The Many Layers of William Morris and how relevant is he today?
William Morris was a man of many talents and not just as a designer. At the time of Morris’ death in 1896 it is recorded that this physician said he was “simply being William Morris, and having done more work than most ten men”. So what were Morris’ other talents and why does Adelaide have one of the biggest collections of Morris & Co. textiles, stained glass and more outside of the UK? How can we reconcile that one of the mid nineteenth century leaders of the Arts and Crafts Movement that opposed mass production and promoted ‘handmade’, now be accessible to the masses today? Come and join me for a presentation and discussion including how I came to designing quilts in the Morris & Co. style nearly 30 years ago.
About Michele Hill
I worked as an RN for 35 years but have enjoyed ‘playing’ with textiles since childhood. In 1997 when I visited a Morris & Co. exhibition at the V&A, London I was inspired to design my own quilts in the Morris & Co. style. It was serendipitous that in 2002 I discovered that South Australia has a strong connection to Morris & Co. when an extended exhibition was held at the AGSA. Opportunities to share my passion have resulted in writing four books including two relating to William Morris and one about his daughter May Morris. I was also approached to design Arts and Crafts style fabrics for the quilting industry and that resulted in four successful ranges that were sold across the globe. Between 2012 and 2016 I had the opportunity of escorting seven sold out William Morris tours in the UK and then in 2018 developed “William Morris in Adelaide” tours and I was thrilled that we completed ten of these tours.
