Painting and Stitching Celtic Designs

So after using the mapped out drawing techniques from books on paper, I decided to attempt it on fabric this time stitching on the markings by hand. 

Wool mark making

 The fabric was quite thick and the wool kept snapping so I gave up on my first design. And more on to another stitching method.

Spiral knot boarder

 This was really quite fun to do, and although a little while I really liked the end result. Just imaging the hem of a dress finished with this, or sewn around the neckline as an embellishment.

Indisparne Spiral Knot Panel
Golden woven thread sewn into cotton polyester.
by Abigail Lane
Textile Designer at NUA

 This is only 9x9 centimetres. But it took me a very long while to do. Because I couldn't get the thread to pass through the fabric I sewed it on by hand with thinner thread.

Indisparne Knot Panel 2
By Abigail Lane
Dyed Wool on polyester cotton.

 Same design, but on a larger scale. You can still see the pen markings beside the sewn shapes, but the would easily come out. I think this design would look great repeated on a larger scale.

Book cover.
by Abigail Lane
Jimmie Gel silver rollerball pen and
Bronze Acrylic paint from WHSmith
on Leather bound Book.

I Decided to create a new design on my book and practice drawing on different surfaces. The Bronze Paint looks the best even though you can't tell in this image. The Silver marks can be rubbed off, whereas the Bronze Acrylic paint stays on.

I will most certainly be doing a lot more painting. I think it looks good.

Aidan Meehan's Knotwork for Celtic Design.

After making a few drawings of Celtic patterns, and finding it a little bit difficult. I decided to search for new ways of mapping out a drawing board, and the detailed, structured work of Aidan Meehan was the answer.

Stone carvings. showing a Lindisparne Spiral Knot panel.

Hand-made Cushion inspired by the
techniques of Alison Willoughby.

I simply love the concept of creating work through a multitude of layers, and this took me days to to. But that was primarily because the thread kept snapping, from trying to sew through to many layers at once.

Torc End,
Pencil 4B
Abigail Lane

Golden Torc.
Drawn in Chalk Pastel,
by Abigail Lane

I really liked this drawing, but I wanted something that I could create that could go straight onto a textured surface.

Aidan Meehan's Celtic Design book.
Found in NUA Library.

I thought it would be easy when I started so I gave myself quite a hard pattern to start off with, least ways to say. I didn't finish it because it was inaccurate. So I started back at the beginning.

Maping out the Primary, secondary, Tertiary Grids.

Starting the Basics.

And so I started from Chapter 1 and began to relearn in a very mathematical way how to draw Celtic Knots.

The 4x2 plait construction.

And so my next step was in creating a long plait of Solomon Knots. It took a little while to get used to the step by step method, but it was worth it. 

The Construction of the Josephine Knot.

I found this was really pleasant to draw, and you can see the different possibilities that become evident by just considering where you add your colour, the thickness of lines, considering the background colour as well as the foreground. This picture's knots were 7 inches apart from end to end. It was 2 inches high, and the repeat took up 3 spaces each, and as you can see I drew in 2 units per box. 

Ten Square Panel

After the success of the other drawings, I moved on to a 10x10 inches boxed format. Still using the Josephine Knot pattern, and just layering them on top of one another.

You can see my own hand writing below on this one. When you fill in the spaces and add in the extra lines on the sides, that is called ribbing.

Ribbed Colour Josephine Knot.
10 inches squared. 

You can really see the framework and pattern being shown here. It is very precise. 

 Josephine Knots
with Horizontal boarders
and Vertical boarder.

Now in the pervious design I used vertical boarders, 5 down the sides and 4 across. But in this one I added Horizontal boarders as well, and look at the deference it made to the drawing.

Chad's Cross.

This one I mapped out as 6 cm squared with an added 2 2x1cm in the centre. I'm not a mathematician  so do except me to become one to explain how this works so well. If you do need help to create this get out the book it is very good.

34 cm x 26 cm board.

 This was a made up design and as you can tell I'm in the process of drawing it out. I took a picture of it half done like this so you can see the process behind the back drawing.

Attempt to do Diagonal knot work.

I thought this would be easy, but as you can tell it wasn't. I think the curved edges look more like paper clips and broken straws rather than knots. I didn't look at the book's instructions for this one I did while outside constructing letters.

small example of real Celtic Art.

I was able to find this in the book called Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Painting, by Carl Nordenfalk. This was on page 72, and apparently from the Book of Lindisfarne. This is the carpet page at the beginning of the Gospels of Saint Mark. I just loved the combination of primary colours and swirling patterns. I can't wait to create work like this.

Celtic Designs.

Celtic Designs

 I have recently started a project in which I'm creating interior designs based on this theme. But before I can start this project I need to ask myself a few questions.

Celtic Broache.

 So, Who were the Celts, what is a Celtic design, and what makes it Celtic? These are the questions we need to ask ourselves if we are designing for an artistic future that represents the past.

I have recently read a book called Celtic Art: The Methods of Construction. by George Bain, and it is very good. It shows the method of construction and discribes how to do it. I shall be uploading my efforts later.

After a bit of reading and researching I found that in a lot of cases in Britain and around the Isles the once pagan people of that time regarded drawing an entire living person as an offense to the gods, (as only they should have the right to create and represent the living) and so they would only draw a persons full body if they were dead. And this is reflected in their artwork. They would often draw horses and animals, but only parts of a human body.

Celtic coins, Horses and Birds were the primary drawing materials.

 

Celtic cravings.

 This is the Jewelery of that time. This shape and the way the metal has been twisted is known as a Torc.

Golden Torcs

Celtic Inspired Torc.

 Although the colour of these axes are incredible it definately does not look like the beautiful bronze it once was. But instead it gives you a feeling of nostalgic history and wonder.

Celtic Bronze Axe heads.

One of the things that has been used to discribe the people of Britain in the past was their flaming red hair. Boutica of the Iceni was discribed by a roman scribe Dio Cassius, 

"She was very tall and severe. Her gaze was penetrating and her voice was harsh. She grew long, red hair that fell to her hips and wore a large golden torc and a vast patterned cloak with a thick plaid fastened over it."

Although she sounded like a mean and cruel person who did not want to negotiate with the Romans she has remained in history as the beautiful, and mysterious fighting queen of her people.

There have been many stories and drawings made up about her, and the picture below is just one example of what someone thinks she could have looked like.

Celtic hair

Disney has recently created a very Celtic looking movie called Brave, that I enjoyed watching.

  A lot of Celtic designs were either circular patterns, or used as a framework that surrounded another picture, or archway. 

Celtic Blessing attributed to St. Patrick. One of the things that stands out most in this is the knotted framework that surrounds the text.

Stone Tablet Blessing.

 Broche. Anglo Saxon, and Celtic designs that were combined.

We have even now created Celtic pattern in Knotwork for Knitting.

This Shawl or Blanket has a very beautiful Celtic twisted pattern that also looks like a mix with Art Deco design.

Celtic repeat

Outdoors Celtic Knot

Celtic inspired Victorian broach

What I have learned from my research and looking back at the certain styles and ways of dressing in the past, is that the Celts, although looked upon in history as a group of people that fought the Romans and lost, they lived on through their artwork and that was integrated into many cultures that socialized with them.