ZIVA :
A NEEDLEPOINT DESIGN SITE WITH A DIFFERENCE!

Hi...........I’m Sylvia McLeod

Welcome to my needlepoint design site.

WHAT IS ZIVA NEEDLEPOINT DESIGNS ABOUT?

I think you’ll see that it’s needlepoint designs with a difference!

For me, it’s about creating timeless designs suited for today...

simply smart ‘no nonsense’ contemporary designs that fit today’s lifestyle…

and will last for generations!

I’ve been a designer practically all my life!

After I graduated from the School of Interior Design at Ryerson University in Toronto Canada, I worked for a major architectural firm. I then had my own large interior design practice for several years, designing interiors for major corporations, and institutions.

I won several design awards in Canada, including Designer of the Year Award!

During this time the Needlepoint Bug bit me! I took several courses on needlepoint, including one in London, England to learn how to paint my designs on needlepoint canvas.

The recession in the early 1990’s caused me to rethink life’s priorities! Sound familiar? So my family and I moved to Bordeaux, France, and I’ve been happily designing needlepoint professionally ever since!

And now I can offer my ZIVA designs to you with this needlepoint design site!

 What influences my needlepoint designs?

The following photos of some needlepoint tapestries from this website will give you a good idea ……. (Please click on photo to go to relevant page)

A design inspired by the Arts and Crafts Movement…

you can see that the curvaceous stems, leaves and flattened irises are shaped into an elegant organic pattern.

 

This adaptation of an Art Nouveau design shows a staggered geometric pattern of diamond-shaped flowers, offset by very stylized elongated leaves.

 

 

 

This stylized animal form becomes integrated into the overall geometric Art Deco pattern. All the forms are outlined in black to create a ‘cloisonné’ effect, which emphasizes the geometric design.

 

 

These bold shapes and colours were inspired by the stylish modernity of the 1920’s and 30’s and are still relevant today.

 

 

We finally come to pure abstract and geometric shapes in their own right, with no reference to nature.

This design was influenced by the Bauhaus, the School of Architecture and Decorative Arts from Germany in the 1920’s.

 It had a marked impact on textile designs for the next 30 years.

 

 

 

 

ZIVA'S DESIGNS
influenced by
20th Century Decorative Arts

This quote by Judith Miller from her book ‘Decorative Arts’ helps explain my needlepoint design approach.

‘In the early 20th century forward thinking designers challenged traditionalist naturalistic imagery on textiles with their stylized motifs and geometric patterns.

Textile designs became more graphic in nature, depicting flattened almost cut-out stylized images and rejecting realism.'

As seen in the Fine Arts disciplines from this period, the subject matter became a ‘pretext’ to developing form, construction and colour.

This approach to design in the Decorative Arts has continued throughout the 20th century until this day.

You see it in all the major Design Movements from:
▪ Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau,
▪ Art Deco and Bauhaus,
▪ Mid-Century Modern to Post-Modernism.

It’s this approach that interests me and influences my contemporary designs... such as this Matisse design at right.



And it's what I want this needlepoint design site to convey to you.

VIVA ZIVA !

If you have any questions or comments , I'd love to hear from you!

This Form cannot be submitted until the missing fields (labelled below in red) have been filled in
Contact Us
Please note that all fields followed by an asterisk must be filled in.
First Name*
E-Mail Address*
Country*	CountryUnited StatesCanada----------------AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntiguaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBritish Virgin IslandsBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCook IslandsCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEast TimorEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGrenadaGuamGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard and McDonald IslandsHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsraelItalyIvory CoastJamaicaJapanJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribadiNorth KoreaSouth KoreaKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMacedoniaMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoFederated States of MicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontserratMoroccoMontenegroMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairn IslandPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarReunionRomaniaRussiaRwandaS. Georgia and S. Sandwich Isls.Saint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSpainSri LankaSt. HelenaSt. Pierre and MiquelonSudanSurinameSvalbardSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluU.S. Minor Outlying IslandsUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVatican CityVenezuelaVietnamUS Virgin IslandsWallis and Futuna IslandsWestern SaharaYemenYugoslavia (former)ZaireZambiaZimbabwe
Place your comments here
Please complete the challenge that you see below.

 

 

Why not subscribe to my free VIVA ZIVA! Newsletter?
This regularly released newsletter includes a free needlepoint design in every issue.

Take a look at the newsletter back issues to get a better idea what's in the ZIVA newsletters.

 

As my collection for ZIVA Needlepoint Designs grows on this website, please keep visiting.

You may be tempted to stitch one of my creations!

Now you've got to know more about the ZIVA needlepoint design site, please go back to the home page to discover the ZIVA COLLECTION!

BACK TO TOP

Like This Page?