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| Phyllis Barron & Dorothy Larcher |
Phyllis Barron (1890-1964) and Dorothy Larcher (1884-1952) met in
the Brook Street Gallery shortly after the First World War, and went
on to form a lifelong partnership during which they designed and made
a range of superb handblock printed textiles using predominantly
natural dyes. Their work was exhibited in respected Arts and Crafts
Galleries including The Three Shields Gallery in Kensington Church
Street, The Little Gallery run by Muriel Rose, The New Hand Workers
Gallery, The Mayor Gallery and the Red Rose Gallery in Manchester.
They were commercially successful attracting commissions from
wealthy private individuals, as well as public institutions, including
Coco Chanel, the Duke of Westminster, the architect Detmar Blow,
Girton College, Cambridge and Winchester Cathedral. Their design
skills emerged after early training as painters; Phyllis Barron at the Slade
and Dorothy Larcher at the Hornsey School of Art. Dorothy Larcher
when she found herself stranded in India for the duration of the First
World War discovered the art of Indian block printed textiles from
villagers.
Phyllis Barron’s influences brought vigorous abstract design and
pattern reflecting the Vorticists, whereas Dorothy Larcher brought a
naturalistic design style to the textiles they made. They experimented
with blocks cut from a variety of woods, as well as lino and found
objects such as kitchen utensils. They recovered and developed natural
dying techniques bringing a range of intense and subtle colour to their
work. Their hand made blocks ‘walked’ over a wide range of cloths,
including linen, hand-woven Indian cotton, Chinese silk, Rodier
woollens, chiffon, crepe de chine, velvet and organdie. Their prints
were used in furnishing textiles as well as clothes such as dresses,
scarves and stoles. This book is a poetic representation of their
creative partnership set alongside some of their textiles and the creative
environments in which they worked.
the Brook Street Gallery shortly after the First World War, and went
on to form a lifelong partnership during which they designed and made
a range of superb handblock printed textiles using predominantly
natural dyes. Their work was exhibited in respected Arts and Crafts
Galleries including The Three Shields Gallery in Kensington Church
Street, The Little Gallery run by Muriel Rose, The New Hand Workers
Gallery, The Mayor Gallery and the Red Rose Gallery in Manchester.
They were commercially successful attracting commissions from
wealthy private individuals, as well as public institutions, including
Coco Chanel, the Duke of Westminster, the architect Detmar Blow,
Girton College, Cambridge and Winchester Cathedral. Their design
skills emerged after early training as painters; Phyllis Barron at the Slade
and Dorothy Larcher at the Hornsey School of Art. Dorothy Larcher
when she found herself stranded in India for the duration of the First
World War discovered the art of Indian block printed textiles from
villagers.
Phyllis Barron’s influences brought vigorous abstract design and
pattern reflecting the Vorticists, whereas Dorothy Larcher brought a
naturalistic design style to the textiles they made. They experimented
with blocks cut from a variety of woods, as well as lino and found
objects such as kitchen utensils. They recovered and developed natural
dying techniques bringing a range of intense and subtle colour to their
work. Their hand made blocks ‘walked’ over a wide range of cloths,
including linen, hand-woven Indian cotton, Chinese silk, Rodier
woollens, chiffon, crepe de chine, velvet and organdie. Their prints
were used in furnishing textiles as well as clothes such as dresses,
scarves and stoles. This book is a poetic representation of their
creative partnership set alongside some of their textiles and the creative
environments in which they worked.
Lizard
‘I should love to meet the person who did it.'
Dorothy Larcher to Eve Simmonds
Coming into the room with Eve,
ever so quick, at first I didn’t alight
upon the vigour of bite after bite,
of twisted white that basked over a rock of indigo.
How could I with embroideries
ringed, strewn around?
Some lay face down,
others flip-sided
on a sagging chair, arm of a sofa;
and I had to stop myself thinking -
as most embroiderers do -
that I prefer the wizardry
of the back to the front.
And it wasn’t long before we settled,
as evening light
did amongst a play of bearded irises.
A moment kidnapped. An Indian dusk,
that in this country I’d not thought possible.
A garden in heat, strapped with Canna lilies
growing six feet in six seconds rather than a season.
A breeze off a yellowing broom brushes me back,
and I can see the crook of the old one printing,
Indian shot rattling around a wrist
as she strikes and releases, strikes and releases,
searing white hot, white hot, scattering lizards
from beneath a rock, as purple shadows
creep along the selvedge.
Indian shot are the seeds of the Canna lily, when dried they are used as beads for jewellery. Eve Simmonds
was an embroiderer and friend of Dorothy Larcher. This was the first time that Dorothy Larcher
encountered the work of Phyllis Barron. The indigo discharge print was called ‘Lizard’ and was printed
from an old French block.
‘I should love to meet the person who did it.'
Dorothy Larcher to Eve Simmonds
Coming into the room with Eve,
ever so quick, at first I didn’t alight
upon the vigour of bite after bite,
of twisted white that basked over a rock of indigo.
How could I with embroideries
ringed, strewn around?
Some lay face down,
others flip-sided
on a sagging chair, arm of a sofa;
and I had to stop myself thinking -
as most embroiderers do -
that I prefer the wizardry
of the back to the front.
And it wasn’t long before we settled,
as evening light
did amongst a play of bearded irises.
A moment kidnapped. An Indian dusk,
that in this country I’d not thought possible.
A garden in heat, strapped with Canna lilies
growing six feet in six seconds rather than a season.
A breeze off a yellowing broom brushes me back,
and I can see the crook of the old one printing,
Indian shot rattling around a wrist
as she strikes and releases, strikes and releases,
searing white hot, white hot, scattering lizards
from beneath a rock, as purple shadows
creep along the selvedge.
Indian shot are the seeds of the Canna lily, when dried they are used as beads for jewellery. Eve Simmonds
was an embroiderer and friend of Dorothy Larcher. This was the first time that Dorothy Larcher
encountered the work of Phyllis Barron. The indigo discharge print was called ‘Lizard’ and was printed
from an old French block.
ISBN: 978-1-906285-19-7 Published October 2008
Hardback £19.99
Hardback £19.99