Jane Kenyon's Urban Markings Series

The Creative Process department of our September/October 2008 issue explores Jane Kenyon’s thread paintings. In the article, Kenyon describes her technique of creating a full-scale image created from source photos to use as a template for her densely stitched paintings in thread. Here we show pieces from Kenyon’s Urban Markings Series and the photos that inspired them.

Photo of graffiti-covered wall in Greece, used as inspiration for design of Urban Markings 2 and Markings in Time.

Markings in Time (with detail), 2007; cotton and rayon sewing thread; free-motion machine embroidery on soluble stabilizer; 24" x 72". Photo: Kenji Nagai.

Urban Markings 2, 2007; cotton and rayon sewing thread; free-motion machine embroidery on soluble stabilizer; 33" x 66". Photo: Kenji Nagai.

Photo of signage on light post in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, used as inspiration for design of Post No Bills.

  
Post No Bills (with detail), 2007; cotton and rayon sewing thread; free-motion machine embroidery on soluble stabilizer; 48" x 28". Photos: Kenji Nagai.