Wallpaper Report - Katherine Byrne

Project Report

The beginnings of wallpaper originated in 1568, where patterns derived from block prints which then gradually progressed to using presses, rollers and mechanising processes.
Looking back at wallpaper it was used for many purposes. Going back to the Renaissance period wallpaper was used to display religious views, with wallpaper clearly depicting the Virgin Mary, and in the late 16th Century wallpaper developed into covering other surfaces including box interiors and fans, which could be covered in a removable motif. Today wallpaper is used for mainly aesthetic purposes, covering a variety of different surfaces.
The earliest wallpaper derives back to the 1570’s where wallpaper was cheap yet aesthetically pleasing. In the 19th century printed textiles developed into companies mass producing fabric and printing, however in 1864 a printing machine emerged, decreasing the overall quality of the wallpaper.
In 1851 the Great Exhibition in Kenzington was held in which artistic merit was lost. As a revolt bigger companies such as Geophrey & Co employed designers such as William Morris, working with the arts and craft movement as a rebellion against industrialisation.

For my project I wanted to take this concept of using old-fashioned processes and patterns and making them into contemporary designs. The basis of my project was looking at flowers. As I wanted to portray this old, worn style, I experimented printing my designs on different backgrounds including tissue paper and card, some of which where successful, however the background combined with the print wasn’t working. I then moved to the technique of Gesso, an ancient protein based method in which you lightly layer the mixture to produce depth and an interesting texture, creating a very interesting base for my designs.

The original brief of ‘Hortus Botanicus’ gave me a very broad base for my designs. I began drawing very common flowers including lilies, carnations and roses which gave me very interesting patterns and forms, however if I wanted my designs to have traditional sense, I needed to draw flowers of a more natural form, for which I drew large scale drawings of outdoor roses. These roses provided me with a very interesting sense of pattern, which became the basis of my designs.

My visit to Temple Newsome really inspired my designs. This 16th century house displayed a variety of wallpaper designs, of which inspire many contemporary designs today. The designs were very bold, with vivid colour schemes, which were repeated in long lengths. Many of the papers were layered using floral designs which really inspired my work. Metallic colours, particularly gold were used as well as flocking.
This idea of layering gave the wallpapers a lot of depth and the metallics really brought out the designs. The layering really inspired my work as this gave the papers a lot of diversity and applied a really interesting surface, which combined with the design gave a really interesting print as a whole.

Looking at artists from the Designers Guild I can see great similarity from the wallpapers I saw at Temple Newsome. The old-fashioned floral prints of roses and other flowers are used widely by designers today, arising the question of whether these prints are traditional or contemporary?
The flocking and foiling processes are dated back to 1750’s, yet are often seen in modern wallpapers following the same floral patterns. The two hue colour schemes seen in Temple Newsome bear great similarity to that of Designers Guild and the floral patterns today date back to the 1800’s; looking at head row flowers, traditional garden roses and buds.
I feel that these designs are traditional, as artists today have merely brought back the same colour schemes, floral and Tiole de Joue designs, as well as flocking and foiling designs used, and placed them amongst modern interiors.

Although I perceive these designs as being traditional, today I think the wallpapers appeal to a much younger audience. Amongst modern interiors the wallpapers have a very contemporary feel and are usually place along one wall, next to plain off white walls. These designs today would appeal to young adults however traditionally would have been associated with the upper-class.

Looking at the wallpapers from the Designers Guild as well as Temple Newsome I wanted to take the idea of very traditional floral prints combined with the flocking and foiling processes, however I wanted to make the designs appear ancient and worn as from the date they derived from. Yet within the designs I still wanted to keep a slightly contemporary feel, to make the patterns different to how they were in the 1600’s as well as appeal to a younger audience.
My first attempts for this were by making very worn, textured surfaces as backgrounds and to then print on top, however doing this made the prints and backgrounds very stiff. I also experimented with foiling and flocking however the designs were too clean cut and similar to that of today. In one piece I foiled over the top of the design, however instead of screen-printing the glue I hand painted it. This made a very textured surface to apply the foil, making it appear very worn, revealing the layers underneath, which I intended for my designs.

In the 1750’s flocking was introduced which was then calendared to make shiny, this technique gives a very strong design, giving the paper definition and texture. Similarly foiling creates the same effect, however as well as applying different textures to the wallpaper, foiling gives the wallpaper real diversity and catches the eye of the viewer. The metallic paper does this in a very subtle way, which does not detract from the overall design.

Florence Broadhursts designs particularly interested me; she uses foil to depict certain shapes and usually covers the whole length in foiling. She combines the foil with usually one or two coloured layers, making the colour scheme not detract from the overall design. The foiling within her work gives her wallpapers a really interesting surface within which the shapes become very apparent.

Within my designs I wanted to depict the definition and texture that foiling brings to the surface however I wanted to do this in a very subtle way to give my wall covering depth as well as an ancient style. I discovered that by using Gessoed paper as a background I was then able to print on top and continue layering the Gesso to give depth to the design. It also enabled me to overlap the designs without it becoming too complicated and detracting from the overall design. The Gesso background really knocked back the block form off the pattern, making the design as a whole more complete. On top of this design I then hand painted the foiling glue, providing a textured surface for the foil to stick to; giving the design depth, texture and the appearance of age. The foil also lifted the pattern and highlighted certain areas.

Overall I am very pleased with my designs. The Gessoed paper combined with the boards provide two very interesting surfaces for the prints, and also provide me a variety of mediums to display my designs. The overall appearance of my designs give the aged look which I intended and the foil gives diversity and defines certain parts within the prints. The Gesso enabled me to really layer the screen-prints allowing different strengths of the design to show through, providing the designs with a lot of depth. The floral designs really work within the print, the more natural, open roses provided me with a great sense of pattern which I applied within me designs. I experimented using the open, outdoor roses and the more clean cut, shaped rose; I feel the clean cut rose did not work quite as well as the designs appeared a lot more stiff and regimented compared to the more loose and free designs of the outdoor rose. I used a very minimalist colour scheme; within in each print I combined black and one other hue. Within the designs I knocked back the black print by layering Gesso over the top, giving a patterned background to which I could print over the top without the design becoming too complicated. I feel this has worked really well and gives the prints a real sense of pattern. The cracked effect, which I have applied to the Gesso, has worked well to give an ancient feel to the designs and also provides a very interesting texture which gives the pieces a lot more diversity. The off white colour of the Gesso really brings out the designs as well as knocking back the strength of the pattern and also does not detract away from the colour scheme. The foiling on top of the designs really finishes the pieces, giving them that little bit more diversity as well as a textured metallic effect. The foiling also provides another layer in which under layers of print and Gesso are revealed.

The wooden Gesso prints I have made to accompany the wallpaper have been really successful. The wood gave me a real solid surface to apply the Gesso, which gave a great contrast to the flimsiness of the paper. I printed the same designs as the to the Gessoed paper however there is a much less sense of pattern. I have concentrated much more in layering the designs to give an impression of the pattern, which can then be revealed.

Looking at my Wall paper prints and Gesso Boards together I am very pleased at the overall result. The contemporary aged look comes across and the foiling gives a nice sense of diversity.