They Shall Grow Not Old is a new piece of work featuring darning and repair, and my red hand embroidered text.
The artwork is based around my love of poetry and features the poem For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon. born in Lancashire, England 1869.
For the Fallen
For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon, was first published in The Times, London, September 21, 1914.
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, England mourns for her dead across the sea. Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit, Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill; death august and royal Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres, There is music in the midst of desolation And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young, Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow. They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted; They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again; They sit no more at familiar tables of home; They have no lot in our labour of the day-time; They sleep beyond england’s foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound, Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight, To the innermost heart of their own land they are known As the stars are known to the night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust, Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain; As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness, To the end, to the end, they remain.
Darning and Repair
A used and well worn table runner became the starting point for the artwork. The cloth was thread bear in places and the embroidery was starting to disintegrate.
My first task was to repair the fragile cloth and for this I chose a vintage Coats crochet thread.
Larger holes were backed with scraps of silk, linen and cotton cloth, before stitches were woven through to strengthen the cloth.
The final stage was hand embroidering the text with red Aurifil thread and adding a tab top and bottom made from an old pillowcase.
The piece is 114 x 38cm and will be on exhibition this November, the month we commemorate our lost and fallen servicemen.