Viva Brighton Issue #38 April 2016

ighton maker
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Inky Shades
Screenprinted lampshades
Why did you start making lampshades? My
three loves are lighting, drawing and characters,
so my lampshades are really about putting those
things together. I studied Fine Art and Performance
at Central Saint Martins and alongside
that, I always worked in venues. One of those
was the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London,
which is almost 200 years old and has the most
incredible lighting. Lampshades kind of became
my own mini sets.
Where do you come up with the illustrations?
I like to sit somewhere outdoors and
draw people, or I’ll go to a venue and draw there.
Sometimes I’ll draw from a film, but it’s really
important that the film is moving; I don’t want
to do still life because it’s not representative of
real life.
How do you print your illustrations onto textiles?
I learned screen printing at Inkspot Press
– it’s a very physical practice, so as well as drawing
movement, I had to move a lot to transfer
my illustrations onto fabric. I really enjoyed it,
but when I left I thought, I haven’t got a screen
press – how can I do this at home? Then I realised
that you can create a screen using a dark
space, like a garage, and use sunlight to dry the
screen. Essentially, you’re using a photosensitive
emulsion and burning away the image you want
to print. Once the image is dry, you need to rub
it away – which I did using a hose outside.
Do you screen print all of your fabrics? Now
I only use screen printing for bespoke shades,
where people have asked me to. It’s a difficult
way of printing fabrics because if you need a
big piece of fabric, you have to have a very big
screen. I’m looking at using digital printing because
it’s far more practical and it’s a lovely way
of getting very beautiful colours which are much
closer to the original colours I’ve used.
How do you turn your fabric into a lampshade?
I select an element of the fabric that I
think works well - perhaps a particular section
of colour, texture or narrative. The fabric has
to be beautifully ironed, otherwise it won’t go
together perfectly and it won’t catch the light
in the right way. I learnt how to make a traditional
shade with a wire frame, which was much
more complex and time-consuming. What really
interests me is creating the fabrics out of my
drawings and bringing them to life using light,
so I prefer the immediacy of creating a modern
cylindrical shade. I just love to draw, and it’s a
pleasure and an honour when people appreciate
my work.
Rebecca Cunningham interviewed Maddy Wilson
@inkyshades inkyshades.com
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