10" diameter
embroidery floss on cotton
This was a submission for a juried show in San Francisco. It wasn't chosen for the show but neither were over 90% of the 500+ other entries. Besides it's all a matter of the juror's taste so you can't take it too personally. They have to create a cohesive collection so pieces can be rejected for any of a hundred reasons from the media and size of a piece to the color scheme. You can't take it personally or assume it's a reflection of the quality of your work. Anywho, the theme was proof so to get started I decided to find a quote as inspiration. "Proof is the idol before whom the pure mathematician tortures himself" - Arthur Eddington. I knew immediately what I wanted to do with the piece when I read that. The portrait is Rene Descartes surrounded by a variety of new and old mathematical machinery. I love the look of vintage calculators so this was really fun to draw up and stitch. I'm especially happy with the candles. I stitched them freehand (I always sketch everything out but I couldn't find my fade pen so I just went for it). It's always a little disappointing to not make a show but my husband is happy. He gets more attached to them than I do and hates to see any of them leave our walls.
