As Easter approaches, some of us might be occupied with decorating eggs or considering egg-related crafts. At Compton Verney, an art gallery in Warwickshire, UK, there are quite a few inspirations like an egg box creature, sort of cute and slightly alien looking, then painted eggs, and a fun yet slightly spooky wool egg cozy resembling a colorful balaclava, complete with small openings for the eyes, nose, and mouth.
However, it would be reductive to stop at Easter inspirations (especially for fashion design students!). So, let's go beyond these inspirations.
A few of the painted Easter eggs at Compton Verney were indeed decorated with felt-tip pens by Enid Marx, and all these items are from the Marx-Lambert collection. This collection was created by the artist Enid Marx (1902-1998) and her partner, the historian Margaret Lambert (1906-1995), who both shared a passion for English popular art.
From the late 1930s, Marx and Lambert started gathering popular ephemera, like scrapbooks, Valentines, paper peepshows, children's books, Staffordshire dog figurines, and toys.
The collection at Compton Verney showcases a variety of items, from glassware and ceramics to corn dollies and papier-mâché figures. The collection was the starting point for Marx-Lambert’s book "When Victoria Began to Reign," published by Faber and Faber in 1937 (further volumes on English popular art followed).Young graphic and textile designers who might not be familiar with Marx's work should take the opportunity to learn more about her. Marx, also known as "Marco" throughout her life, was a printmaker and painter, creating linocuts and designs for book jackets, postage stamps (notably, she designed the frame around Queen Elizabeth II's portrait on the British Wilding series of penny, halfpenny, and three-halfpenny stamps, as well as the 1976 Christmas stamp issue featuring medieval embroidery), posters, and cards and also wrote and illustrated children's books.
Marx's career was influenced by her father, a paper-making engineer, who instilled in her an interest in mass-produced design and popular art.
In 1927, Marx established her own textile design workshop, focusing on block-printed textiles and specializing in linens, muslins, and organdies.
Marx was inspired by the works of Phyllis Barron and Dorothy Larcher and, like them, she favored natural dyes over new chemical methods, incorporating strong graphic qualities and a rigorous sense of design into her patterns. She also experimented with dynamic abstract prints and motifs, utilizing rhythm and pattern variations by rotating, alternating, or overprinting blocks.
Marx gained her reputation through her industrial textile designs for the London Transport Board and the Utility Furniture Scheme.
In 1937, she was commissioned by the London Passenger Transport Board to design moquette seat fabrics for London buses and tube trains. These designs were meticulously crafted to conceal wear and dirt while avoiding the disorienting effects of patterns in motion (so there are two design dilemmas here that she had to solve - fashion and textile design students, please take note).
For what regards concealing dirt Marx noted that strongly contrasting tones and vibrant colors were more effective in maintaining the appearance of cleanliness over time, as opposed to using colors that would tone in with the dirt.
Four of Marx's original thirteen designs, including the moquette officially known as Messrs Holdsworth's number 11581 and, colloquially, as the "Shield" pattern, became iconic fixtures in the London Underground for decades.
The "Shield" pattern consisted in a continuous pattern of infinity signs and diamond shapes, creating a sense of endlessness and symmetry. Rows of these shapes were meticulously aligned on a grid, forming a repetitive and harmonious pattern. Within these shapes, variations of lined patterns added depth and contrast to the overall design.
In 1943, furniture designer Gordon Russell extended an invitation to Marx to join the Board of Trade Utility Furniture Design Advisory Panel. Tasked with implementing wartime austerity standards in interior and furniture design, Marx created over 30 designs.
The patterns needed to be visually appealing yet simple and cost-effective to produce, so Marx worked within constraints such as a limited number of looms, four pre-selected colors, and just two types of yarn (fashion and textile students do you find working within certain constraints too limiting or more stimulating? Experiment with this technique by putting limits to the materials or palettes/techniques in your work).
The textile patterns Marx developed under the Utility Furniture Scheme primarily featured geometric or abstract designs (although Marx incorporated some floral motifs) with small scale repeating patterns.
There are therefore multiple lessons to learn from this post, first and foremost never underestimate the value of a collection; get curious about its donors and explore their lives (and Marx’s is extremely rich, so you'll be amazed at what you may find...).
And if you're feeling inspired to decorate eggs, while knitwear aficionados may try recreating the egg balaclava-cozy, graphic and textile designers should opt for eggcellent bold geometric patterns inspired by Enid Marx maybe borrowed from her hand block-printed designs or from the moquettes at the London Transport Museum archive.
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