William Morris was a designer in the late 1800’s whose work is immortal. His designs were at the forefront of the development of the Arts & Crafts movement, an era and style I am particularly drawn to. Morris believed in a combination of simplicity, good design, and craft work. The philosophy was that industrially manufactured items lacked the honesty of traditional craft work. The wallpaper design in the background of “The Yellow Wallpaper” is one of William Morris’ designs entitled “Larkspur”. It is a design I am drawn to for its woodblock print quality and curvilinear movement.
The title of this piece is from Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story from the same era as the Arts & Crafts movement. Her work is considered important contribution to early feminist literature. The story depicts the effects of confinement on the narrator’s mental health and her decline into psychosis with nothing to stimulate her but the pattern and color of the wall paper in the room in which she is confined.
While in the throes of carving, filling, and fusing wax, the endless hours of staring at the same work transports my mind and I too begin to read the wallpaper.
The blue heron is bird I see often in my backyard. My neighbor has a pond full of gold trout that attracts them. He spends much of his time figuring out ways to distract them from his fish while I look at his fish as a draw for beautiful birds.
The compilation of the above elements was randomly based on design elements that I wanted to fuse together.