IN SEARCH OF THE SYBILS… with artist Jill Carter

Jill Carter in her studio

My earlier works were inspired by the need to stitch myself back together after the demanding social engagement art projects, and the witnessing and holding of many people’s stories.  I decided to allow a reflective time which prompted the quiet making a series of badly stitched small textile panels which came together as a mixed media not-a-book, Dreaming & Stitching in the Kitchen, for which I was awarded the RWA Theresa Knowles Travel Bursary. 

Dreaming and Stitching in the Kitchen by Jill Carter

The journey to Italy was informed by a search for the Sybils - mysterious women storytellers and inspired a subsequent chapter of contemplative into making mixed media one-off artworks. 

Interested in the notion of pilgrimage, I visited the Sybilline mountains region of Le Marche, churches, chapels and museums, and Lake Orta (The Lake of Silence), with a boat ride across to make the meditative walk around the tiny silent retreat island with plaques on the walls “Listen to the silence” and “The walls are in your mind”. 

The Sybils by Jill Carter

Whilst travelling I collected small iconic pieces and every day memorabilia, and documented events in her travel journal.  Gifted time in an artist’s studio, I created a large inky painting The Sybils.  On return to the UK I was given residency in the RWA, and continued to make totemic figures and work inspired by the notion of women being the keepers of the books of knowledge.  If you have travelled to Rome, you may have seen the Michelangelo paintings of the women depicted on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, if not, do go and take a peek!