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Category Archives: Visual Culture as Inspiration
St Edmund’s, Southwold. Revisiting Rood Screens Suffolk III
Four years ago during the autumn of 2014 I blogged a sequence of posts relating how I was inspired by the Ranworth rood screen to create some silk scarves. Now is that time of year when I turn to looking … Continue reading
Posted in Scarves, Suffolk, Visual Culture as Inspiration
Tagged creativity, design, heritage, inspiration, medieval art, rood screen, silk painting, silk scarf, Southwold, St Edmunds
6 Comments
Revisiting Rood Screens – Suffolk I
It was just over 18 years ago that I spent several months visiting a number of medieval churches in East Anglia to photograph their painted rood screens. At the time I was working on the rood screens as part of … Continue reading
Posted in Suffolk, Visual Culture as Inspiration
Tagged East Anglia, inspiration, medieval art, Ranworth, rood screen, saints, Southwold, St Edmunds, St Edmunds Southwold, Suffolk
6 Comments
Sunflowers
There is something perennially charming about a jug of fading sunflowers. You can see why Vincent Van Gogh was so taken with them. Famously, he painted sunflowers many times including the seven ‘Sunflowers’ canvasses which were ‘nothing but sunflowers’.Of the … Continue reading
Posted in Flowers, Visual Culture as Inspiration
Tagged art as inspiration, inspiration, jug of flowers, River Nile, silk, silk painting, sunflowers, Van Gogh, Vans
11 Comments
Stealing from Tudor Artisans – Part II
Last week I posted about my discovery of a beautiful example of Tudor woodwork, the Parham fire surround. I found the detailed carving inspirational and have developed a motif from one of the pheasants lurking in the carved vegetation. Here … Continue reading
Posted in Art History, Visual Culture as Inspiration
Tagged bird motif, handpainted, inspiration, motif, pheasant, pink silk, silk scarf, Tudor, work in progress
4 Comments
Stealing from Tudor Artisans – Part I
Always on the lookout for captivating visual imagery with which to work, a trip to an exhibition often yields a good collection of useful photographs. Mind you it is surprising how often I go thinking I know what I need … Continue reading
Update on upcycled silk scraps – Part II
In Part I of ‘Update on upcycled silk scraps’ I wrote about my research in preparation for making a wall hanging to be considered for the exhibition ‘Norwich Shawls: Past Glory, Present Inspiration’. Ruminating on the harsh and often poorly … Continue reading
Stealing from the past – painting Silvia
Living in East Anglia there are many parish churches that still retain both medieval and Victorian church art. Painted rood screens and colourful stained glass provide a wealth of inspiration for my silk scarf designs. I like to steal ideas for … Continue reading
Posted in Scarves, Silk, Visual Culture as Inspiration
Tagged colour combinations, creativity, design, inspiration, medieval, medieval church, motif, rood screen, stained glass, Victorian
8 Comments
Different interpretations – costume designs for Madama Butterfly at the La Scala Museum, Milan.
Last November I was visiting Milan and had the opportunity to go to the opera at La Scala to see a semi-staged version of ‘Porgy and Bess’. It was intense and moving and very dramatic. The next morning I went … Continue reading
Posted in Art History, Visual Culture as Inspiration
Tagged artists, Caramba, costume design, creativity, Foujita, La Scala Museum, La Scale, Luigi Sapelli, Madama Butterfly, Mori, Palanti, Ukiyo-e
20 Comments
Silk scarf painting
Last autumn I felt like renewing how I approach my work. Nothing major, but some adjusting here and there, some tweaking and a few small changes in how I create my silk pieces. I have been developing using some of … Continue reading
Down the rabbit hole with John Tenniel
It’s just over one month into the New Year and the world of politics is thrashing from one extraordinary tweet to another and here in the UK a notable Member of Parliament has even suggested some of our politicians are living … Continue reading
Art for Christmas cards anyone?
Years ago I received a charity Christmas card which featured what I took to be ‘The Three Wise Men’. Last month, at the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, I saw the very large Gentile and Giovanni Bellini painting, ‘St Mark … Continue reading
