'In secret kept, in silence sealed...'

So I am well into my second term now, and the current project is going well. We had to bring objects and words to the table and explore their narratives so to begin with I chose an Edwardian portable writing desk, a Victorian jewellery box, some old, used keys, and a quote from Charlotte Bronte :

'The human heart has hidden treasures, In secret kept, in silence sealed; The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures, Whose charms were broken if revealed’

I began to consider aspects of concealment and secrets being concealed within ourselves as well as within the objects. I started looking at cocoons and looking at their protective state, and linking the two ideas by exploring the idea of these cocoons protecting the secrets we hold.

However part of the project was to also source a brief that we could work to as a hypothetical commission or competition. My sourced brief was called ‘Lost Properties’ (http://www.fringeartsbath.co.uk/lost-properties/) calling for submissions where we create a piece or body of work that highlights to the public a quality that we revere as well as something that is interactive.

Because of this the cocoons weren’t really successful, and I had to reassess where I was going.

Choosing to focus solely on the portable writing desk, I began to research into the lost art of letter writing a true quality that has been lost in a digital era and is something that I would like to encourage again.

I still wanted to incorporate the initial idea of secrets though, and believe I found a way to do that.

My idea so far:

To create an interactive area, preferably a writing desk set up, where people are invited to come and write a letter. I have chosen the starting sentence: ‘I wish I had told you…’ I felt this was fitting to revealing a secret and writing the letter could act as a way of purging their emotions.

The letters will then be displayed for a short period of time before I will use them to create a final piece, be it an art book or a series of postcards.

'When you're gone, nighttime speaks...'

I already mentioned the Sketchbook Project 2012 that I took part in, and I also uploaded some of my own photographs but my book has been digitized! So if you want to look at the whole thing, have a gander!

http://www.arthousecoop.com/users/jenniferkirkham

'He was so kind, such a gentleman tied to the oceanside...'

Close ups of various sections of the three aprons.

'Into our love the tears crept...'

'Grandmother'

'Mother'

'Daughter'

'Sing me to sleep, sing me to sleep...'

My final piece, three non-functional aprons representing three generations, domestic life, Welsh culture and the passing down of recipes.

'Your love is my turning page, where only the sweetest words remain...'

The deadline has been and gone and I successfully submitted my finished project ; titled ‘Apron Strings: The Ties Between Generations’. A drawing book, a studio book, a research file, a technical file, a photo album, 25 final samples, 2 large scale paintings and a final piece were all collated to express my response to the given brief.
Below is my artist statement, presented alongside my work in exhibition.

Artist Statement

Under the heading of domestic life within Welsh culture I began my research into items of kitchenalia and traditional Welsh recipes. I visited various places conducting research but found my visit to St Fagan’s, over numerous occasions, was invaluable. On my first visit to the National History Museum I studied some of the traditional Welsh dress that was on display, intrigued by the incorporation of an apron which linked to my study into the kitchen area. I found that the protective garment (a key aspect of the Welsh dress) seemed to be the link between all aspects of the given brief. It in itself is an item of PPE, protecting clothes from stains and damage; it is also an item with a heavy association with cooking and baking which is where my research began initially.

As the research stage of this project was group based, we made the decision to contact Elen Phillips, the curator of the costume and textiles department at St Fagan’s. Elen was extremely helpful, and provided me with the opportunity to look at traditional Welsh dress in the archives handling collection. Through studying these aprons I was inspired from the form, function and various other qualities. The folds and creases, and deterioration of the aprons gave me great inspiration and from this all my ideas began to come together.

All the research conducted, the sampling produced through the workshops and through drawing studies I began to develop and form my ideas for my final outcome.

My concept began to prove fruitful, I wanted my final piece to convey the passing down of recipes through generations and how traditions such as these can eventually disappear and fade.

With this in mind I made the decision to create three non-functional aprons to represent the three typical generations of a family; grandmother, mother and daughter.

To incorporate all aspects of my concept, as well as all areas that heavily inspired me I created the three aprons (each one representing one of the generations) using an old bed sheet, an old scarf and a Tyvek suit.

Each apron was distressed using various techniques such as staining, burning, unpicking stitches as well as using the embellisher. The idea behind this was derived from the idea of ageing, the most distressed apron represented the grandmother and the least distressed represented the youngest generation (the daughter).

The use of staining was key not just to the ageing process but also to heighten the sense of nostalgia, a feeling I wanted to encapsulate.

In each pocket of the aprons was a recipe for Cawl, a traditional Welsh winter dish, written in Welsh. The recipes themselves were handwritten to make them more personal, and were also distressed through burning to represent the recipes/ traditions fading out.

Finally I took it upon myself to consider how I wanted my final piece to be presented. As they were more fine art pieces than functional I felt that hanging them would be more visually interesting for the viewer, I also made the decision to tie the apron strings between each apron a decision with strong connotations of the ties between the family members.

Overall I was extremely pleased with my outcome and would have loved to develop this brief further.

'Though lovers be lost, love shall not...'

So it has been a month since I last posted anything about my work, and I feel like I have got nowhere in all this time.
My work has developed slightly, I am now focusing more on the apron -its story, characters, and connotations - as this was a large element within domestic life as well as being an item found as part of the assemblage that creates the traditional Welsh dress.

I had the great opportunity to visit the Textile and Costume archives at St Fagan’s Museum in Cardiff, where Elen Phillips (the curator) was able to show me a selection of Welsh Dress as well as some traditional Welsh quilts.

This is where my inspiration really came from. When I was taking photographs of the items I noticed myself being intrigued by the folds in the fabric. These folds were caused by the packaging and storage but I found them beautiful.

So this is where I am currently at with my work, looking at folds within fabrics, aprons, and touching still upon traditional welsh recipes.