Meet a Maker: Edition 14

Meet Bethan Wyn Williams

1. What is your craft and how did you get into it?

I’m an artist and surface pattern designer creating highly-detailed hand-drawn or painted repeating artworks for fabrics, wallpaper and home accessories. I’ve always had a keen interest in art and textile design, and spent my teenage years reading about fashion designers and studying photos from each season’s shows. At university I was able to explore the possibilities of combining my drawing and printmaking with surface pattern design and it felt like it all came together. Over the years my creative practice has evolved as my interests and knowledge have grown, I’ve had periods of time where I have concentrated on drawing, and other times where I have delved into screen and mono printing. Over the last seven years I have fully embraced my passion for printed textiles and wallpaper design and have worked on many ambitious and challenging design projects that have led to wonderful results. The past year has seen me dedicate my time to developing my first collection of hand drawn artworks for linen and wallpaper which released summer 2023. 

2. What is one interesting fact about you?

I grew up in rural North Wales and feel deeply connected to the landscape, wildlife and language and this wonderfully rich upbringing feeds into my creativity and inspires much of the artwork I produce. Recent designs I’ve worked on have been inspired by magical places that I love to visit such as Bodnant Gardens and the rugged landscape of Eryri.

3. How long have you been making?

I’ve been making artwork consistently for over 15 years, over this time the focus of my artwork has changed however I’ve always been driven and dedicated to pursuing my passion and creating new artwork.

4. Who are your favourite makers in your craft?

There are a huge amount of people I admire within the surface pattern design industry, and as I’ve developed my confidence and skills I’ve found it incredibly reassuring and helpful to find other makers online and read about their own journeys. I’m proactive in attending events and talks, and happily reach out to people for advice when needed. Just a few of the incredible artists and designers that inspire me everyday are Melissa White, a fellow QEST scholar and outstanding decorative artist who creates unbelievably beautiful hand painted murals; Marthe Armitage, iconic wallpaper designer who has created some of the most jaw droppingly beautiful botanical repeating patterns for wallpaper and fabric and who continues to create and innovate in her 80s; and Fanny Shorter, talented illustrator and printmaker with a collection of screen printed fabrics that I not only admire but want to cover my home in.

5. What is the most challenging skill/technique you learned in your craft?

A challenging aspect to creating hand drawn repeating artwork for printed textiles and wallpaper can be working out the most successful way to repeat the artwork tile. Although there are convenient programmes like photoshop that can make creating patterns simpler and quicker I enjoy the additional complexity of hand drawing each of my designs in repeat meaning all of the edges match up and the pattern will flow endlessly when transferred onto its chosen surface.

6. What is your favourite part of your craft?

The initial process of researching new design ideas, collating images, scribbling down notes and sketching can be extremely exciting with all the unlimited possibilities ahead of you. However, I’m at my happiest drawing, and have recently had the opportunity to work on several complex repeating designs using either graphite or coloured pencils. Drawing allows me to create detailed, elaborate artwork with intense colour that translates wonderfully onto fabrics, wallpaper and ceramics. As my designs are typically large scale I can be working on one repeating drawing over many months and find this process hugely rewarding, especially ensuring that the design flows and has natural movement and life without an obvious defined repeat.

7. What project are you most proud of and why?

I’ve been lucky enough to work on some wonderfully rewarding projects from many inspiring brands, however a very special project I have been developing over the past year is my own first collection of printed fabric, wallpaper and home accessories which I will be releasing very soon. This collection is a celebration of colour and pattern inspired by my upbringing in the welsh countryside, printed onto luxurious surfaces and made into beautiful home accessories.

8. If someone who knows nothing about your craft could know one thing, what would it be?

That each and every design is painstakingly researched and crafted by hand either by drawing or painting. The repeating artwork is created in large scale and offers a beautiful way of incorporating art into the home through paper, fabric and ceramics.

Learn more about Bethan