In the long nights when the fire dims and the snow presses hard against windowpanes, she walks the thresholds between warmth and wilderness.
Her eyes glint as she measures the year's labour: the wool untwined, the hearth left cold, the chores undone.
For those who spun the threads, fed the old neighbours, lit the candles of welcome, she leaves silver coins and a breeze of blessed air.
But for the others, those who failed to accomplish their work, the hands that dared to rest while winter raged, the house creaks and the shadows deepen.
She enters with her rusty shears, slits open the belly of the lazy, stuffs it with straw and stone.
Perchta also known in various regions as Berchta or Frau Perchta is a figure from Alpine winter folklore. Part guardian, part punisher, she appears during the darkest nights of the year to judge the household’s work, generosity, and discipline. She is winter’s honest mirror; harsh, fair, and unforgettable.
I’ve always been fascinated by winter spirits, those who walk the line between blessing and fear.
The embodiment of Perchta is a collaborative work that I was lucky enough to make with Charles from Chuck’s Curiosities.
It all started with a concept and a sketch;
From those quick drawings Chuck started to bring her to life in clay, shaping her cheekbones, forming a crooked nose and sunken eyes.
Then Perchta’s face was casted in latex and skillfully painted to echo the colors from the original idea. Layer by layer her bruised and frosbit skin started to form.
In the meantime I worked on the costume, it was designed to feel ancient, warm and ghostly.
And when she finally stepped into the snow with her mask, cloak, and rusted shears, it felt as though Perchta herself had crossed through the veil. Here she is, walking once again through the winter dark.
