FIONA McINTYRE
Catalogue published for Corinium Museum with an introduction by Caroline Morris.
WILLOW UNVEILED: MAGIC & MEDICINE
24 October - 24 November, 2024
at CORINIUM MUSEUM, CIRENCESTER
https://coriniummuseum.org/event/willow-unveiled-magic-medicine/
THE ARTWORKS WERE MADE DURING A HOSKING HOUSES TRUST RESIDENCY 2023
Clifford Chambers is a hamlet in Warwickshire caught in a pocket of time going back to the Tudor period and beyond. The river Stour is a tributory of the Avon which runs along the edge of this magical village and is flanked by ancient willows that create a dreamy mystical atmosphere. These works are records of these incredible trees, their properties, mythology and links to the feminine energy personified in Greko-Roman and Celtic creation goddesses such as Hecate who was affiliated to the Moon and the Willow. The works are made with natural pigments, which perfectly express the ephemeral quality and graceful interaction of willow tendrils on water and our perception of the expansion and contraction of time through the act of drawing.
The remit of the Hosking Houses Trust is simply to offer creative sanctuary for mature women writers and artists and is run by Sarah Hosking with Professor Louise Campbell advising on artist-residencie. She is Emerita of History of Art at the University of Warwick. Dame Emma Thompson and Tracey Emin are some of the first supportive Patrons of the Trust. Currently the HHT is in partnership with Coventry University Arts and Humanities Department.
For further information please visit www.hoskinghouses.org.uk
The Flow of Time, Mineral pigments in oil on gesso panel, 29.5 x 25.2 cm.
Fractal Reflections, lump graphite and pencil on Fabriano Artistico Traditional 300 gsm, 57 x 77 cm
Shadow No 4, mineral and earth pigments in gum Arabic on Fabriano Artistico 300gsm, 56 x 75 cm.
Teign Valley iron oxide filtering out of an underground stream. The iron oxide is transparent until it hits the oxygen-rich atmosphere which turns it a yellow orange colour. This can be dug out of the river bank and transformed into pigment.
From Left: willow bark and twigs being made into ink, foraged ochre mixed with gum arabic, the artist drawing on the river Stour, sketch of lilypads on the river made with pigments made into watercolour.