Worker ants!!!

 Continuing with the ant as the worker.

I've used a few decorative techniques. With common images from the house and have quite a strong idea of the blue, white and gold colour way and decorative aesthetic.

I want to apply meaning withing the work, I  want to move forward with the ant symbol, the working class, the essential workers during the pandemic, taking this common, overlooked "pest" and making a very decorative and decadent tribute to display amongst the wealth and privilege of a stately home.

Thinking about the teapot and of course sugar that ants love and the link back to the heritage of the house and the money from the sugar plantation and exploitation of the people. Also thinking about the link to the service industry and my own work history within the house.

The idea behind these images is the ant is of the willow pattern design, using a more abstract take on the willow design from my earlier experiments. I really like the effect and the colour this produces.

I've used just gold marker here as a halo ( in a finished piece it would be gold leaf) to symbolise wealth and power but also in references to the saints, the religious origins of the Abbey and generally looking at the distribution of wealth, especially within establishments that are supposed to be for the people and the historical cycle of privilege, power and exploitation. 

If I progress this idea to a final piece I would use gold leaf like I used for the tree branches in an earlier experiment as the coulour is so much richer and will give a more authentic result.

I want to add references to sugar maybe from a simple sugar cube, or maybe making a physical sugar bowl and applying the ant motif to it.