A MEDIEVAL PALETTE: COLOURS OF THE MIDDLE AGES
Today we have access to any colours or materials we could ever want, but historically this has not always been the case. In these workshops we focus on colours and materials found in the medieval era. We explore the diverse cross cultural story behind the colours and how they were sourced from the natural world in the form of minerals, certain plants and even insects. Although there was less of a range of colours available than there is nowadays, what there was could be incredibly vibrant and indeed durable. There is plenty of artwork that survives from this era to attest to this. Working with these historical hues and preparing media following time honoured recipes can increase the appreciation of the world more broadly, forging a deeper connection to the people who came before us.
In these workshops, as with most of our workshops, we connect to these historical colours by seeing and using some of the genuine pigments of the time, pigments formed from the natural world as well as those created through various historical processes.
To bring these pigments to life, we make them into paints using historical mediums, such as the gum from certain trees, before combining them into a palette that authentically reflects the middle ages.
Sometimes we draw upon historical source material to work from. This further enriches the experience of connecting to the past and to a different perspective of the world. Through working in these ways we hope to invite a deeper and more involved way of making and relating to the creation of artwork, continuing a rich cultural legacy that permeates down through the centuries.