Skip to main content

Willow Pattern Revisited


This is the Willow Pattern we are most familiar with - a traditional  chinaware design  by Thomas Minton in 1790, popularised for at least the next 200 years. Thinking back to the old poem about the Willow Pattern, 

Two birds flying high,
A Chinese vessel, sailing by.
A bridge with three men, sometimes four,
A willow tree, hanging o'er.
A Chinese temple, there it stands,
Built upon the river sands.
An apple tree, with apples on,
A crooked fence to end my song

I discovered that some of my photos taken recently in China reminded me of  a contemporary Willow Pattern scene. As I am not a skilled photographer by any stretch of the imagination, I have tried to turn two very rather ordinary photos into modern versions of the Willow Pattern - well at least, elements of the Willow Pattern. 



1. Original Image - Wild Goose Pagoda , Xian , China 
 2. Sepia tint 
 3. Blue tint  
4. Blue tint  with white background . 
5 Blue and white tint with mirror frame 
6. Blue and white tint with HDR (high dynamic range ) 

7. I call this the tea towel effect - but it is really the panographic effect. 
Here is the one I prefer ....
1.   original image -  West lake, Hangzhou , China 
2. Blue tint 
3. Panographic effect - landscape 
4. Panographic effect - portrait 
 Willow Pattern - old and new .... Tag on tag - double gift tag,
  digital image on  photo paper and  photocopy on cardboard with  Chinese character wooden beads and baker's twine 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for reading my blog and please share your thoughts about my blog post by leaving a comment.Your comment won't appear immediately as comments are verified before publication in an effort to reduce the amount of spam appearing. Anonymous comments will not be published.

Popular posts from this blog

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks ....  The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and  message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or  my husband or from off cuts gifted to us  from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks.   Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt  or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as w...
3 comments
Read more

"Temari Or Not Temari?" Tutorial

 Background Information:  Temari (literally translated “hand ball”) is a Japanese folk craft that is alleged to have originated in China and was introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago. Traditionally, the balls were constructed from wrapped kimono fabric remnants and silk threads. They were made by mothers and grandmothers for children to play with. Nowadays, decorative embroidered temari represent a highly valued and cherished gift symbolizing friendship and loyalty. Recently I've wondered if your don't use traditional techniques whether you should call what you create "temari". That is an ongoing debate but today I share what I do to make a "non-traditional temari".... 1.I start  with a polystrene ball ( traditionally the balls were wound  silk scraps or other organic materials) and begin to wrap with approx 4 ply wool, turning the ball as I wrap.  2. I then wrap another layer of wool in a similar fashion , this time a 3 or 2 ...
8 comments
Read more

Timeless Textiles Exhibition

From the   Newcastle Herald today Tactile textiles by top fibre artists BY AMY EDWARDS  Photo by Dean Osland 26 Aug, 2011 04:00 AM THE best of Newcastle’s fibre and textile artists have welcomed the opening of a gallery in Islington to show their work. Timeless Textiles, the brainchild of Newcastle fibre artist Anne Kempton, opened in Beaumont Street, Islington, last night. ‘‘I knew there was a niche and an important one for this style of art. This is high end work and it features 19 artists,’’ she said. The exhibition Revealed: Uncovering the Beauty of Fibre Art features the work of Newcastle, national and international artists ranging from natural fibre clothing designs, wall art, sculptures and 3D hangings. Wilma Simmons, a former high school principal, has created a series of dolls using natural fibres. ‘‘This is a really rare opportunity. There are so few galleries not only in NSW but Australia to promote excellence in fibre and textile art,’’ Mrs Simmons s...
1 comment
Read more