Helen White
Art Forms
Painting
Exhibition and News
Helen will be taking part in the Annual Exhibition of the Royal Miniature Society at the Bankside Gallery in London, SE1 9JH. 26th June – 6th July 2024.
Biography
Helen was born and educated in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, where she still lives. After working free-lance as a calligrapher and illuminator for many years, she studied at The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts in London, gaining a Master’s Degree, with Distinction, in Traditional Arts. She now works as an illuminator and ceramicist, and is delighted to be able to share her work in a new way in ‘A Place of Grace’, which is her first book.
Helen’s work is characterised by precision and detail. Illumination is the use of gold (or other metal), in either leaf or powdered form; it is applied with the techniques that were used in medieval manuscripts. The addition of tiny semi-precious jewels help to contribute a ‘medieval richness’ to the work.
Inspiration for Helen’s work comes from medieval art, nature and her Christian faith. Through adopting and adapting ideas and principles from medieval sources and natural forms, she aims to make works that are beautiful and give pleasure to the viewer, while also expressing Christian truths. Visual quotations from medieval tiles, stained glass, fabrics, wood- and stone-carving, as well as manuscripts, are translated into illuminations.
The principles and practice of geometry are an important part of Helen’s work, and they bring harmony and beauty to a composition. Medieval craftsmen saw geometry as a reflection of the beauty of Divine order in Creation. Indeed, geometry underpins Creation from the tiniest flower (and smaller) to the movement of the planets. The patterns of traditional art reflect nature, and their foundations are the same geometry that is the basis of the natural world.