Plans and Morris

Friday:
-prepare materials for dye bath (grate a truck load of beets... Sumac etc)
-do a mini test on the materials found on shopping excursion.
-try to get the awful smell of moth balls and "old" out of the killer raw silk curtains.
-doodle

Catou and I were talking about how our project was lacking a little something. I mean its all fine and dandy to mash up beets and upholster our chairs with the dyed fabric... But... What else?

We needed more of a connection between the our materials and the visual representation we would print on our fabrics (if we ever find a plausible sustainable means to screen print, sheesh).

Let me sidetrack and introduce you to my idol... my first love... the darling William Morris!

Short story:
An interior designer, book printer, staunch socialist, famous and prolific poet, weaver, embroiderer, dyer, calligrapher, translator,
businessman, and architectural preservationist. William Morris is said to be the father of the Arts and Crafts movement of the late nineteenth century. This movement was made up of English designers and writers who returned to well-made, handcrafted goods in response to mass-produced, poor quality machine made items brought on by
British industrialization.

Morris set up his own design firm with fellow pre-Raphaelite artists called Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co in 1861. They produced everything from furniture and jewelery, to textiles and wallpaper. The firm began modestly, offering decorative furnishings to churches and homes. As it continued to expand, it found commercial success with their innovative patterns for wallpaper and and textiles for which Morris is now famous.

Right. So... I wrote that in first year... and I still aspire to be a modern Jill of all trades. But apart from that.. William Morris had an incredible respect his materials. He often used vegetable dyes in his print making and textile oeuvres. He made homage to them in his fine damask and floral ornamentation. However, he made a point that as a mere man... he could never attempt to realistically represent the beauty and perfection that only nature can produce.

So... We're no William Morris' however we've found inspiration in our own materials. Safflower, beet roots, sumac and onions offer themselves as gorgeous points of departure for line work and studies of form. We have a lot on our plate with the dyeing..printing.. sewing etc... However, if all goes well we would like to make an onion lamp or chandelier and maybe some beautiful sumac and turmeric pillows.


Ps... so does...anyone..read this out there?