TearPlace has such an effect on McCagg's work. This painting was created while she was in New England, rather than in her New York studio. When working in a square format, Xanda McCagg is focusing solely on composition. In this painting, as soon as she made the red line, she was forced to suddenly rethink the space creating a new space that she had not been working with. This spontaneity and response to each new mark is at the core of her working process