Embroidery Finished

It was tempting to have a line of gold thread around the inner margin, but as soon as the needle was threaded the thread started to snag and tangle; it basically opted itself out of the process.

This is the artwork for my next (currently homeless) album, the embroidery finally finished today after months and months. It's inspired by a trip to Newcastle to write songs about the Brighton punk scene; a walk down Northumberland Street early one morning was illuminated by a Geordie chap in a white t-shirt braving the late winter chill and carrying a little cage with a cockatiel in it that looked very much like this one (maybe not so punky). Strange to write about Brighton while in Newcastle? It's a launchpad for ideas, that city. 

I've been sitting upstairs in the house while the kitchen and bathroom were being tiled. The intention was to replace some dodgy guitarring and add some bass to the tracks before mixing; and dropping a box of ceramic tiles on my finger was not part of the plan. But fate gave me the opportunity to complete this, at any rate. Daylight is remarkably motivating for stitching and working on colours, and so are the morning hours.

My ears are still working though. The tiler's drill is in the key of G, and the drum-like tension of the embroidery hoop means that even when I pull the thread through the calico, I can hear from the tone of the vibrating thread whether it has tangled itself up at the back of the tapestry; a shorter thread makes a different sound. 

There are several 'it's a shame about the...' sections in the work , but then there always are, and if I ever did a perfect one I'd stop. 

Years ago on Art Foundation at Sunderland Polytechnic, one of the tutors expressed frustration at the fact that none of the art that I did had any sort of statement attached to it. It's only today that I realised that everything I make is an experiment, whether art, music, or for that matter writing. I sit and think 'What if somebody did this?' and they don't, so I do it. I haven't built the huge direction system for the London Underground but I did actually apply for funding to make that as an installation. 

Something like this is much easier in comparison, even though it was difficult in terms of patience!