Julie James Turner- Exploring textile samples

Julie James-Turner

This is my first post so I'm going to share my poem with you, its by Christina Rossetti the sister of Dante Gabriel Rossetti the Pre-Raphaelite artist working in the mid 1800s. Christina wrote poetry and short stories and was a really interesting character, she was eventually diagnosed with 'Graves disease' and this seemed to liberate her from the prospect of getting married, the expected route. So she could concentrate on her true love, literature. I find some of her poetry so melancholy and spiritual, creating strong visuals and emotions. It also has a very personal and powerful resonance for me as a source of comfort and acceptance of loss.

Song – Christina Rossetti

When I am dead, my dearest

Sing no sad songs for me;

Plant thou no roses at my head

Nor shady cypress tree

Be the green grass above me

With showers and dewdrops wet:

And if thou wilt, remember,

And if thou wilt, forget.

I shall not see the shadows,

I shall not feel the rain;

I shall not hear the Nightingale sing on as if in pain:

And dreaming through the twilight

That doth not rise nor set,

Haply I may remember,

And haply may forget

So far I have been exploring the figure through garments and I want to create an ethereal beauty that evokes a twilight world. I ve being experimenting with black veiling net and yarns and embroidery.