Blog post in Historic Royal Palaces learning blog about the doves: http://www.hrp.org.uk/aboutus/whatwedo/OutreachatKensingtonPalace/Recentprojects/pastprojects/RoyalWeddingprojects
I was commissioned by Historic Royal Palaces to work on a commemoration project for Prince William and Kate Middelton’s wedding. The brief was to create something in ceramic that could then be decorated by community participants and displayed in Kensington Palace before ultimately being given to the Royal Couple as a wedding present.
I proposed to create a series of hand-made ceramic doves, finished with a white gloss glaze and decorated with transfers designed by adults from various centres and groups in Kensington and Chelsea.
I worked with three groups; two were invited into Kensington Palace and we met the third in their home in Chelsea. In each instance, we started the session by learning some histories about past Royal Weddings and reminiscing about personal experiences of weddings. We provided an abundance of Royal Wedding memorabilia dating from many famous weddings including Charles and Diana, Princess Margaret and Queen Victoria, and of course the impending wedding of William and Kate. The participants used the source material provided to come up with designs referring to wedding paraphernalia, bells, crowns, tiaras, confetti, coats of arms, the initials of the couple, symbolism, etc.
Even though many of the participants complained about being unable to draw, everyone came up with beautiful, detailed drawings, which I then transformed into ceramic transfers.
The second session involved two activities: applying the transfers to the glazed doves, and creating mini relief doves by press-moulding clay into a plaster mould, an activity designed so that every person would have something to take away with them. These dove reliefs I fired and glazed and presented to the participants during the final party celebration.
The doves themselves were fired again to fix the transfer designs on to them, and are currently on display in Kensington Palace. We made 29 doves, one decorated by each participant, and one for each day of the month of April leading up to the Royal Wedding. After the big day, the doves will be individually packaged up, and when William and Kate open the doves, they will also discover a card handwritten by the artist wishing the couple greetings.
The doves do look gorgeous and it has been estimated that between five and seven thousand people have seen them since they went on display at the beginning of April.
Hi Kay they look fab and can’t wait to see your Open House in Brighton!
Congrats Kay these look great, see you in May!