This series of intaglio etchings was completed using a single copper plate. While laborious, the process was relatively simple: I would complete a single state, edition it, and then I would scrape out the portions of the image that I wanted to eliminate before drawing additions to the next state.
While this took a long time, it allowed me to create an elegant continuity between each of the states, since every subsequent state really did contain portions of the previous.
This fictional deconstruction (a fantasy in my mind of what building a cathedral in reverse order would look like) also resulted in a very physical deconstruction of the physical copper plate itself. The amount of scraping required to support all 6 images meant that the plate by state 6 was much thinner than it had been when I started.
I did this while I was in art school, but the image was taken from a sketch that I did after my first experience outside of the United States. It was a trip to Copenhagen, Denmark, and the range of architectural styles was mind blowing. Upon returning from that trip I made drawings of several of my favorite buildings, and eventually one of those drawings led to the first state of this series.
This series also contains my most shown pieces: specifically State 1 and State 3. While the entire series has been shown together in galleries, I have also just shown those two images individually.
I still have a copy of this entire series hanging in my living room (in frames that were made for me by a friend from art school) and seeing the complete series together always makes me happy.