| Pictures of morris men - et al | |
| My desire to
paint ‘folk dancers’ came upon me in 2006 when I decided to include
more figures in my paintings. I have had a life long interest in folk music and
plenty of opportunity to observe the vibrant and colourful spectacle of dance
teams, be they Border or Cotswold Morris, Mollies or Step or any one of a
number of other dance styles which abound on the folk scene today. Whether
flailing handkerchiefs or scarves, brandishing sticks, swords or ladles their
visual and musical performance is as varied as the costumes and baldrics which
mark out each group as unique. The exuberance with which they hurl themselves
into their dances is uplifting and infectious and it is doubly satisfying to
realise that through their tireless enthusiasm and commitment they are
preserving and prolonging (and often reviving) old and traditional customs. In
my paintings I am attempting to capture the spirit and vitality they exude in
their dance. My hope is that when you look at my pictures you can hear, in your
mind’s ear, the crack of the sticks, the jingle of bells and the rhythmic
pulse of the music played on a range of instruments by musicians as individual
as the dancers themselves. |
|
| Living in Norfolk as I do I am keen to celebrate the rich core of
talent in and around East Anglia and many of my paintings are of local teams
such as 'The King's Morris' at King's Lynn; 'Kemp's Men' of Norwich;
'Fiddlesticks' of Marsham; 'Ely and Littleport Riot' and 'Pig Dyke Mollies' to
name but a few. We are also fortunate to have a number of events where dancers
en mass can be seen including the 'Massed Morris Dancing' in Thornham in
September of each year and the marvellous Strawbear Festival at Whittlesey. The
more involved I get the more it seems to me that folk dance today is going from
strength to strength. In addition to the many sides set up in the 70’s and
80’s are new teams, some traditional some modern but all with a style and
colour of their own. With such a rich and varied core of talent I feel my art
and I cannot help but have an exciting and lifelong relationship with
‘Morris et al’. For more examples of my work visit the website
www.barbaraking.co.uk and click on the morris/dance’ tag. For further information please email bek@barbaraking.co.uk or telephone 01485 525420 or write to me at Peddars, Docking Road, Ringstead, Norfolk PE36 5LA or visit my website at www.barbaraking.co.uk |
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| Crook Morris |  |
| King's Morris |  |
| Ely & Littleport Morris |  |
| Peterborough & King's Morris |  |
| Head to Head, Rutland |  |
| Kemp's Men |  |
| King's Morris Musicians |  |
| Home | |