I’m very late announcing this collection, as it shipped last November, but it’s still in shops, so I want to at least give a nod to it here (before I write about all the new and upcoming fabrics in store!) This is Lush Life, my 5th collection in collaboration with Windham Fabrics.
Florals are my favorite subjects to paint, but it’s always a bit of a conundrum for me, because there are so many different ways to approach them. For a long time my preferred floral painting style was a folk-like flatness, graphic and a bit abstracted, with a nod to Scandinavian design. But more and more I’ve been wanting to celebrate the intricacies of flowers, noting the details and the natural shapes. The Lush Life collection began as a nod to big, blousy and somewhat graphic florals of the 70’s – my inspiration board had swatches of mumus with single flowers filling half the dress, and bright, bold floral graphics on mini dresses paired with white knee-high go-go boots. But, as often happens, my vision started to shift as I made art. I found myself adding more natural details and softer shapes. The flowers became not quite realistic, but a little less stylized than I’d planned. And the palette became earthier and a bit more muted.
What resulted was this group of 23 fabrics falling roughly into 3 color groups – a pale pink/minty group, a teal/pink group, and a purple/orange group. The palette still feels a bit retro to me, but not as bright as my original inspiration – it’s a little more grounded in nature. I also worked the prints into a fabric panel featuring 9 1-foot log cabin squares, like an easy cheater baby quilt.
I love seeing the collections come together, and especially when I get to see some of the projects that people create using the fabrics. Windham commissioned some great quilt projects, and you can find links to those on their website. Here are a few.
Comments, questions? We'd love to hear from you!