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Merton Abbey became the powerhouse of creativity in William Morris designs, and at a time when Morris designs were at the peak of their popularity. The design workshop had originally been accommodated within the Wardle factory, however Morris was becoming increasingly frustrated with aspects of this business and decided to seek out his own premises in order to pursuer the peace and tranquillity of space that artists need in order to breathe energy and inspiration into their work. The lack of space to create and challenges with the Wardle business had in some respects de motivated one of the best known designers in Britain. His requirements for the new factory included endless supplies of soft water and plenty of natural light so when Merton Abbey was discovered by William de Morgan as a potential site for pottery, Morris viewed the site and found it an ideal spot for his creative talents.

An Inspirational Find

The factory at Merton Abbey was originally constructed in the eighteenth century for Huguenot silk throwers and then became a print works. Just prior to the takeover by Morris the factory had been operated by Welch Brothers, as a calico printers. Standing on a seven acre site the factory had a supply of water from the River Wandle which turned the water wheel and proved ideal for madder dyeing. The property had an orchard as well as a vegetable garden and offices. The workshops themselves were red bricked two storey buildings and proved easily adaptable to glass painting, fabric weaving, tapestry weaving, and block printing.

Artists require space and tranquillity in order to think creatively and to be inspired. The natural beauty and freshness of Merton Abbey gave Morris the impetus to begin designing once more. From working in the dye house on indigo dyeing experiments to creating some of the most prolific and captivating of his designs, the Merton Abbey Works and Morris spun into action once more. One of the features of Merton Abbey was its ability to diversify in producing beautifully crafted furnishings and dyes.

The Creative Nature of the Staff

Morris trained his dye house staff as few were already experienced. They developed skills to work in the industry and were paid on piece work. Within the hierarchy of the factory the foreman and colour-mixer were rated highly. One young by, John Smith started out as an errand boy and when he became too big for this role Morris trained him in dyeing and eventually John Smith rose through the ranks to chief dyer.

With an increased interest in religious tapestries during the nineteenth century Merton Abbey became the hub at the centre of a number of commissions for church furnishings. Three of Edward Burne-Jone’s designs proved very popular at this time. Angeli Ministrantes and Angeli Laudantes were first designed for Salisbury Cathedral in 1878 as stained glass windows and are now in different formats. With the original tapestries being woven in 1894 smaller panels were used in a variety of church decorations.

Morris and Co’s most popular religious tapestry was The Adoration of the Magi, originally woven for Exeter College, Oxford. The tapestry has been described as, “so perfect, indeed, in every detail, that there is nothing left to desire, and one feels inclined to linger over it until its perfections have been fully grasped.”

Tapestry Conservation

Morris and Co were also known for their tapestry conservation techniques at Merton Abbey. It is known that missing areas of historical tapestries were replaced with sections woven at Merton Abbey, a now defunct technique. Bread was used to clean tapestry as it was felt to be less damaging, and absorbed a fair amount of dirt. Cleaning and re hanging tapestries occupied other sections of the Merton Abbey workforce with staff travelling to stately homes such as Woburn Abbey to work on site in conservation.

The 1929 recession and the Second World War finally took its tool on Morris and Co as tapestry weaving became more time consuming and therefore less financially viable. With a lack of work the war eventually sealed the fate of Morris and Coo and the receivers were called in during 1940.

Despite the financial crisis the designs created in Merton Abbey and the tapestry weaving are still in evidence today and remain very popular. Floral patterns reflecting the love of nature that Morris had have stood the test of time and remain a creative legacy of the Arts and Crafts Movement.

About the Author:

Angela Dawson-Field writes extensively on home decor and
tapestry & textile art
. She divides her time between family and
The Tapestry House
.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – William Morris Tapestries – The Merton Abbey Workshop

Edward Abbey: A Voice in the Wilderness

This season\’s lineup includes senior forward Jeff Adrien from Brookline, senior guard Craig Austrie from Stamford, sophomore guard Kyle Bailey from Lancaster, sophomore guard Donnell Beverly from Hawthorne, senior guard Johnnie Bird from Fort Bragg, junior guard Jerome Dyson from Potomac, junior forward Gavin Edwards from Gilbert, freshman guard Scottie Haralson from Jackson Mississippi, junior Alex Hornat from South Windsor Connecticut, senior John Lindner from Cheshire, freshman Ater Majok from Stone Mountain, sophomore Charles Okwandu from Lagos Nigeria, senior A.J. price from Amityville, junior Stanley Robinson from Birmingham Alabama, junior Hasheem Thabeet from Dar Es Salaam Tanzania, senior Jim Veronick from Durham Connecticut and freshman Kemba Walker from the Bronyx.

No basketball team amounts to much without the necessary guidance from the basketball coaching staff who supports, educates, trains and instructs the team. The Huskies are no exception. Coaching support for the Huskies includes head coach Jim Calhoun who is in his 23rd season with the Huskies. Associate head coach George Blaney is in his 8th season with the Huskies. Assistant coach Andre LaFleur is in his 8th season with the Huskies. Assistant coach Patrick Sellers is in his 5th season with the Huskies and director of operations Beau Archibald is in his 2nd season with the Huskies.

The Huskies will continue their participation in the 2008-2009 season with games against the Providence, at Louisville, Michigan, Syracuse, at Seton Hall, Pittsburgh, South Florida, at Marquette, Notre Dame and at Pittsburgh.

Thus far the Huskies have an overall game record of 18 wins and 1 loss. These statistics can be further broken down into 9 wins and 1 loss at home games, 5 wins and no losses at away games and 4 wins in neutral areas.

Adrien appears to be quite the contender for most valuable player on the team this season with point scoring averaging 14.3 and a total of 271 points. A very close competitor, however is Dyson, who has 257 points and is averaging 13.5 points per game. Of course, there are more than a few games left to be played this season, which means numbers can change quickly.

The Harry A. Gampel Pavilion is the location that all home games for both men\’s and women\’s basketball are held. Opened for business in 1990, the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion is over 171,000 square feet in the overhead dome and offers 39,000 square feet of space that is attached to the Wolff-Zackin Natorium.

With state of the art facilities, the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion offers modern scoreboards with complete player lineup information that includes fouls, points, and full color game video boards, wood grain professional style individual lockers, an adjoining varsity team lounge and an audio visual area with a large screen television that features satellite dish hook-up for game reviews and scouts.

The Huskies are NCAA participants and follow the rules of the organization regarding agents, amateurism, contact with students and athletes at the school and with high school and junior college coaches and student-athlete employment.

About the Author:

When you need tickets for the UConn Huskies you can count on Ticket America to get you the best seats at the best prices. If you need tickets Ticket America is the place to get them. To get UConn Huskies College Basketball tickets before anyone else visit our website today!

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Uconn Huskies Tickets What About Those Huskies?

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