Showing posts with label ladies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ladies. Show all posts

Monday 14 March 2016

Wednesday 6 March 2013

Hanging Ladies



Unlike their exhibition, where they were hung in a single row, finally9 Women are hanging on my living room wall, as I had envisioned they would when I created them. 


To view them up close and in more detail, see them on my website here


©Alison Day Designs

Sunday 3 March 2013

Porcelain Favours


Funny how things go sometimes... 

Not being a great lover of newspapers (I generally only see them as fodder for papiermaché pulp, and my artistic creations), I was surprised recently, when in a Dutch local rag (Nieuwsblad van het Noorden), I came across a photo of a 19th century porcelain dog - a Staffordshire Spaniel to be exact - a popular ornament in the Victorian era. The article was entitled: 'Turfstekers en Hoerenhondjes; - 'Peat cutters and Whore dogs'.

Nothing remarkable in that, I hear you bark? Well, co-incidences of co-incidences, I have recently inherited a couple of said beasts, which now sit proudly, if somewhat arrogantly with spoilt little expressions, facing each other from the corners of adjoining book shelves, in my living room.

It is interesting to discover that throughout history, Spaniels (the living ones), have been the pet of choice with royalty. Ladies of the court would often hide them under their skirts to keep their legs warm. Apparently, a black and white, toyCavalier King Charles Spaniel, was found under the skirts of Mary Queen of Scots, shortly after she was beheaded, in 1587.

By the 1720's onwards, the porcelain variety began to be manufactured in Staffordshire potteries, with their popularity increasing throughout Queen Victoria's reign. As a result extra labour - children - were hired to keep up with demand; they helped in the decoration by painting on the whiskers and splotches on the spaniels backs. Generally made in pairs and with no two Spaniel faces alike, the Staffordhire Spaniel became:

...the quintessential Victorian bourgeois status-symbol knick-knack: no mantelpiece was complete without a pair of 
spaniels standing guard.



Apart from their obvious decorative appeal, Victorian brothels would put a pair in their windows, pretending that they were in fact a porcelain shop! 

In modern day windows, hearsay has it that how the dogs are placed is of particular interest to potential clientele - If the dogs face each other, it is a sign that the husband is in the house; if they have their backs to each other, well I think you can guess the rest...


Wednesday 11 May 2011

9 Women


If you missed the 9 Women series (exhibited 1 May - 31 July 2011 in The Netherlands), why not take a look at them: here. They can also be viewed on Behance here


© Alison Day Designs

Tuesday 18 May 2010

Leap Year



What do you get when you cross a kangaroo with a calendar? 
… A leap year!


But seriously, for those of you planning on taking advantage of this year’s leap year, and of course this is directed at you ladies, this is your once in every four years chance to pop the all important question. Of course you should make sure that your ‘man to be’, has given you with ample amounts of chocolate on Valentines Day to get you in the mood. Sorry chaps you do still have a look in with the remaining 365 days this year.


So, just how did a leap year become part of our calendar and the emancipated bending of the female knee?


A leap year came about astronomically because seasons and astronomical events do not repeat a set number of days each year, so if our calendar remained the same each year, eventually it wouldn’t correspond to the seasons or seasonal events at all any more. The Gregorian calendar includes an extra day once every four years, in February, which keeps the matter in check.


Historically in fifth century Ireland women were allowed to make marriage proposals. If the man in question refused he was then fined and compensation could range from a kiss, to £1.00 to paying for a silk dress. Because men found this to be a rather unfair system women were only allowed to propose in leap years.


According to English law, 29 February as a day was considered to have no legal status, existing purely to fix a problem in the calendar. Therefore any prevailing custom shouldn’t either that only allowed men propose marriage.


These days there is a Greek superstition that getting married on a leap year is bad luck so generally couples will avoid planning their weddings on a leap year.


So, if the worst-case scenario becomes a reality and your loved one is not ‘ready’, for the plunge there’s always the possibility of trying again in another four year’s. If this is not a very consolatory thought, just remember that Easter is around the corner. Failing that there are some rather fun chocolate fondue fountains on the market these days, to while away the time.


Artwork Wonder Woman: Terry Dodson

Source: Wikipedia

First published in the Connections magazine #18 Winter 2008