Arts Thread

I am a textile print designer with a passion for nature and the environment. I am drawn strongly to bold colour palettes and natural form. I aim to develop a decorative and explorative approach to design within my work, through use of colour, scale and texture.  This is showcased through a range of mixed media approaches, combining traditional methodologies and digital print. 

‘A journey to tranquillity’ influenced by biophilic spaces

and tranquil environments. This showcases an exploration into the connection between serenity and wellbeing within our own environments. The intention is to bring peaceful spaces to those who have an appreciation for the environment within their own home. The concept is underpinned by research on biophilic environments and their impact on wellbeing and historical art movements, linking to colour theory, stylistic and painterly techniques and the impact it has on the viewer. Stemming from a self-curated journey to discovering a personal sense of tranquillity, expressed through art and design, with great inspiration taken from my own surroundings, such as botanical gardens and flourishing meadows in the North East of England.

My design process involves using multi-disciplinary methods beginning with hand rendered techniques. Primarily using watercolour, fine liner and procion dyes on open silk screens with manutex paste. Using these techniques allows me to develop studies which have a free flowing and soft painterly quality, using loose brush strokes and mark making to represent the natural flow of the environment and light, building onto a strong personal aesthetic. This technique has been inspired greatly by research into the historical Impressionism movement including artists such as Claude Monet, Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Paul Cezanne and Camille Pissarro who captured light and movement in their paintings with intricate brush strokes. Using the manutex technique allows me to express my style more freely, each print has a varied and unexpected outcome delivering a unique and personal result each time.

In developing my work, I begin designing repeat patterns and placements digitally. This allows me to really enhance and resolve my designs by focusing on colour, composition, scale and layout. This is where my designs can be enhanced and bring a narrative approach to the collection as I build onto each layer. Ensuring to keep a textured and hand rendered look to each digital outcome to really capture a painterly look.

The concept develops onto the notion of life within nature itself, including wildlife and how this is expressed through imagery and movement. Representing the ever-growing and lively tendencies which are evident within the landscape. As a designer who loves to use colour as an expression, I wanted to encapsulate both the natural occurring colour palette sourced from primary research, like earthy tones and pastels, combined with a twist of intense and unnatural saturation and unexpected colours occurring within the final designs, aiming to increate visual impact. I have experimented with scale and layering textured grounds to enhance the collection. This design collection is intended for interiors. With the initial intention to bring tranquillity to those who enjoy or are unable to access it elsewhere. As part of the collection, I have explored scale which is evidenced within a hand painted mural using open silk-screen printing, this allowed me to really express my own personal handwriting and skills. Utilising colour, scale, composition and precision of technique to curate and hand print the final design. This collection also consists of large-scale prints that are aimed at a variety of surfaces, including curtain fabric, bedding, upholstery and wallpapers. This collection is aimed towards those who feel drawn to decorative, botanical, bold and narrative designs, with a contemporary look and an appreciation for the environment.