Back in May I visited Strata Florida (Latin for ‘Vale of Flowers)- an old abbey that was built in the 13th century. The setting is absolutely beautiful and so peaceful.
Most of it is naturally ruined, but you can still see some of the incredible decorative tiles, that would have covered the floors of the church.
Just imagine the craftmanship that would have gone into these! It was amazing to see them fairly well preserved and difficult to convince my 4-year-old not to jump all over them.
So, this is where I took the inspiration for my medieval tile print from. You’ll recognise a griffin – a favourite decorative motif in the middle ages – a lion’s body with an eagle’s head. I’ve also thrown a few more creatures in the mix: a unicorn (inspired by aforementioned 4 year-old), a fish, a squirrel and a rabbit. Here is the plate fully carved:
And here is the printed version. I finally settled on a rich purply-brown colour and printed it onto 220gsm Fabriano paper. I printed these at my local printmaking studio using a proper press, rather than handburnishing them at home. It means I can use thicker paper, which works better with this print in my opinion.
I really enjoyed creating this print, there is something so satisfying about carving multiple sections that make up a whole. I briefly considered cutting out the individual tiles and printing them with different colours, but I’ve given up on this very ambitious idea – for now!
I do hope you enjoy this print. Let me know in the comments if you have a favourite tile!
Thanks for reading,
Paula
Paula Weninger Art 