Folklore Workshop – Frau Perchta

Each Tuesday afternoon workshop will centre around the myth or folklore topic of that week. The aim will be to discuss ideas surrounding that belief or narrative and to come up with a finished piece using any of the methods and materials that are available. You will have access to paper/card, printing materials (linocut, block, mono or collagraph), paints, drawing materials, 3D resources (clay, paper mache, wire, wool), paints and other bits and pieces. You will have an experienced artist to help you develop your ideas and produce your artwork.

Frau Perchta is an ancient, dual-natured Alpine winter goddess and folklore figure from southern Germany and Austria. Her name likely derives from the Old High German word perat (meaning “the bright one”), and she serves as a powerful symbol of the dark, unforgiving winter. Perchta embodies a dramatic duality, often appearing as a beautiful, glowing woman in white in some tales, and as a terrifying, ragged crone with an iron nose and a limp in others. Legends say she travels from house to house inspecting homes to see if chores are completed and if children are well-behaved. The Good leave her an offering of traditional porridge, and she will reward you with a small silver coin. If she finds unfinished chores or disobedient children, she is infamously known as the “Belly-Slitter” (or Bauchaufschneiderin). According to the gruesome myth, she slits open the stomachs of the lazy, removes their entrails, and stuffs them with rocks and straw. Beyond visiting individual homes, Frau Perchta is believed to act as a psychopomp, guiding the souls of deceased children. She leads a spectral entourage of spirits and the souls of the dead across the winter sky—a localized version of the “Wild Hunt”. In the Alpine regions, this entourage evolved into the Perchten, traditional costumed figures with carved wooden masks that parade through towns to banish the winter cold, which still survive today as a key part of regional Alpine traditions.