A Tiled Tapestry II at The Shop Floor Project
I am excited to share the launch of my second collection of over one-hundred handmade tiles, exclusively for The Shop Floor Project
Moving on from the first collection of Tapestry Tiles, which were inspired by the magnificent Devonshire Hunting Tapestries at the V&A Museum.
Following the journey the four tapestries ( made between 1430 - 1450) I visited Hardwick Hall in Darbyshire where the tapestries hung from the 1500's until 1957, when the V&A Museum was allotted them.
Hardwick Hall is internationally renowned for its collection of textiles and tapestries, largely sourced and collected by Bess of Hardwick in the later years of the sixteenth century. On visiting I was amazed to see tapestries hanging everywhere, even on stairwells. These textiles became further inspiration for the second Tapestry Tiles collection.
"What is extraordinary about Charlotte's tiles, which are like miniature paintings in themselves, is that her brushstrokes, combined with the textures of the glazing, create an appearance of threadbare textiles, like silk that has faded. This is especially evident in her rendition of the tapestry castles with their vertical brushstrokes and watery foliage that seems to catch the light". ~ The Shop Floor Project.
Visiting the tapestries in person, I filled sketchbooks with many possible tiles designs. Back in the studio I began to translate the sketches into final compositions for tiles so that each one works alone and with each other.
For this second set of tiles, I have continued to explore the multitude of animals that animate the tapestries; hunting dogs, rabbits, bears, boars, deer, otters, swans and owls all feature.
Other highlights include the castles, flowers, foliage and patterns that mingle and twine throughout the dense, visually rich backgrounds and edges of the tapestries.
Each tile is hand-rolled and hand-cut (some have white slip applied at this stage when the clay is leather hard) which is then followed by a first bisque firing. I then glaze the tiles with a base glaze (white or transparent) and mark out a vague pencil outline onto the tile which is then painted with lively, bold strokes using various oxides.
"Like an alchemist, Charlotte uses her signature mixture of red, black and buff stoneware clays, with cobalt oxide and iron chromate, to achieve a collection which has an ancient appearance. They feel as though they have emerged from the same time as the Tapestries that inspired them" ~ The Shop Floor Project
There are also portraits of people with their magnificent 15th century headdresses, fancy pantaloons and boots. A fashion show circa 1400!
The Hunting Tapestries, which feature an abundant depiction of hounds, was a gift to me, I am often drawn to these elegant creatures in my more sculptural work. (stoneware dogs)
The subject can be seen throughout the collection, with dogs leaping across a tile and into another.
As a single piece, each tile is a painting in miniature, a beautiful study of a fragment of the Tapestry. When placed together in groups they start to build a scene or narrative and it's fun to place different ones next to each other, to watch a composition emerge.
