Al Canner "Dusk Rising"

I’m Al Canner, and this is my piece “Dusk Rising,” roughly 20” x 20” x 1” and made from 2mm cords of cotton and polyester.  

As with all my pieces, this work is knotted, using the humble double half-hitch throughout.  It began at the top and, uncharacteristically for me, with very little planned in advance.  The idea of having occasional cords protruding at the edges was a serendipitous innovation that offered itself early in my two months of creating this work.  

In an earlier piece—indeed, one that was included in the Arvada Center’s 2025 Art of the State exhibit—I had strove to suggest the “eyes” found on the trunks of aspen trees.  In that project, I had honed the skill of inserting shapes comprised of knots tied perpendicularly to the main form, temporarily using as warp (the hidden cord around which the knots are tied) cords which had been serving as weft (the cords that are seen) and introducing new colors via these temporary weft cords.  I decided in this piece to have that feature be the defining element.

I hope in my color palate and in the three peaked shapes rising from the lower part of the piece to suggest the splendor and awe of dusk in the mountainous West.

Please visit my website, www.cannerfiberart.com, to see all my knotted work.