Motley Crue, Theatre of Pain

Embroidery stitched directly through a vinyl record sleeve.

12x12x2 inches, framed in acrylic.

Theatre of Pain was Motley Crue’s third album following Shout at the Devil. This album was less heavy than their previous work and took more of a glam metal direction. I was a freshman in high school when this was released and I remember going to see them at Madison Square Garden with my friends. The 80’s were the time of arena rock bands with concerts happening more often than they do today. I’m glad I got to experience so many of these live shows when I was younger. This is the first Motley Crue album I have embroidered. The artwork features two airbrushed theater masks with a gradient red background. I started by embroidering abstract stitches over the background in heavy weight wool thread and used a white glitter fabric for the appliqué of the masks. I then stitched over 40 colors of rayon thread on top of the fabric to create all of the shading and detail of the masks. The teardrop and ribbons were stitched in metallic red thread. The logo and album title were stitched as patches and mounted at the end.