Port of Spain - Trinidad

In February 1907, Margaret was in the West Indies. She visited the Botanical Gardens in Port of Spain. No doubt seeking inspiration for the gardens at Winterbourne. Her diary reads as follows:

"Walked around the Botanical Gardens with the Curator Mr Hart from 8.30 to 11. Saw different rubber trees, cloves, cinnamon, camphor, tea, nutmeg and mace, beautiful fruit, fine bamboos and different varieties of palm. Went across to nurseries, tasted different sorts of oranges. Painted some of the specimens in the afternoon".

Although the Botanical Gardens are still there, all the visual references I can find are of manicured lawns and flower beds, which I don't think suit Margaret's descriptions of wondering amongst lush plants and bountiful fruits and spices. I will therefore use photographs that I have taken recently in the orchid house at Winterbourne.

Once again Edward Linley Sambourne's photos of young women will be useful to capture the image of Margaret as she walks through the tropical gardens.

My initial sketch of the print looks like this:

Dance at the Nettlefold's

In November 1890, Margaret wrote in her diary about a dance at the Nettlefold's:

"The dance at the Nettlefold's in the New Hall. I had a most delightful time. Mama once said I should not dance more than 3 times with anyone. I really cant say how it came about but I danced 5 times with John."

There don't seem to be any images of what the Nettlefold's (John's parents) home would have looked like, so I have decided to take some artistic license and set the dance at Highbury Hall. They no doubt would have attended dances there and the interior is highly decorative and fits well with the aesthetic of the other prints (particularly the Art School at Margaret Street which was designed by the same architect as Highbury). So I have used some of the photos I took on Heritage Open day, which will form the background.

I have found some illustrations of dancers from the time (no photos unfortunately) and of course images of John and Margaret themselves. Mr Cumberbatch is proving very useful as a stand in for John (as there are only formal portraits of John at this time).

So my initial sketch of the print looks like this:

I may use the passion flower design from Highbury Hall as the border motif for this print.

John's Letter from New York

I have begun designs for 3 new prints in the Winterbourne Series. In October 1890, John wrote Margaret a letter from New York, where he must have been on business. He was obviously a very love struck young man, waiting for a reply to his proposal of marriage.

"Oh please write to me saying that I may come straight to you when I get home for your answer. If you have not made up your mind yet I will wait as long as you like but don't say there will never be any chance for me. Your devoted would be husband, John S Nettlefold."

I have pictured him sitting at a desk in a New York hotel or friend's apartment, penning this heart felt letter, as much as the social constraints of the day would allow. The New York skyline can be seen out of the window.

Visual research for this design have come from images from the time. Many significant buildings that stood in 1890 are no longer there, and many of the well known ones from today did not exist. I have chosen an image of 'Newspaper Row' which included the offices of the New York Times.

References for clothing and interiors have come from contemporary photos.

Again I have referenced images of Benedict Cumberbatch in Parade's End and the portrait of John himself.

So my initial outline sketches for the print look like this:

During this period, John sent Margaret a rose which she kept pressed in her diary and it is still in the Winterbourne archives. I will therefore use a rose motif for the border, something similar to the book border design I recently created.

Christmas Fair at Winterbourne

I sold lino printed cards and hand made books at the craft fair last Saturday. The designs were based on the border designs of the Winterbourne Prints.

Design and Print your own Sketchbook

The last two Sundays I have been running a workshop at the mac. Ten lovely folks turned up to design, print onto book cloth and then make 3 hard bound sketchbooks. Here are a few photos from both days.