Zig zag design 8- different stages.jpg

This project is part of Ceres Artists in Residence at The Museum of Domestic Design &amp; Architecture (MoDA). The aim of the residency was to use objects from MoDA's collection as a starting point for exploration of natural prints and dyes with the aim of raising the awareness of sustainability in design research.<br><br>Design inspired by 'A46 Zig zag design' by Enid Marx for R.D.I London Transport, 1945.<br>I started this design by carving it into a linoleum plate, then transferred it as a repeat pattern onto a film for screen printing, keeping the original mark makings from the linoleum.<br>The wool was dyed in red cabbage prior to printing, giving a blue/grey background colour.<br>The design was screen printed with dye pastes made from bio-waste and plant extracts. The first main layer was printed with iron and coreopsis, the zig zag with rhubarb and cutch, the medium size squares with red onions, the small squares with brazilwood and the rectangles with indigo and a touch of chlorophyll. <br>The photos show the final printed repeat pattern design as well as the different printing stages before that. In the final stage, after steaming and washing, the colour change is quite dramatic as the first layer is not as dominant. The zig zag pattern, at the contrary show more contrast and stand out more because of the iron and cutch overlay.