Erica Wakerly

On the second day in London we went to  meet the designer Erica Wakerly, who specialises in mainly wallpapers. She told us a brief history of where she studied and how she started, she told us that she did a degree in graphics, however she found the process of making and designing more interesting and also liked the idea of printing, so she then did a Masters in Printed Textiles. In 2006 she created the design Angle, which was one of her first big designs and is still probably her most popular to date.

She also told us about the processes she uses to create her works, like how she only likes screen printing and likes the tradition that goes into screen printing, and likes the quality and look that it gives. She also told us how she had tried digital but didn't like the look or effect it gave and went back the the tradition of screen printing. 

She also talked about how she creates the designs for the wallpapers and how she draws them. I thought how she creates the drawings was really interesting, and inspiring and something that I have never though of before. She told us that she creates small sculptures and models and then draws from them, this creates a more three demential drawing, therefore making them more interesting and have more depth. I think that this technique of making small models and sculptures and then drawing from them really translates into the drawings, you can see this in the wallpaper 'houses', where you can see that the houses are not flat they have been drawn from different angles and viewpoints, they have also been drawn with shadows. 

Another process that she uses to create her works was to create a college of different images and photographs and then drawing from this. This creates a more layered and dense image. You can see this process being used in the wallpaper 'homes', where the images collected were all from 1950's magazines and photographs. The drawings have been overlapped and layered on top of one another creating an interesting wallpaper, however it doesn't look too complicated as they are simple line drawings in black and white. 

She also talked about how she has had her wallpaper used, she mentioned how her wallpaper had been used in Topman across the country, also they have been used in bars and restaurants too, as often they want something different, unique and high quality. 

Like the visit to Timorous Beasties the previous day Erica also talked about how she doesn't follow trends, and instead does what she wants too and what inspires herself. I think that it's great that a designer has the courage to step out from the main stream and do what they are inspired to do instead. 

I think from Erica I have learnt not to be afraid of challenge myself and not to give up, I talked to her about my work and how I was finding repeating a pattern difficult and wondered if she had the similar problems when she first started, she told me that she did and it does take a lot of time and practice to get a repeat right. She said that even now it takes her along time, and I think that I was rushing repeats and have realised that they do take a long time to create and master. I have also learnt new techniques and have gotten ideas about drawing, just like when we were in first year and we made hybrid animals from found objects and recycled items, and then used these models to draw from later.