Charlotte Walker Art Foundation Degree

In my original crow design I used calico which I lightly painted with a washy black and this time I used black fabric with black mesh for added texture, and I used grey embroidery thread for the outline. It reminds me of a constellation with the pale lines against the black background but I think I preferred my earlier version overall. For the cat I used a thick white fabric with velvet backing, black thread and pink embroidery thread on the face. I find the eyes slightly creepy but I still like how it turned out, especially with the raw frayed edges that look like fur. I made this version of the rat with black fabric and white mesh, stitched onto calico with grey embroidery thread, and a black bead for the eye. I really like how the eye shines and looks more real than the first version, and I think my stitching is becoming neater too.

 

This is my updated version of the bat. I used the same curtain fabric and hessian as my mandrake to make them look coherent with each other, and I think the softness of the fabric works really well as it represents the animals fur. I think having the hessian border helps bring the shape forward and create more depth, preventing it from looking lost in the space.  Like with the mandrake, I photographed the bat next to the first version I made and although I like its simplicity, I find the more detailed version more effective and it has more to offer in sensory terms. For me, the sense of touch is important when experiencing art and having a physical connection with the piece makes me feel more fulfilled as an artist so I want to to embed that into my work.

  Now that I’m working towards my final piece, I want to make further developed versions of the sewn images that I made before, which involves incorporating a variety of coloured threads and beads, using embroidery techniques such as silk stitch, and layering different fabrics up to make a more textured and detailed piece. Earlier in my blog I said I wanted to become more of a sustainable artist by using what is already available to me  when possible, instead of always buying new materials. For this piece, I used various inherited fabrics that belonged to my Grandma including some old velvety curtains (which were also in my Comfort Zone final piece), white mesh from a possible wedding veil project, calico, and some hessian. All the embroidery threads were also passed down. The hessian was a good find because I have previously written on my blog about how I associate it with harvest and ‘The Wicker Man’ so for me it strengthens the folk aesthetic. The use of vintage fabric...

Something that has inspired me in this project is BBC's 'Bagpuss'. 'Bagpuss was first seen on 12 February 1974. The charming children's stop motion animation was made by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin, starring the "saggy old cloth cat" Bagpuss. He lived in a strange shop - owned by a little girl called Emily - which didn't actually sell anything, but was a home for lost property. Only 13 episodes were ever made, but the programme has remained popular down the generations and was voted the all-time favourite children's programme in 1999.' https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/february/bagpuss One of the things I love is the rustic handmade appearance of the characters and set. They use an array of different patterns, colours and textures in the materials which all have an authentic feel - it doesn't look synthetic or  artificial and I like how the mice all have little unique outfits on. The idea of lost items coming into the ...

I struggled to find many medieval rat drawings so I worked from this image with the small rat in the top corner. It was quite difficult to identify any features so I had to fill in the gaps with artistic licence. It came out looking cute and simple, and its head is very rabbit-like, but they seemed to often draw rats with long pointy ears at this point in history for some reason.   One of the oldest and most historic stories about rats is "The Pied Piper of Hamelin", in which a rat-catcher leads away an infestation with enchanted music. The piper is later refused payment, so he in turn leads away the town's children. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat This extract from a book I found helped provide some more context and explain how rats are relevant to my project in various ways. Imperfect Creatures: Vermin, Literature, and the Sciences of Life, 1600-1740 https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1gk0873.5?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

'The work of Louise Garland engages with philosophical beliefs in the continuum of life. It examines the nature of our existence, linking the personal with the metaphysical (especially from a female standpoint). Her work frequently references the collective notions of archaic symbolism and almost always incorporates found materials and objects into each piece. There is often an alliance in Garland's sculptures and sculptural montages between the familiar and the unfamiliar as deconstructed materials reinvent themselves, whilst forming a seductive quality to the surfaces. Her works are rigorously composed through the use of measurement, employing geometry and mathematical calculations often sourced from nature.' https://www.axisweb.org/p/louisegarlandart/ Notes from Louise Garlands talk at college Garland's approach to art is incredibly considered and her work is full of symbolism that celebrates her passions in life, ...

  Bats are associated with negative uses or beings in many cultures. In Nigeria, for example, bats are thought of as witches ; in Ivory Coast , they are believed to be ghosts or spirits. In the Bible 's Book of Leviticus , bats are referred to as "birds you are to regard as unclean," and therefore should not be consumed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_uses_of_bats During the Middle Ages, residents of western Europe and England believed that bats spread disease. This is most likely because of the bat’s similarity to the rat, which was usually blamed for the spread of plague. Because many people believed in witchcraft during this time, the bat was associated with witches, dark magic, sorcery, and even talking to the dead. People in rural Scotland and northern England suspected bats of being messengers between witches and the devil. https://www.learnreligions.com/bat-magic-and-folklore-2562685 From all of the bat images I gathered, my favourite is probably the one with...

  In the Renaissance , cats were often thought to be witches ' familiars in England. Black cats are generally held to be unlucky in the United States and Western Europe, and to portend good luck in the United Kingdom. In the latter country, a black cat entering a house or ship is a good omen, and a sailor's wife should have a black cat for her husband's safety on the sea. Elsewhere, it is unlucky if a black cat crosses one's path; black cats have been associated with death and darkness During the Middle Ages , many of Artemis's associations with cats were grafted onto the Virgin Mary .Cats are often shown in icons of Annunciation and of the Holy Family and, according to Italian folklore , on the same night that Mary gave birth to Jesus , a cat in Bethlehem gave birth to a kitten. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_depictions_of_cats When I saw this medieval cat drawing I thought that it was so strange and good that I wanted to make something with it. I lov...