Finding Joy in England

This project seeks to find joy in our English Countryside. This work explores the expression of joy in nature, from historic traditions such as folkloric art and maypole and Morris dancing to modern festivities such as music festivals.

This collection of screen-printed textile samples for fashion uses hand-dyed found fabric bases and sustainable printing pigment. The techniques used in this include photography manipulation, painting and mono-printing. The combination of these techniques creates a complimentary collection with different qualities.

Originally exploring the iconography of English folklore, researching animals, costumes, and The Green Man, this imagery has been modernised by using bold colours and photography.

A visit to Compton Verney museum was informative to this work in exploring the imagery and style of Folk Art. I have also visited the Botanical Gardens in Bristol for floral research. Artists that have been pivotal to my research have been Jeremy Deller with his book Art is Magic, and Charles Freger’s book Wildermann.