Recently, I created this small replica of one of the contemporary pieces at the Blanton Museum of Art called “Cord Painting 14” by Regina Bogat. This was done in an effort to encourage discovery and interaction for a group tour for young children, ages 3 to 5 years.

It was time consuming, but worth it.  I started with a small 5″ x 4″ white canvas. After painting it with two heavy coats of cadmium red dark, Using Bogat’s work as the model, I used a needle and poked rows of holes in the canvas, in an organized grid pattern (see photo) with 27 holes from one end to the other.  Only the top third of the canvas was used. I matched the colors of embroidery thread to the actual piece, as best as I could.  Knotting the threads from the back, I sewed them through and double-knotted the ends, snipping off excess thread.  The threads were left at various lengths.

After all the threads were sewn through and knotted, I restretched the canvas back onto the wooden frame by hand, and stapled it back in place.

This was an excellent interactive addition to our tour.  The small children loved to hold, explore, and play with the small piece as we talked about the larger work on the wall.  We looked for favorite colors, guessed what the back looked like, took turns making knots, and used our imaginations to talk about what could be hiding behind the cords!  Overall, the miniature art aided in maintaining short attention spans, encouraging curiosity, and gently redirecting the temptation to touch the art.

Here are the process photos!

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed weekend.  ~Scarlett