Crowning Glories - Artworks
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The Devil And The Bishop Came To Tea
by Allison J Scott
Media: paperclay stained with body stains. Slip decorated with porcelain
The two cacti I worked from were the Devil’s Backbone (kalanchoe diagremontiana) and the Bishop’s Cap (astrophytum myriostigma). I was attracted to these before I knew their names.
Close up photography detailing the Devil’s Backbone leapt out at me and immediately I had a vision of a majestic crown. I was drawn to the pattern and colours of the Bishop’s Cap, which inspired the surface decoration.
I could not ignore the names of my chosen cacti, which is why they are now such an integral part of my work. I have suffered with schizophrenia for many years and as such have experienced much stigma and ignorance from friends, family, and other members of the public. What I hope to do through my artwork is dispel the myths about mental illness and highlight some of the positive aspects. It’s not at all how most perceive; there exists a great creative process, imagination and sensitivity in our world. Most people are unaware of this.
For years, during my illness, I have wrestled with the elements of Good and Evil, God and the Devil, so this piece feels very much a personal milestone, a mental equilibrium at last, ‘…for this is the day that the Devil and the Bishop came to tea…’.
Frame 12 of 23
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