The little things - New Cushions and Shop!

Before I completed my MA in Design (textiles) at Bath Spa University in 2008, I was selected to exhibit my fabric designs at 100%Design (trade fair) in London. For the next five years I showed my work at this prestigious and very exciting trade fair, exhibiting innovative textile fabrics and laser etched cork panels. My work was short-listed for the British Design awards with Rosemary Russet Fabric in 2007 and with Laser etched Cork Squares in 2010.

After five years of out-sourcing all (digital textile and laser) production, I realised, that I seriously missed screen printing and dyeing, the excitement (and messiness) of which had attracted me to a career in textile design in the first place.

So a little over a year ago I started to develop a collection of screen-printed furnishing accessories in my studio. This meant building an exposure unit, screen wash off room, buying screens, squeegees, emulsion, dyes, fabrics, etc. I decided to focus on small scale and bespoke production, use only the finest materials, sourcing, as far as possible from the UK, mainly printing onto un-bleached fabrics as a positive environmental choice.

Printing onto unbleached/natural fabrics has been the hardest in many respects (no white!). However the extensive knowledge I'm acquiring from the seasonal colour research in my blog is starting to pay off, selecting colours from my notebooks which have subtle natural harmony, reminiscent of the Exmoor landscape that surrounds me in North Devon, yet still looking contemporary and fresh. "Think modern rustic"!

Well I've made a few mistakes! and it certainly has been an emotional roller-coaster of a year - but I'm pleased to say I think that I'm now on the right track, at least I hope so! Best of all, my web shop is now fully up and running...

See the whole collection :-  Sam Pickard website/shop

Please feel free to share this post/image/link - thank you!!

Further links
Bath Spa University MA Design Textiles and Fashion
100%design

My favourite things - Still life with petals

A few of my favourite things...

A garden full of Hydrangeas and Roses (notebook May 2011 and Jan 2013), an old briefcase of my dads, and a 70's handbag which belonged to my mum (and who swung it with far more style than I've so far managed!). No real material value, just full of memories.

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the Season - Hellebore yellow

Hellebores are a bit of a shy flower, heads slightly bowed, hiding extraordinary inner beauty, maybe that's what I like best about them - not too showy.

Some can be cut and will keep in water, this variety seems to wilt within about an hour - so you have to draw fast! Very pure colour in the yellow and green, complemented by a spattering of dark red. Colours in opposition, bringing out the best in each other...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

The little things - love

New cushions - which embrace my love of Exmoor, natural fabrics, screen printing, pattern, seasonal colour, and Rabbits!

Perfect, I'd say, for the back seat of an old Morris Traveller...

Hope you have a very loveful day.

X...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season - Hair Moss green (revisited)

Hair Moss is abundant on the Exmoor coastline. I first looked at its colours in my very early notebook pages before I was adding illustrations. Then I noted that the (orange) brown I found in it was exactly the colour of an old Saab I had in London, this is what I wrote:

"Hair moss, likes damp conditions - perfect for it then in North Devon. The (top) brown is the exact colour of a lovely old 70's Saab I used to own which sadly I had to part with when the engine started cutting out every time I turned right - not ideal in London."

(After reading this a friend asked me if I took three left turns in order to turn right, which was very perceptive of him, because that was exactly what I did!)

Much darker green than your common or garden Moss, this is Hair Moss green and the retro browns that accompany it...

(it's the bottom brown in this palette).

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

My favourite things - Still life with Ash and old Rose

A few of my favourite things...

Ideas often arrive if I stop thinking about the problem and do something else instead. Going in circles with the background of the set of cushions I've been sample printing, decided to get out for a walk. The sea was rough and the wind incredibly fierce. We could hardly stand on the beach, whether it was the walk or the half of Exmoor ale in the Hunters Inn after, it did seem to blow away the cobwebs!

My favourite things -

is a response to my appreciation of Still Life painting (especially Dutch c.1600 - c.1700), objects I own and love, and some of my favourite notebook drawings put together. 

Still life with Clive Bowen jug (right), ancient Devonshire jug (recycle centre) Old Tea Rose (notebook Feb 2012) and Ash (notebook Jan 2013).

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the Season - Ivy purple

Ever since I read Having the right "Gratitude" post on Sarah-Jane down the lane's lovely blog, I think I've had purple backed Ivy lurking in the back of my mind, because when I was passing by a wall completely entangled with Ivy - not purple backed, more mottled purple fronted - it completely caught my attention and I had to stop. If anyone had been watching they might have thought it strange, that I was standing staring at a wall for 10 minutes while I selected a few leaves which were the most beautiful. I have an idea that I might develop this a bit further...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the Season - Pheasant blues

It was a bit of a shock to be given a dead Pheasant. I've been wanting to draw one, in fact the timing couldn't have been better, but still a shock!

All along the main roads here on the edge of Exmoor are warnings about the deer and you do see the odd deer - but not a single sign to prepare you for the daily hazard - the scores of Pheasants who strut (nonchalantly) into the path of traffic.

This one was still warm but very dead. A beautiful bird, its neck feathers gradated colour from deep blue through to green and shades of turquoise in between - a white ruff, followed by the richest browns, ochres, creams, far too many in fact to show them all here...

Ink sketch - Unlike other birds I've drawn, I felt uneasy drawing this Pheasant, partly the sheer scale. Decided that I'd have just one attempt at it. In the end this sketch took about 8 hours.

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season - Pansy yellow

This little Pansy has been smiling at me every time I pass it outside my front door for weeks now. In spite of the snow it's managed to keep it's head up and though I'm not the biggest fan, I have to admit I'm coming round to liking these for their clashing colours, their ability to flower even in this chilly weather, and because they remind me of Victorian postcards...

from the French Pensée meaning thought...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season - Oak leaf brown

Snow! Nearly everything was white in the woodland this morning except last seasons Oak leaves, still frozen to the trees. Every way I walked I noticed Oak leaves - splatters of warm brown on this icy January morning.

By the time Chip and I got back to the studio, it's hardly surprising that I'd decided these curling dead leaves might work brilliantly as a woodland/William Morris inspired repeat, to work as a backdrop for some new designs I've been creating, as well as (potentially!) to demonstrate the next Pattern Design post (Block Repeats). So a simple notebook page while I get on with the design - thank you snow..!

to be continued...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season - Ash grey

It can be a bit bleak in January here on the edge of Exmoor and though there are primroses and more brightly coloured subjects about, I noticed that Ash trees are in bud and I want to document the colours of the Common Ash (fraxinous excelsior) in all seasons while it's still possible.

Ash trees in the U.K. have developed a deadly fungal disease called Ash dieback (Chalara fraxinea), which is about to wipe out Britain's entire (80 million) Ash tree population. One of our toughest hardwoods, steeped in mythology and medicinal folklore, but perhaps I'm not alone in hardly noticing the Ash until now?

So here are the colours of its budding branches - very beautiful actually when you do notice, make the most of them while you still can...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour of the Season - Hydrangea blue

Hydrangeas are beautiful at nearly every time of year, and even more so in places with a far higher than average rainfall (thinking positively here!!). They've become one of my favourite cut flowers, but they're also exquisite when they break down into skeletal forms - or I've always thought so, and I was determined to draw these (whenever I could find a quiet moment) over Christmas and New Year, despite the fact that I was a bit daunted by their intricacy. 

They remind me of the stone-carved arching foliated designs on the ceilings of Cathedrals, so here they are - like aged architectural relics but actually much less fragile than they look. A subtle palette, in pencil and Bombay inks...

Started with the hardest - so it was downhill all the way after that...

Drawing by lamplight..!

Welcome 2013!

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...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colours of the month - December

On the eve of 2013, here are my selection of the month's colours (12/12), a Decemberry tree! and a favourite poem...

In Greece many years ago I was given a book of poetry because it contained this poem.

Ithaka

As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians, Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope your road is a long one.
May there be many summer mornings when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you enter harbours you’re seeing for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to learn and go on learning from their scholars.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you’re destined for.
But don’t hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you’re old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you’ve gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

Ithaka gave you the marvellous journey.
Without her you wouldn't have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you’ll have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.


C.P.Cavafy
Translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Wishing you an inspirational and happy New Year...xx

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...from my seasonal colour sample notebook. 

Colour from the season - Christmas Box - red

My son Josse said to me a few days ago that Christmas is just an excuse for me to bring even more plant life into the house! I will admit there is rather a lot of Ivy twined around and about fairy lights to brighten these dark evenings, also branches of Cotoneaster and a little Christmas Box, but this year I would say that I've been incredibly restrained - (I reminded him it's the season of good will!)

Gorgeous glossy green leaves, the deepest red to black berries (they quickly turn black when you bring them indoors) and tiny white flowers with a powerful fragrance (a bit like Lily of the Valley), this is Christmas Box (Sarcococca confusa).

Lots of wonderful wreaths at this time of year - here's mine!

Merry Christmas! 

(Cotoneaster Red, Christmas Box Red and (font) Bodoni ornaments)...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season - Cotoneaster red

I'm not fixed to tradition, therefore branches of this Himalayan Cotoneaster are adorning my dining room table and front door wreath in the lead up to Christmas this year. Holly, it always seems to me, is just too vicious, so last year I championed Hawthorn as a seasonal alternative and this year I'm trialling this Himalayan Cotoneaster for its festive December berries, also Box (more to come on that). I don't really think that this Cotoneaster will keep its leaves or berries long enough to be a serious contender! but it is the most fabulous colour palette for Christmas as you can see...

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season - Chrysanthemum red

Mostly I draw from life, but occasionally from photos if I can't study the subject easily (life model required with antlers!). Drawing can be a way of helping to generate creative ideas and this is especially the case I've noticed when I'm drawing more complex forms, which require not only complete visual concentration on the subject, but also more analytical thought(working out how elements/spaces etc interact). So I was interested to read this enlightening short research article about using both the right and left side of the brain to develop creativity, written by Annukka Lindell  'Monday's medical myth: the right side of your brain controls creativity'  which explains why this might be the case, and how training that interaction can increase creativity.

The red and yellow petals from this desperate little Spider Chrysanthemum caught my eye as it tried to flower on an icy December day, so I brought it in from the cold to note its energising colours and further develop the right/left creative interaction of my brain..!!

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...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the season - Rosehip red

Fabulous hips! They're a bit more frost-bitten than I'd thought at first glance, but just look at the extra colour that the frost has brought out in them, not just one glossy red but an entire passion of reds! I took the liberty of removing the stem green from the palette but decided to include it separately below just in case anyone's after a green to go with these reds - you might find this shade works rather well...

!..from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colours of the month - November

Uh-oh, I'd fully intended to compose November's colours in November and now December has barged in and Christmas is only a few weeks away!

So here, tardily, are a select three of my November favourites - New Zealand Flax and its muted Art Nouveau palette; waving madly and adding vintage winter shades the pods and berries of the Stinking Iris, leading to a prickly end with the silver, grey and yellow ochre of the Carline Thistle...

I've had my eye on some pretty extra-ordinary hips for a few weeks now and was relieved to see when I got home after such an icy weekend that they are still looking just as colourful. It should be a fabulous red for December! Watch this space.

...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

Colour from the Season - Medlar golden brown

These are the Medlar fruits, known in Medieval times as the Dog's Bottoms for fairly obvious reasons, although perhaps not the clearest of sketches to show this! They are so old fashioned hardly anyone knows what they are anymore (which included me). Not really surprising though as they have to be ripened to the point of rotting (a process called bletting) before they're edible - and are highly explosive at this stage! Given to me last week by friends who'd picked up some windfalls from Rosemoor (inspirational RHS garden in North Devon) and thought I might be interested in them (which of course I was!). Their Autumnal colours are like a Russet Apple - they are in fact a cross between an Apple and a Rosehip, but taste a bit like banana and caramel custard (apparently). If you want to find out how to make jelly with them, Nigel Slater has quite a bit to say about them here.
























I've been printing these (and recycling a few frames I found).

as well as making these!

I've a last minute space to exhibit here next week (thanks Sarah!)
So do come along if you're in Wales, and please can it stop raining..!

(special thanks to Pete and Bec for the Pomaceous drupes :)
...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.

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Colour from the season - Carline Thistle yellow

The tough and very prickly Carline Thistle (Carlina Vulgaris) can be found in sand dunes and dry banks and pastures around the U.K. Like most thistles it has pink/purple petals when in flower, which I think leave an even more attractive skeletal form and colours when the flower dies. Yellow and grey  look great together and these golden yellows and warm grey are especially harmonious, in fact they're colours I can really live with and I enjoyed drawing this thistle - great walk too...

Pencil Sketch, first page of a new sketchbook !

Carline Thistle, brushes, Hella Jongerius vase, inky drawing stick, empty beetroot jar(?!) and a Rook and Pheasant feather.

Saunton Sands last week. Over three miles of sandy beach nearly deserted in winter - Fabulous !

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...from my seasonal colour sample notebook.