I found some great pieces along the beach, it  somehow reminded me of Buddhist prayer flags , not sure why maybe the erosion and washed out look of  the material and the way they are draped?

Beautiful and still now but the sea must have thrown them out with some force!

Thought you might like to see these photos they are taken along the South Coast, where sometimes I get the chance to walk my dogs.

Stormy weather at Newhaven

Throw outs from the sea, Eastbourne.

Beach washing line

Gorgeous Green Throw

Colours for SS13

SS13 colour gold

Smell the wisteria.

Vintage wisteria Venice

Grand Canal 'don't look now'

Venice April 12

My recent trip to Venice was blighted with rain, but this didn’t seem to matter as it still felt like a film set.

So much wisteria, the rain just made it smell more heavenly!

When I get a minute I will post some more.

Bauhaus roller-printed cotton furnishing fabric designed by Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell produced by Liberty 1972

Collier Campbell Bird fabric. Another of my favourites showing their painterly approach.

During the 80’s when I was studying textiles at Camberwell their work was thought of as some of the best around as it portrayed a painterly style that was so very lacking in the majority of prints available on the high street, distinctive for its large brush strokes and thoughtful mark making with accentuated textures all beautifully executed into flowing repeats.

As is quite often the case with textile designers their names are not known to many but most of their work would be widely recognisable and commonly found in the British household, from duvet covers and curtains to make up bags and scarves, a Collier Campbell print is iconoclastic of that time.

Do pop down to the South Bank and check out more. The exhibition is on until July 3rd but if you can’t make, have a listen to the interview about their work on Radio 4 Women’s Hour.

Susan Collier. Image courtesy of The Guardian.

Thanks so much to Design*Sponge for the feature.

Something from my toolbox!

Florals were a strong presence again, described as ‘bucolic’ at times, other times they were more painterly. There was a dominance of tropical motifs (either palm trees or parrots!), tribal/ethnographic prints and geometric patterns.  In terms of colour, there were loads of really modern-feeling warm brights, sometimes perhaps inspired by Pop Art and Jackson Pollock. Edges of fabrics were often frayed, scalloped or laser cut in ways to deliberately enhance the qualities of the material.

Fruit has been an emerging trend recently (see Stella McCartney’s lemon print dress below) and featured again, mostly lemons, strawberries and cherries but sadly on fabric, these don’t count towards your 5-a-day.

Citrus print dress by Stella McCartney.

Another growing trend that we’ll still be seeing a lot of this winter and next spring is sequins. Prada featured them in its forthcoming winter collection, large and like fish scales!

Extra-large sequins featured in Prada's Autumn/Winter 2011-12 show. Image from Vogue.com

At Premiere Vision there was a real sense that fabric manufacturers are continuing to experiment with sequins even more in terms of how they are applied and the possibilities of combining them with other techniques and materials.

The best thing about Premiere Vision is that it’s an opportunity to see first-hand what the very best manufacturers are doing and check out the newest innovations and creative technologies. My favourite of the show was Jakob Schlaepfer. Two of their fabrics particularly caught my eye. One was a layered piece with a butterfly print layered onto chiffon with scalloped sequined edges.

Trying to capture the intricate and delicate Jakob Schlaepfer fabric in my sketchbook!

The other was covered in white sequins that were reversible by touch. On the back they were digitally printed with a floral pattern. It’s hard to describe but it was really amazing. Here are a few images:

Visitors to Premiere Vision play with the reverse print sequin fabric. Image (c) Jakob Schlaepfer

Detail of one of Jakob Schlaepfer's intricate fabrics. Image (c) Jakob Schlaepfer

Another 'haute' fabric by Jakob Schlaepfer. Image (c) Jakob Schlaepfer

The most noticeably recurring trend was for fabrics that felt very luxurious and soft, yet weighty at the same time – whether cashmeres, silks, shearling or boiled wool. And there seems to be less and less separation between textiles for interiors and fashion.

There were lots of surreal, fairy-tale inspired prints – artist Frederique Morrel combines this with another trend; tapestry.

Image © Frederique Morrel

She also has an exhibition on at the Galerie Chevalier where she’s using 18^th and 19^th century tapestries to create a series of animals, if you’re in Paris, I’m sure is worth seeing.

The inspiring thing about Premiere Vision is seeing the key themes brought to life in huge styled and curated spaces. These included ‘Disruptive Weaves’ (tight yet soft textures), ‘Deceptively Austere’ (antiqued looking super-soft boiled wools), ‘Luxurious Heaviness’ (faux fur and satins), ‘Fierce Softness’ (strong velvets) ‘Natural Knop’, ‘Beyond Tradition’ (contemporary, sculptural lace), ‘Strange Nature’ (spooky, leaf-less trees) and ‘Zoo’ (bizarre monkey and bird imagery)

Last time I was there, blues were a key colour and they’re still very much in evidence, especially turquoises – often combined with yellows and golds, and sky blues. The other colour that seemed to pop up a lot was a burnt orange as well as misty pinks and reds. A palette called ‘Candied Fruits’ summed this up. Here’s my take on the new colours, which I’m thinking of exploring:

A palette of colours I'm playing with

Nouvel's pavilion with matching flowers!

The pavilion as seen from the gallery

Red has so many associations with Britain and London in particular with our red buses, Beefeaters and so on. But the colour doesn’t just mean tradition, it’s sexy and is definitely having a bit of a moment right now. Along with camel, red has been bubbling under for a while and is a colour we’re going to see a lot of this season, in both fashion and interiors.

For me, red is a colour I’m quite careful with in my work; it can really dominate. Yet even here where it’s such a dense, dare I say ‘true’ red, it doesn’t appear overpowering.

The structure has very bold geometric shapes, the steep slopes and slanted angles give the red its sharply tailored footprint.

The structure and geometry in detail

With seating under retractable awnings it is a great place to stop and just feel the space. With a café and ping pong tables outside, it has a real sense of fun and warmth that will cheer one up even on these rainy days as we head towards autumn.

A table tennis game at the pavilion

I like this one by artist Patrice Moor called Josephine she looks beautiful wrapped up in a coat of flowers, you can spot her at Sloane Square.

Patrice Moor’s elephant ‘Josephine’

But if you miss seeing them in situ you can see the entire herd at the Royal Hospital Chelsea from 24^th June – 4^th July.

For me it was The Upper Room that took my breath away, even though I have seen it before it still captures my gaze and transports me into a blaze of colour and pattern, I love David Adjaye’s wooden room installation it really makes it feel very organic and smells wonderful too. I also loved the line drawings and how your focus is drawn to the dots or circles that seemed to have little faces and Afro heads in them. His latest series of paintings are much less decorative and have a magical and spiritual feel.

Here are a few quotations from reviews of the exhibition to whet your appetite before you go:

‘Hip, cool and wildly inventive’ – The Guardian

‘You can’t fail to be entertained’ – The Times

‘Modern Master of radiant colour’ – Daily Telegraph

Think that sums it up!

The exhibition is on until 16^th May.

Colours

As always there was an abundance of poetical verse to describe the trends and colours for S/S 2011 at PV and Indigo this week ‘colourful jellies’ ‘satirical pastels’, ‘languorous tone on tones’, ‘ limpid sea waters’, ‘ fresh skin tones’, ‘brilliant monochromes’ ‘mysterious abyss’ and ‘synthetic lights’ to mention but a few!

For me this year the colours that tooted my bells were a small selection in contrast with the huge palette available on the fashion agenda. I will try and match some to pantone references and some to our wallpapers, some may vary from the actual as I’m matching them with own ‘my’ eye chart!

Blues and greens fitted into the Aquatic and Limpid seawater themes ranging from the stronger turquoise to pale transient blues.

Turquoise

Jocelyn Warner Wallpaper, Leaf Turquoise Gold

Pantone 15-4715 to a darker Pantone 16-5123

Soft paler blues

Jocelyn Warner Wallpaper, Treetops Sky Blue

Pantone 14-4307 and very pale Pantone 12-4304

I would also include in the blue theme the strong trend for blue ink tones and washes starting from ink black / navy to very pale light blue. ‘Luminous darkness’ included Navy, khakis and pale aquas.

There were a lot of greens, khakis, dark greens, brights to pastel creamy greens. Pantone 17-0525, 15-0522, 14-6316

Jocelyn Warner Wallpaper Cascade, Willow

Jocelyn Warner Wallpaper, Leaf Green Gloss

A riot of oranges, reds and pinks from luminous pastel orange Pantone 12-0714, 12-1009,to dusty pinks 13-1409 12-1305

Jocelyn Warner Wallpaper, Blossom Soft Rose

Jocelyn Warner Wallpaper, Flora Blush

Mix pale violets with the orange violet 13-3803, 15-1905 with the orange tones 14-1311, 13-1019 and khaki with this orange

Putty tones

Jocelyn Warner Wallpaper, Fern Putty

Raspberry reds, mulberry deep pinks .

Skin tones to camel and fauna Pantone 12-1005, 14-1210, 13-1013 , 15-1308, 15-1309.

Jocelyn Warner Wallpaper, Fern Mouse

Jocelyn Warner Wallpaper, Fern Chalk

Jocelyn Warner Wallpaper, Cascade Sand

Jocelyn Warner Wallpaper, Cascade Linen

Bronzed browns to muted gold’s

Jocelyn Warner Wallpaper, Blossom Renaissance Gold

Mysterious abyss – Very dark mat grounds juxtaposed with shiny gloss inks , dark browns with black, black on black

Jocelyn Warner Wallpaper, Kew Black Gloss

Jocelyn Warner Wallpaper, Leaf Black Gloss

Jocelyn Warner Wallpaper, Leaf Black Gold

There was also a very bright theme ‘Aspirin ‘ think polka dots, Op Art Damien Hurst dots, very, very bright brightest, orange, greens, pinks, blue.

Print themes saw again a strong nature theme of  ‘floral opulence’.

In the theme ‘Today’s Yesteryear’ fabrics had a soft feel to them ‘tenderly washed’, pictorial silks with sandstone finishes, nostalgic influence. 1950’s screen-printed fabrics with a hand painterly feel, textured brush strokes and ink washes, ink jet prints with magnified water marks, a break away from the exactness of photographic prints.

Artificial nature – a ‘wonderland’ of fauna, dragonflies, grasshoppers, water lilies.

Another print theme was the very light, transparency skeletal fragile forms plants, birds, insects – fine line drawings, mono prints, semi transparent architectural scenes / structures. Exact drawn pencil lines mixed with haphazardly ink.

Tropical theme included parrots and birds, exotic flowers magnified and scaled with fruits and lush jungle looking leaves. Think Henri Rousseau and his treatment of leaves, oil pastels, paint and collage.

Indigo seems to see an increasing amount of textile designers offering vintage collections, antique, contemporary swatches, clothes and accessories mixed with the current fashion trends. Some of the prints and dresses are quite stunning, items that you would not be able to get from your local jumble or charity shop. I can see the attraction as the trend for nostalgia and the ‘yesteryear’ is so strong.

Indigo is on at the same venue; where you can buy designs directly from textile designers for the following season AW 11/12.

I’m constantly looking “out there ” for colour inspiration, on my early morning jogs (um… have only just started this so don’t hold your breath!) I have been watching some wonderful colour spreads. Not brilliantly in focus as snapped with my iphone whilst listening to my inspiring jogging music!

I really love the blues; lilacs mauves with the peaches and soft pastel yellows, there are an infinitesimal amount of colourways that you can work from using nature – its mouth watering!

Colour working Primrose Hill

Colour Work London Eye

Colour Work London Sky

What’s great about scarves is that they can be like wearable paintings – their scale seems to offer a lot of creative possibility. And they are a more affordable way of having a little bit of designer luxury and a hint of pattern and colour in these grey times.

Moore often collaborated with David Whitehead – a leading fabric printer and also with Zika Ascher – one of my true inspirations. Many years ago I spent a few weeks working at the Ascher studio surrounded by old screens whose colours told the company’s rich creative history.

Fame in Fabric, Pathe film of Ascher studio

In the mid-1940s Ascher was known for collaborating with a range of artists including Matisse, Cocteau, Derain, Piper and Cecil Beaton. He forged a long-term relationship with Moore and the current exhibition at Pallant House tells their story brilliant. Moore’s constant sketching using so many media and materials and the textiles produced with Ascher were an exercise in trying to get onto cloth was what usually done on paper.

Moore’s textiles featuring his drawings of reclining ladies, birds and his barbed wire motifs were produced using complex techniques such as discharge printing. Their joy comes from a direct sense of Moore’s mark-making and of the artist himself.

Nowadays this is often lost in fabric design, financial considerations tend to limit the ability to experiment with tricky, time-consuming processes, instead speed, volume and cost-effectiveness are the order of the day. This means that mainstream design and production that rely heavily on computers, which definitely has its own merits, but there is perhaps a kind of flatness or lack of character in the final product. I love seeing brushstrokes or the differing weights in a hand-drawn line. It’s something I try from time to time in my own pieces.

Flora detail

Like Moore and Ascher, what works best for me is mixing different aspects – a painterly feel, handmade or retro qualities – with contemporary colours and methods in order to try and create something entirely new.

Michael Clark Company © Jake Walters. Dancers Oxana Panchenko and Clair Thomas

I love his mix of punk with classical, it has an anarchical pulse to it. Memories of 1988 I am Kurious Oranj, Leigh Bowery and The Fall. It reminded me of the 80’s just left Camberwell and set up my print studio in Rotherhithe, a time in London that was full of negative influences on art and design beset by the Thatcher government. There was a growing movement of rebellion, art students holding sit ins at the Tate Britain in dispute with the forming of the London Institute which was to bastardise the London art colleges as we knew them, Nicholas Serota informing us that although he sympathised with our goal we would be carried out of the building by the police one by one, which we were!

It was a time when designers were challenging the craft aesthetic, following on from Punk, designers such as Stevie Stewart of Body Map the Hemmingway’s ‘Red or Dead’ at Camden market, John Moore’s inspirational shop ‘The House of Beauty and Culture’ in Hackney, Pam Hogg, with Tom Dixon, Judy Blame and Fric and Frack at the pivotal 1987 Crafts Council show ‘The Makers Eye’ that pushed the conceptual boundaries of craft and production methods.

“we were rebelling against the conservative, the bland….. We are striving for excitement” says Stevie Stewart of that time (Vogue UK, March 2003).

So seeing Michael Clark again reminded me of the movement – expressional, confrontational and non-conformist times which feels so different to the mass-production tribe of fashion of today. There may not have been much money around but there was the mentality of Do It Yourself which was much more inventive and personal.

Michael Clark mixes Punk with classical, creating a tantalising explosion in sound and colour especial in ‘COME, BEEN, GONE’ – stripy jackets over bright red body suits, against brilliant blue and orange backdrops with Jean Genie and Heroes blasting out loud from gigantic speakers… jaw dropping dance movements – it had a similarity to the Anish Kapoor I saw last week, the feeling of being immersed in to the deep rhythms of colour – pure genius! Thank You Michael Clark and team!

Go see at the Barbican till end of this week.

PS … forgot to mention great programme in the shape of a record sleeve designed by Malcolm Garrett.

BBC Michael Clark Interview