Charlotte Walker Art Foundation Degree

From Topographia Hibernica British Library MS 13 B VIII An early reference to the myth of the barnacle goose is in the eleventh century Exeter Book of Riddles.  " …..My beak was close fettered, the currents of ocean, running cold beneath me. There I grew in the sea,   my body close to the moving wood.   I was all alive when I came from the water   clad all in black, but a part of me white.   When living the air lifted me up,   the wind from the wave bore me afar   - up over the seal’s bath….. Tell me my name...." The most important way that the Barnacle Goose myth was propagated during the early Medieval period was through Bestiaries . Bestiaries described a beast real or imaginary and used that description as a basis for an allegorical teaching. As this period was intensely religious, Monastic orders, Churches, Universities and royalty acquired and copied manuscript versions of Bestiaries repeating and building a moralising a story about animals. Animal stories both real and

  Diana Ali gave a really interesting talk about her life, art career and recent travels. In her work she values connectivity with people all around the world, gathering words and stories from strangers and artists who she creates correspondence with. She also uses raw, natural materials that have personal meaning to her, such as spices and mud - I think this is really inspiring because it proves that you do not need expensive or fancy materials to create something unique and valuable, and that your life and past influence your creative decisions. From seeing her work, I feel more open to experimenting with different media in the future whether it’s designed for making art or not. Ali brought in one of her ongoing pieces which is a huge length of fabric with transfer photographs from different places she has visited, and stamped lettering of their names. I think this is a really beautiful and unique way to document her travels, it is so much more creative than a photo album and really

An animal that I had never previously associated with witches is the goose. It turns out there are many folk tales that involve the two and various artefacts celebrating the relationship, including this one: These are some of the best illustration I could find of geese from my chosen time period:     From Topographia Hibernica British Library MS 13 B VIII  I chose this image to work from because the style reminded me of the snails I made - they have similar friendly looking faces that I find quite funny. I stitched mine with brown embroidery thread and added blue beads as a reference to the blue colouring seen in the image above. I think the beads are effective because they remind me of the iridescence of bird feathers which is magical in itself, and they glimmer in the light.

After doing more searching through the museum archives - looking for animal related artefacts - I found this animal paw which is thought to be of a badger. I looked for medieval badger illustrations and didn't have much luck, but since the article mentioned moles feet being used as lucky charms, I looked for those instead. I found this image really striking with the golden background and dark markings of the mole. My version is more subtle as I used watercolour on calico but I still find it effective, especially against the other motifs I have made which are quite muted in colour too. I stitched it onto black fabric for extra thickness and when I turned it over, the reverse side almost looked even more mole-like than the front!

Folklore surrounding the Barn Owl is better recorded than for most other Owls. In English literature the Barn Owl had a sinister reputation probably because it was a bird of darkness, and darkness was always associated with death. Among early English folk cures, alcoholism was treated with Owl egg. The imbiber was prescribed raw eggs and a child given this treatment was thought to gain lifetime protection against drunkenness. Owls' eggs, cooked until they turned into ashes, were also used as a potion to improve eyesight. https://www.owlpages.com/owls/articles.php?a=62 These are some of my favourite medieval owl illustrations that I found online: My interpretation of the owl is made out of calico with velvet backing and I stitched the face on separately, like I did with my dolls. I used black thread, some different embroidery threads, and black beads for the eyes. I really like the colours on this one with the subtle grey body and yellow highlights, I think it is my favourite patch

  'Fi’s work gives voice to the silent, and a materiality to the marginal. Her curiosity with 'what went before' and her ‘being in the moment‘ meditative approach has led her on many journeys, both literally and philosophically.  The unique way she processes these 'time travels' results in artworks which emanate calm and tranquillity, but which hold within them a question. Pondering places, ideas and hidden histories means she creates works with feeling, taking you somewhere you didn't know you wanted to go.  Fi’s work is philosophical but retains an endearing childlike quality and a hint of the whimsical.  ' http://www.fiburke.com/ Fi Burke's 'Since Sliced Bread' project is one of my favourite works of hers that she showed us during her talk. I think the windmills work really well as a large group of them like flowers in a meadow, but the way they have no colour implies a much more sombre meaning. The whiteness reflects flour which Burke often w

When I was looking through the archives on the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic website, I found a few snail related artefacts such as this one:  https://museumofwitchcraftandmagic.co.uk/object/snail-shells/ I decided to search for some medieval depictions of snails and most of the images were of giant snails in some kind of battle of beasts, but there was one particular image that was very unusual and charming...   ...three snails climbing a ladder? Although I could not find the context of this image, I adored it so much that I wanted to make my next textile piece based on it. These are my stitched outlines of the three snails which I did onto the velvet curtain fabric to give them more strength - I used watercolour because I have found this successful on my early calico samples, and added some embroidery thread for extra detail and texture. I frayed the edges for a rough authentic feel and sewed them onto a piece of black fabric to keep them together as one piece. Im really happy with

  Toads have long been associated with magic, as witches’ familiars and as a source both of poison as folk healing. Shakespeare seems to allude to elements from this trial in his play  Macbeth , mentioning toads and frogs as elements of  the concoctions brewed by his witches in Act IV and seemingly referencing the events in an aside uttered by a witch regarding sending a storm against an enemy’s ship.  Toad’s venom, according to medieval folklore, could be neutralized by the toadstone, a particular mineral also assigned powers against stomach and kidney ailments.  The use of toad bones in a midnight ritual performed by English “Toadmen” in order to gain mastery of horses to be trained is also discussed as is the discovery of miniature frog coffins, stashed in Finish churches, in a folk-magic practice similar to the British and American use of “witch bottles.” https://www.boneandsickle.com/2020/06/21/toad-magic/ Here is my version of the frog from the top right image which seems to be i

' People claimed that a witch could shape shift her form at night and become a hare. These solitary creatures, rarely seen, sometimes standing on their hind legs like a person, aroused suspicion. When in distress they uttered a strange, almost human-like cry, which gave the animal a supernatural quality. For its behaviour would mimic that of a supposed witch. In this form she stole milk or food, or destroyed crops. Others insisted that hares were only witches’ familiars.' https://norfolktalesmyths.com/2018/03/24/march-hares-witches/ I chose this illustration because of the simple, bold outline and the pattern on the body that looks like small stitches, making it a good image to sew. The way it is playing an instrument is very endearing and magical and I really like it's facial expression and pointy ears. In my version I used hessian, black fabric, white mesh and brown velvet, with black thread and a couple of different embroidery threads.  This closeup shows how I layered t