FRAGMENT XII £900 Charcoal on Paper Cast in 'Glass' Resin. Unique Piece
SCULPTURES
‘A Woman in Motion’
1373 ♰ Margery Kempe ♰ 1439
Mystic ♰ Pilgrim ♰ Author
I was very moved when The Reverend Canon Dr. Mark Dimond, Rector of King’s Lynn Minster and Chairman of the Margery Kempe Committee commissioned me to make a sculpture celebrating the 650th anniversary of the birth of Margery Kempe for permanent installation in King’s Lynn Minster. I am hugely grateful to him and his colleagues for placing their trust in me. It is a gentle and very ancient place and to have a piece of my work installed there is a great honour.
Having done my research including reading The Book of Margery Kempe,A Mixed Life by Anthony Bale, Femina by Janina Ramirez and Skirting Heresy: The Life and Times of Margery Kempe by Elizabeth MacDonald, I decided to focus my attention on Margery Kempe’s extraordinary life and experiences as a Pilgrim. To travel so many thousands of miles in the early 15th Century not only took courage but also required immense stamina and determination.
Although in The Book of Margery Kempe, the first autobiography in the English language, she is completely honest and open about her love of fine clothes and her competitiveness with other women’s finery, as a Pilgrim her clothes were pretty ragged and patched and at one point on returning back to Bishop’s (now King’s) Lynn she was desperately poor. Having given away all her money, she was given a bolt of white fabric by an ‘honourable man in Norwich’. I have therefore made her clothes, although plentiful, very clearly torn and patched but still with an element of grace and elegance. As Pilgrims of her era were advised to wear a very wide brimmed hat, I have depicted her wearing one. Given her determination to wear white, for which she was persecuted and prosecuted, I have made her robes white but her dress is silvery aluminium as I wanted to give a nod to her love of finery. Her hands are tucked inside her robes as she was so terrified of being burned at the stake that, although determined to fight her corner, her hands shook so badly she hid them in order to appear to be stronger than she actually felt when speaking in her own stout defence about wearing white. The way the light will shine through the stained-glass windows and play on her clothes at certain times adds another element of beauty and spiritual feeling. Margery’s head is bent in prayer and her ‘top-knot’ is my way of denoting her indomitable spirit, both secular and religious as described in Anthony Bale’s book about her wish to live A Mixed Life.
She is cast in aluminium which is the most abundant metal on earth. Margery Kempe, as the mother of 14 children, was most certainly herself ‘abundant’ but she was also a highly complex, deeply spiritual, brave and determined woman. This sculpture ‘A Woman in Motion’ is therefore my homage to her.
Working with Eddie and Sue Triplow and Des Stanley at Sculpture Services Manningtree has been completely wonderful. Working on this sculpture was technically incredibly complex and their skills are remarkable.
I would like to thank General The Lord Dannatt GCB CBE MC DL, President of the Norfolk Churches Trust for agreeing to unveil the sculpture, Michael Gurney DL for his unwavering and stalwart support, Paul Barnes, Bedfords Estate Agents, Charles Bingham-Newland, Paul Doyle and Gergely Battha-Pajor, ‘The Lady Magazine’ and Gavin Lane for their very kind donations which are hugely appreciated.
I also offer my heartfelt thanks for their support and sponsorship to:
James Bagge Esq DL ♰ A Fellow Pilgrim ♰
♰ Bishop’s Mission Fund (Diocese of Norwich) ♰
The Flux Family ♰ King’s Lynn ♰
Paul Hoskins & Marcus Curran Esqs ♰ King’s Lynn ♰
Ms Elizabeth MacDonald ♰ Author ♰
John Plaxton Esq ♰ Ultreia ♰
I would like to add my profound thanks for his encouragement and endless enthusiasm to my belovèd husband Michael Waller-Bridge with as ever xooo
Sculptrix Rosemary Goodenough Fecit
MMXXIII
A Limited Edition of 12 plus 2 Artist’s Proofs
Artist’s Proof #1 In the Permanent Art Collection and on Display in Lambeth Palace London. Edition#1/12 Permanent Installation on Display in King’s Lynn Minster.
For enquiries please email rosemary@rosemarygoodenough.ltd
A Series of 5 Sculptures, each Set a Limited Edition of 3 + 2 Artist's Proofs. Cast in Bronze. A/P #1 SOLD. ‘The Eleanors’ are also available as individual pieces in a Limited Edition of 12 + 2 Artist’s Proofs.
Named in honour of Eleanor of Aquitaine - one of the few Queens of England to be remembered by her own name rather than that of the King. Unusually for a woman of her time (1122- 1204), she was highly educated and used her considerable intellect and sexual power with ruthless intelligence and I wanted these sculptures to convey my sense of her which is timeless, contemplative and fun. It is my hope that their demeanor and stance convey the dignity, self-protection, bravery and the capacity for great love of this remarkable woman, wife of a King of France and a King of England and mother of two others, Richard the Lionheart and King John but always herself, Eleanor of Aquitaine.
'The Eleanors' are also available in Open Edition Cold Cast 'Glass' Resin.
'Elemental Woman'
Limited Edition of 12 + 2 Artist's Proofs Cast in Aluminium
I named this sculpture 'Elemental Woman' as she is cast in Aluminium which comes from Bauxite, the most abundant of earth's elements. She is partially free but still lightly anchored to the earth, travelling but grounded, graceful but strong and purposeful.
Sculptures are available to Order only and take approximately 12 weeks to Cast. All prices exclude delivery and handling charges. All heights are approximate.
A 60% non-refundable deposit is required when the Order is placed. The remaining balance plus delivery and handling charges is due prior to despatch.
'The Fragments'
'Glass' Resin and Charcoal on paper. Each a unique one off piece £900 each.
I made these works because I wanted to link the feeling of the ancient work of Pheidias to the modern world and to the discovered 'fragments' on an archaeological site.
I am very grateful to the Greek and Roman Department at the British Museum which gave me permission to work in charcoal in their galleries and these drawings are among my interpretations of Pheidias's Elgin Marbles and the warriors andgoddesses in the Mausoleum ofHalikarnassos (Room 21) which is kept extremely cold to preserve their delicate and beautiful pieces. The staff are only allowed to remain in the Halikarnassos room for short periods because of the cold and they were extremely considerate and took turnson duty thereby allowing me to complete my work albeit by the end of the process, with extremely cold hands!
The drawings are charcoal on paper which I have then torn and then cast in 'glass' resin which, when dry, I have smashed and then repoured, sometimes several times, in order to create their textured and broken surfaces.
Please contact for purchase and commissioning information.
ChildLine is all about communciation and careful use of language, so each wall of my BT ArtBox is a vertical 'Knot Garden' using the symbolic Language of Flowers to communicate a message about childhood.
Ivy symbolises Fidelity, Dependence and Endurance, which perfectly describe ChildLine. Each of the 4 vertical 'Knot Gardens' has Ivy framing it like the hedging in a Knot Garden.
The vertical Knot Garden dedicated to 'Innocence' has a massing of flowers such as white Daisies and Baby's Breath, both of which symbolise 'Innocence'.
Again using Ivy as the 'hedging', the wall dedicated to 'Hope' uses flowers such as Irises, and Snowdrops both of which symbolise 'Hope'.
The wall dedicated to 'Happiness' takes the form of an Ivy edged vertical Knot Garden filled with flowers like Lily of the Valley and Gerberas, both of which symbolise 'Happiness'.
The wall dedicated to 'Love' is a Knot Garden of Ivy and massed Roses which of course symbolise 'Love'.
The top of the ArtBox (not photographed) is a joyful mixture of Ivy and the flowers from each Knot Garden as I believe every child's life should be a blend of Innocence, Hope, Happiness and Love.
The flowers and the Ivy are encrusted onto the ArtBox to make a very dense 'planting' of differing depths.
My aim was to make my BT ArtBox very beautiful. It is about the necessity, simplicity and continuity of communication which is vital to the safety and happiness of a child and ChildLine ensures, thanks to BT's support, that vulnerable children have a reliable place to turn to.
I am very grateful to Wendy Smith from W & M Smith at the Pightle Barn in Suffolk for very kindly sponsoring my BT ArtBox by supplying all of the beautiful Silk Flowers and Greenery.
