I’ve got a thing for William Morris.
He was considered a radical Victorian designer, which is why his work still inspires us today.
This gorgeous quilt “Acanthus” by Yoko Ueda, was a star attraction in the special William Morris exhibit at the Tokyo Quilt Festival. You can see why!
Along the right side I’ve added some William Morris reproductions and other fabrics in stock at eQuilter now…to pick up the bright colors in Yoko’s absolutely delicious quilt.
Morris’ Acanthus Leaf design is one of his most famous. (You can see it in the plum-colored swatch in the bottom right corner.) This full-sized quilt was immediately recognizable as his Acanthus design – from a distance – and yet Ms. Ueda has made it undeniably her own.
It is very exciting to see the evolution of Japanese quilting over the years, and especially in the big picture, to see how Japanese quilters have inspired US and European quilters…and how Western quilts (and art and design) also inspire our friends in and around Tokyo.
William’s appreciation for Nature and his exquisitely detailed work, was expressed in a stylized technique, inspired by the Arts & Crafts Movement. I see his appreciation for Asian art in his work also…which no doubt later inspired the Mingei (Folk Crafts) movement in Japan.
Art, design and color are part of the spiral which circles around but always returns at a new level. The cycle of inspiration that continues to spiral between the Asian world and the Western world…is a gift for all of us.
Watch for my photos popping up shortly on my Flickr page…I am working on getting all the artists’ names with the images so credit will go where it is due!
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