These photos are of my art quilt called "Pangur Ban." Pangur Ban means white cat in the Irish language, and the name comes from a little poem inscribed in a margin of the ancient Book of Kells. The Book of Kells was an illuminated manuscript of the Holy Bible, created during the middle ages in Ireland. The poem tells the story of the relationship between the monk and his little white cat as they pass the hours together--the monk at his work, illustrating the stories of the Bible, and the cat at his work, catching mice. My eldest daughter was studying in Ireland at the time and told me about the poem. I researched it, printed it out in Irish and English, and attached the words to the "book" on linen. The cat and mice are felted wool, the monk is made of polymer clay and hand-stitched fabric.
This piece is called "Jeanne d'Arc" or, translated, "Joan of Arc." Both she and her horse are hand-sculpted of polymer clay with added beads. Her armour is silver ribbon, sculpted into shape with lots of hand-stitching. Her banner is historically accurate, as far as anyone on the internet has been able to determine, since there are written historical accounts of what her banner looked like, but of course, no one could take a photo in the middle ages, and no drawings of her banner survive. She is shown here, victorious against the English invaders of France. She's one of my favourite saints, and is well-known and loved by francophones here on the Island and in Lowell. In fact, I used to do my banking at Jeanne d'Arc Credit Union and two of my children went to Ste. Jeanne d'Arc School in Lowell.
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