Form of Intrigue Sculpture by Laura Ellen Bacon: Rapunzelian Cascade of Ash Twigs at Sudeley Castle

In 2010 Sotheby's, a multinational corporation revered worldwide as an art and jewelry broker, began a successful collaboration of outdoor selling exhibitions with historic, medieval Sudeley Castle in southwestern England's picturesque Cotswolds. With the textures of its fifteenth century walls, its historic associations with England's tempestuous Tudor period, and the storied beauty of its grounds, Sudeley Castle serves as a spectacular setting for Sotheby's attention-getting exhibitions.

Nevertheless, the sense of history imparts joy rather than tragedy, for beautiful Catherine Parr (1512 - September 5, 1548), the last queen of England's controversial, enigmatic king, Henry VIII (June 28, 1491 - January 28, 1547), is buried in the Castle's chapel. A three-day feast to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the defeat of the Spanish Armada (August 8, 1588) was held in 1592 at Sudeley Castle and attended by Queen Elizabeth I (September 7, 1533 - March 24, 1603). Scars and ruins attest to cannonading in 1649 by Cromwell's army during the English Civil War (1642 - 1651) which pitted Roundheads (supporters of Parliament) against Cavaliers (royalist supporters of King Charles I [November 19, 1600 - January 30, 1649]) in a challenge to the divine right theory of kingship. Also, reports of gentle haunting add an intriguing, but not frightening, note of mystery to the building and its grounds: the Lady in Green, thought to be Catherine Parr, has been seen standing at a window or walking in the Queen's garden.

The second year's exhibition, entitled Material Worlds, featured innovative sculptures by eleven leading artists and designers. Of two artworks specifically commissioned for the 2011 exhibition, one, entitled "Form of Intrigue," was designed and created by Laura Ellen Bacon (born 1976), whose medium tends to be organic materials, usually woven wood. Based in Derbyshire, in central England, Laura often creates onsite sculptures for cityscape, interior, and landscape settings.

Laura's inspiration derives from nature's artistic cocoons and nestings created by animals, birds, and insects. Her fascination with the creative expression of nature's ways through wood is grounded in a childhood of glorious revels on her family's fruit farm in which her preferred pastime was building tree houses and dens. The vibrancy of Laura's wooden materials elegantly conveys calm and organic growth, concepts which seem crucial to the sculptress's artistry.

From a chaos of twigs, Laura weaves a structure which creates a quiet space, usually in conjunction with a host structure, such as stone walls or trees. Often the interior of the sculpture may be glimpsed. Sometimes, however, Laura weaves from the inside to the outside and then seals the opening, so that the interior landscape remains her secret space. Such was her design of "Forms of Growth," woven from bamboo, oak, and "Flanders Red" willow, at stately Chatsworth in England's East Midlands region.

"Form of Intrigue" was valued at £6,000 ($9,660) in 2011. Unaided by assistants and perched on scaffolding for inaccessible areas, Laura painstakingly wove her creation within just over a week's time. The intricate weaving features ash twigs. Influential arts curator Janice Blackburn (born 1949) compared the effect of the sculpture, draped around an enormous, gaping, shelled window of Sudeley Castle's ruins, to the cascade of Rapunzel's gorgeous hair down the forbidding walls of the tower in which she is hidden.

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

westward aerial view of Sudeley Castle
Sudeley Parish, Gloucestershire, South West England: Wiebe de Jager (Wdejager), CC BY SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aerial_photo_of_Sudeley_Castle.jpg

Sudeley Castle's chapel, St. Mary's, is the burial place of Catherine Parr (1512-September 5, 1548), sixth and last wife of Henry VIII (June 28, 1491 - January 28, 1547).
Sudeley Parish, south of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, South West England: Gordon Robertson (Gordon M Robertson), CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/8834193@N07/5627973997

portrait of Catherine Parr (1512-September 5, 1548): married to Henry VIII (June 28, 1491 - January 28, 1547) as his sixth and last wife on July 12, 1543; buried at Sudeley Castle, the venue for Sotheby's 2011 exhibition, "Material Worlds"
Catherine Parr is thought to be the "Lady in Green" who haunts the Queen's garden at Sudeley Castle.
portrait by unknown 16th to 17th century artist; National Trust, Seaton Delaval Hall, Northumberland, North East England: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Queen_Catherine_Parr.jpg

"Form of Intrigue", woven ash sculpture by Laura Ellen Bacon staged at Sudeley Castle 2011
The artist, Laura Ellen Bacon, with her work: jennicatpink, CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/84752760@N00/5965964523/

Arts curator Janice Blackburn analogizes Laura Ellen Bacon's "Form of Intrigue" sculpture to Rapunzel's gorgeous cascade of hair.
second in "Fairytales" series (preceded by Snow White, followed by Beauty and the Beast): GettysGirl4260, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/25900410@N06/3386318794

Queens' Gardens at Sudeley Castle is haunted by a "Lady in Green" who is thought to be Catherine Parr, sixth and last wife of Henry VIII.
Queens' Garden honors four Queens of England (Anne Boleyn, Katherine Parr, Lady Jane Grey, Elizabeth I).: jennicatpink from Lechlade, United Kingdom, CC BY SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sudeley_Castle_Queen's_Garden_(2551357063).jpg; jennicatpink, CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/jennicatpink/2551357063/

ruins and famous Knot Garden at Sudeley Castle, venue for Sotheby's 2011 exhibition "Material Worlds"
Knot Garden's design inspired by Elizabeth I's dress in An Allegory of the Tudor Succession (ca. 1590); South Hall, Sudeley Castle: Gordon Robertson (Gordon M Robertson), CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/8834193@N07/5627973963

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• Available at:  http://www.contemporist.com/2013/03/20/the-sculptural-work-of-laura-ellen-bacon/

Bacon, Laura Ellen. "Willow, Weave for Me." Country Life (January 11, 2012): 36 - 39. Retrieved November 5, 2014.

• Available at: lauraellenbacon.com/Documents/willow_weaving_laura_ellen_bacon_country_life_jan_2011.pdf

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• Available at: www.lauraellenbacon.com/documents/231ja11fe-bacon-gl3_layout%201.pdf

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• Available at: http://www.uluv.sk/sk/web/casopis-rud/archiv/rok-2012/rud-022012/symbioza-architektury-a-prutia-o-tvorbe-laury-ellen-bacon/

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• Available at: https://investor.shareholder.com/bid/releases.cfm?Year=2010&ReleasesType=&PageNum=28