Canvas Re-Purpose
Mon, October 1, 2012 at 04:40PM “We know that attention acts as a lightning rod. Merely by concentrating on something one causes endless analogies to collect around it, even penetrate the boundaries of the subject itself: an experience that we call coincidence, serendipity – the terminology is extensive. My experience has been that in these circular travels what is really significant surrounds a central absence, an absence that, paradoxically, is the text being written or to be written.”
― Julio Cortázar
A lot of things happen by chance, like seeing two adjacent unrelated things. Like walking into the sewing|guest room and seeing canvases leaning against the wall. An idea hit me. I pulled the canvas off of the wood + pulled out any errant staples {easy}, put the canvas under the sewing machine needle and stitched without much of a plan.
When you stitch there are an array of decisions that arise. I wanted to sew along the grid lines, but at some points I wound up at the edge without anywhere to go so I stitched around the edges of the canvas. Sometimes I had to double back {or reverse} over sections to get to the spot I wanted to sew. You have to decide whether you care if a line is straight. Whether to double back over a section. How close to the edge to get. Whether to knot at the start or reverse to fix the start of the thread. What color of thread to use.
Scientific theory: Just wing it and it will work out 94.2% of the time.
So now the canvas is simply in a new stage of "what's-next" and I've learned that I can sew canvas that was once on a frame.
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Reader Comments (6)
I like this. I paint and so have a lot of "nearly were" canvases around too. I keep dreaming of projects for them... little sewn boxes... placemats... who knows... I'm encouraged to keep thinking and not just throw them to clear the space... Wishing you a lovely day, grace
Very cool!
ah, love that quote! :)
beautiful artwork <3
Floor Cloth depending on its size.
I love this so much I can't even say how much I love it.
The quote is fabulous too - serendipity / coincidence is the best fun when you start paying attention. 'Circular travel's... love that - I'm feeling an art journal page from that one.