UCS Ipswich

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Back to the print room for me. Inspiration could be making a return- “YIPPEE”. Nancy Spero, feminist has been my new No.1 printing source.

Nancy was reknowned for her political, social and cultural concerns which she expressed in her works on war and the torture of women. Her repetitive print images are also influenced by Roman frescos,often depicting mythical hybrid human/animal forms as well as women,children and prostitutes.

Fascinating!! and what will I find next? Great new learning here for me at my age. Roll on the next inspirational thought.

whilst still experimenting with print. I have also looked at symbols and what they mean. In some of my Images I have put my character Pope Joan within a circle. The circle has many meanings but I like to think of it as a symbol of protection a boundary guarding her true Identity, creating a sacred place.

During my research I have also been looking at ancient Frescos,and I am interested in how they fade away over time, leaving traces of history.

I have tried to create my own Fresco with board and plaster, layering my prints to resemble a similar effect. At this moment in time I feel its not working, and probally needs me to be a bit more patient.

Today I have been in the print room .I have been etching and monoprinting, generally experimenting with my images.

Pope Joan had an unusual life. As well as being an highly educated woman, she was an outsider in the Catholic church and took on the guise of a man to achieve her ambitions,until she gave birth to an illegitimate child.

The earlist christian saints were often martyrs who suffered agonising deaths because they refused to worship pagan gods, whereas other christian saints often performed charitable deeds or led isolated lives, taking themselves away from society to live as hermits.

As an example, during Maundy Thursday, the practice of foot washing would only have been practiced by the men, but Pope Joan in her disguise would have undertaken this practice. I have also considered The Holy Eucharist, the most important of the seven sacraments, in which we recieve the body and blood ,soul and divinity of Jesus Christ.

Within my work I have considered these rituals in my research into Pope Joan. For example, my shoes and a Pope’s mitre have been crafted out of wire and rice paper, this rice paper reflecting its use in Holy Communion. As Pope Joan was a woman, I have also made a hat using the same media in the shape of a female pelvis, the rice paper again symbolic of the flesh of Christ. Within this I have also sought to portray the flesh of her child.