Lionheart at Chatsworth

[Image via Chatsworth] 

 [Detail of handmade lion from Richardson's Lionheart Project.]

Late last night I received the new issue of Selvedge. While combing through the calender listings at the back of the magazine, I noticed a one-sentence mention of The Lionheart Project. As a kid I was obsessed with African animals, and of course as an adult I'm interested in textiles, so the words crocheted lions were enough to capture my attention even without an accompanying image. Immediately I headed over to the Lionheart site.

Turns out, artist (aka crochetdermist) Shauna Richardson's three larger-than-life hand-crocheted lions go on public display today at Chatsworth. The traveling piece is part of London's 2012 Cultural Olympiad in the East Midlands. After touring through the UK, the lions will arrive in London, at the Natural History Museum, just in time for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.      

At first, these contemporary, free-style crochet and steel creatures made me think Deyrolle but Richardson's stylized animals are intended to evoke the strong wool-producing and textile-manufacturing heritage of the East Midlands as well as Richard the Lionheart's three-lion crest.

Learn more about Richardson's work, and other locally crafted pieces, in the V & A's Power of Making video.