“Every quiltmaker in the 1970s (was) an innovator… People made their own rules, broke them and came up with their own solutions to the problems they encountered while making quilts.” Bill Volckening, quilt historian and collector The 1970s were a landmark period in the history of American quilting. A whirlwind of change led people to…
All posts by Rosie Lesso
Dense networks of green unfurl across Henri Rousseau’s tropical paradise, colouring grasses, plants and leaves with the juicy vibrancy of life. But with the richly enigmatic jewel tone of EMERALD Linen he creates mysterious pockets of darkness, where magic and danger lurk in the shadows. Rousseau never left France, so his mystical jungle scenes are…
Made with dedication, patience and love, traditional quilts have been passed on through families for thousands of years. Many still survive today, proving how durable the hand-crafted technique continues to be. This deep-rooted longevity might explain why quilting has remained such a popular and enduring habit, one that can still invoke the enveloping comfort and…
The misty turquoise of BLUE HEAVEN Linen defined the art of 19th century French Symbolist Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, forming distant mountains, hazy shadows or endlessly entrancing blue water. When France was facing political turmoil after the Franco-Prussian War, Puvis’ mystical, icy blue scenes suggested a wondrous, escapist world beyond our own to disappear into….
“Quilting … is an art that speaks more clearly than ever to our make and mend era.” Laura Cummings Quilts have been in our civilization for centuries, quietly weaving themselves into the backbone of our human history. Both beautiful and practical, quilting techniques have experienced an upsurge of interest in recent decades, along with a…
The dazzling brilliance of SULPHUR Linen filled American artist Anne Truitt’s work with shafts of golden sunlight, encapsulating the glowing warmth of her native Washington. Truitt sought ways of infusing artworks with the colours of her idyllic childhood in Maryland, from dazzling white picket fences to blazing yellow sunlight and glistening stretches of juicy grass….
Intricate and ornate vines unfurl across Scrolls IVORY NATURAL Linen’s jacquard damask like fervent plant forms sprouting new life. This pattern is part of a long tradition of ‘scroll’ design, defined by flowing plants that form incomplete spirals in symmetrical repeat patterns, invoking the sensation of constant flow. From Greek pottery to Roman architecture and…
Since the invention of the jacquard loom in the 1800s, demand for the sumptuous fabric has remained on an all-time high. Because of this, the technology for producing jacquard has been constantly evolving and it is now easier than ever to produce and buy the densely textured, richly patterned cloth that has fascinated for centuries….
Intricately patterned and sumptuously textured, jacquard fabric has a luxurious quality that is hard to beat. In contrast with printed textiles, jacquard patterns are incorporated into the weave with a slight raise, giving them a long-lasting lustre and durability that resists fading or fraying over time. A modern take on the long tradition of brocade,…
Master of understated elegance, Japanese printmaker Ando Hiroshige’s dreamy, wistful landscapes are filled with the sleek and refined grey of GRAPHITE Linen. In his quietly pensive scenes rich, warm grey tones become the solid mass of enduring trees, craggy rocks and distant mountains, iconic emblems that are built to last. Around them shards of red,…
Colouring flowers, ribbons, veins and pulsing hearts, the iridescent crimson in BIKING RED Linen is the lifeblood of Frida Kahlo’s paintings. Echoing the tinge of red in the Mexican flag, this shade came to represent many forces in Frida Kahlo’s deeply introspective paintings, but a unifying theme was a love for her native Mexico, which…
“Ultramarine blue is a colour illustrious, beautiful, and most perfect, beyond all other colours; one could not say anything about it, or do anything with it, that its quality would not still surpass.” Cennino Cennini Originally mined from the distant mountains of Afghanistan, ultramarine’s vivid, reddish blue has a dazzling, mystical beauty that has fascinated…
EGGPLANT linen’s rich plum tone bled into Marc Chagall’s whimsical scenes, colouring them with stains as tart and ripe as fresh blackberries. Inventive colour was a vital strand in his fantastical scenes, taking his famous floating lovers, animals and musicians further from the realms of reality into a wondrous, escapist dream. He wrote, “Colour is…
The cold darkness of umber is steeped in history, first appearing in prehistoric cave paintings as the brown hides of frantic, fleeing animals. Originally mined from soil rich in manganese and iron oxide, the pigment can be found in locations all around the world and shares similar chemical properties with red and yellow ochre. But…
Dazzling, brilliant blues like that of SAPPHIRE Linen define the paintings of Alexej von Jawlensky, streaking across his canvases with pulsing, living electricity. Modernist, Fauvist and Expressionist, Russian-born Jawlensky was a bold risk-taker, one whose wild, unbound art inspired a whole generation across Europe and beyond. Known as much for his mystical landscapes as his…
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