Textile to Paper

[Katharine Watson's hand-block-printed and stitched card available through Etsy.]

For the past few weeks precious Indian silver and rare textiles have dominated my posts, so on this summer afternoon I wanted to shift the focus to something a little more attainable, but still handcrafted. 

I love how Washington, D.C. -based printmaker Katharine Watson takes inspiration from patterned Indian textiles as she handcrafts paper goods in her studio. The boteh (stylized leaf or teardrop) on her kraft paper card, above, uses one of the most iconic motifs -- the design element we see so often in the collections of the Calico Museum of Textiles and the V & A. Case in point: the sari below.

[From the V &A's collection, a late-19th-century Indian sari seen in a previous post.]

[Image via Etsy]

 

Other wares, like this card printed by Watson with her own hand-carved linoleum block, feature stylized blossoms. The dense, all-over pattern of her 2013 calendars began with a hand-painted design which was transferred to a block and then letterpress printed.

To learn more about Watson's process, travels, and inspiration, check out her blog, The Printing Press. In San Francisco, find her at Renegade Craft Fair Saturday and Sunday, July 21 and 22.