King John’s House, Romsey, UK.
20th-21st December, 2024
With thanks to funding from Test Valley Arts Foundation.
The second half of December saw me prepare to become Artist in Residence at King John's House, Romsey, Hampshire, UK, thanks to generous funding from Test Valley Arts Foundation. The brief was to reflect the time of year and the age of the property - a medieval building with a rich history, oak beams and original plaster walls. Coupled with festive traditions dating from the same period, it meant my imagination was piqued and the storyteller in me was keen to get started.
My proposal focused on the medieval festive tradition of the Lord or Lady of Misrule, whereby a child or servant was given the chance to 'rule' the household for the day. I wanted to create a scroll of 'misrules' for Romsey, as dictated by visitors, and a textile crown, suitable for a Lord or Lady of Misrule - a chance to explore wearable, 3d textiles.
I like the idea of misrules being a reflection of society today. An example could be "I rule that everyone in Romsey will have a hot meal on Christmas Day," which I hoped would then spark conversations with visitors to King John’s House about issues affecting the community today.
Once set up in the medieval Great Hall, I took further inspiration from the oak beams and scratched, historic graffiti that adorns the lime-plaster walls. As an avid reader of folklore and traditional tales, stories I was reminded of were about the Oak King who takes his crown from the Holly King at the Winter Solstice (21st Dec) to welcome back the light, as well as of the tradition of burning a Yule Log (often oak) at that time of year.
To compliment to these stories and imaginings, I created my own Oak Apple Gall ink from galls I had previously collected, which I used to mark the linen fabric I chose to use, as well as appliqueing and couching my collection of Oak Leaf dyed cottons, silks and wool. Hand stitch, natural dyes and beeswax - all available in Medieval times, inspired my palette, techniques and materials, further anchoring the final pieces to time and place.
As a result of this residency, I have been able to explore techniques to create wearable, 3d structures out of textile, something I have been wanting to develop for some time. Being able to talk to the public about my work has also helped to develop my confidence in describing the techniques I use, and their place in my practice, as well as my place in the wider artistic community of Romsey and the Test Valley.
As part of documenting my final pieces, I have also pushed myself to produce a series of self-portraits that have become storytelling tools - highlighting the folklore and magic of deep winter.
It has been wonderful to immerse myself in such a fascinating, historic building using both the fabric of the building and the stories linked to it (real and imagined) as inspiration for my work - something I will take forward into future projects.
The completed crown and scroll are now on display in King John’s House, Romsey, Hampshire, UK.
Comments