Sarah Poland
Under A Northern Sky
hand made book, poem and artist prints
Sarah Poland was drawn to the work of Elizabeth Forbes who
was not typical of the Newlyn School with her portrayals of
children and domestic life. Forbes was excited by Medievalism
and the pre-Raphaelite, movement, which might perhaps have
been a form of escape from the somewhat grim realities of
the industrial revolution.
She wrote and illustrated King Arthur's Wood, which can be
viewed at Penlee House Gallery and Museum. A fairy story for
children, it is a book that clearly draws on both the landscape
in which she lived and loved, and the people that she knew.
It is a work of excitement, magic and learning for children,
and Poland chose it because, in many ways, it parallels aspects
of her own practice. Her desire is to perpetuate this kind
of energy for the place in which we live, with its personal
and particular mythologies.
In her own search for truth, Poland attempts to express her
own interpreted experience of landscape, romance, memory and
folklore. She has seen Lineage as an opportunity to show other
aspects of her working practice, aside from oil painting.
Under A Northern Sky comprises a poem and a collection of
artist prints (drypoint-etching, linocut and embossing), which
come together as a limited edition, hand-made book.
Poland is also showing a copy of this hand made book at Penlee
House Gallery and Museum near to an original copy of King
Arthur’s Wood- the book which inspired her.
King Arthur’s Wood by Elizabeth
Stanhope Forbes; on show at Penlee House
Collection of Penlee House Gallery and Museum
