Coffee and Canvas

The Four Seasons · Winter · Members’ workshop 1

A gift for every mother who came through

The birth trays of Florence

Six hundred years ago in Florence, a woman who came safely through childbirth received a very special present: a desco da parto, or birth tray. Beautifully painted, often on both sides, it was carried to her bedside piled with sweets, food and wine. Afterwards it hung in the family home for years as a treasured keepsake.

Many art historians believe these trays helped make the tondo, a round painting, the height of fashion in 15th-century Florence. That link with childbirth probably explains why mother and child became the best-loved subject for a tondo.

Botticelli and the Madonna of the Magnificat

Sandro Botticelli, the painter of The Birth of Venus, made round Madonnas something of a speciality. In the Madonna of the Magnificat, one of his most beautiful, Mary writes the Magnificat, her song of thanks from the Gospel of Luke, while angels lower a crown of stars onto her head. The child on her lap holds a pomegranate, an old symbol of life. Everything glows with lapis blue and real gold.

Your own birth tray

In this workshop you’ll make your own tondo in clay and canvas: a twisted clay border like a carved frame, a crown of moulded stars, a little open book and a pomegranate, all finished in gold acrylic and shimmering foil. In the book, you’ll write your own song: a name, a date, or a few words for someone you love.

Who is it for? Any mother, for any child: the child in your arms, a baby on the way, a child you’re apart from, a child you lost, or your own mother. You can even make it for yourself. Every mother who came through deserves a gift.

What you’ll need

• A round canvas, 25–30cm (a canvas board or deep-edge canvas works best), and a small table easel
• Lightweight air-dry clay, and silicone moulds for stars, roses and fruit
• Acrylic paints in blue, white, crimson and sage, plus gold acrylic
• Gold foil flakes, gilding size or PVA glue, and a gold paint pen
• Strong craft glue, and matte or gloss varnish

If you’re affected by domestic abuse, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline is free and open 24/7 on 0808 2000 247. For support after the death of a baby, call Sands on 0808 164 3332.