"Seaward" Blanket - A Collaboration with the Pier Arts Centre

Earlier this year we were asked by the Pier Arts Centre to design an exclusive blanket for them, inspired by something in their incredible permanent collection - which contains works by Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Olafur Eliasson, Martin Boyce, Katy Dove, Anish Kapoor, Ben Nicholson, and many other contemporary artists.

We have long been admirers of the paintings of Sylvia Wishart, and were immediately drawn to her huge, iconic painting of the 'Hoy Sound' (the narrow passage of sea between Orkney's two largest islands), as seen from the seaward window of the late artist's Stromness home.

Wishart's paintings are known for their very particular use of colour. She tended to use hue, more than tonal contrast, to describe light and shadow, and would thread specific colours throughout the whole canvas, in a tapestry-like manner.

Previously this year, in our "Voe" blanket we had experimented with a method of creating patterns which appeared to 'blush' with colour and intensity. The "Voe" pattern is essentially a patchwork - each patch consisting of a different pattern of tiny abstract motifs, and each with a different proportion of colour. The result is a pattern which creates a great variety of different colours, using a palette of only three yarns.

We used this same technique to create the pattern for our "Seaward" blanket, but we attempted to also capture something of the atmosphere of Wishart's painting and her choice of colour. The blanket is designed as a single composition of stitches, in landscape orientation, with no repeats. Each section of pattern is unique.

The "Seaward" Blanket will be available in limited edition online and at the Pier Arts Centre, and will be launched tonight at the annual Christmas Open exhibition - Friday 17th of November, 7.30pm.

You can find out more about Sylvia Wishart by reading her obituary in the Guardian, or by visiting the Pier Arts Centre in Orkney to view her work in person.

The "Seaward" Blanket is available to purchase at the Pier Arts Centre, in person and over the phone. The PAC is also part of the "Own Art" scheme which allows you to spread your purchase over a smaller number of payments. Find out by contacting isla.holloway@pierartscentre.com

Also available here with free UK shipping.