Saint Catherine:

Patron Saint of Lace makers

This illustration was created as part of the 'Legacy of Lace' residency celebrating the lace making industry in Erewash. 

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Saint Catherine, of the wheel, was a philosopher and mystic who refused the marriage proposal of an emperor. She was ordered to death by being broken on a wheel, but the wheel broke, by supposed divine intervention.

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Of course, due to the nature of the project, Saint Catherine is bedecked in lace using patterns designed by the first female lace textile designer. She holds a feather to demonstrate her scholarship, and the red cord around her throat shows how she was eventually killed by being beheaded. The wheel forms a halo in the background with the holy dove flying from the broken section, The lavender in her hair is also a link to the lace makers who used to make a special lavender cake on Saint Catherine's day.

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The colours used, the green and purple, also linked to the suffragettes and women's rights. There was also a link to my Joan of arc piece as Catherine was one of the saints who spoke to her in her visions; and the sword she found was behind the alter of Saint Catherine's church in France. Hence the sword in the bottom right.