HELEN MORLEY
Through her company Waybreads, this artist and botanist creates enchanting wallpapers inspired by the countryside
Where did your creative journey start?
I worked at Vinters Valley and Ranscombe Farm nature reserves in Kent for 17 years, doing everything from botanical surveys and felling trees to managing large-scale conservation contracts. As a botanist and conservationist, plants, trees and habitats were my passion, but I always drew them, too.
What artistic training have you had?
I did a fine art degree at the University for the Creative Arts in Canterbury, graduating in 2011. I studied oil painting officially, and printmaking unofficially, after hours.
What have you been up to since graduating?
I’ve been a workshop leader and founded two community-focused and charitable projects, first teaching fine art techniques to adults with complex learning disabilities, then art workshops to adults recovering from addictions. Later I struck out on my own and raised £45,000 to form a community organisation. It ran for a year, before it was closed suddenly in June 2015.
How did that change your career?
After a good dose of self pity, I realised I wanted to make art that could be endlessly reproduced instead of one-offs, which focused my mind on printing. I immediately knew my subject would be English botany and, as I liked the idea of the art being used for a purpose, I decided to create wallpaper.
Can you tell us about your artistic style?
Living in lots of rented magnolia-painted houses has probably prompted my love affair with colour. You can also see from my fine art work that I paint large scale, and would go larger still given the facilities. I adore lino printmaking and I’m always striving to make bigger, more complex images.
What are your influences?
I’m a big fan of Timorous Beasties, the Pre-raphaelites and the Arts and Crafts designers, but the person who really inspires me is British wallpaper designer Marthe Armitage. We corresponded for a while and she was very encouraging and supportive. My love of plants and conservation also have a bearing on my work.
How do you go about creating a linocut?
I always draw from life rather than photographs, so each design begins with a walk. When I feel I understand the plant, I work up an image based on its habitat, pattern or an association. The finished drawing is traced onto a prepared sheet of lino, then gone over with a permanent marker and carved.
What lessons have you learned?
It’s been a challenge not only to understand my new craft, but also how to do my marketing, blogs, product development and work with the press. I’m currently in the throes of learning about distribution contracts, having been approached by a company in Japan that wants to sell my work.
What are your plans for the future?
I would love to develop a social enterprise aspect to my business one day, having had the experience of working with groups that cannot easily access art, regardless of how creative they might be. A more personal goal of mine is to find a studio in a countryside setting, as I would like to provide a home for a few rescue dogs and get back to some mud. For now, I’m just following my star and hoping to make a reasonable income.
See more of Helen’s work at Waybreads, waybreads.com. She is also exhibiting at the Geffrye Museum’s The Craft of Wallpaper exhibition during London Craft Week, from 3-7 May, londoncraftweek.com.