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POCKETS OF LOVE
A community arts project commemorating the women who were accused of witchcraft during the Scottish witch hunts.
The Witchcraft Act was in law between 1563 – 1736 and around 4000 people were accused of Witchcraft during this period. The Scottish Witch Hunts have been largely forgotten in history and currently there is no memorial commemorating all the women who were accused of Witchcraft in Scotland. This project intends to address this shameful situation.
The aim of this project is to make an embroidered pocket for each woman who was accused of Witchcraft, with her name embroidered on it, as a way of honouring her life and remembering her.
Women’s tie on pockets were in use between the 17th and 19th Centuries and symbolised women’s power and sexuality, It is hoped that the Pockets of Love will eventually be displayed in local museums throughout Scotland forming part of a Witch Hunts memorial trail in Scotland.
I was inspired to create this project having been involved with the Roses from the Heart project, conceived by Christina Henri. This was a memorial project for the woman convicts who were deported to Australia during the 17th and 18th centuries. This project involved the making of around 26,000 embroidered bonnets, and brought together makers from around the world.
I intend to launch the project into the community in 2025 having completed a year of research and development with funding from Creative Scotland.
For more information about Scottish Witch hunts join the Facebook group >
Witches and weeds
At the very beginning of my research into the Scottish Witch Hunts, I was struck by the way labels affect the way we treat something. Sitting in the sunshine in my wild garden surrounded by beautiful wildflowers, it occurred to me that labelling a plant a weed means that generations of people feel that it is okay – desirable even – to eradicate these native wild plants. Likewise, when women were labelled as Witches during the Witch hunts it allowed them to be removed from society and killed.
This led me to decide that each Pocket of Love would be decorated with embroidered wild flowers, symbolising the beauty and uniqueness of each woman who was accused and tried for Witchcraft.
Pockets
Women’s tie-on pockets were in use between the 17th and 19th Centuries and symbolised women’s power and sexuality. They were large, flat bags that tied about the waist and were generally worn beneath the skirt but over petticoats. Inhabiting this liminal space, they contained a woman’s most precious and useful items, anything from love letters to embroidery scissors, charms and money. At a time when women were not able to own property, the contents of their pockets were the only things they could truly call their own.
I was lucky enough to study two original 17th Century pockets held in the Glagow Museums collection. I have based the pattern for all of the Pockets of Love on one of these pockets which was made in Dundee.
I have chosen to make a Pocket of Love for Jonette Boyd, a woman who was accused of Witchcraft close to where I live. Her trial date was 6th April 1658. Almost 400 years later, in April 2023, as I walked through the place that she had lived I noticed the Celandines were flowering and the Ivy was bearing berries. Ravens were cawing overhead. It struck me that these would have been the last flowers she would have seen and the last birds she would have heard as she was taken away to her trial.
I have chosen Celandines to represent Jonette on her Pocket of Love.
Ravens
As I was approaching the end of my research for the Pockets of Love project, I realised that I hadn’t addressed the darkness at the heart of the Witch hunts story. It’s really important to me that each woman is commemorated for the unique person that she was and the full and rich life that she lived, and not simply reduced to the status of victim. However, it is also important to me that the way these women were persecuted not be overlooked.
Raven called to me and told me that they would carry the darkness of the women’s stories, and so I came to make two life size Ravens in textile sculpture. These Ravens carry the projections of “Witch” onto the women. “Deliver Us From Evil” carries the projections of their persecutors, and “#Witchy” carries the projection of our own stories and what we need and take from the accused women.
Connect with like minded people
Come and join us on on Facebook, where I share posts about art, feminism & the Witch hunts, as well as posting updates on the Witches Stitches: Pockets of Love project. I’ll make announcements here when the Pockets of Love project launches in 2025.
“As a witch, this project makes me feel very warm and appreciative!! Best of luck with it all and I can’t wait to see all the pockets of love!!” – Claire, Facebook
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I invite you to take a gentle stroll with me through the changing seasons. I’ve embarked on a slow project to make an artist’s book of the Wheel of the Year. Sign up to my mailing list to see the project unfold and get inspired to respond creatively to the Earth’s natural cycles.
You’ll receive an email from me once or twice per festival period, reflecting on the energy of the changing seasons and sharing the work in progress on the book. I’ll also share with you news from my studio and updates about the Witches Stitches: Pockets of Love project.
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