Fallingwater Silk Scarf

Gouache, black paint pen, 20”x20”
-
My Print & Pattern final was actually split into two parts, but I’ll be covering both here as they led to the same final product.

We were asked to design a silk scarf inspired by a place of our choosing, utilizing our skills in repeat pattern and motif illustration. I had been wanting to create something akin to the iconic design language of Frank Lloyd Wright for some time, and based on previous student work I knew this was the perfect opportunity.

I explored FLW’s Fallingwater, seeing how I could use both the house and its surroundings in my piece. I began with the border, testing ideas of how I could portray the house in a deconstructed way and mimick the geometric style of FLW’s window and tapestry work. I ended up including the profile of Fallingwater reflected in the endcap, and following it with a mirrored line of river and trees for the border.

For the interior half-drop repeat, I chose to focus on the house's interior. I came up with a concept of different furniture and decor sitting on rows of “shelves”, which lead to the main linear pattern. For an added element of fun, I included four animal designs to adorn the circles, (bear, turtle, fish, and bird).

Engineering the repeat was done with tracing paper, carefully tracking where the design would have to overlap in order to create a continuous pattern. The colors were mainly inspired by nature, just as FLW chose for his designs. I also made sure to maintain an emphasis on Cherokee Red, Wright’s signature color.

The process of painting was long and tedious, as the colors were all mixed by hand and had to be a certain consistency in order to appear opaque. Once applied, I outlined the piece with a black paint pen, leaving me with a complete unit ready to be repeated in production.

After studying and constantly being surprised at the thought and detail of Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs, it was fun to try and emulate the same characteristics of his work.

-JA