The art embroidery of May Morris, daughter of the Arts & Crafts master William Morris, with important information on patterns and techniques for high level embroiderers.
May Morris (18621938) was a leading figure in the Arts and Crafts Movement and a key exponent of decorative needlework (or art embroidery). Following the critically acclaimed exhibition at the William Morris Gallery in 2017, research into her life and work has mushroomed, bringing her out of her fathers shadow. Inspiring designers and practitioners today, May Morriss work is much sought after by those keen to acquire a deeper understanding of her creative process and that of her contemporaries. May Morris described design as the very essence and soul of beautiful embroidery, and ranked it chief among the four elements that make a work truly artistic. The Ashmolean holds one of the largest repositories of her designs, though few of these have appeared in print or been added to the Museums online collections. Drawing on the Ashmolean archive, this book aims to make the designs more widely accessible to embroiderers, not only equipping them with the tools to create their own projects based on May Morriss working methods, but also providing them with the historical context to place their work and practice in the continuum of decorative needlework.
Part One will consist of an essay on May Morris' contribution to the
revival of decorative needlework. Tracing its roots back to the artistic
developments of the 1830s, the introduction will begin by examining the
influence of Gothic Revival and Design Reform; the Victorian obsession with
Berlin work versus the renewed appreciation for the technical mastery and
artistic expression found in the work of medieval embroiderers; the impact of
the South Kensington Museum; and the revival of interest in the decorative
arts of the Middle East, India and the Far East through the advent of
international expositions. Next, it will explore the four constituent
elements of art embroidery with reference to the work of designers and
practitioners of the later 19th century, i.e. design based on an awareness of
the intellectual quality of medieval ornament; the selection and arrangement
of colours; the choice of suitable materials; and the vocabulary of stitch.
Finally, the introduction will discuss May Morriss approach to creating
decorative needlework on behalf of Morris & Co. and in her own practice with
reference to her published writings, lecture notes and extant embroideries.
Part Two: Selection of around 30 designs from the Ashmolean collection.
Each design will include a 100250-word entry on its historical context
plus an image of the original pattern and a new outline drawing for
embroiderers to transfer. Instructions will be included for stitching 4 or
5 of the designs in order to demonstrate how they might have been worked by
May Morris. For each new outline drawing, this book will also provide a
link (QR code/website address with persistent identifier) from which the
pattern can be downloaded. This will enable the reader to increase the size
of the outline drawing to the dimensions required for transferring onto the
fabric ground ready for stitching. A digital link will also be provided for
the instruction booklets for ease of use.
Lynn Hulse is an independent textile historian and practitioner specialising in needlework from the 16th to the early 20th centuries, and her primary area of research is art embroidery for the domestic interior, c. 18601914. She is regularly invited to give lectures to museums, historic houses, tour groups and societies connected with textiles and the decorative arts in the UK, Ireland and North America, and has organised textile conferences and symposia on behalf of the Textile Society, Ashmolean Museum, and other bodies.
