The ‘Cape of Empowerment’ commissioned by PUKKA herbs in 2017. This vibrant cloak adorned with plants and herbs is a celebration of Mother Nature and the divine feminine.
My mission at the very beginning of creating this piece was to celebrate a new range of herbal teas and supplements for women of all ages and to translate my experience of the PUKKA herb garden and the extensive ingredients of this new product range. A wall based artwork didn’t seem an appropriate way to celebrate universal woman, so after seeing ‘Wonder Woman’ (although naff and rather hilarious at times!) I decided with excitement to transform my inspiration into an embroidered cape that would adorn the figure and nurture/ protect and most of all celebrate as many women as possible.
Stitched from the ground up and inspired by many amazing natural, health-giving ingredients, the centrepiece aims to capture all that is powerful and potent about woman kind. This isn’t about superficial beauty, it’s about nurturing individuality, creativity and our connection with Mother Earth.
To encourage a gentle more charismatic femininity, it’s not about sex and celebrity, It’s about the essence of being female and being in touch with your own true nature and authenticity.
Having been deeply influenced by teaching women all around the world, tapping into this amazing sisterhood and realising how much we all have in common, this cape is a joyful celebration of all those women that have been and all those yet to come. Anyone and everyone was welcome to try the cape on and feel like that queen, warrior, nurturer, rockstar; any and all of those wonderful roles that we play. I travelled extensively to various groups to give many women the opportunity to wear it including groups such as the WI, the Brownies, schools, choirs, adult education centres and hospices.
The project totally consumed me and I am proud to say that I photographed over 600 women in the Cape, many of which felt empowered by it and its accumulative energy. I knew that there would be more capes to come as this type of mission gives me a wonderful connection with my audience and gives my embroidered artwork such meaning.
It seems that making capes has become a ‘thing' in my life so onwards on this journey to make a third cape which I hope will enchant many people and inspire creativity wherever it flies.
Use these hashtags on all posts regarding Lou’s cape campaign of creative courage to get involved:
#stitchanacorn #acornarmy #marchmonthouse #flyingacorns #capeofcreativepurpose #lougardiner #comeflywithme #communityacornproject
