The Accidental Embroiderer

Art Nouveau meets Arts and Crafts

As I said a couple of weeks ago, I've recently been enjoying myself having a look through some of the design styles that have been popular in past years. First there were the clean, spare lines of the 1950s, then the sinuous tendrils of Art Nouveau. And recently I've been revisiting the solid Victorian values of the school of William Morris – the Arts and Crafts movement. I did a few sketches in the Morris style but I found that my recent attempts at Art Nouveau were having an influence – the lines of the designs were more fluid and curving than you usually find in Morris' work. But the results were OK, if not quite up to Morris' standards.

 

Rosebranch

The stems are Art Nouveau, the roses are Morris

I'm not sure what you could do with it – maybe duplicate it and reverse the duplicate, and use it for a cushion cover? That would be suitable for a Morris design – he was heavily into tapestry and soft furnishings of various kinds. Oh well, it's not my immediate problem. I'll keep it for a while and see if any ideas present themselves on what to do with it

5 thoughts on “Art Nouveau meets Arts and Crafts

  1. The idea of duplicating or reversing the design to use it for a cushion cover sounds lovely. It would also look beautiful on a jean jacket or down the leg of a pair of jeans.

  2. Beautiful, as usual! It’s always interesting to see your imaginative interpretations of other artists’ work. I seem to prefer your stylings to the originals – more life to them! Lovely.

  3. I really like the blend of the two styles.
    One of my favorite pieces of furniture is a chair made in the 1950s that reproduces most of the features of a Morris Chair. They narrowed the arms and made the arm-supporting spindles a little more delicate and decorative, but it’s incredibly functional, streamlined, and solidly built. I’m sure it will outlast all my other furniture with very little TLC.
    Taking the best of a style and making it a little more decorative or less bulky seems like a good thing. Well done!

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