In my last post, I wrote about how I find inspiration in the geometry and structure of plants. Of course, almost all aspects of the natural world are inspirational, particularly beautiful insects. Here in Scotland, we have some striking insects - take a look at this red and black Six Spot Burnet Moth we spotted at Lunan Bay - and this stunning Tortoiseshell butterfly in our garden.
The entomology collections of museums are also a rich reference source. In the new Perth Museum, there are drawers of insects collected many years ago. Although some may find it upsetting to see insects pinned in a case, they live on in a certain way. They provide visitors with the opportunity to see exotic insects they would never be able to see otherwise. They provide a window into the jaw dropping diversity of the natural kingdom.
Seeing how other artists interpret the natural world is always fascinating to me. The Kimono exhibition which ran at the V&A in Dundee in 2024 was incredible - one of the best exhibitions I have ever seen. Seeing how makers and artists from the other side of the world and from another century process their environment can jump start ideas in your own mind. This Kimono exhibition presented ideas of how to create patterns and textiles which I had never considered before. You can see here the very clear and almost alien ink drawings of several butterflies which have been mapped out as a potential feature on the back of a kimono. On a more modern kimono, the shapes of moths have been suggested as simple silhouettes.
I have incorporated insects into some of my designs. Above you can see a close up of my linocut of woodpeckers hunting insects in a rowan tree. In composing it, I very much took inspiration from the flat simplicity of Japanese woodcut prints. You can see how I then went on to decoupage a chest of drawer in wallpaper made from this pattern. You can buy this woodpecker wallpaper from Spoonflower.
The fabric below features bats hunting insects. The hand drawn insects provide a great backdrop to the linocut bats in black. The whole fabric works really well as a monochrome design. The insects also prevent the design becoming too ‘cutsey’. Scotland has no shortage of insects (particularly midges…) so I am glad I am able to incorporate them into my art and design work in a positive way!
