Canvas - With love from all four corners
A work report
Day 1: I spent 4 Euro and 99 cent on the canvas. A cheap, ready-made product. So first I take it apart: what a satisfying feeling to lift out the staples with a knife. I scratch off the foundation where the thickness of the stretcher has left a mark along the edges. A painful process. My hand hurts. And now? Repair the frayed corners, they are so ugly. I spend some time on the corners and then I take a break. This is not leading me anywhere. Never mind, we continue, the canvas and I. I can take the stretcher home and burn it in the oven as a last resort.
Day 2: The sentence with love crosses my mind. Oh, what will people think of me? – Never mind. Should I write it on the paper? The world belongs to the brave, so I begin with ink and brush. Sadly, this leads nowhere. The position of the text on the surface is not good. How about putting a psychological ink blot across it? It turns out grey and slushy and I have to let the canvas dry. I fold it twice.
Day 3: Time to admit that the canvas is beyond salvation. I don´t tell the others. I take a break. Then a walk. Go to sleep. Hanging out. Pottering about. Internet. I´ve got to be productive in some way, the others are all busy. I fold a sheet of paper and sow it up along the fold. I continue doing this until it is tiny and I can´t fold it any more. What a waste of energy, I have no goal. Pointless activity, but still I have a feeling that there may be a way …
The canvas is still spread out and looks terrible. It wants to be folded up, too, I can see that now. I sow it up along the folds, whatever. It becomes very small, compact and handy.
It was worth the effort.
At last, I place it.
