Cressida Bell: The Legacy Continues

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?

I have been in business for over 40 years. I set up immediately after leaving the RCA with an MA in Textile Design. Previously, I had been to St Martin's School of Art, where I studied Fashion & Textiles.

I have always been interested in decorative art, and as a child I wanted to be a jeweller. My family background (Vanessa Bell was my grandmother and Quentin Bell my father) probably influenced me in this respect. I loved visiting my grandparents' home, Charleston, as a child – every surface was decorated: pottery, furniture, rugs, cushions and walls. I painted a chest of drawers for myself at age 7 and have been doing much the same ever since.

You've described pattern as being at the heart of your work. What is it about pattern that continues to fascinate you after so many years of working with it?

There is such a difference between good pattern and bad pattern, and finding the sweet spot is what I always aim for. I find it fascinating that the intricate decorations in the Alhambra seem dull to me, whereas the designs on the Sultans' caftans in the Topkapi (some very simple) are just perfect. It's personal taste, I guess, but it's also about the perfect balance between shapes. It's hard to analyse - but that's what drives me.

You've built a career by following your own instincts rather than chasing fashion. Has that become easier with time, or do you still have to consciously resist the pull of trends?

I don't worry about current trends and never have. There was a point when interiors were all about simplicity, so people didn't want my patterned rugs – but then pattern is 'in' again, and they come back to my designs. I think/hope that my designs are timeless rather than just a flash in the pan.

You've talked about wanting to retain the handmade quality of your work, rather than letting digital processes make it too perfect. What is it about imperfection that appeals to you?

Actually, I aim for perfection! But I'm very aware that computer-aided design is too perfect. The drawn line is much more appealing, as you can imagine the person behind the work. My designs all start in my sketchbook, but for a while I went straight from there to Photoshop. I soon realised the computer was making me too neat, so now I paint the design to scale and scan it so I retain the hand-drawn line. Otherwise, it looks too mechanised!

Your Bloomsbury family history is inevitably part of the story around your work, but you've also been keen to emphasise that you've forged your own path. How do you feel about that legacy now?

To my surprise, the legacy continues. As a family we thought that the vogue for all things Bloomsbury would pass – but on the contrary it seems to grow and grow! Two big exhibitions are coming up in the Autumn – one at the Tate – Vanessa Bell & Duncan Grant, and one at Charleston – Quentin Bell.

I am proud of the work done by both my father and grandmother; I think it's beautiful, and it's a wonderful thing to have in my hinterland. If necessary, I can do a Bloomsbury pastiche, but I prefer not to – and am not at all keen on the quantity of bad knock-offs that are out there. They are so often insultingly bad, assuming the patterns are slap-dash when, in fact, they are carefully considered. It's not easy to do a really good hand-painted cross-hatch!

How do you negotiate the influence of your family history while maintaining something that is completely your own?

I don't think much about it. There is something in my blood, I guess, in my sense of colour and proportion – but I don't consciously refer to it. My influences are wide-ranging – from Baroque architecture to Navajo blankets or Howard Hodgkin paintings. It's what I do with them that makes them my own, and that comes from my own sensibility.

What are you enjoying at the moment (an artist, a place, a book, a piece of music, a colour, an object) that you think might find its way into your work?

Right now, I think something from Greece may find its way into my work. I have a house there and love all the patterned butterflies, grasshoppers, and fish. I don't think books or music influence my work, but I do love collecting pottery, which often has a bearing on my work.

After four decades of working professionally, are there still parts of the creative process that surprise you?

I don't think there's much that surprises me. I don't always get it right, but I keep trying to do something that's new and different. I'm not someone who reworks the same old pattern, but I do love stripes and spots, so they do crop up in most of my designs.