The Eagles, The Long Run – Stephen Wilson Studio

Embroidery stitched directly through a vinyl record sleeve.

12x12x2 inches, framed in acrylic.

Growing up there were two ways to discover music and purchase albums. The first was record stores, which as a teenager I spent many afternoons in. The second was through Columbia House. Columbia House used to create an insert that featured a catalog of albums along with stamps of those album covers. If you joined the club you got to choose 10 albums, and then you would get a new album every month in the mail. I picked my 10 and mailed the form in, I also joined for both of my sisters. I was around 10 at the time, so needless to say when 30 albums arrived in the mail I had a lot of explaining to do. I think my new library was probably worth whatever punishment happened at the time. Anyway, when my first record arrived it was like Christmas, I tore open the sleeve and discovered the Eagles, The Long Run. After hearing the opening notes of the Long Run I became an Eagles fan for life. I just hoped Columbia House had stamps for all of the other Eagles Albums. Almost 40 years later I am revisiting the Eagles Long Run. I started by embroidering rayon thread in a spiral pattern to emulate the album, I then embroidered the album title in metallic silver thread. As a final touch I added one of my favorite lyrics from the song In the City “Somewhere out there on that horizon, Out beyond the neon lights, I know there must be somethin' better, But there's nowhere else in sight” The lyrics are created as an appliqué stitched through the album using metallic black fabric.

Embroidery stitched directly through a vinyl record sleeve. 12x12x2 inches, framed in acrylic. Growing up there were two ways to discover music and purchase albums. The first was record stores, which as a teenager I spent many afternoons in. The second was through Columbia House. Columbia House used to create an insert that featured a catalog of albums along with stamps of those album covers. If you joined the club you got to choose 10 albums, and then you would get a new album every month in the mail. I picked my 10 and mailed the form in, I also joined for both of my sisters. I was around 10 at the time, so needless to say when 30 albums arrived in the mail I had a lot of explaining to do. I think my new library was probably worth whatever punishment happened at the time. Anyway, when my first record arrived it was like Christmas, I tore open the sleeve and discovered the Eagles, The Long Run. After hearing the opening notes of the Long Run I became an Eagles fan for life. I just hoped Columbia House had stamps for all of the other Eagles Albums. Almost 40 years later I am revisiting the Eagles Long Run. I started by embroidering rayon thread in a spiral pattern to emulate the album, I then embroidered the album title in metallic silver thread. As a final touch I added one of my favorite lyrics from the song In the City “Somewhere out there on that horizon, Out beyond the neon lights, I know there must be somethin' better, But there's nowhere else in sight” The lyrics are created as an appliqué stitched through the album using metallic black fabric.