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21st April 2016
A few weekends ago, we took a weekend trip to Birmingham, whilst we were there, we were interested to see how Edward Burne-Jones’ legacy has lived on, so many years after his death, in his birth city.
Throughout England, stained glass is a part of the church that draws visitors attention due to their beauty; but they aren’t just in place because of how they look, there is actually a rather important reason for them that dates back to medieval times. Because religion was an important part of daily life, bible stories were told through images in glass. Many people were illiterate and so this was a great visual way to teach the stories within the bible without the congregation needing to be able to read. In the sixth century, Pope Gregory urged artists to paint scenes inspired by the Bible and the saints and morals within to educate the masses, it has been since this that stories have been told this way.
Burne-Jones’ stained glass is no different, and tells stories through his glass as he encouraged and provoked people in their faith journey through his art. We were able to visit a church and see his window for ourselves which was very exciting to see!
We went to the Cathedral of St. Philip, which in 1884, due to a growing congregation, underwent a significant enlargement- with three new windows to be installed, the firm of Morris & Co. was an obvious choice due to Morris’ and Burne-Jones’ recent involvement in the artistic activities within the city. The three windows were each given names, “The Ascension” in 1885, then two years later both, “The Crucifixion” and “The Nativity” and for each piece of art, the firm was paid 200 pounds (at the time, a considerable sum of money- if only we could get such beautiful windows created for us these days for this price!)
In his account book, Burne-Jones wrote about the window, “It was in the year (I was about to say of Grace) 1885 that visiting my native city of Birmingham I was so struck with admiration at one of my work in St Philip’s Church- (May I mention parenthetically that in that very church at the tender age of a few weeks I was enlisted amongst the rank and file of the church militant) struck with admiration at my own work (a naive confession which all artists will condone) I undertook in a moment of enthusiasm to fill the windows on either side with compositions which I hoped and perhaps not unreasonably hoped to make worthy of my former achievement…”
The firm’s best painters were enlisted to help make the commission the best it could be, Bowman and John Henry Dearle. To quote the guide book we purchased in the Cathedral named, “Edward Brune-Jones, Pre-Raphaelite Glass in Birmingham” by Alastair Carew-Cox and William Waters, “These windows show the art of Burne-Jones at its greatest. He utilised traditional images culled from the medieval period onwards for their iconic impact. His use of them however is totally new, seeking to express his deeply felt spirituality through the creation of mood and atmosphere, and like his contemporaries, the symbolist painters in Europe, his intention is to generate similar feelings in the viewer by means of aesthetic devices.”
Burne-Jones is still acknowledged today as one of the great artistic genius’ and more than one hundred years after his death, is still revered as being amongst the greatest of artists in glass. “From being one of the Pre-Raphaelite followers who chose to bring the art from out of the neglect of the centuries before, he took it to new heights of expressive power. His skills and example paved the way forward for 21st century artists to accept stained glass as the major art form that it is today.” It is amazing to think that this man came from a modest home in Birmingham, that we accidentally stumbled upon whilst walking around the streets of his hometown! (Temple Street)
Posted in News by Laura
🐥 William Morris month day 31 🐥 Happy Easter everyone! 🐰 Hope everyone’s having a lovely long weekend, we got beautiful Willow Bough out for a themed tablescape - not forgetting the Lidnt bunny’s and eggs! 🌿🐰
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🌷 William Morris month day 30 🌷 As we come near the end of Morris month, we’re celebrating with a fabric stack, full of beautiful licensed designs, which is your fave? 🌿 “Remember that a pattern is either right or wrong. It cannot be forgiven for blundering, as a picture may be which has otherwise great qualities in it. It is with a pattern as with a fortress, it is no stronger than its weakest point.”- William Morris 🤍
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🐭 William Morris month day 29 🐭 We’ve been loving William Morris month to celebrate Morris’s birthday month, spreading his floral magic by posting everyday - have you discovered a new favourite design of his this month? 🌿 We absolutely love these little mice and the banner by @mini_and_bob - aren’t they so lovely! 🐭🤍
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🌷William Morris Month Day 28🌷 Happy Easter weekend everyone! 🐥 We hope everyone has a lovely long bank holiday 🌿 We’re already planning some beautiful William Morris tablescapes, nothing too complex, all you need is some Morris florals, some flowers and lots of chocolate! 🐰
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🧵 William Morris month day 26 🧵 Calling all quilters; have you ever used our cotton fabric to quilt with? We’ve used them a lot and quilters and quilting groups find them a great fabric weight to quilt with to produce beautiful Morris quilts like this one by @ellejoycreations 🌿🧵🪡 If you’d like a sample of any of our designs we send them free within the UK 💌
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🌷 William Morris Month Day 26 🌷 Absolutely loving a spring time floral on the table right now, especially when paired with an Easter craft or two! 🤍
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🌿 William Morris Month Day 25 🌿 Florals on florals on florals; all of the William Morris florals just look so beautiful together and, as Morris said himself, “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful” 🌷
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrisfabric #morrisdesign #quoteoftheday #florals #modernflorals #teatowels #preraphaelitebrotherhood #preraphaelites
🍰 William Morris Month Day 24 🍰 Happy Birthday William Morris! ✨ Born on this day in 1834, he created so many timeless designs which are still popular today 🌿 He was also an incredible poet, writer, and social activist, also creating the Kelmscott Press and he was a key figure in reviving traditional British art and textile methods of production, even opening a print works- Merton Abbey 🪴 There’s far too much to fit in an Instagram caption but his life is well worth a research if you have time! 🌷 He famously said, “I do not want art for a few any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few” - what’s your favourite quote to celebrate Morris today? 🖋️
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🐥 William Morris Month Day 23 🐥 Loving the sunshine this week for springtime 🌿 We absolutely love Willow Bough on the table in the sunshine paired with spring blooms 🌷
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#williammorris #williammorrismonth #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #willowbough #easter #eastertables
🌷 William Morris Month Day 22🌷 A themed table is always our favourite, we’ve been loving setting the table lately with an Easter theme- especially when it means we can eat the eggs after! 🐣✨
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#williammorris #williammorrismonth #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #preraphaelite #eastertables #eastereggs #eastertablescape #springflorals
🌷 William Morris Month Day 21 🌷 As a small business ourselves we absolutely love celebrating other small businesses, today for Morris month we’re loving @ellejoycreations beautiful products, go check out her page to see them all!🌷🌿
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#williammmorrismonth #williammorris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #fabrics #smallbusiness #uksmallbusiness #preraphaelite
🌿 William Morris Day 20 🌿 William Morris fact of the day; did you know he founded the Kelmscott Press? 🖋️ He wrote of the venture – “Here is a new craft to conquer and to perfect.” Printing began at the press in Spring 1891 🪴 He designed multiple fonts including “Golden” Roman typeface and “Troy” Gothic type along with “Chaucer” and he worked to create beautiful books in regards to their designs which took into account their type, image and decorative elements – you can see beautiful examples of what he achieved today if you do a quick search on the Kelmscott Press- it’s well worth a Google! 🌷
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #preraphaelite #preraphaelites #kelmscottpress #morris #williammorrismonth #williammorrisdesign #victorian #victorianart #victorians
🌷 William Morris Month Day 19🌷 Happy first day of spring everyone! 🪴 We celebrated in our favourite way; coffee and cake of course! 🍰 Now we love florals all year round of course, but especially love adding in even more this time of year to reflect the blooms in the garden 🌷 What’s your favourite Morris design this time of year? 🌿
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrismonth #spring #spring2024 #preraphaelite #florals #floralfabric #springflorals #springflowers
📝 William Morris Month Day 18 📝 Did you know that as well as being an incredible designer, William Morris was also a brilliant writer and poet; have you read any of his writing? What’s your favourite quote? 🌷🌿
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#williammorrismonth #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #morris #strawberrythief #quotesaboutlife #quotestoliveby #quotes
☀️ William Morris Month Day 17 ☀️ The sunshine today has made us feel so excited for spring, it’s almost officially here! 🪴 This William Morris bunting is the dreamiest backdrop to all the spring summer days in the garden, it’s by @ellejoycreations - isn’t it fabulous!🌷
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#spring #williammorrismonth #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #fabricstash #smallbusinessuk #printedintheuk #etsyshop
🐰 William Morris Month Day 16 🐰 A Sunday spent Easter decorating, these cute little bunnies were a craft a few years back and they are always a firm favourite to bring out this time of year to hang on our Easter tree 🐥 Have you started decorating or eating eggs yet? 🐣
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#williammorrismonth #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrisprint #easter #easterdecor #eastercrafts #eastercrafting #fabriccraft #greatfabricdestashuk
🍓 William Morris Month Day 15 🍓 Absolutely can’t wait for the summer months to get our Strawberry Thief picnic basket and blanket back out- if you missed this craft we have a DIY on our website blog, along with a lot of other craft ideas and how-to blogs ☺️
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🍓 William Morris Month Day 14 🍓 Strawberry Thief was inspired by William Morris’s watching the thrushes under the strawberry nets at the stunning @kelmscottmanor 🌿 May Morris conjured up this scene when speaking of the design, “You can imagine my Father going out in the early morning and watching the rascally thrushes at work on the fruit beds and telling the fanned who growls ‘I’d like to wring their necks!’ that no bird in the garden must be touched. There were certainly more birds than strawberries in spite of attempts at protection. And the walls of the little dining-room are hung with this note of the June garden and the little lords of it.” 🍓 What a lovely insight into the Morris family life! 🥰
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🌿 William Morris Month Day 13 🌿 A little Bertie is interested in looking at our fresh florals on the table today, the theme of flower arranging class this week was “childhood memories” so of course Barbie was our theme! 🐕🦺🩷 Featuring our beautiful William Morris Strawberry Thief on the table today 🌿
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🌿 William Morris Month Day 12 🌿 Aren’t these little bunnies so cute! 🐰 Perfect for Easter trees or to use ontop of a napkin for an Easter table set up, using our Strawberry Thief William Morris fabric, they’re by @_x_edita_x_ and available on their Etsy ⭐️ If you’d like to be featured during our Morris Month please let us know, we’d love it! ✨
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