While going through my things at mom’s house last week, I found the original linocut I made in 2010 or ‘11 that became the ThreadWritten logo. An illustration in a book on display at the Néprajzi Múzeum in Budapest inspired the design. It was part of the Legendary Creatures, Magical Flowers: The Popular Renaissance exhibition in 2008-09. I was in Budapest for an artist’s residency and visiting the museum led me to start ThreadWritten three years later.

The exhibition explored the role of the guilds, the widening spread of the printed image between the 16th and 19th centuries, and how objects of court and noble culture later became popular in the 19th century. Fascinating– I wish I could see it again!

The photo below is from the exhibition pamphlet. The illustration in the lower left inspired me to make a linocut just for fun. I later decided that the warmth and charm of the motif and its design which spans many cultures would fit my love for and spirit of folk culture that I wanted to convey.

Maybe it’s time to embroider the creature on the right– at the very least her flower!

My design became this print:

And the final logo:

Where do you find inspiration for the things that you make? How do you translate them with your ideas and your hand?