Oh I hope your Summer is more summery than mine has been!
I've found it very hard to choose who to showcase this month, which is partly why I have been quiet. Last time I introduced some pattern designers who like to work with florals and watercolour, so this time I thought I'd highlight a couple of pattern designers who work primarily in Lino, but where do I start?
Many of you that have been to my workshops know that I usually create pattern by designing motifs in softcut lino which I've been printing directly onto fabric. Using this technique, I recently printed on an old curtain and repurposed it as a fresh new tablecloth. You can have a look here.
When carving Lino, there are definite limitations to your designs, depending on your skill level, that you need to plan around. The effect is a slightly raw, less refined motif often with accidental textural marks that are known in the print world as chatter. Some artists deliberately leave the chatter in their designs to add character and energy. I think these handmade marks will become all the more valuable as AI infiltrates the world of design. Two printers that really embrace mark making in their handprinted pattern are Hannah Madden (UK) and Sarah Reed McNamara (USA). See their beautiful work below.
Our video this time is of mind-blowing pattern on a smaller scale, have a look at Marta Harvey's reels - an absolute pattern master, who prints her designs with tiny lino tessellations.
My upcoming workshop dates are near the end of the newsletter. I am offering something quite special at the Scottish Craft School in August. This might just be a once-off offering, so do have a look.
Finally, I had the opportunity to do a short 3-min promotion at Creative Mornings Glasgow's Community Minutes and the thought I shared with them is the one I leave with you:
A simple motif grows in power the more it is repeated. I've been thinking about this a lot as I design, realising that the amount of repetition affects my decisions around scale of my motifs.
Not only that, repeating something simple also holds true to expanding anything in our lives, whether it be creativity, business, good habits or just living life more beautifully. Small acts don't need to be perfect, their power accumulates with time.
Have a wonderful Summer and I will see you back here afterwards!
Best Wishes,
Karené
P.S. I am not an affiliate and do not receive any payment for the information in my newsletters. I just like to share what amazing people are doing, while exploring the world of pattern and print.
Folk Country Pattern with Sarah Reed McNamara
Sarah Reed McNamara is an American printmaker and pattern designer, who you might know as @SRMPrints on Instagram. She is a Lino printmaker and self-taught textile printmaker, who juggles her art-making with raising her kids. I find that her prints have a vaguely nostalgic folk theme. After gradually growing her business by exhibiting, attending many art fairs and markets and starting up a local makers community in Rockford, Illinois, she recently she took the plunge and opened her own brick and mortar shop, which also doubles up as her printing studio. There's a lovely interview with her on Women Create - a really passionate, hardworking woman, worth reading about!
FIND SARAH HERE:
Best place to find Sarah is on her Instagram account:
Here is a little reel of her printing in action on Women Create:
Or browse her lovely goods on her Etsy Shop
Nature-inspired Hannah Madden
Hannah Madden lives on the borders of England and Wales and is inspired by her beautiful surroundings. She handprints textiles and paper with Lino or Silkscreen. You can see the print chatter around her designs that give her work a lot of movement and texture - almost like woodgrain. Her colours are muted and some of her items are botanically dyed.
There is a quite an old interview with Hannah from 2016, on the Handprinted UK blog, that describes her process beautifully, with photos and explains how she got started. Have a read here: Meet the maker: Hannah Madden
FIND HANNAH HERE:
For more up to date info you can follow Hannah Madden on instagram here: @hannah_madden_printmaker
Or find more on her website, where you can also buy her beautiful goods:
Starting Small with Marta Harvey
Marta Harvey prints tiny Lino tessellations. She starts by creating small (sometimes random) shapes digitally that can be repeated infinitely. She then draws and carves her organic design into that shape, knowing that it will repeat perfectly. Her printing videos are mesmerising. Click on the image to the left to see her in action. You can have a look at her instagram.
WORKSHOP UPDATES
With it being Summer (kind-of) and Summer break in Scotland, I've decided to pause my workshops until August, when I will be starting off with a BANG:
On 21/22 August I will be holding a 2-day course in Lino pattern printing on textiles at the Scottish Craft School, where we'll explore linear, tiled and geometric repeats. It's going to be quite intense, but if pattern is your thing you will want to be there! Definitely will clear your mind of everything else and hopefully plant some new seeds of inspiration for further pattern design. Hoping for lots of lightbulb moments! FIND OUT MORE HERE
For shorter workshops I have dates for The Old Barn, but haven't decided what to do yet, so this is your chance to put in some sneaky requests. The dates are:
Saturday 21 September
Sunday 13 October
Sunday 10 November
Have a great Summer!
Opmerkingen