19 March 2009

Bauhaus Textiles

Did you know the Bauhaus had a textiles and fabrics workshop? I felt like sharing some of the designs with you. The fabrics workshop was the women's domain, which has caused some academics to flag the Bauhaus's dubious gender agenda in the 1920s (when women were pretty much only allowed in the fabrics and textiles course). However the wall hangings, carpets and upholstery fabrics that came out of the school are unbelievable. I particularly like Anni Albers' designs. Here are some examples from her and others:



Kitty Fischer-van der Mijll-Dekker, Design for a woollen blanket, 1932, Gouache on chequered paper
Image from the Bauhaus Museum, here


Ruth Hollós-Consemüller, Gobelin, c. 1926, Cotton and wool
Image from the Bauhaus Museum, here

Anni Albers, Red and Blue Layers, 1954
Image from the Albers Foundation, here

Anni Albers, Haiku
Image from the Albers Foundation, here
Anni Albers, Wall Hanging, 1925
Image from the Albers Foundation, here

17 March 2009

Dirty, Pretty Things



My most treasured 30th birthday present! My mum had these since she was very young, and she gave them to me after a lifetime of begging her to let me have them. I love them - she bought them as a young whippersnapper in Verona, Italy. Now I need a cobbler, or someone who won't butcher the hell out of them, to restore them. Is there a shoe hospital in Melbourne? I bet.