Art Quill Studio
The Education Division of Art Quill & Co. Pty. Ltd.
Art Quill Studio Director: Marie-Therese Wisniowski.
This site will feature a new post each week centred on the following categories: ArtCloth, Art Glossaries, Fiber Arts, Prints on Paper, Textile Arts, Wearable Arts, and include posts from our publishing house that are pertinent to each of these categories.
If you like any of my artworks in the above links, please email me at - Marie-Therese - for pricing and for any other enquiries.
“Cascading Acanthus” - Introduction Acanthus leaf designs have a long and illustrious history steeped with symbolism. The most common variety of this plant is the Acanthus spinous, and it has deeply cut leaves. Acanthus plants thrive in the Mediterranean region of the world. They are large leafy plants that are identifiable by the spiny, jagged leaves. Being perennial, they come back each year without the need for reseeding or replanting. Since the acanthus is so plentiful in the Mediterranean, it is easy to understand why the ancient Greeks and Romans utilized these leaf designs in their prestigious private and public buildings. Later, during the Renaissance, the use of these leaf designs featured not only on architectural creations, but also in artwork, textiles and furniture. The furnishings for France’s Louis XVI show this motif in their design. Acanthus plants symbolize healing, longevity and rebirth. Used to enhance funerary elements and structures, the leaves also symbolize immortality.
“Cascading Acanthus” - Concept and Processes My new, contemporary fabric design collection, “Cascading Acanthus” is based on vintage engravings that incorporate the Acanthus leaf as an ornamental design. Inspired by olde world cascading flora and the rich and lavish use of deep saturated colors and metallic pigments used during the history of Acanthus leaf designs, I have translated these elements to create a modern, timeless and unique design aesthetic whilst retaining the decorative and ornamental integrity of an olde world design.
The “Cascading Acanthus” range comes in two color ways - one featuring rich sea green/blue hues, the second featuring rich deep blue/green hues.
As with all of my fabric designs, white fabrics, in this case cotton, were dyed and/or over dyed using time-honored hand dyeing techniques to add visual depth, pattern and contrast to the fabric background/s. Using time-honored hand printing processes the fabrics were then screen printed with linear images over the entire fabric lengths emphasizing movement and a ‘cascading’ deconstructed ‘lattice’ to the background. Using analogous colors, additional layers of Acanthus leaf engravings were overprinted in rich blue and gold metallic pigments in a floating pattern, giving the design the intended cascading aesthetic. The final layer consisted of a digitally reworked tattoo image in gold metallic pigment that referenced and complimented the flowing, ornate structure of the Acanthus design resulting in a complex, richly hued and multi layered surface design.
The fabric and patterning in the “Cascading Acanthus” range can be designed using variations of the above color ways and patterning techniques to create a truly unique and individual statement. “Cascading Acanthus” fabric lengths and fat quarters can be used for wearable art, accessories, quilts, furnishing, as framed artworks and interior design projects. Please contact me to discuss further options.
“Cascading Acanthus”
“Cascading Acanthus” is available in rich sea green/blue hues and rich deep blue/green hues (close view).
Technique and Material: Multi dyed and screen printed employing transparent and metallic pigments on cotton.
Size: 98 cm wide x 110 cm high (each).
“Cascading Acanthus” – rich sea green/blue hues.
“Cascading Acanthus” in rich sea green/blue hues (full view).
“Cascading Acanthus” in rich sea green/blue hues (close up view).
“Cascading Acanthus” in rich sea green/blue hues (detail view).
“Cascading Acanthus” – rich deep blue/green hues
“Cascading Acanthus” in rich deep blue/green hues (full view).
“Cascading Acanthus” in rich deep blue/green hues (close up view).
“Cascading Acanthus” in rich deep blue/green hues (detail view).
If you like any of my artworks in the above links, please email me at - Marie-Therese - for pricing and for any other enquiries.
“Acanthus Dream” - Introduction Acanthus leaf designs have a long and illustrious history steeped with symbolism. The most common variety of this plant is the Acanthus spinous, and it has deeply cut leaves. Acanthus plants thrive in the Mediterranean region of the world. They are large leafy plants that are identifiable by the spiny, jagged leaves. Being perennial, they come back each year without the need for reseeding or replanting. Since the acanthus is so plentiful in the Mediterranean, it is easy to understand why the ancient Greeks and Romans utilized these leaf designs in their prestigious private and public buildings. Later, during the Renaissance, the use of these leaf designs featured not only on architectural creations, but also in artwork, textiles and furniture. The furnishings for France’s Louis XVI show this motif in their design. Acanthus plants symbolize healing, longevity and rebirth. Used to enhance funerary elements and structures, the leaves also symbolize immortality.
“Acanthus Dream” - Concept and Processes My new, contemporary fabric design collection, “Acanthus Dream” is based on vintage engravings that incorporate the Acanthus leaf as an ornamental design. Rather than evoking a design aesthetic of a by gone era I have employed my signature silk screen printing techniques to create a contemporary fabric design - somewhat distressed and textured, the prints create a modern, timeless and unique design aesthetic whilst retaining the decorative and ornamental integrity of an olde world feature.
The “Acanthus Dream” range comes in two color ways - one featuring warm red-orange hues, the second featuring cool blue-green hues.
Using time-honored hand printing processes, white cotton fabrics were screen printed using my signature magnesium silicate-ombre printing technique to create distressed, textured background imagery. Screen printed images of Acanthus leaf engravings were overprinted in a non formal half drop repeat mode in white pigment over the entire fabric/s length. The final layer consisted of a digitally reworked tattoo image in black pigment that referenced and complimented the flowing, ornate structure of the Acanthus design resulting in a textural, richly hued and multi layered surface design.
The fabric and patterning in the “Acanthus Dream” range can be designed using variations of the above color ways and patterning techniques to create a truly unique and individual statement. “Acanthus Dream” fabric lengths and fat quarters can be used for wearable art, accessories, quilts, furnishing, as framed artworks and interior design projects. Please contact me to discuss further options.
“Acanthus Dream”
“Acanthus Dream” is available in warm red-orange hues and cool blue-green hues (close view).
Technique and Material: The artist’s signature magnesium silicate-ombre screen printing technique, screen printed employing transparent and opaque pigments on cotton.
Size: 120 cm wide x 180 cm high.
“Acanthus Dream” - warm red-orange hues
“Acanthus Dream” in warm red-orange hues (full view).
“Acanthus Dream” in warm red-orange hues (close up view).
“Acanthus Dream” in warm red-orange hues (detail view).
“Acanthus Dream” - cool blue-green hues
“Acanthus Dream” in cool blue-green hues (full view).
“Acanthus Dream” in cool blue-green hues (close up view).
“Acanthus Dream” in cool blue-green hues (detail view).
If you like any of my artworks in the above links, please email me at - Marie-Therese - for pricing and for any other enquiries.
“Urban Butterfly” - Concept and Processes My new, contemporary fabric design range, “Urban Butterfly” stems from a unique series of designs based on images of my post-graffiti artwork depicting distressed, worn and aged walls, urban butterfly art and my graphic floating ginkgo leaves. Being a little on the ‘funky’ side, “Urban Butterfly” has also been designed to inspire and celebrate this creative and original art form of present day urban graffiti and in doing so, capturing a modern, timeless and unique post-graffiti design aesthetic of our times.
The “Urban Butterfly” range comes in two color ways - one featuring bright red accents, the second featuring bright blue accents.
Using time-honored hand printing processes, white cotton fabrics were screen printed over the entire fabric length/s creating randomly printed and distressed, textured background imagery. Urban Butterfly images were over printed in a non formal half drop repeat mode in black pigment. Multiple layers of floating ginkgo leaves were over printed in a non formal half drop repeat mode in black and red or blue pigment giving a strong visual contrast to the monochromatic base layers.
The completed fabric design consisted of multiple complex layers of imagery featuring butterflies exploring their urban settings in our contemporary world.
The fabric and patterning in the “Urban Butterfly” range can be designed using variations of the above color ways and patterning techniques to create a truly unique and individual statement. “Urban Butterfly” fabric lengths and fat quarters can be used for wearable art, accessories, quilts, furnishing, as framed artworks and interior design projects. Please contact me to discuss further options.
“Urban Butterfly” - with bright red accents
“Urban Butterfly” with bright red accents.
Technique and Material: Screen printed employing glazes, transparent and opaque pigments on cotton.
Size: 120 cm wide x 110 cm high.
“Urban Butterfly” with bright red accents - close view.
“Urban Butterfly” with bright red accents - detail view.
“Urban Butterfly” - with bright blue accents
“Urban Butterfly” with bright blue accents.
Technique and Material: Screen printed employing glazes, transparent and opaque pigments on cotton.
Size: 120 cm wide x 110 cm high.
“Urban Butterfly” with bright blue accents - close view.
“Urban Butterfly” with bright blue accents - detail view.
If you like any of my artworks in the above links, please email me at - Marie-Therese - for pricing and for any other enquiries.
“La Volute” Collection - Introduction The translation of the French word, ‘Volute’ means scroll, swirl, whorl, coil or wreath. The scroll in art is an element of ornament and graphic design featuring spirals and rolling incomplete circle motifs, some of which resemble the edge-on view of a book or document in scroll form, though many types are plant-scrolls, which loosely represent plant forms such as vines, with leaves or flowers attached. Scrollwork is a term for some forms of decoration dominated by spiraling scrolls, today used in popular language for two-dimensional decorative flourishes and arabesques of all kinds, especially those with circular or spiraling shapes.
Scroll decoration has been used for the decoration of a vast range of objects, in all Eurasian cultures, and most beyond. A lengthy evolution over the last two millennia has taken forms of plant-based scroll decoration from Greco-Roman architecture to Chinese pottery, and then back across Eurasia to Europe. They are very widespread in architectural decoration, woodcarving, painted ceramics, mosaic and illuminated manuscripts (mostly for borders). Many designs on textiles and pottery are intended to have no main orientation for the viewer.
In art history, a ‘floriated’ or ‘flower scroll’ has flowers, often in the centre of the volutes, and a ‘foliated’ or ‘leaf scroll’ shows leaves in varying degrees of profusion along the stems. As in arabesques, the ‘leaf’ forms often spring directly from the stem without a leaf stalk in ways that few if any real plants do [1].
“La Volute” Collection - Concept and Processes My new, contemporary fabric design collection, “La Volute” is based on French vintage scroll designs inspired by the fabulous treasures of Versailles and the romantic, ornate French style of that era but with a modern twist - designed and printed in a deconstructed, distressed mode to create a modern, timeless and unique design aesthetic whilst retaining the decorative and ornamental integrity of an olde world design.
The “La Volute” Collection comes in two design formats and two color ways in each format - La Volute Grungesque and La Volute Streetesque.
As with all of my fabric designs, white fabrics, in this case cotton, were dyed and/or over dyed using time-honored hand dyeing techniques to add visual depth, pattern and contrast to the fabric background/s. Using time-honored hand printing processes the fabrics were then screen printed with base images over the entire fabric lengths - see specific techniques information below. Using analogous and/or complementary colors (in each specific color way), additional layers of complex images were overprinted in transparent and metallic pigments until a richly hued and multi layered surface was created.
“La Volute Grungesque”
“La Volute Grungesque” comes in two color ways - one in a solid purple dyed background hue, the other in a solid sage green background hue. Employing one of my post-graffiti images, the base dyed layers were screen printed in various modes over the entire fabric length/s creating randomly printed and deconstructed background imagery in black pigment to create varying light and dark shades to the design. To create visual depth multiple, complex layers of ornamental scroll designs were randomly printed and over printed in metallic pigment creating a worn, deconstructed and distressed appearance to the fabric surface. Olde world vintage style berry images were screen printed in a semi formal half drop pattern over the entire fabric creating a visually uniting structure to the printed design layers. Transparent and metallic pigments were employed to create a visually contrasting, richly hued and multi layered surface.
“La Volute Streetesque”
“La Volute Streetesque” comes in two color ways - one in multi dyed blue background hues, the other in multi dyed green background hues. In this instance, the multi dyed background hues created varying light and dark shades to the design. To create visual depth multiple, complex layers of ornamental scroll designs were randomly printed and over printed in analogous colors creating a worn, deconstructed and distressed appearance to the fabric surface. Olde world vintage style berry images were screen printed in a semi formal half drop pattern over the entire fabric creating a visually uniting structure to the printed design layers. Transparent and metallic pigments were employed to create a visually contrasting, richly hued and multi layered surface.
The fabric and patterning in the “La Volute” Collection can be designed using variations of the above color ways and patterning techniques to create a truly unique and individual statement. “La Volute” Collection fabric lengths and fat quarters can be used for wearable art, accessories, quilts, furnishing, as framed artworks and interior design projects. Please contact me to discuss further options.
“La Volute Grungesque”
“La Volute Grungesque” in solid dyed purple and solid dyed sage background hues (close view).
Technique And Material: Solid dyed and screen printed employing transparent and metallic pigments on cotton.
Size: 120 cm wide x 170 cm high (each).
“La Volute Grungesque” in solid dyed purple background hues (close up view).
“La Volute Streetesque” in multi dyed blue and multi dyed green background hues (close view).
Technique and Material: Multi dyed and screen printed employing transparent and metallic pigments on cotton.
Size: 115 cm wide x 175 cm high / 115 cm wide x 135 cm high.
“La Volute Streetesque” in multi dyed blue background hues (close up view).
“La Volute Streetesque” in multi dyed blue background hues (detail view).
“La Volute Streetesque” in multi dyed green background hues (close up view).
“La Volute Streetesque” in multi dyed green background hues (detail view).
Reference: Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scroll_(art)
Preamble This is the seventy-seven post in the "Art Resource" series, specifically aimed to construct an appropriate knowledge base in order to develop an artistic voice in ArtCloth.
If you find any post on this blog site useful, you can save it or copy and paste it into your own "Word" document etc. for your future reference. For example, Safari allows you to save a post (e.g. click on "File", click on "Print" and release, click on "PDF" and then click on "Save As" and release - and a PDF should appear where you have stored it). Safari also allows you to mail a post to a friend (click on "File", and then point cursor to "Mail Contents On This Page" and release). Either way, this or other posts on this site may be a useful Art Resource for you.
The Art Resource series will be the first post in each calendar month. Remember - these Art Resource posts span information that will be useful for a home hobbyist to that required by a final year University Fine-Art student and so undoubtedly, some parts of any Art Resource post may appear far too technical for your needs (skip over those mind boggling parts) and in other parts, it may be too simplistic with respect to your level of knowledge (ditto the skip). The trade-off between these two extremes will mean that Art Resource posts will hopefully be useful in parts to most, but unfortunately may not be satisfying to all!
Introduction Machines, which are neither looms nor knitting frames, can produce fabrics that look like woven or knitted fabrics more quickly and with less labor than the traditional techniques. Chain stitches are made through fiber webs or around crosswise yarns to make drapable fabrics. It is estimated that one machine can replace 30 conventional looms in output. Because there is less tension on the yarns, lower twist yarns can be used and, if warp threads are used, they do not need to be sized.
Malimo Malimo textile machines were invented in East Germany in 1958 and in 1965 the first American fabrics were introduced. The Malimo process consists of filling yarns laid as a sheet, warp yarns coming down from the creel, and a third set of yarns employing a chain stitch binds the yarn together.
Drawing illustrating basic technology of the Malimo machine.
Malimo P2, Raschel machine.
The warp yarns can be omitted in the process.
Malimo fabric with cotton/nylon/rayon fiber content. The construction method is a composite fabric/knit – through stitch-bonded fabric. This fabric is yarn dyed. It is distinguished by laid-in warp and/or filling yarns and is used in curtains, tablecloths and some apparel.
In the figure below the filling yarns are stitched with a tricot-type warp knit.
Section of a napkin made by the knit-sew method.
Maliwatt Maliwatt has a similar history to Malimo.
Maliwatt machine.
Maliwatt is a nonwoven process in which a chain stitch sews through a fiber batt. Maliwatt is used in the following applications: soft furnishings, upholstery fabrics for mattresses and camping chairs, blankets, transportation cloth, cleaning cloths, fabrics for hygiene and sanitary purposes, secondary carpet backing, lining fabrics, interlining for shoes and apparel, adhesive tapes (e.g., those used for harnessing electric cables in automobiles),• velcro-type fasteners, laminating fabrics, coating substrate, insulating materials, geotextiles, filter fabrics, composites and flame-retardant fabrics.
Maliwatt fabric.
Malipol Malipol has a similar history to the former two. It is similar to tufting in that a loop pile is stitched through a base fabric.
Malipol stitch bonding systems have the following main elements: pile yarn, ground fabric, stitched bonding head, fabric take down and batching. The compound needles penetrate the ground fabric and the stitching or pile yarn is overlapped in the needle hook. The pile yarn is also laid on top of the pile sinker at the same time so that a tricot movement is used to create the pile and knit the yarn into the ground structure.
Malipol process.
Malipol areas of application are as follows: blankets, cleaning textiles (wiping mop), pile fabric for velcro fastening strips, lining plush and soft-toy plush, bathroom sets and one-sided terry fabric.
Arachne Process The Arachne process consists of stitching through a web of fibers. The fiber web is made by laying one layer of carded fibers across another layer and chain stitching with filament yarns by a series of needles place about 1.3 of an inch apart. The warp strength comes from the chain stitches, and the crosswise strength comes from the fibers in the web.
Arachne machine.
Fabrics made on this machine are a bit stiff for dress fabrics, but suitable for jackets and coats and for base fabrics.
DELE PIERRI 'Arachne' Gothic PVC studded ruffle jacket.
Analoop is a variation for making loop-like fabrics for towels, coatings and floor coverings.
Reference: [1] N. Hollen and J. Saddler, Textiles, 3rd Edition, MacMillan Company, London (1968).
“Cascading Acanthus” is available in rich sea green/blue hues and rich deep blue/green hues (close view).
“Cascading Acanthus” in rich sea green/blue hues (full view).
“Cascading Acanthus” in rich sea green/blue hues (close up view).
“Cascading Acanthus” in rich sea green/blue hues (detail view).
“Cascading Acanthus” in rich deep blue/green hues (full view).
“Cascading Acanthus” in rich deep blue/green hues (close up view).
“Cascading Acanthus” in rich deep blue/green hues (detail view).
