2018 Pattern Research Project 
            Emily Ballentine - Marigold
The Pattern Research Project involves research and analysis of contemporary patterns found in the textiles and wallcoverings of the built interior environment. Patterns use motif, repetition, color, geometry, craft, technology, and space to communicate place, time, and concept. Through this research and analysis, built environments - their designers, occupants, construction, and context - can be better understood.
Emily Ballentine, VCU Interior Design BFA 2021, selected the Marigold pattern for the 2018 Pattern Research Project. The text below is excerpted from the student’s work:
“The sample of Marigold was screen-printed at Bradbury and Bradbury. Screen printing is a process that includes using a hand carved stencil for each layer represented. The printing table stretches 90 feet and is equipped with special knobs to adjust to the repeat of the pattern. A monofilament polyester screen covers and is tightly sealed to the artwork (the finished pattern that acts as a guide for where to place each stencil). Ink is pushed through the stencil using a squeege that runs up the surface, soaking the screen and then back down, scraping away access ink.”https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/prp/1022/thumbnail.jp

Ballentine, Emily

English

VCU Scholars Compass

Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Pattern Research Project Dept. of Interior Design 2018 Pattern Research Project: An Investigation of The Pattern And Printing Process - Marigold Emily Ballentine Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/prp  Part of the Interior Design Commons  © The Author Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/prp/20 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Dept. of Interior Design at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pattern Research Project by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact libcompass@vcu.edu. Marigold   The repeat is of Marigold  4”x 4” and is regular meaning the motif, or motifs simply repeat over and over again vertically and horizontally as if they were on a grid.CULTURE AND HISTORYWilliam Morris strove and intended to bring collaboration between the designer and the manufacturer. He was offended by the idea of industrialization, arguing that it marginalized labor, and created a distance between the designer and the creator. He wanted the means of manufacturing to be owned by the community as a whole, and because of the simplicity and the natural elements of his work, it is evident that he strove to practice this. His block printing, for example, allowed for a partnership between the designer and the maker and even sanctioned the designer to hold both jobs. The Arts and Crafts Movement, in which William was a huge influencer, advocated for reform in the labor industry, pushing the idea that a designer could also be the creator of his or her work. The Arts and Crafts Movement, as well as Morris, also pushed for originality.  They endorsed handmade work and celebrated its uniqueness and individuality. (See diagram below.)Marigold is printed in one single color although within the pattern the color has differernt iterations. In the mid 1870’s, Morris and his printing parter at the time Jeffrey and Co. decided to scale back their color vocabulary and focus on more earthy and monotone hues. While their color palette shrank, it wasever-changing due to constant experimentation. Morris was inspired by and affectionate toward nature, and it showed in his convictions to do everything as naturally as possible. When Morris struck up a relationship with Thomas Wardle, a printer and silk dyer, the two of them collaborated to make dyes less harmful, and attempted to revert to the origional ways of coloring textiles. Defining characteristics of William Morris’s patterns in the 1870s:-Scroling foliage-Interwoven foreground and background -3 Dimensionality FOREGROUNDBACKGROUND← ←←←←12b2a1c1b1a2M A R I G O L D Pattern: MarigoldDesigner: William MorrisWallpaper Producer: Morris and Co.Material Content: Ink on paper Repeat: 4” horizontal 4” vertical COLOR  AND  MATERIALITYDESIGNUSE Because Morris’s designs were pricey, artists began to use his ideas, of creating patterns that mixed geometry and nature, amd design patterns for themselves that stemmed from his concepts (see Key.) Charles Voysey’s patterns for example, have a clear Morris lineage in their organic motifs that repeat in two dimensional forms. Artists like Voysey, as well as manufactures manipulated technology and, due to advances, were able to produce more materials and more patterns for cheaper.Types of repeats, top right to bottom right:Regular repeat Half drop repeat 90 degree rotationRotations and reflextionsKey1. “Acanthus” William Morris 1875Influenced motifs found in. . . .1a. Arthur Heygate Muchmurdo’s patterns in 18841b. “Iolanthe” Charles Voysey1c. “Poppies” Lindsey Phillip Butterfield2. “Marigold” William Morris 1875Influenced pattern flow found in. . . . 2a. “Daffodil” John Henry Dearle 18912b. Lewis Foreman Days patterns in 1888CITATIONSMorris, W. (n.d.). William Morris on Art & Design (C. Poulson, Ed.). Retrieved Novem-ber, 1.Post, L. V. (2003). William Morris and Morris and Co. London: V & A publications in associ-ation with Arthur Sanderson & Sons.Watt, M. (2004, October). Nineteenth-Cen-tury European Textile Production. Retrieved October, 2018, from https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/txtn/hd_txtn.htm V&A · Willam Morris textiles. (n.d.). Re-trieved October 20, 2018, from https://www.vam. ac.uk/articles/ willam-morris-textilesV&A · The world’s leading museum of art and design. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2018, from https://www.vam.ac.uk/CRAFTThe sample of Marigold was screen-printed at Bradbury and Bradbury. Screen printing is a procces that includes using a hand carved stencil for each layer represented. The printing table streches 90 feet and is equiped with special knobs to ajust to the reapeat of the pattern. A monofilament polyester screen covers, and is tightly sealed to the artwork (the finished pattern that acts as a guide for where to place each stencil.) Ink is pushed through the stencil using a squeege that runs up the surface, soaking the screen and then back down, scraping away access ink. Morris was inspired by and affectionate toward nature and it showed in his convictions to do everything as naturally as possibe. When Morris struck up a relationship with Thomas Wardle, and printer and silk dyer, the two of them collaborated to make dyes less harmful, and attempted to revert to the origional ways of coloring textiles by using organic substances. Blue, yellow, red and brown were all extracted from things like walnuts, plants insects and indigo. Although Marigold does not contain colors essential to its attributes, it does (as so many of Williams patterns do,) show his attempt to use wholesome and natural pigments. Cotton, is extracted from its stem and pod, gutted of its seeds, and then pulled apart in order to spin. The spinner operates by pushing a petal, to generate a wheel that pulls cotton into a thread or yarn material. The thread is then woven into a textileLinen is a cloth made from a flax plant that is strategically grown to have the longest straights stem possible, to ensure the longest and strongers fibers for extraction. These fiber, which can also be extracted from planch like nettle or hemp, make up the thread needed to weave a linen clothor filaments needed to make paperCOTTON LINENJacob_printing_persian.jpg [Photograph found at Bradbury and Bradbury]. (n.d.) Retrieved October 18, 2018 from https://www.bury.com/studio.html

Pattern Research Project: An Investigation of The Pattern And Printing Process - Marigold

Virginia Commonwealth University 
VCU Scholars Compass 
Pattern Research Project Dept. of Interior Design 
2018 
Pattern Research Project: An Investigation of The Pattern And 
Printing Process - Marigold 
Emily Ballentine 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/prp 
 Part of the Interior Design Commons 
 
© The Author 
Downloaded from 
https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/prp/20 
This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Dept. of Interior Design at VCU Scholars Compass. It has 
been accepted for inclusion in Pattern Research Project by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. 
For more information, please contact libcompass@vcu.edu. 
Marigold
   
The repeat is of Marigold  4”x 4” and 
is regular meaning the motif, or motifs 
simply repeat over and over again 
vertically and horizontally as if they were 
on a grid.
CULTURE AND HISTORY
William Morris strove and intended to bring collaboration between the designer and the 
manufacturer. He was offended by the idea of industrialization, arguing that it marginalized 
labor, and created a distance between the designer and the creator. He wanted the means of 
manufacturing to be owned by the community as a whole, and because of the simplicity and the 
natural elements of his work, it is evident that he strove to practice this. His block printing, for 
example, allowed for a partnership between the designer and the maker and even sanctioned the 
designer to hold both jobs. The Arts and Crafts Movement, in which William was a huge 
influencer, advocated for reform in the labor industry, pushing the idea that a designer could also 
be the creator of his or her work. The Arts and Crafts Movement, as well as Morris, also pushed for 
originality.  They endorsed handmade work and celebrated its uniqueness and 
individuality. (See diagram below.)
Marigold is printed in one single color although 
within the pattern the color has differernt
 iterations. In the mid 1870’s, Morris and his 
printing parter at the time Jeffrey and Co. 
decided to scale back their color vocabulary and 
focus on more earthy and monotone hues. While 
their color palette shrank, it was
ever-changing due to constant experimentation. 
Morris was inspired by and affectionate toward 
nature, and it showed in his convictions to do 
everything as naturally as possible. When
 Morris struck up a relationship with Thomas 
Wardle, a printer and silk dyer, the two of them 
collaborated to make dyes less harmful, and 
attempted to revert to the origional ways of 
coloring textiles. 
Defining characteristics of William Morris’s 
patterns in the 1870s:
-Scroling foliage
-Interwoven foreground and background 
-3 Dimensionality 
FOREGROUND
BACKGROUND
← ←
←
←←
1
2b2a
1c
1b1a
2
M A R I G O L D 
Pattern: Marigold
Designer: William Morris
Wallpaper Producer: Morris and Co.
Material Content: Ink on paper 
Repeat: 4” horizontal 4” vertical 
COLOR  
AND  
MATERIALITY
DESIGN
USE 
Because Morris’s designs were pricey, artists began to use his ideas, of creating patterns that mixed geometry and nature, 
amd design patterns for themselves that stemmed from his concepts (see Key.) Charles Voysey’s patterns for example, 
have a clear Morris lineage in their organic motifs that repeat in two dimensional forms. Artists like Voysey, as well as 
manufactures manipulated technology and, due to advances, were able to produce more materials and more patterns for 
cheaper.
Types of repeats, top right to bottom 
right:
Regular repeat 
Half drop repeat 
90 degree rotation
Rotations and reflextions
Key
1. “Acanthus” William Morris 1875
Influenced motifs found in. . . .
1a. Arthur Heygate Muchmurdo’s patterns in 
1884
1b. “Iolanthe” Charles Voysey
1c. “Poppies” Lindsey Phillip Butterfield
2. “Marigold” William Morris 1875
Influenced pattern flow found in. . . . 
2a. “Daffodil” John Henry Dearle 1891
2b. Lewis Foreman Days patterns in 1888
CITATIONS
Morris, W. (n.d.). William Morris on Art & 
Design (C. Poulson, Ed.). Retrieved Novem-
ber, 1.
Post, L. V. (2003). William Morris and Morris 
and Co. London: V & A publications in associ-
ation with Arthur Sanderson & Sons.
Watt, M. (2004, October). Nineteenth-Cen-
tury European Textile Production. Retrieved 
October, 2018, from https://www.metmuseum.
org/toah/hd/txtn/hd_txtn.htm 
V&A · Willam Morris textiles. (n.d.). Re-
trieved October 20, 2018, from https://www.
vam. ac.uk/articles/ willam-morris-textiles
V&A · The world’s leading museum of art 
and design. (n.d.). Retrieved October 18, 2018, 
from https://www.vam.ac.uk/
CRAFT
The sample of Marigold was screen-printed at Bradbury and Bradbury. Screen printing is a procces 
that includes using a hand carved stencil for each layer represented. The printing 
table streches 90 feet and is equiped with special knobs to ajust to the reapeat of the pattern. A 
monofilament polyester screen covers, and is tightly sealed to the artwork (the finished pattern that 
acts as a guide for where to place each stencil.) Ink is pushed through the stencil using a squeege 
that runs up the surface, soaking the screen and then back down, scraping away access ink. 
Morris was inspired by and affectionate toward nature and it showed in his convictions to do 
everything as naturally as possibe. When Morris struck up a relationship with Thomas 
Wardle, and printer and silk dyer, the two of them collaborated to make dyes less harmful, and 
attempted to revert to the origional ways of coloring textiles by using organic substances. Blue, 
yellow, red and brown were all extracted from things like walnuts, plants insects and indigo. 
Although Marigold does not contain colors essential to its attributes, it does (as so many of 
Williams patterns do,) show his attempt to use wholesome and natural pigments. 
Cotton, is extracted from 
its stem and pod, gutted of 
its seeds, and then pulled 
apart in order to spin. The 
spinner operates by pushing 
a petal, to generate a wheel 
that pulls cotton into a 
thread or yarn material. The 
thread is then woven into a 
textile
Linen is a cloth made from 
a flax plant that is 
strategically grown to have 
the longest straights stem 
possible, to ensure the 
longest and strongers fibers 
for extraction. These fiber, 
which can also be extracted 
from planch like nettle or 
hemp, make up the thread 
needed to weave a linen 
clothor filaments needed to 
make paper
COTTON LINEN
Jacob_printing_persian.jpg [Photograph found at Bradbury and Bradbury]. (n.d.) Retrieved October 18, 2018 from https://www.bury.com/studio.html


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Pattern Research Project: An Investigation of The Pattern And Printing Process - Marigold

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