Some photos from my book on British folk art, I was looking for the way people would construct imagery, textiles, materials and symbolism
Top right: Jesse Maycock, King Alfred, 1961, straw. Museum of English Rural Life, University of Reading. ——> reminded me of my past and the corn dollies we used to make as children during harvest. Also the creation of a historical yet mythological/legendary figure through straw was interesting too. A way to take possession of our history?
Top Left: unknown, Harvest Jug, 1838, earthenware with slip [front and back pictured]. Museum of English Rural Life, University of Reading. ——> although this may not directly link to the project, Harvest has a lot of ritual surrounding it (some of which is continued today in communities like the one I grew up in i.e. corn dollies). The idea of props, items and totems that are used to celebrate the passing of seasons and the bounties of nature feels pertinent to me
The Bottles: unknown, God in a Bottle, 19th century, wood, glass and water. Beamish, The Living Museum of the North. ——-> No one is entirely sure of the bottles’ purpose, but it is thought they were used/made by sailors as charms and totems. Again I find the combination of superstition and ritual interesting.
Middle Right: cropped image of ‘Fred Mizen with the Lion and the Unicorn [not pictured] from the Festival of Britain, 1951. Museum of English Rural Life, University of Reading. ——-> thinking about the use of rope and its effect, the sculptural form and style
Middle Left: Herbert Bellamy and Charlotte Alice Springall, Bellamy Quilt, 1890-1. Norfolk Museums Service ——-> the imagery used as well as the textile form, something to think about when constructing the Guardian costume (thinking of a cloak of sorts)
Heart: unknown, Sweetheart Pincushion, 1896. Beamish, The Living Museum of the North ——-> I love the way this is constructed, the style/aesthetic of it as well as the form that takes. Often made by sailors or soldiers for their loved ones back home, given as gifts to new mothers. (interestingly it wasn’t given until she’d given birth as there was a superstition that giving it beforehand would increase the pain of labour; “for every pin a pain”).
Source: British Folk Art, by Ruth Kenny, Jeff Mcmillan and Martin Myrone
LFlynn Research Blog 