Second Piece for Fiber Arts Alliance

Letter Rhythms: Topography, 18" x18" unframed. Painted textile, stitched and mounted on canvas frame, 2009.

This second piece in the Letter Rhythms series alters the horizontal orientation of the cursive script in the first work. Abstractions of topographical and latitude/longitude lines suggest the exploration of a new territory where writing becomes visual imagery and the gestural marks hint at the rhythms of the human voice.

Today was the deadline for completing and submitting my second piece for the Fiber Art Alliance group exhibit called "Natural Lines." My piece, Letter Rhythms: Topography, above, arose from the desire to see how I might simplify the previous composition. This is not a professional image so the color isn't quite as true, despite my attempts at adjusting it.

I added running stitches with black embroidery threads over the painted letters to borrow another reference to map imagery. I like the ambiguity of considering letterforms as mapping lines but am not sure whether the stitching enhances the letters or makes them look less fluid. There will still be time for me to make small edits to this surface before I permanently adhere it to the canvas frame.


Here's my first piece, called "Letter Rhythms", so you can get an idea of where the idea for the second piece started.

I do have an idea already for the third and final piece for Fiber Art Alliance's "Natural Lines" exhibition, which will be even more minimalist and involve exploring a single gestural letterform.

While I normally find working to themes or challenges truly difficult, line is intrinsic to gestural handwriting, so I'm finding that the process of creating these small works is contributing worthwhile ideas and perspectives to my other work.