Eugène Séguy (1890 – 1985) was a French entomologist who published many portfolios of illustrations and designs from the turn of the century to the 1930s who worked in both the Art Deco and Art Nouveau styles. Séguy wanted to use his artistic skill to glorify the sublime beauty of nature, creating what he called a ‘world of sumptuous forms and colours.’ He then transformed these beautiful illustrations into textile designs. Incredible – see more here.
Geometry Daily is a Tumblr started by German Interaction and Graphic Designer Tilman Zitzmann, he started the blog when he was taking a year out of “normal” agency design work to look after his two small daughters – he needed something to keep him on his designer’s toes. As Tilman explains, “I committed myself to two of my favorite fields, geometry and minimalism, and started creating graphics and publishing them on a Tumblr, one each and every day. It turned out that this was one of the best ideas I ever had.” Brilliant! Go check out the Tumblr.
‘Black pattern watercolours’ are the mixed media exploration of physical pattern boundaries by Seattle based artist Julie Alpert. Patternbank are loving Julie’s playful studies of individual pattern and the relationship between their outer boundaries. Mixing watercolour, ink and permanent marker these beautifully created works are of great inspiration. If you happen to be in Seattle over the next couple of days we recommend dropping by Soil Art gallery where Julie is exhibiting until the 27th April.
‘Our Exquisite Corpse’ teamed up with the Huichol people of western Mexico to produce these intricately beaded skulls. Each of the heavily beaded pieces has been decorated by various artists from the Huichol, using traditional symbols and designs arranged within the patterns, making every skull a completely unique piece of art. The Huichols are decendants of the Aztecs and believe in the Sun God, ancestral spirits and four principal deities – Deer, Corn, Coyote and Eagle. The Sierra Madre Mountains are their home and the Huichol have a long history of creating beaded art, which is a treasured part of their culture. Each skull is cast from resin and hand beaded onto a layer of wax. See more from ‘Our exquisite Corpse’ on their website.
Patternbank have compiled a quick highlight post of some of the strongest prints seen at the recent Australian Fashion Week (MBFWA) Spring/Summer 2013 shows.
Photos Via MBFWA & Vogue Australia
Chinese illustrator Zhou Fan has a distinct Japanese quality in his art and visual explorations. Fan explains ‘ My paintings are based on dreams that I had as a child of many many jellyfish floating in the sky, some of which fell to the ground on parachures and became mushrooms. These dreams had a strong impact on me, and I remember them vividly.‘ Patternbank love Fan’s amazing dreamscape visions that use colour, texture and strange subject matter which create some mesmerizing imagery.
Patternbank stumbled across Bike Geeks Flickr page that contains more than 400 pictures of awesome retro antique bicycle head badges. Such a wealth of Graphic inspiration from around the world with the tactile texture of steel, the smooth feel of enamel and the myriad of logos, typefaces and vintage graphics. Check his Flickr page out here.
If you’re looking for more print trend inspiration for Spring/Summer 2014, look no further than Basement Jaxx’s new video by Big Active’s Mat Maitland. This Psychedelic visual safari takes you on a real journey through some of the key prints themes coming through for S/S14. These include: Tropical Utopia and Scientific Nature from Patternbanks Spring/Summer 2014 Print report Part 1. Other trends translated in the video’s visual exploration include: Tribal Geometries, Fantastic Aqua-Life Earth + Cracks and Fantastic Safari from our Première Vision + Indigo S/S 2014 Print trend report.
The promo, co-directed with Natalia Stuyk, features Mat Maitland’s signature collage style along with specially made items by French hair stylist / fashion designer Charlie Le Mindu and make-up artist Isamaya Ffrench. Maitland also shot the sleeve image which similarly uses a Le Mindu headpiece. (Video at the foot of page)
