Manon

This print is a portrait of a doll in traditional Welsh dress, she was inspired by two dolls on display at Storiel in Bangor, the museum of life and culture of North Wales through the ages.  The C19th dolls have been lovingly cared for, handed down, and preserved now as part of the permanent collection.  They are dressed in beautiful hand stiched traditional clothes, made from the woven wool and flannel of everyday dress fabrics of the day, with little stove pipe hats, and lace caps, woollen bedgowns and checked aprons. They must have once been the treasured and coveted possession of a little girl, so I have called my doll Manon, meaning 'wished for child'.
 
A multiblock Linocut, printed on 100% Cotton paper, made in St Cuthberts Mill in Somerset.
Image size 45 x 45 cm, overall paper size approx 55 x 63 cm
 
One of a series of four, created for an exhibition curated by Elen Bonner under the theme of 'Aelwyd'.  Aelwyd, the title of the exhibition, is Welsh for hearth – a word synonymous with home. Through their material, making, story or use, the objects in the exhibition explored a deep-rooted sense of belonging and home.
 
The prints I made for Aelwyd were created using three separate overlaid blocks, one for each colour.  I took as my inspiration antique household tools and objects, things that had been handed down in families, that had been used, loved and cared for, whose value over time transcends their everyday use.  They become like old friends, well worn and polished by many hands over the years, a physical memory and tangible link to family, home and peaceful domestic life.  The images start as sketches drawn directly from life, I have to have flowers somewhere in my work, and the patterns of shadows almost always feature.