As I’ve mentioned on the blog before, I’ve been developing a new relationship with pattern design based on traditional block printing over the last three years. I’m delighted to announce I have a solo show at the East Gallery, at Norwich University of the Arts opening in three weeks time, open for a month. I’ve printed about one hundred metres of fabric over the last few months and I can’t wait to see much of it installed.
Despite it being a busy few months in academia I’ve been squeezing in time to screen print as I’m working towards a solo show of this research project – more information coming soon!
To build anticipation, here’s some shots of some of the progress in the pattern work …
I’ve been busy printing and presenting my ongoing pattern research over the last few months, testing the design and print process, and receiving useful feedback – which may explain the lack of blog posts recently!
Last September I presented my work at the Fashion and Textiles Courses Association conference, Futurescan 6, held at De Montfort University in Leicester, and had a small exhibition of the work in progress during the conference. It was great to formalise my ongoing work at that time, and receive external feedback from the audience. It was useful to consider how I communicate the research, as the principle is simple but the process complex. I have also discussed this research as part of other presentations over the last few months, for colleagues, for undergraduate students as well as the audience of the Costume and Textiles Association’s programme of Heritage Open Week talks at the Forum in Norwich.
Last week I presented this research to the British Association of Paper Historians as part of their Spring Meeting held at St. Bride Foundation, having been invited to do so by the Wallpaper History Society. My fellow presenters covered wide ranging topics, from paper conservation, Japanese paper as cloth, the College of Arms and the current situation of the paper industry in the global context. It was a fascinating day with lots of common ideas and interests, and I received some very positive feedback to keep me on track.
I have further opportunities to share my research in a couple of months, so more news on that in due course!
I am continuing to develop both lino blocks as well as artwork for screen printing, which enables me to test different colour handling and substrate options, for wallpaper and cloth. Colour is an important element of this research and particularly the transparency of colour in the overprinting, so the palettes will continue to evolve as I continue the exploration of primary and secondary colours.
As I gear up to making larger work for an upcoming showcase opportunity I look forward to sharing more of the work in progress.
After a long academic term leading the Textile Degree at Norwich University of the Arts I finally found some time to get in to the workshop and sample some designs on fabrics. I developed the patterns rather a while ago. I love the process of screen printing, from mixing the colours, exposing the screens, pulling the squeegee and of course lifting the screen to see the new print. I even enjoy washing the screens ready for the next time!
I’m not going to share all the outcomes at this point, but here’s a taster of the colours and a glimpse of one of the designs. I was working with transparencies in the pigment and binder to create the extra colours… and I’m really excited about the results!
I am really pleased to have had two of my most recent works on paper selected to be included in the Print Cromer exhibition this summer, with the Private View on 19th July. This new body of work has been developed as part of my academic practice at Norwich University of the Arts where I have been exploring pattern structures and repeat blocks. I have explored new pattern iterations by rotating the screens to add additional colours of the same artwork, thereby building greater complexity from limited design information. In an age where digital design and the use of Artificial Intelligence provides limitless opportunities, I want to explore the fundamentals of pattern creation to generate new possibilities that are led by the designer, ensuring the creative path is transparent.
The theme of the exhibition is PLAY, and as a result the palette I created feels full of summer carnivals and fairgrounds. The overprinting of inks with differing levels of transparency provides a building of depth and subtlety of harmonious colour.
I created a number of one, two, three and four-colour prints initially, that featured the screen rotation in adding the colours. I then cut strips of the prints and with further rotation of the strips, interwove them into one base print that had been sliced to enable the slotting. I enjoyed bringing back an element of paper engineering from my book art practice into these new pieces.
In designing each piece, I considered the placement of motifs and relationships of colour. The collection provides variation within a collective identity and belonging. Some pieces feature only triangular motifs, while most incorporate the circular and rectangular elements too. My research utilises design thinking by Lewis Foreman Day, and his distribution of elements. This approach results in scattered focal motifs that work across repeating patterns. Although this is not a feature of my new work, I recognise the placement considerations are also useful in this work too.
A number of these pieces will be for sale during the show.
I’m excited to be finally bringing this collection of surface designs to market in collaboration with the Window Film Company. The inspiration for the patterns has stemmed from my fascination with geometric designs, taking the basic ingredients of triangles, circles and squares as my starting point.
I’ve been exploring geometric pattern structures in relation to design principles established by Lewis F. Day at the turn of the Twentieth century, exploring the equal distribution of motifs within a repeating tile to alter the visual rhythm within two-dimensional surface designs. I have also explored expectation and disruption within the repeat tiles. On establishing an apparent small-scale repeat, I play with unexpected shifts in the placement of motifs to disrupt the rhythm, challenging the sense of order. This work belongs to my ongoing practical pattern research as Associate Professor in Design at Norwich University of the Arts.
The six designs each have their own identity and yet belong together like siblings in a family, with shared features of geometric motifs and formal compositions throughout this collection. Some of the designs started their life as self-initiated physiotherapy back in 2020 / 21 following abdominal surgery and my subsequent recovery. The design challenge, to make small-scale lino blocks of repeating patterns to print by hand, provided me with small physical and mental tasks to focus on between the naps. I had hoped some of the designs would one day be leaving my studio, and I’m pleased and proud to share them now.
Designing for window film requires consideration of motif, shape and pattern construction without the aid of colour, requiring an absolute focus on negative and positive shapes. I enjoy working within design limitations in relation to production requirements and technical specifications, believing the challenges become design opportunities. I spent some time testing the various scale of patterns across the collection, including a micro pattern (Step), through to a much larger scaled pattern (Triangulate), considering window sizes in both domestic and commercial spaces in relation to the motif sizes.
I’ve worked with the very patient Steve at the Window Film Company for all my designs available on film, including the large-scale bespoke design for Birmingham Airport back in 2017. Previous designs from my Construct collection available from the Window Film Company won a House Beautiful award in 2018 too!
Steve worked with me to sample some of the early versions of these designs generated as digital scans from lino prints initially, but I didn’t like the visual quality in the translation of the prints. The original artworks for this collection were generated using collage and screen printing alongside the lino prints as I prefer designing with a physical relationship to image creation. After further consideration I opted to create each of the designs as vector-based files for production, providing sharp graphic quality to the patterns.
Mike at Window Film Co. was also fundamental in getting this collection established, off the computer, on to window film and ready for sale. Our conversations focused on understanding my design identity in relation to previous work. He ensured the designs felt authentic to me, while building on the existing designs I already license to the company.
It’s always exciting to receive a delivery of samples, and I’ve had a few of those over the last few months. The final product is very different to a digital file, so it is important to inspect the artwork as film installed on the window, checking the scale of repeat as well as any discrepancies in the artwork – you must have sharp eyes for detail! With final decisions made and sampling approved, as well as the small matter of naming the designs, we have been able to sign off the artwork, and launch the six designs in the collection: Circulate, Diamonds, Shift, Triangulate, Step, Pairings
Thanks to everyone at the Window Film Company!
The designs are available to order here
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!
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.
As I’ve had to move my studio I’ve put some products up for sale via social media in time for Christmas. Most of these products have been screen printed and made by me, and were the very first products I launched in the Plot to Plate collection. You can buy 3 items for £20, with free postage to UK addresses. All you need to do is decide which products in the picture you would like, head to https://www.paypal.me/KateFarley to pay the £20 or multiples of, list the letters relating to the items and add your postal address. I’ll notify you if any of the products are out of stock and suggest a replacement as appropriate.
Please note: if you would like to have the items before Christmas please order before midnight on Tuesday 18th December.
Following the success of my four posters for London Transport Museum, currently on the network of London underground stations, I have been asked by Michael, the commissioner, to edition the designs as screen prints. I jumped at the opportunity, and embraced the task!
This has been an interesting challenge because although the artwork for the posters was made using paper cutouts, one great joy of digital print production means you don’t have to separate each colour to print; CMYK does it’s thing. However, screen printing requires far more consideration of separate colour on each of the layers as well as registration – the accuracy of each colour layer when printing. Overprinting can result in muddy colours if not fully considered. For the editions of prints I made some artwork adjustments on Adobe Illustrator enabling me to create the positive artwork for each of the four colours in each print, ready to expose photographically on the screens. You can see in my composite image, top right, the black print on acetates which are the screen positives, that I used to expose the images.
I love mixing colours to match my references and I take pride in not using colours straight from the pot, but to always see the nuance of hues. I make colours darker using purples and greens, rarely black. I used the final posters to get the right colours, and daylight is always essential. Ink and paper surfaces always give different qualities to contend with too. The final colours are certainly rather bright! Screen printing on paper is also very different to screen printing on fabric, so you have to get your head around the differences including remembering to flood your screen (pulling a layer of ink across) between each print, and using the vacuum on the print bed (to hold the paper firm).
However tired I am, when I am printing I am absorbed in the process – rarely noticing hours passing, and missing the need to feed. This is a good thing as my week as been ridiculously busy on all sides. Printing requires systematic thinking, and at least one clean hand. Preparing screens, mixing colours and registering each colour on the acetate first all needs to be organised. I love it when I’m in the rhythm of editioning.
A deadline to hand the first print from each edition to the commissioner this weekend focused the mind, and when trimmed, signed and wrapped I was really proud of the prints. I was even more pleased when I met up with Michael to give them to him. He appeared to be joyfully moved by the results – holding one print up to the fellow coffee drinkers in pride… phew! They are off to be framed and auctioned at a London Transport Museum event at the Victoria and Albert Museum later this week.
This whole project has taken so many months (years) to come good, but throughout the process I have felt trusted by Michael to do what I do best. He has great confidence in his choice of designers spanning the years, and allows us to get on with the job without interfering with the outcome. His twenty plus years of commissioning poster designers has led him to influence the direction of graphic artwork on London underground, creating the archive for the future through the choice of creative hands and minds, but not by telling the designers what to do. It takes trust and judgement on his part, but in turn I think I’ve created my best work yet. In the many conversations over these years I’ve had with Michael he listens, he wants to hear my opinion on things; we have good discussions – he knows about a lot of things. He also often gets carried away with future ideas and possibilities – I like that, we should all get excited by ideas. Thanks Michael!
