Project report

Wallpapers have experienced a revival over the past few years. Previously walls were minimal with plastered walls painted in neutral colours. People are now starting to become more individual and are expressing themselves in interior design. The vast variety of wallpapers being produced now means that it is popular once again.
The earliest wallpapers date back to the late sixteenth century. They were individual sheets, consisting of geometrical black and white woodcut patterns on pale paper. Sometimes the papers were hand coloured. Wallpaper began to become more popular as printing and publishing grew and papers could be made more easily and quicker. Papers were not only used for covering walls, they were also used for lining boxes.
The late seventeenth century saw wallpapers that incorporated repeats. These papers were produced by a process called block printing. This process was responsible for the introduction of borders as block printing required every sheet to have a blank margin on either side. Therefore borders were used to cover this, making the room look as if it were covered in paper panels.
By the middle eighteenth century rolls of wallpaper were introduced allowing for bigger repeat patterns. Wallpapers of this particular time are being reproduced today and would not look out of place in the modern home. Wallpaper designers from this time also started to design papers especially for particular rooms. For example green for private picture galleries (because the green contrasted well with the gold frames), red for dining rooms, and so on. This showed that wallpaper was not just being produced to cover a wall but that the designers were starting to consider the overall look of a room. Another characteristic of eighteenth century wallpaper was the flocking process. Flock was made from dyed woollen waste which was glued onto large, stylised, floral designs onto a backing paper in a similar colour to the dyed wool. This created and damask like effect. Another popular style from the mid-eighteenth century was architectural paper. This was known as the ‘pillar and arch’ pattern.
The nineteenth century brought numerous changes in the use and production of wallpaper, which saw increased interest in embellishing surfaces. With new production methods, wallpaper at this time was no longer just for the privileged households. Designers were creating papers that imitated fabrics and embossed leathers. Papers later started to be developed using different materials such as vinyl, which became popular in commercial and industrial environments. It was often used in hospitals and restaurants for its ease of cleaning.
The eighteenth and nineteenth century was the peak of decorative wall coverings. After this there was a short period where bare painted walls were the fashion. Now highly patterned wallpapers are making a come back with designers putting modern spins on the old traditional techniques of previous years.
Our trip to Temple Newsam was a good detailed view of wallpapers from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century and it had examples of all the key trends from these eras. The trip inspired me with the variety of historical wall coverings there was in one building. The eighteenth century wallpapers have been the most influential in my work. I was particularly inspired by the more illustrative wallpapers showing plants and birds in detail. There were also examples of William Morris’ work on display. Historic wallpapers have been very influential in modern designers work. They have tried to take these traditional ideas and reinvent them in a new and interesting way, keeping them alive through the 20th century. For example William Morris has influenced Laura Ashley with the neo Georgian repeats. Cole and son use the Victorian prints and techniques that were used in vogue at this time and Linda Florence has revived the concept of the damask but given it a modern spin with her foils which hides and exposes the traditional pattern underneath.
For this project I decided to use Hortus Botanicus as a starting point looking at florals, nature and organics. My particular focus was on vegetables and fruit, also looking at botanical illustrations for inspiration. Florals is perhaps the most obvious and most popular choice for wallpaper designs. They have been popular throughout history and are maybe even more so today. This is possibly because they give a sense of bringing the natural beauty of the outside world inside. Floral patterns are also popular as they can be so versatile and can be done effectively in various different styles, such as, girlish buds, luxurious damasks, stylised graphic flowers or retro funky prints.
Long before photography, the only way of capturing something was to draw, etch or paint onto paper. Botanical artists had to illustrate the plants in the highest detail, not missing a single thing. This gave these drawings a stylised effect. The style still inspires designers today and is highly influential in fabric and wallpaper design.
As well as Hortus Botanicus being a starting point I also wanted to use graffiti as another aspect of my design. The idea of using graffiti as a starting point for my designs came from the thought that graffiti could be seen as wallpaper for the outside. I wanted to create a layered and textured effect influenced by modern graffiti. In contrast to these messy and textured backgrounds I wanted to use simple black and white realistic drawings of the vegetables and fruit, taking inspiration from old botanical drawings and early floral wallpapers from designers such as William Morris. I felt I could have explored different styles of drawing throughout the project, but am still pleased with the drawings I used in my final pieces. My main artist influences were Timorous Beasties, particularly this image. I liked the use of black against the bold colours and loved the smooth fluid lines. The pattern just seems to flow effortlessly. I also liked the idea of the piece not covering the whole wall. I feel you can see a slight influence from Timorous Beasties in my finial design, particularly with the use of colour against some black and white areas.
Another big influence in my work was Johanna Basford. Her simple yet detailed, purely black and white images really appealed to me. I don’t feel this is obvious in my final designs but her work certainly influenced me throughout the developmental stages. Clare Coles was another artist that you can see has influenced my designs. I love her use of mixed papers and most influential of all was her used as stitch as an outline. I feel this adds texture and also makes a piece of work seem more delicate. In my own work I decided not to do an outline, but to randomly stitch across the images and leave loose threads dangling. I did this because I felt it was more suited to my style of work as I did not want a clean, sleek finished piece.
My initial drawings for this project were of fruit and vegetables. Starting with simple brio drawings that later developed into collaged ink drawings. I felt some of the early drawings were successful, but not all of them. I later decided to go back to the drawing stage as I felt I had not produced enough drawings using different styles and media. The later drawings I produced I didn’t really use as I preferred the scratchy black and white effect of the biro. My drawings later developed into studies of butterflies after the trip to the discovery centre. I was not planning to use any other imagery along side the fruit and vegetables but felt the small, delicate, pencil drawn butterflies worked well as a contrast in my final design.
With my initial idea for the project being graffiti, I wanted to create layered and textured backgrounds. After being introduced to gesso I felt that this was the perfect process for me to use. I produced a few pieces on wood but did not really get the desired effect. After trying it on paper in my sketch book I felt that this was the right direction for me to move in. I later developed into large scale gesso pieces and was really pleased with the effect. After producing a number of these large scale pieces on different coloured backgrounds I began to think about what my final piece would be. The gesso pieces were really effective, but were not professional enough for a final design, with the gesso causing the paper to crease. To solve this I decided to scan my pieces into Photoshop creating a more professional look, yet still having the textured effect that I wanted to create. Another problem with my large scale pieces was their shape. I was not sure how my finial design would fit together. I later came across a few graffiti artists 123klan Scien and Klor. Looking at there graffiti I realised that the art was not just square, but that the designs were irregular shapes and felt I should incorporate this into my final outcome. An idea that came to mind was to create irregular shaped gesso pieces which could be produced into stickers for your wall.
Throughout the project we were also introduced to processes such as flocking and foiling. Although I really liked these effects I felt they did not suit my style of work and did not fit in well with what I wanted to achieve. The wallpaper project was defiantly my favourite project so far. I was pleased with my final outcome and felt the project developed well.

Kerry McVeigh