Pendragan Art Studio

Here’s my latest work, in praise of medicinal plants . This was originally inspired by Kapka Kassabova’s extraordinary book, Elixir, part of her Balkan Quartet.

In her compelling picture of herb gatherers and their history, she describes how unscrupulous actors have sought to portray herbs as weeds and healers as witches, denying us our birthright of connection to natural healing . My composition expresses my wish to redress that state of affairs and re-frame healing plants with the reverence they deserve.

The plants are hand-embroidered on hand-painted silk in 21 separate pieces, with the frame embroidered and beaded in a single, separate layer of bronze silk, the ensemble mounted on olive green velvet.

It started from a sketch in late May, with the design inspired by medieval altar pieces in the Venetian-Adriatic style (Paolo Veneziano in particular). I spent happy months experimenting with different ways of embroidering the frame and then late summer in the Dalmatian archipelago with the bliss of stitching flowers by the sea…. I finally completed it last week.

References for the flowers came from my walks in Devon and Dalmatia, and books by Marjorie Blamey & Christopher Grey-Wilson, Wild Flowers of the Mediterranean, and W.Keble Martin, The Concise British Flora in Colour.

Information about the healing properties of plants came from various sources and personal experience. I owe thanks to The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies by Nicole Apelian & Claude Davis, and Napiers The Herbalist in Edinburgh.

Here is the list of medicinal plants in “Saving Graces,” names left to right.

Top row

 Cleavers (Galium aparine ); Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans )

Row 2

Herb Robert (Geranium robertianum ); Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) ; St Johns Wort (Hypericum perforatum); Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica ); Dog rose (Rosa canina ); Red clover (Trifolium pratense ); Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris ); Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium); Sheep’s sorrel (Rumex acetosella ); Borage (Borago officinalis )

Row 3

Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus ); Valerian (Valeriana rubra ); Milk thistle (Silybum marianum); Calendula (Calendula officinalis)

Bottom Row

Marshmallow (Althaea officinalis); Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale ); Mullein (Verbascum Thapsus ); Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna )

Main picture

Love in a mist (Nigella sativa); Yarrow (Achillea millefolium );Wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca )

“Saving Graces” will be on view at Delamore Arts Exhibition in May 2026.

I am currently working on two slightly smaller pieces. Commissions are invited, please contact me if interested.