English Eccentrics Prints

The English Eccentrics are a group of print designers who became popular in the 1980's for their fun, creative hand printed garments. They to took inspiration from historical sources, with references to mythology, medieval England and renaissance influences. I have done quite a lot of previous research on the English Eccentrics in my contextual study, where I look at how artist and designers are influenced by historical references.

I'm attracted to how the English Eccetrics work. They transform paintings and drawings in their sketchbooks directly into prints for clothing and accessorize. I like how they work loose with a free approach to design and print, mixing different methods of print and layering images. There is a fabulous book called 'English Eccentrics: The Textile Designs of Helen Littman', in which photographs of the original sketchbook pages are seen alongside the finished print.

Some photocopy's of pages in the book:

 Spirit of the Forest

 The 'Spirit of the Forest' print behind the test in the image above reminds me of this print by Moore,

 They both have swirling patterns and layers of images

Spirit of the Forest, wood block print

Again a print from the 'Spirit of the Forest' series

 I'm interested in the 'Spirit of the Forest' series as it depicts scenes of pagan beliefs and mythology, similar beliefs to those the Anglo Saxons would have had. The Saxons beliefs can be seen on close inspection carved into treasures from the hoard.

Further examples of English Eccentrics prints with historical references, particularly to Greek mythology,

Peace of Women AW86

Mosaic scarf SS80

Hayleys comet SS86

I'm interested in experimenting with mixing print techniques inspired by the English Eccentrics. They often mix print techniques such as screen printing with block printing, giving different surface quality's to the fabric.