A grey-sky day slowly peeled back by mid-afternoon to reveal beautiful blue sky and high mountains with patches of snow. Following a slow late lunch of polenta and other local cuisine we prepped our bags and headed for the hills. Most people were coming down from the mountain as we started to climb, but we were well prepared, with tummies full ready for the walk upwards, not quite sure how far we’d get or how far we would see, but willing to make the most of the fine weather.
Walking in this sort of landscape can be overwhelming seeing as we live in the famously flat county of Norfolk. The vast scale of the mountains and the views stretching across the valley grabbed our attention initially. The purple greys and intense greens of the mountain sides played with the ever-shifting fluffy pale clouds. As we climbed along with the vastness of the mountain hues it was the pockets of colour, highlights of white, patches of sunshine yellow, pinks and mauves, acid green and deep crimsons and blue that competed as I put one foot in front of the other in the steep ascent. As we climbed new flowers became our companions beside the path, in the nooks and crannies of the rocks and high on the mountain pass.
Edelweiss and buttercups, scabious and azalea amongst plenty of others I was not familiar with. Although late in the summer there was so much colour to enjoy as there had been a very wet spell a few weeks before. Looking back up the valley as we drove back along the valley there was no sign of the colours we had walked amongst, but we knew they were there, ready for others to enjoy.
A dear old school friend of mine has turned 50 and to celebrate her birthday I designed and printed a small book to celebrate some of the many memories we have shared over the years. The book had 50 pages that referenced everything from an all day breakfast, to a game of Sorry, to her love of the band A-Ha! I also included some references to design classics I knew she’d love, including Mr Tickle, Marimekko’s Unikko design, andAlexander Girard doll and a Barbara Hepworth sculpture. She’s an architect so there are building details and she’s a lover of handbags so there are a few of those, and plenty of printed pattern!
It was suggested to me by my wise husband that I use the reduction lino-cutting technique – I hadn’t used it for some years, so it took a while to get my head around what I needed to keep and what I needed to cut away after each layer. I opted for three layers: yellow, blue then red, but also customised a square to be green for a Lego tree, and a specific blue for the Cornishware pottery – I made the extra effort – she’s a special friend!
Although it was a very tricky project carried out across the busiest few weeks of this year I really enjoyed the challenge of the reduction lino and am sure I’ll go back to the process in the not too distant future.
A precious holiday to Greece in the early summer has provided plenty of nourishment for my creativity, as well as excellent down-time, walking and eating. It’s just taken me a long time to get this post together!
I’ve been creating photographic records of artefacts collected on holidays for some time – a great way of remembering the specifics of a walk without having to bring it all home! I’ve also enjoyed creating composite images to represent experiences over the years, some featured on the posts here, so I’ve done the same for Greece.
We visited the Cyclades, and specifically the islands of Santorini and Sifnos. The night on Santorini was for old-time’s sake, and the stay on Sifnos was to get to know an island we’d not been to before. It is a beautiful island, with lots to explore – I’d love to go back to one day!
Here’s a collection of precious finds from the 70+km of walks across Sifnos on their excellent trails, some very prickly! As marble was everywhere I thought it appropriate to use the marble table by our room as the background surface:
First up with the composite images – colour:
Next up: pattern, material & finish, including Greek yoghurt and honey of course:
Part of my academic role at Norwich University of the Arts is dedicated to my research practice, exploring new knowledge in pattern and print design. Following on from the publication of my book I’ve been keen to get out in to industry and expand my practical experience of print production methods that could enable new ways of designing repeating patterns for paper and cloth. These visits also provide excellent opportunities for me to develop ideas for curriculum changes in the undergraduate course I lead, BA (Hons) Textile Design at Norwich University of the Arts, to ensure our graduates are competitive in securing roles on graduation.
A couple of years ago I spoke to Director of Ivo Textiles Limited, Suzie Zatka-Haas following her visit to our stand at New Designers, a graduate showcase held annually in London. She was keen to understand the best way to promote opportunities in the company to graduates and we discussed the right terms and definitions to ensure textiles students were attracted to the roles. We also discussed the skills they value at Ivo’s and how we can ensure students understand the potential roles open to them, (we have had a Norwich graduate work at Ivo’s for the last few years). We are both passionate about printed cloth and Suzie invited me to visit the factory when I could fit it in around my teaching schedule.
Fast-forward two years and I managed to secure some funding to spend two days onsite at Ivo’s to understand more about the technical constraints of the different printing processes they offer to clients. Suzie was brilliant in making this happen, being open to allowing me in to the factory to learn more. This felt very exciting but I wasn’t fully sure what I’d be able to help with although I offered to assist with anything. I was armed with my printing apron and old clothes—following advice from Suzie!—as well as my sketchbook of design ideas for my current research project in case I had time to talk it through with anyone.
The day before my visit I’d spent the afternoon with Marthe Armitage (blog post here) in her much smaller set-up so I knew this was going to be a contrast. Walking on to a large industrial estate in west London with huge lorries thundering by, the only clue of what was going on inside number 3 were some screen frames leaning up against the outside wall awaiting collection. I was greeted at Reception and my name had made it on to the board for the day.
Once the health and safety briefing was over I was led through the factory, trying to take it all in: sights, sounds and smells, and I was re-introduced to Maisie, one of Ivo’s designers that I’d met at New Designers last year. She was to be my host for my stay and ensure I didn’t do anything silly, like wander off and put my hands in the machines. I’m incredibly grateful to Maisie for her time and interest in what I am doing. We discussed university training, the Ivo design studio set-up and then I shared with her my project. It is so useful to talk it through with different people as they all bring ways of looking and new questions.
A full tour of the factory was next. There is a vast supply of cloth and screens in every space imaginable, alongside huge machines, some in action and some not, as the job list requires. The colouration department was a room of inks and colour swatches, and the colourist making and matching colour for all the processes. The colourist has been working for considerable time at Ivo’s, like so many there, they are absolute experts in what they do.
I saw the Flatbed printer working on my first day. Large flat screens raise and lower mechanically and the fabric is on the belt below, which moves along after every print is made for each colour to be printed with the subsequent screens. The belt is very long, with many metres passing by before all the colours are printed and the fabric heads off to be baked for the colour to be set at the far end of the table. I was busy taking notes and asking questions. That day a client was onsite to quality-control the printing before signing it off for production.
There is a large archive of artwork from decades ago, spanning the thousands of jobs that have been made here. Original acetates and drawings are rolled up in drawers holding the stories of design. I wasn’t able to photograph the examples – client confidentiality is important here, but it was exciting to see some key players of the 1960s featured. Maisie told me the incredible story of how Ivo’s came to be, and I met Michael, who’s family story it is, leading the company with Suzie.
Gali printing is a further printing process used at Ivo’s (the two tables with yellow frames in the picture above, right). The print tables are fifty metres long! The screens are set up in frames and are mechanically moved up and down, with a mechanised squeegee passing over the inked screen, before lifting up and moving down to the next place to print. It is carefully operated and requires skill and a keen eye to ensure everything is happening correctly with good quality each time. The screens are then changed for each colour and the same processes run again – the gali print operator will walk several miles in creating a ten colour design!
The process I was most intrigued to see was the Rotary printer. Unlike the flat screens, the artwork is prepared on a mesh that is on a cylinder (image below left). The circumference of the cylinder is the repeat size, creating a seamless repeat with fast production. A different cylinder is required for each colour, just as a flat screen per colour is required, but unlike flat bed / gali and hand printing, the squeegee sits inside the cylinder, and with the use of a magnet is pulled down to apply the pressure and add ink to the cloth through the mesh as it turns. Seeing these machines printing many colours at once is fascinating, unfortunately I couldn’t take pictures as it was printing for a client.
On my first day at Ivo’s I also saw a length being hand screen printed, but again, no pictures. It was a very slick operation that is clearly well-rehearsed!
Following the tour we returned to the design studio and I was introduced to some of the different design tasks the designers are involved in. A new graduate had recently started, Caris, so it was good to see her settling in well and enjoying her first professional experience, guided by Maisie. Putting original artwork in to repeat can take several weeks with meticulous digital design work using AVA software. Maisie upped the excitement by suggesting we could work on one of my designs that afternoon and have a day printing with Podge the Printer, a legend for those in the know – wow! Maisie prepped the artwork, with me taking notes and soon the screen positives were ready to be exposed.
Arriving on the second day, my screens were ready, Podge had prepped the table laying lots of fabric down for me to print on to. Podge is a character – we hit it off! At first he wasn’t quite sure what my research was about, but soon he was getting in to the spirit of it and suggesting options. He said it made a change to have someone exploring options rather than simply being in production mode. We chose some large screens from the archive to add a few tricks he had up his sleeve. Buckets of colour were mine to use. I had a lesson in printing the Podge way and he made sure I held the squeegee at the correct angle with hands over the top – he kept monitoring me so I had to stay on it! He also showed me the S-blade method of printing flat colour without the screen – surprisingly satisfying.
Factory lunch is a set 30 minutes and soon we were back in action. Each time I wanted to change colour, the screen was taken away to be washed / dried ready. I’m not used to having such (any) great service and support when I print in my own studio! It was a really productive day with many metres of fabric printed with several layers of colour, testing my research ideas. Podge’s son who spends lots of time on the Gali came to lend a hand at printing the larger screens, enabling me to try other prints over the top.
With the deadline to get my fabric set we had to stop printing, I watched as the fabric went through the baker and it came out very hot, but ready for home. I was exhausted, it was hot in the factory and I’d been busy on my feet since 8am. One of the last jobs was to ask Podge to write in the special copy of my book on pattern, as he was included in an image supplied by Fanny Shorter who prints here.
At the end of the day I caught back up with Suzie and thanked her for the opportunity she enabled me to have at Ivo’s. The factory has to run smoothly, meeting industry deadlines and costings for clients so to be open for me to learn from them and explore my research with their expertise was an absolute privilege – they were very generous. I headed home with a bag full of printed cloth and I ached all over from such a physical day, but with a head full of the experience I won’t forget in a hurry … Thank you all at Ivo’s!
For a number of years I’ve been aware of the fascinating work of Colorifix, an award winning bacterial dye biotech start-up organisation based in Norwich leading the way for a more sustainable dye practice. Following some planning and support from our technical team I was able to host PhD researcher Ruth Lloyd in partnership with Colorifix to share with us their work and to lead a workshop for our BA3 students. Ruth is carrying out practice-based research “to develop and commercialise bacterial dyes, where she will further explore the capacity of colour producing microorganisms to create human designed patterns”.
We were treated to a insightful presentation by Ruth about the science and development of the colours, before we were able to have a go at printing with the bacterial dye colours. The students and staff tested painting the colour directly on to the fabric as well as painting on the screen then transferring the colour, as well as using paper stencils with the open screens.
The range of colours is limited at the moment, so this is something being worked on by Ruth and the team at Colorifix. The different fibre content of the fabrics printed on can significantly impact on how the colour appears so we were testing natural and synthetic fabrics to build our technical files and our own understanding of colour and textiles. Thanks Ruth and Colorifix!
I feel as if I’ve dragged myself through the grey, wet and cold British winter, without the delight of deep snow to play in, and finally the signs of growth in the garden and country lanes are undeniably taking us in firmly to the middle of spring. The magnolias are blooming, the blossom of blackthorn has been and gone in Norfolk and the yellow of the daffodils is being overtaken by the yellow of the oilseed rape fields.
Almost without warning, as if overnight, the garden has transformed from bare earth to borders full of colour; clusters of yellow, of orange-red, hot pinks and fussy white frills. The tulips are here, and with them comes the idea summer may follow spring. I’m not rushing the time by, I’m just more appreciative of the brighter, warmer months.
With the threat of heavy rain over the weekend I gathered up some of the tulips for the house – bringing the outside in. They’ve brought with them such joy, I really do feel better with the colour around me. I spent a little while drawing them a couple of evenings ago to absorb the colour and form of each one, thanking them for bothering.
Tulips have featured in art and design for centuries, in drawings, paintings and textile design, but my favourite has to be by the Austrian designer, Josef Frank, in Tulpaner, see below, for Svensk Tennn. The different flower heads of the tulips bursting from the dark background as if the colour is jumping out of winter is just how I feel, as the warm spring sun encourages the garden to enable colour to thrive and for us all to spend more time enjoying it.
I’ve been keen to get back to designing and printing having spent my practice time writing and developing the book for publication over the last few years. I’ve been testing ideas of pattern evolution and pattern construction for some time in a limited way, specifically looking at pattern structure evolution through drawing investigations, but the ideas at the heart of this investigation have themselves evolved over the last couple of years.
With more time and fresh energy I’ve defined a new project brief and research rationale, and I’m excited to have got off to a good start. I’m looking at repeat tiles and construction of pattern formations, so cut shapes and sketches were an obvious way in for idea development. I’m trying not to be too precious with outcomes at this stage, so I’m trusting the process.
I’ve started by testing ideas with geometric shapes as subject matter to keep the aesthetic clean and graphic, focusing on the laying down of colour blocks. I’ve started by working up some ideas for screen printing but anticipate many more drawings, maybe lino prints and certainly digital work will be created over time too. The colour palette will certainly change, but with an exhibition I’m making work for at the same time dictating pieces to be black and one other colour I’ve gone with black and green.
I don’t want to give too much away at this stage, but look forward to discovering the potential over the next few months.
On the 12th January 2023 my book for Bloomsbury on the subject of repeat printed pattern for interiors will be published, … finally there’s not long to wait having worked on it for years!
If you want to order a copy at a pre-publication discount you can do that here.
I love creating seasonal colour palettes, so here’s one from today, with our Mirror dinghy on the Norfolk Broads. The distinctive red sails stood against the neutral greys and greens of the November day. It’s not entirely proportionally correct but the red grabs the attention so I believe it’s okay to give it some extra width in the palette at the expense of more pale grey!
When my children were very young I remember having to occupy them in a park near a hospital and as the time dragged on they were clearly finding the wait too long and boring. I came up with the task of finding colour to entertain them, so they dashed here and there with specs of colour. Sometime later we had little piles of different colour from leaves, petals, grass etc. and we were surprised by how colourful the park was when we first thought it was all green.
Many years on this week I found them doing it again, for fun… as the garden was so full of colour. It was wonderful to see them noticing the extent of some colours such as reds, and difficulties with blue, but with lots of rushing around again they made an impressive rainbow. Me being me I stepped in to organise the colour a little bit more, order some specifics … and then got told off for styling it for social media… oops!
Kate Farley - drawn to design 