Joan the Wad Painting

Joan the Wad, queen of the lucky Cornish piskeys, is also sometimes described as a will o the wisp. She is associated with fire and light, as Wad rhymes with mad and is a colloquial term for a torch or bundle of straw. A booklet from 1871 includes the poem Jack-the-lantern, Joan-the-wad, That tickled the maid and made her mad, Light me home, the weather's bad. Metal figurines of Joan are popular as lucky charms. My painting is based on a 1920s brass pipe tamper - fitting for her association with fire. As represented in the pipe tamper, Joan reminds me of Sheela Na Gig, with her big smile.