Introducing Meander Designs

Wishing you all a lovely festive season - it has been quite a while between posts here in 2015!

In between freelance design projects I have been working towards the launch of a collection of homeware products inspired by Australia's unique flora and fauna, featuring my hand painted watercolour designs.
First to launch in the Meander collection are four tea towel designs, printed locally in Melbourne using non-toxic eco friendly inks.
Printed on 75% linen / 25% cotton tea towels, these designs are an easy-to-post gift to friends and family near and far.
For more info and details, take a look at my new website: www.meanderdesigns.com.au

Eucalyptus Leaves Tea Towel

Indigo Garden Tea Towel

Lucindale Tea Towel

Nardoo Tea Towel

Coming soon - giclee prints and greetings cards.

Thinking Pink

Making patterns with Opera Pink and Winsor Red watercolour paints.

Summer Reds

Another textile design in progress - this is the New South Wales Christmas Bush
(Ceratopetalum gummiferum) painted in gouache.

A very leafy jacquard

I have been well and truly M.I.A around here of late but here are a few images of my jacquard leaf bed linen design named 'Folair' that has recently appeared online at Target Australia. 

Pink and Purple

 Another week in Lilla-land has sped by with an insight into the wonderful world of Wall Art. The brief was for an abstract piece of wall art (with lettering) in a colour combination determined by birth dates. Being a Pisces, I scored pink and purple. I finally got an excuse to dig into to my collection of sari fabrics gathered from a back-packing trip to India a few years ago. The joys of being a fabric hoarder......

'Papillons' and 'Home is where the Heart is'.

And my pesky cat.

Mushroom Spotting

 Last week I went 'back to school' - Lilla Rogers Studio School to be exact.

I'm loving every minute of the informative lessons and Lilla's wonderful teaching style. One of my favourite parts of the course would have to be the buzzy atmosphere in the Make Art that Sells Facebook group - a lovely bunch of supportive and enthusiastic fellow classmates. And oh-so talented!

This is my first piece for the Vintage Kitchen Bolt Fabric assignment - watercolour mushrooms on a linen ground. By coincidence an assortment of mushrooms and toadstools have popped up in my garden after the recent rain. Good timing!

On my desk

A fresh bunch of watercolour florals.

A bonus Cottonbox discount code for you!

From now until the 30th of June 2013 simply enter the code CBOXKIDS at the check-out to receive $10 off your order on the Cottonbox Kids website. Thanks Mona and the team at Cottonbox!

Cottonbox Aviator Quilt Cover set. 

Butterfly Flutter

A smattering of butterflies painted in my favourite Winsor and Newton watercolours, placed in a toss repeat in Photoshop.

Paperweight

Caught in the act - sneaking in a snooze on a pile of my textile design artwork.

Pigeon pairs

A few more bronzewing pigeons painted and ready to be turned into a textile design.

Cottonbox Kids website has launched

The new Cottonbox Kids bed linen collection is now online at http://www.cottonboxkids.com.au

Worldwide shipping is available too!

Outside my window

Eucalyptus blossoms, the old garden gate and a bronzewing pigeon who visits the birdbath every day, all painted in watercolour.

Textiles by Mary Schoeser

I love a good textile design reference book and Textiles: The Art of Mankind by Mary Schoeser is a must have for any admirer of the wonderful world of decorative textiles.

Covering textile art and design from around the world and through the centuries, the book meanders through diverse subject matter such as Indian woven silk fabrics from the 15th Century, the sinuous and elegant line work of William Morris' block printed furnishing fabrics, densely stitched robes worn by Turkmen tribal women, through to the brightly coloured brocade weaves of 20th Century Guatemalan dress fabrics. These examples are just a tiny slither of the vast selection of beautifully documented textiles featured in this wonderful tome - and I call it a tome as it is one very heavy book, beware Ikea shelves! Over 1000 images reveal the beauty and variety of textiles in stunning detail.

The author Mary Schoeser writes: 'Over the past forty years, the first hand sight of hundreds and thousands of examples has convinced me that textiles are beautiful, inventive, expressive, and more. They reveal the human compulsion to engage with texture, colour and storytelling. They record our ever-changing feelings of play, joy, wonder and profound thoughtfulness. They preserve skills, encourage creativity and represent continuity'.

Themes covered in the book include Impact, Ingredients, Structure, Surface, Added Dimensions and Imagery. By juxtaposing historical and contemporary textiles from around the world, the author highlights an unbroken story of skill and invention stretching back thousands of years.

Textiles: The Art of Mankind by Mary Schoeser is published by Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2012.

Muted palette

Just by chance this muted colour palette appeared on my desk this morning, courtesy of a trawl through my grandmother's needlework collection. It's time to start colour mixing!

From Holland

One of my favourite kid's design blogs is DecoPeques from Spain, and each week they send out a condensed newsletter of highlights from the blog. Today I spotted a few of my textile designs alongside these beautiful beds from Saartje Prum that look as if they belong in a fairy tale. So many Dutch homeware companies manage to combine quirky & kid friendly design down pat!

On my desk...

...is a pile of painted butterflies waiting to be scanned in. Have a lovely weekend!

A box of goodness

The other day my Dad walked into my studio carrying a box bearing my name and address (as I live in a remote rural location the mail is delivered only three times a week and all packages have to be picked up and signed for from the local general store). I couldn't recall ordering anything on-line of late, so this was quite a surprise. 

The lovely Mona from Cottonbox had sent me a sample of all of my new designs for Cottonbox Kids. 

Herbie and Bonjour the cat were my volunteer but very camera-shy models!

Aviator bed linen by Cottonbox Kids. The watercolour textures of my artwork have been faithfully reproduced on a kid friendly cotton base-cloth.

Secret Garden by Cottonbox Kids

Secret Garden cushion and bed linen

You can visit the Cottonbox website here!

http://www.cottonbox.com.au

Tallerack

A section of my Tallerack or Eucalyptus pleurocarpa design, painted in gouache and ready to put into repeat in Photoshop. A project for the weekend!

The small details...

A scan from my 'Secret Garden' bedding design for Cottonbox Kids.