All Shall Be Well


This piece was a commissioned image of the 14th century mystic Julian of Norwich. I absolutely loved researching and making it. It's about light and love.

After receiving near-death visions of Christ in 1373, Mother Julian recorded her experiences in Divine Revelations of Love, the first book written in English by a woman. For much of her life she lived in seclusion in a cell attached to St Julian's Church, Norwich- her real name is not known for certain.

As a person of no faith, the glowing positivity of Julian of Norwich's personal faith was indeed a revelation to me. In historical context her ideas were risky, but in authorship she framed them in ways acceptable to the prevailing religious doctrines, the clever lady. AND she had a cat...

The piece is worked in layers of raw edged applique in cotton, organza and paper with machine and hand embroidery. I used rectangles to represent the pages of her books of revelations, and lots of yellows, golds and silvers. There's even a bit of sequinned net in there which is pure Disney Princess but why not, right? The stone walls of her cell are represented by the greys and blues. I've tried to express the feeling of liberation of her mind and soul that her revelations gave her, even though her body was walled in.

Her most famous quote 'all shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well' is hand stitched in gold and silver metallic thread, and the cat in beautiful bronze.

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