A Christmas Carol

A Christmas project bringing seasonal, uplifting art to the windows of local shops and businesses in Lancaster city centre. December 2021.

About this project - A Christmas project bringing seasonal, uplifting art to the windows of local shops and businesses in Lancaster city centre. December 2021.

Artists were invited to submit and create designs around the themes explored in ‘A Christmas Carol’, the novella written by Charles Dickens.

I composed a design around the themes of time, plenty, generosity and kindness. Through the Ghost of Christmas Present, Dickens explores feelings of warmth, food, plentifulness, nature, light, celebration, giving and sharing. I conveyed this feeling of plentifulness through images of food, candles, seasonal greenery and gifts - drawing on Victorian imagery from the Victorian period.

I made ‘to scale’ paper templates in my studio, and rehearsed drawing and paintbrush marks on my windows at home. This preparation meant I could be confident of my approach once I was on site and in the freezing cold! I was really pleased with how this project turned out. I loved the process - from design through to making a public artwork in our city centre and I’d love to do more of this kind of work.