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Firefly Designs is a family run business based on a farm in the heart of Devon in England. We design tapestries based on the art of cultures from around the world, both ancient and modern, ranging from Roman to Mayan to naive artists in Australia. We spend considerable time in each country researching its history and the traditions and beliefs of its people. Also of course we study its art, present and past, and if possible work alongside traditional artists. Below, you can read about our experiences in these countries should you wish to:
We spent a year in North America, during which time we designed our series based on the art of the Navajo. Many hours were spent cruising the dusty highways in our 1974 Cadillac listening to melancholy country and western songs in search of ideas for our designs. We did not have to look for long. The beautiful blankets and rugs of the Navajo, their intricate beadwork and the powerful sandpaintings created on the earth, provided an endless source of inspiration. In complete contrast, the rocky coastline of Western Canada provided us with the art of the Haida. Towering totem poles and incredible carvings and paintings of mythical creatures filled us with excitement. Created both in the traditional red and black, and in vibrant modern styles, this was an art both unique and stunning. It was as a result of the reaction we got to these, our first designs, on arriving home that we decided to create Firefly Designs. We discovered that people were ready for something very different from the traditional tapestry.
In New Zealand we decided that the best way for us to truly appreciate this country would be for us to do it on horseback! A slow, but thorough method - we were on horseback for a year - but we had made the right choice. We were welcomed wherever we went and given a paddock for our horses, Bilbo and Frodo. (Little did we know that the real Bilbo and Frodo would be following in our footsteps!) It was hard work at times, for example, we had to learn to shoe our horses, trekking was often through snow, our bed was often in a shearing shed, and porridge as a staple diet was definitely a challenge! But the rewards were numerous. To name but a few, these included a huge John Wayne style cattle drive across a massive station, training polo horses, riding racing horses so fast that the wind pounded in our ears and being taken up isolated rivers through the mountains in rocket powered boats by farmers we stayed with! We did not forget why we were here though! We met numerous Maori artists who showed us their work and visited many centres where we could watch traditional artists at work while they related stories of their ancestors and ancient beliefs. We learned how colours were prepared from natural elements, and what these colours symbolised. We saw how carvings, often depicting ancestors, were created for ceremonial meeting houses and how the intricate kowhaiwhai designs were painted onto the rafters. One Maori lady demonstrated weaving to us as it was performed traditionally, not as easy as it looked, as we discovered when we had a go! We spent many happy hours in the company of Maori artists whose ready smiles and passion for life filled us with enthusiasm.
In Australia we decided to follow an entirely different path and design tapestries based on the art of modern naiive artists. Untrained in the use of colour and perspective and following no rules, their art was somehow innocent and joyful to me. Unrestricted in their subject matter, totally unique scenes are created. These would, we decided make wonderful tapestries. In a bright red open jeep pulling a camper trailer, we headed off for a year in search of art galleries where we would hopefully find what we were looking for. We were extremely lucky and found four artists, from coast, jungle (where we got chased by a huge black snake!), city and desert, who agreed to work with us. From their paintings we have produced a series of tapestries both unusual and diverse.
Guatemala provided us with a wealth of inspiration for our tapestries. Everywhere we went we were surrounded by textiles, both vibrant and intricate. The tiny Mayan women of the highlands could not have been more hospitable. We were welcomed into their homes and showered in textiles whose variety and colour left one speechless. They shared stories with us about the patterns and colours used in their weavings and recounted myths and legends, both spooky and beautiful. Designs could be traced back to individual villages where designs had been passed down through the generations whilst each weaver introduced her own individual touch. We spent two months travelling the (extremely rough) roads of the highlands, often finding ourselves miles from civilisation. Despite one extremely scary encounter with machete wielding bandits, we had a fantastic experience. Steaming volcanoes, natural hot springs, howler monkeys, Mayan temples soaring above the jungle canopy, canoe trips up dark green tropical rivers and massive markets filled with an enormous array of products made our time there pass far too quickly!
In Egypt we were lucky enough to meet and move in with an Egyptian family living on the bank of the Nile at Thebes, surrounded by the tombs of the ancient Pharaohs. Many happy hours were spent wandering through these tombs and the ruins of the nearby temples at Luxor and Carnak. Floating lazily on the Nile in a Felucca is another experience I will always remember. We had spent some time learning a little Arabic before we left, and with the help of our phrase books, we were able to communicate to a small extent. During this time we met two artists, Ahmed and Mohammed, who let us work with them in their workshop. This was a small mud hut, soon filled with the fine white dust of their carving and the sound of an Egyptian love song playing on an ancient tape machine. Ahmed carved for us a beautiful image of Isis, our favourite of the goddesses, from which we created our first Egyptian tapestry. This was a truly magical and joyful time. Never had we experienced such a joy for life and when we left, we knew that we took with us more than just our ideas for tapestries.
You cannot travel in Turkey without being aware of carpets! From Istanbul through Anatolia, to southern and eastern Turkey we found wonderful, hand-knotted, brilliantly coloured carpets, even in the smallest villages. Seeing the dye vats where the colours were mixed was incredibly interesting. Once dyed, the wools were hung up to dry ready for the local women to knot their traditional designs. It was well worth getting off the beaten track to visit the mountain villages where each community have their own particular designs. The tiles too were an amazing sight. As you walk into the blue Mosque in Istanbul you are literally surrounded by tiles of turquoise, green and misty purple, picked out by delicate black outlines. In about 1550 a new pigment from the Armenian bole added a splash of deep red. The magnificent floral designs feature naturalistic motifs, the traditional lily, carnations, tulips, roses and hyacinths. Heaven on earth for us! Our travels have also taken us through Scandinavia, Libya and the Middle East. We are currently working on these designs.
Two
months' travelling through Peru and Bolivia revealed to me a landscape
as diverse and exciting as its people. Deserts stretch along the coast
as far as the eye can see, then a few miles inland, mountains harbour
such treasures as Macchu Picchu and Lake Titicaca, before falling
away into the Amazonian jungle to the east. For a textile artist it
was heaven on earth! Men and women could be found weaving or knitting
clothes and rugs of the most beautiful colours and designs. I spent
so many hours just sitting in mountain villages watching these lovely
people, and have returned home inspired.
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