New Linens!
So excited to share with you 5 new tea towel designs. Each design has been carefully selected based on my original, hand-painted etchings and they all have their own little stories. Below you can read stories behind each artwork and you can also see how I’ve changed it into a design by removing the background and manipulating the image in various ways.
These designs are all printed on 100% linen and are limited edition batches. At the moment I’ve only printed 20 of each design so get in quick if you have your eye on something in particular! All of my tea towel designs come in beautiful box packaging that is all recyclable.
Memory from Musee D’Orsay
Memory from Musee D'Orsay is inspired by a memory from Paris and visiting the still life oil paintings in Musee D'Orsay. It was the first time seeing so many famous historic painters including Vincent Van Gogh, Edouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, James McNeill Whistler, Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat and Henri Rousseau, just to name a few. It was particularly the brush strokes of Van Gogh that enchanted me. There was so much emotion and sadness in his work and it made me think allot about his life and how misunderstood he must have felt. It made me look at nature and flowers differently, that they weren’t just objects but a way to express and tell a story. Painting became a vessel to cope with life and it's challenges. He said, ‘Art is to console those who are broken in life’. I think this is both relevant to the artist and the viewer.
The Flowers of Sainte Chapelle
Le Marché aux Fleurs is an old flower market that started in 1808, Paris. It is situated on the Île de la Cité between the Notre-Dame Cathedral and Sainte-Chapelle. This market is filled with small outdoor shops selling flowers, plants, old books, postcards and small Parisienne inspired gifts. I remember one morning visiting the stunning Sainte-Chapelle but it wasn’t until I saw the markets that I truly found my ‘temple’. There was an energy about the place, full of vibrancy, charm and quaintness. From sunflowers, to roses, lilies, chrysanthemum, peonies, tulips, azalea, poppies, Cala lilies, daisies, and begonias. The variety of plants was immeasurable. I loved the artists painting in the old square with their easels and the smell of oil paints lingering. I think from the age of 19 this was going to be my dream, a vision of me romantically painting and selling my work under a striped umbrella and wearing a beret. I still hope one day that will happen.
The Vase of Aphrodite
Still life and plants continuously grow within my work. The Vase of Aphrodite is reflective of that and is symbolic of fertility and femininity. The flowers were inspired by a bouquet from a wedding I went to recently and the beauty of two people coming together. It was celebration of love but also a celebrating of community and finding a sense of belonging. Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, is also symbolised in this work through the ornate vessel portraying femininity and also the strength of a mother. It was Eleanor Roosevelt who said, A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong it is until it’s in hot water.
The Pomegranates of Persephone
Pomegranates have this richness, a decadence that has always been depicted in ancient mythology, fables, and many old stories. Pomegranates were often a symbol of fertility and marriage in Ancient Greece. In the myth, Hades, the lord of the underworld, abducts Persephone while she is picking flowers. To secure her as his queen, Hades tricks her into eating pomegranate seeds. This act signifies Persephone's transition from girlhood to womanhood, and from spring to fall. There is also the association with seeds, abundance and growth. You can see Persephone’s eyes hiding amongst the fruit, subtle but present. I’ve also used hints of gold in this etching to emphasise the richness and the suggestion of religious symbolism.
Homage to Home
Homage to Home is inspired by my perspective on home and how change can shift our lives entirely. The architecture is loosely based on houses in the Warsaw, Poland. The pink, green and even the hint of blue and purple really reminds me of the square close to the castle in the Old Town. The buildings also look similar to Salamanca and the old colonial architecture in Hobart. I find that the houses in this etching can be interpreted as different places, symbolic to different audiences. The figure in the foreground is based on a photo of me from 2023, taken by my photographer in a photoshoot. This was a pivotal moment for me in my business to afford a professional photographer and to find strength in myself and confidence to be in the spotlight. I find this figure who hold the sunflowers isn’t part of the cityscape, belonging neither here nor there. The sunflowers are a motif, a memory from my childhood of buying flowers at the farmers market in Poland with my Babcia (Grandmother). I always loved this time I had with her but I never felt like I belonged here or was a part of her life. This etching is reflective of acceptance, an acceptance to change and how far I’ve come from living in Small Hobart to travelling around the world and then settling in Brisbane. I feel immensely proud of the challenges I’ve conquered and the resilience I’ve developed as both a mother and wife.
Thank you so much for checking out my latest blog post! I hope you love these new tea towels as much as I do. The designs work really well in both an old or contemporary home and can be matched with many colours, making them versatile and useful as last minute gifts!
Shop tea towels via the link below.
Thanks!
Kate xx
