Charlotte Walker Art Foundation Degree

Online Art Presence On instagram I have an account called @fdacharlotte where I frequently post updates on what I have been doing at college. I've found this to be a great way to get feedback and support from people I know as well as strangers, and I enjoy using this platform to discover new artists too. These are some screenshots from my page: In addition to this, I have a more personal account where I post non-college related art and promote items that I sell on etsy and I use hashtags to reach a wider audience. Artist Statement (3rd Person) Charlotte Walker works in an organic illustrative style to create pieces that embody a sweet and sinister dynamic, which is informed by her conflicting fascinations with both horror and cuteness. Drawing, watercolour, stitch and ceramics are some of her favourite mediums to use, making 2D as well as 3D works that disturb and endear. Nature and the grotesque are a significant source of inspiration for her art with an appreciation for different

The first challenge of this project was creating a title that would keep me interested and motivated. After thinking about what I have enjoyed making in the past, and what new things I wanted to try, I chose ‘Supernatural Nature’. I have had fun in my previous projects working with natural themes but I wanted to add a new element - magic. During my research, I found loads of creatures and plants that have a history within witchcraft, superstition and folklore , so I used various museum artefacts and bestiary illustrations as my muse. One of the first curiosities I looked at was the Cornish pisky. I created a series of dolls made from calico which I stained and tore, with wire wrapped around limbs that were barely hanging by a thread. They embodied a pathos that grew as I made more of them, turning into a heap of lifeless bodies which I photographed among nature without worrying about them getting dirty, and the pictures were quite beautiful. The success of my calico piskies informed my

 

  This quilted nursery blanket was one source of inspiration for my final piece for a few reasons. It has illustrations of traditional stories and nursery rhymes on the front, and little motifs on the back - I too wanted to make something that is motif-based, but the stories are more hidden in my case. For instance, what looks like pretty flowers is really a deadly poisonous plant, or something used to ward off evil spirits. It reminded me of how a lot of folk tales have evolved to become child-friendly bedtime stories, in the same way that many Disney Classics such as ‘Sleeping Beauty’ come from much darker stories. So in a way, my final piece is like a ‘grown-up’ version of the nursery blanket, and a reference to the idea of reading stories before sleep.  The grid pattern on the front made me feel confident that the arrangement of squares on my pillow case would be effective, while the scattered images on the back reflect the lay out of motifs on my duvet cover. I also enjoy the subt

To begin, I cut a sheet of old brushed cotton to the size of a single duvet cover, using one of my own as a stencil. I really like the feel of this fabric because it is much more textured than a usual cotton sheet and has a thickness that gives it strength and warmth - it is also soft to the touch and a natural shade of white that doesn’t look too bright. I stitched on some lace detail inspired by the textile elements in ‘Bagpuss’ as I wrote about before, and started trying different arrangements of my motifs on the sheet. There weren’t enough of them to cover it without there being massive gaps so I pinned them on towards the top and this looks fine because they are around eye-level when the piece is hanging up, making the easy to view. Once I settled on an arrangement of the creatures, I did some research about plants that are relevant to the theme of witchcraft and magic using this book that I got to help with my project, and my idea was to embroider these among the animals. Using t