smoke. I added a simple coat of white and silver paint. I didn't want to detract from the simplicity of the stitching. In the end, I entitled it 'XI' because it took me eleven years to finally complete it.