Flights of Fancy

Flights of Fancy is an exhibition of decorative interior themes from the 1920s and 30s and shows original samples of wallpapers produced at this time with floral growths , flowers or trees designed to grow up the wall or "drops" which hang down from the cornice or picture rail . (Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester ) There are also borders . Most of these designs are cutouts bought ready to paste as the homeowner wishes . This put me in mind of the contemporary wallpaper designers such as Rachel Kelly who surely must have studied the designs from this era to have come up with their own interactive wallpapers and put me in mind of my own work and thoughts on cutouts , laser cutting , fabric cut-work, applique.
There is much hand painted and stencilled imagery with large scale flowers such as hollyhocks .there are also samples of old catalogues and books with delightful descriptions and information:
"Charming in its first glimpse of loveliness this decoration enables you to bring indoors the fragrant beauty of an old world garden. "

Also books from the era including one entitled: The Florimel Decoration from Studies in Harmony, Wallpapers 1931; Creator: untraced, John Line and Sons Ltd (for); Creation Date: 1931 .
The Courtenay Decoration is a 1920s frieze "of flowers and foliage against a deep blue trellis" with a coordinated cutout "trail" sold by the yard "
Could this somehow be done with fabric perhaps with a pre-bonded piece for people to iron on where they wish, to a blind or window piece or other interior textile? Could I be looking at wallpapers as an outlet for designs ? Lots of food for thought and a thoroughly fascinating and entertaining exhibition . See Selvedge Issue 22 p28/29 for a review Christine Woods and images featuring the Hollyhocks.
This also had a nostalgic feel to me and put me in mind of my grandfathers house in Morecambe with 1920s 30s influences of decoration, Clarisse Cliff ceramics and the hollyhocks that my father grew at the entrance to his green houseat our house in Ilkey .I can remember being amazed by the scale and beauty of these flowers but have never managed to grow them myself they really are the epitome of the English cottage garden.
Yet another example of outside inside .