In July we took a group of painters to Venice. It’s one of my favourite cities to visit, sketch and paint. This year as our group was quite small and we were fortunate enough to rent a beautiful grand Palazzo in San Marco. It was in a quiet section but in easy walking distance to the Basilica and other main attractions, however the most fortuitous thing staying in this area was our house faced the “Fortuny Museum.” Fortuny is one of my favourite artists, I appreciated his beautiful fabrics and designs in my previous life as a fashion designer. Renown for the pleated silk fabric of his most famous “Delphos Dress,” Fortuny created many beautiful fabrics and wowed society in Paris in the early 1900’s with his printed silk scarves. They were declared L’Art et la Mode” in Feb 1908. The museum was the home of the Fortuny family and after his death his wife left it and all its contents to the city. What astonished me was the breadth of his life’s work, fabric design, clothing, painting, drawing, etchings, pottery, glass, lighting, theatre design, sound design, and set design. His study and all its contents still exist with all his fabric designs kept in hand made beautiful books. Pete bought me the amazing “Fortuny” book (as an early birthday present.) It is so beautiful and precious that I am making it a special protective cover. I’m using silk velvet fabric and metallic fabric paints, creating a floral design inspired by the wealth of stunning original fabrics I saw when I visited the museum, not once but TWICE. #fortuny #venice #fabricdesign #creativity #inspiration #bookcovers #bookcoverdesign #silkvelvet #amazingbooks #metallicpaint #handpaintedfabric #artisan #artisanfabric #artretreat #devon #devonengland #originalart #arttutor #artteacher #fortunymuseum
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