Research

I started my research by looking at the National Trust Collections and found paintings and poems that interested me as they allowed me to gain insight into the lives of servants. These paintings and poems described the characteristics of each servant and the daily chores they undertook. The following is about housemaid Jane Ebbrell.

At Tatton Park, the kitchen and servant’s quarters interested me since I could imagine the everyday lives of the servants who used to work there. I was also interested in the contrast between the lives of the servants and the masters and the objects in the house. The servant’s kitchenware was undecorated and often made from base metals. However the master’s possessions were colourful, gold and highly decorated. This contrast of objects captured for me the mundane lives that the servants would have lived compared to the privileged existence of the masters.

Below are Amy Jayne Hughes’ works. Elements of her work are relevant to my own practice since her objects are concerned with surface decoration over function.

I intend to explore mono printing, inlay and stamping since these techniques enable me to transfer my line drawings onto the clay’s surface. I intend to create a narrative through my drawings exploring the lives of the servants and their tasks.

Initially I drew detailed pictures of servants however after experimenting with timed continuous line drawings I found that I could be more expressive when having to complete drawings under a time and technique restriction. These restrictions stopped me from being fussy and drawing unnecessary detail therefore enabling me to more effectively portray the essence of the jobs the servants undertook.

Cooks in stately homes were often alcoholics. I feel this image is too literal and overly drawn.

Housekeepers’ keys were a sign of their authority. I chose gold keys to signify this and to draw attention to them. Drawing in continuous line allowed me to be expressive and capture the essence of the house keeper’s authority.

 

I feel this drawing done in two minutes captures the essence of a house maid conducting her chore.

 

The gold ornate frames which often surrounded portraits of important figures in the National Trust properties interested me as they were highly decorative and luxurious. Such artefacts inspired me to create my own gold frame which from a distance appears to be like others I had seen but on closer inspection you realise that the frame's imagery comprises of cooking utensils. For me these utensils were significant since they represented the servants' chores and their invaluable role in the running of stately households. Unlike portraits in stately homes where you might find a noteworthy family member I felt the servants should be put within the frame and therefore elevated in status.

Through a collaborative task I met Stephanie, a fashion student who like me is interested in print. I realised we could help develop each other’s designs since our knowledge and skills complemented each other's and could help us see our designs from a different perspective. 

I liked Stephanie’s quality of line in her drawing of the Japanese Garden due to the contrast between her faint drawing in pencil and her fine liner drawing which is stronger. I felt the layering effect of the tracing paper over her initial drawing was very effective in showing contrast in line qualities.

In response to Stephanie’s work I researched images of trees in Japanese prints. I liked the stylised drawings and this image below inspired me to consider how I could incorporate my ideas of cooking utensils into the trees in Stephanie’s designs, linking our two projects together.

I liked how this drawing, which looks purely decorative, conceals whisks within the flowers of the trees. These signify one of the many tasks that the servants had to undertake which were hidden but invaluable. This drawing made me consider how I could convey my narrative through traditional plate designs which incorporate decorative trees e.g. the willow pattern.  I have started to consider displaying servants conducting their daily chores on plates and to use my ornate patterns with hidden meanings in them which convey the importance of the servant’s tasks.