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.
I have been fortunate in having my pattern research selected for inclusion in a really exciting exhibition opportunity in Bristol, led by academic Lucy Ward from University of the West of England.
“APERIODIC brings together artists, scientists, musicians and others in an exhibition about pattern. The show presents work that explores ideas relating to the mathematics and science of ‘aperiodic order’: the absence of regular or repetitive patterns. Or, more simply, ‘things that almost repeat, but not quite’. The exhibition is part of the APERIODIC festival of art, science, music and performance taking place this July in Bristol.” official exhibition text(APERIODIC, 3-14 July 2024 at Kit Form Gallery, Bristol)
The two pieces I had selected explore block rotation in the over printing of further colour layers, resulting in a building up of a more complex design:
Geo / grid / starLino print
Fields of seemingly reliable compositions of geometric motifs provide the rhythm of assurance through repetition of geometric rhythms but the swapping of small details amongst the motifs unsettles the overall pattern and disrupts the repeating design. The block is rotated before printing of the second colour.
6-spot rotation, multi-direction Lino print
Built upon Lewis F. Days’ principles of distribution of motifs in pattern design (1901), motifs are placed within a tile, 6 x 6 to provide balance and direction when repeated. As the second colour is applied the block has been rotated by 90 degrees in each printing of the tile over the original blue. The repeat is broken and a disorder is established.
One of the highlights of having the work selected for exhibition was the opportunity to have a mathematician review my work aligned to their own interests in pattern. Yotam Smilansky is a Lecturer in Dynamical Systems and Analysis at the University of Manchester, with a special interest in aspects of order and disorder in geometric patterns so I was interested in what they had to say about the work on exhibition.
Yotam Smilansky on Kate Farley, ‘Geo / grid / star’ and ‘6-spot rotation, multi-direction’:
“We notice a certain form, a sense balance, but it might take us a little while before we realise exactly what’s going on. Then we get it: the complicated object before us is made of a single ingredient, copied and superpositioned. It is surprising, even magical, how the unassuming process of layering rotated copies of a single pattern can result in a rich family of objects with a wide range of properties. This is evident, for example, in the moiré patterns of twisted bilayer graphene, where a slight change of angle results in completely different electrical properties, and is beautifully demonstrated in Farley’s mesmerising prints.“
Yotam’s response interested me as I’ve been exploring ways to disrupt and challenge the repeating tiles through transformation and evolution of individual elements within an apparently repeating pattern. I’m certainly keen to continue with this work and am grateful for this opportunity to gain feedback as well as discover the work of other pattern-makers. You can read other reviews of exhibiting artists by mathematicians here.
Thank you Lucy, Yotam and all those supporting the event.
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!
As a result of my current pattern research practice, I’ve been keen to get out and discuss print production methods with designers and manufacturers, particularly as I was restricted in doing so while writing my book during the pandemic. A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit designer Marthe Armitage in her showroom in west London, showing her my sketchbook / design work and discussing each of our design and production processes.
I’m not sure when I first became aware of Marthe’s patterns on wallpaper and cloth, but I’ve used her designs in my university lectures for the last few years to illustrate economic principles of building pattern, using a single block (one colour) to provide flowing and complex patterns, featuring varieties of visual texture within motifs. I bought the book on her life / design career, The Making of Marthe Armitage (published in 2019 by Graphical House) and was impressed by the beautiful drawings that accompany and support the design work I was familiar with. It is a thoughtfully produced book, with some copies available with a hand printed wallpaper wrap cover.
I’ve written before here about the time my ‘phone rang and Marthe was at the other end, ready to discuss her inclusion in my book and we went on to put the process of pattern design to rights. Meeting her more recently and showing her my sketchbook was a wonderful experience. There was straight talking about the current state of patterns available on the market and we agreed with each other about drawing on paper to map out the design on a grid to establish the composition for repeat. She was intrigued by my investigation in to block repeat and rotation of the tile and suggested some of my ideas more fruitful than others – I agree! We were joined by Marthe’s daughter Jo who leads the hand printing and is key to the future direction of the business, as well as Harriet, the Creative Project Manager and Christine, the hand printer who supports Jo in production. I was interested to learn of some new plans in development and gain an understanding of their experiences of print production in the UK.
The showroom in Brentford is a beautifully designed space which includes the printing press for hand printing their wallpapers and plenty of samples to admire, and is open to the public regularly. Tins of ink are displayed alongside samples of designs in progress and colour testing. It was also interesting to see the lino blocks featuring the designs cut by Marthe backed on metal plates ready for the press. Check out the instagram account for up to date news.
As our meeting came to an end, I grabbed the opportunity to ask Marthe for a photograph of her alongside the beautiful designs and to sign the copy of my REPEAT book in which I’m collecting signatures from the contributors. I am very grateful to Marthe and the team for making time to meet with me, thank you!
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!
It’s been a while since posting here, but I’ve been busy enjoying summer adventures and developing exciting pattern research alongside getting the academic year underway. I’ve also moved in to a new studio space so I’ll share that in due course.
My pattern research focusing on the repeat print block and how it can be used to generate multiple variations to evolve pattern options continues, with sampling with screen and lino printing. I thought I’d share the more structural outcomes here, linking back to my book art practice. I enjoy discovering links that connect the broader practice I’ve developed over the last twenty five years.
As I folded the sheets of printed pattern the forms appeared to suggest a built environment so I explored the idea a little in how I photographed the pieces. Testing scale and contexts is a vital part in developing a pattern, and I enjoy the possibilities.
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.
I led a study trip to London with some undergraduate students recently, where I spent several hours in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Having not been there for a while it was fabulous to be back in the company of old friends such as the Arts and Crafts textiles of William Morris and his contemporaries, as well as seeing exhibits new to me. I love the building too and took particular enjoyment in the flooring this time around!
I refer to Arts and Crafts patterns regularly in my teaching and was able to include some fine examples in chapter 1 of the book I’ve written, REPEAT Printed Pattern for Interiors, published by Bloomsbury earlier this year. They tend to show generosity of design, interesting rhythms and motifs working hard with stylised forms that still stand the test of time. Seeing these artefacts in the flesh really made me appreciate how important it is to get off the screen and go to see real things. The scale of the design, the surface and materiality just can’t be appreciated in the same way online. I’d also not seen Portrait of Melissa Thompson, from the series ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by Kehinde Wiley. It was stunning and really impactful where it was displayed.
I was there to specifically see the Africa Fashion exhibition which I thoroughly enjoyed. I’ve long known of woven Kente cloth and the Asafo appliquéd flags, but it was wonderful to read and see more of the textiles for fashion, both traditional and new across the exhibition. The textile processes were broad, with fabric manipulation, weaving, printing and embellishments in abundance.
The remaining time I had at the V&A was spent enjoying the international galleries (did I mention the cake break?) where I traveled around the globe by fabric, vessels, garments and objects, enjoying making my own connections between motifs shared by people from centuries and continents apart. To juxtapose a furnishing fabric from 1878 with velvet from Turkey made in 1550, and a tapestry fragment from 400 was rather an enjoyable and fascinating afternoon’s work. I shall try to get back there with less of a lengthy gap next time!
The museum was described by the first Director, Sir Henry Cole as a “a refuge for destitute collections”. I think that’s maybe a little harsh.
Kate Farley - drawn to design 