Printing Wallpaper with Jennifer Angus

In just under a month I will be headed to Maine to take another class at Haystack Mountain School of Craft! This is the second class I have been lucky enough to take at Haystack; the first was a totally amazing knitting class with Janet Morten. Haystack is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen- practically hanging off Maine's coast, the weathered wooden classrooms and dormitories create an artistic haven that fosters community, creativity and inventiveness. I am SOOOO excited to be going back! The class I will be taking this summer is a Screen Printed Wallpaper class taught by artist Jennifer Angus.

Screen printing wallpaper is an idea that I have toyed around with for a number of years. Note: I said an idea. Although I've wanted to try it for a while, I've never managed to make it happen. I feel like wallpaper and textiles are very much related to one another. Both are decorative emblems of domesticity. Historically and contemporarily, wall paper and textiles have helped shape the individuals relationship to the home. I think that textiles and walls are both able to create a certain sense of coziness- you wrap or enclose yourself in them, you embellish them, you make them part of yourself.


It is these feelings of comfort that Jennifer Angus challenges.
"In her work, bugs are pinned directly to museum and gallery walls in patterns that reference both textiles and wallpapers. A common theme runs through this work: the interplay of the feelings of comfort experienced when viewing familiar patterns and the realization on closer inspection that the comforting familiar is actually made up of insects, something most people feel apprehension for. " (FiberArts Magazine)


Through her many installations, Angus explored themes ranging from the odd sensation of Victorian bug collecting, to colorful Kimono fabrics, to oriental carpets: all with the aim of creating conflict between beauty and uncomfort while also drawing the viewers attention to social and ecological truths.


Swooooon.

I have already started brainstorming what kinds of wallpaper I'd like to print while I'm in Maine. Have I already said I'm excited?? I AM SO EXCITED. (Click on the links for more information about Jennifer Angus!)