Voysey's Alice in Wonderland

With Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland now in theatres it seems a good time to post a photo of designer and architect Charles Voysey's beautiful Alice wallpaper designed about 1930.  How perfect would this be in a nursery?  You can buy it from he of all things Voysey, David Bermen at Trustworth Studios.

click to enlarge, the detail is gorgeous

And if you'd like a few pillows to throw around the room, Marie at William Morris Cushion Covers (link in left sidebar) has found some vintage material from The Habitat V&A Collection printed in 1988 which she has sewn up.

And if you are a huge Lewis Carroll fan and have a ridiculous amount of money to spend on something fascinating, check out the celestial constellation globes below (and a more detailed description here).

Tweedledum and Tweedledee as Gemini twins along zodiac
 

Morris in real life - A Jasmine hall

My friend Janet, a graphic designer, has William Morris's Jasmine (1872) wallpaper in her front hall.  Morris used the same paper in his study at Kelmscott House.  It is incredibly welcoming.  This pattern comes in a number of other colorways (and in fabric) which you can see here and below.

Note added later:  The paint is Benjamin Moore Bavarian Cream.

You can find a link to post about push button electrical switches here.

Right On Target

Liberty of London comes to Target (aka Tar-zhay) and it's great affordable design for the masses.  Morris would approve (of the design anyway, maybe not the factories in third world where the stuff is probably made).  I took Target's on-line personality test (here) to see what pattern matched me best and you wouldn't believe the answer (last design below).  I did not rig these results!  Even Target can tell I'm a William Morris fan.

 

 

 

  

 

"Theberton is sophisticated, cultured, full of complexities, a little designer flair, but at heart, down-to-earth good taste.  It's got a hint of flora and a color combination that someone with your taste level can appreciate."  Oh yeah.

Artist Mark Bennett's Fabulous House Tour

 

Home of the Addams Family

  detail Addams Family Mansion

  

Home of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson

  

Home of Fred and Wilma Flintstone

 

Home of Mary Richards

 Home of Ricky and Lucy Ricardo

Mark Bennett's Gallery and some perfect wallpaper inspired by William Morris for the Addams Family Mansion here.

Art You Give Your Children

Today is Read Across America Day, held each year on the birthday of Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel.   How wonderful is the art of our childhood....

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

And of course, don't forget Struwwelpeter from last week.  I got a number of emails from friends and family after that post, all saying how much they loved reading Struwwelpeter as kids.  One particularly funny note went: "We also read Struwwelpeter, it was totally engrossing and made you feel tingly and inordinately interested in matches."

Art? Or data? V&A Pattern, Part 4

Here's the last installment on the recently published four volume V&A Pattern book.  The final volume is entitled Digital Pioneers and invites you to look at the work done by the visionary artists who joined together with scientists and programmers to explore the artistic potential of computer technology.  I've made this one fun by putting in two pictures from my own scientific work.  Can you guess which ones they are?  They all click to enlarge.

  

1.

  

2.

  

3.

 

  

4.

  

5. 

  

6.

  

7.

  

8.

  9.

 

10.

1.  Manfred Mohr, P-122, 1972
2.  Aaron Marcus, Evolving Gravity, 1972
3.  Paul Brown, Untitled, 1975
4.  Jim Galasyn, LR04 Time Series, 2009
5.  Roman Verostko, Pathway Series, 1987
6.  Roman Verostko, Manchester Illuminated Universal Turing Machine, 1998
7.  AARON, a computer program written by Harold Cohen, 2003
8.  AARON, a computer program written by Harold Cohen, 2003
9.  Mark Wilson, PSC31, 2003
10.  Jim Galasyn, Poincare Section Solar Insolation, 2009

Did you guess?  Jim Galasyn analyzed and plotted my data on his blog here.  Here are the links to the previous V&A Pattern posts:

Mughal Empire Florals, part 1
The Fifties, part 2
William Morris, part 3

Let us honor Phillis Wheatley, 1753-1784

 

On the last day of Black History Month I want to share the story of Phillis Wheatley who I learned about from my niece yesterday.  Wheatley was kidnapped in Gambia at age 8 and by age 9 had been sold on the slavery block in Boston to a man named John Wheatley.  He named her Phillis after the ship that brought her to the Americas.  Phillis became the servant of his wife and she and his daughter taught Phillis to read and write, such that she was fully literate within a few years.  At fourteen she published her first poem and by the age of twenty had published a volume of poetry--she was the first African-American and second woman in the colonies to author a book.  It was published in England as the Boston publishers refused to have anything to do with her.  Even worse, she had to go to trial in Massachusetts and prove that she really was the author of the poems being read and lauded by the likes of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Voltaire and others.

By the end of her twenties she was emancipated upon the death of her master, Wheatley, and she married a free black grocer who was eventually sent to debtor's prison.  She died in poverty and ill-health working as a scullery maid at age 31.  Her infant daughter died a few hours later. 

You can download a volume of her poetry at the Gutenburg Project.  Here is a poem inspired by her story:

Phillis Wheatley

Held back by iron
Bars of white
'Twas with a pen
That she did fight

She stuck her fingers
Through the cracks
The words shone bright
Though skin be black

O such tales of gore and grace
Bubbled out from deep within
Where people can't be judged
By the color of their skin

Holding on to the dreams
Of courage and laughter
She was remembered
For eons after

Boldly
She built elegant wings
Brick
By brick
By brick

by Kate W. (age 10)

 

Statue of  Phillis Wheatley on Commonwealth Ave., Boston

William Morris meets my artistic Aunt....

Result:  more pretty dresses!

 

 

I'm liking the winter outfit.   It might be time to order some fabric and fire up the sewing machine.  You can see more of Anne's work here.