When I think of the name ‘Marx’ two things come to mind – The Marx Brothers and Karl Marx. Both are interesting in their own ways, but I had never heard of Enid Marx (1902-1998) until we visited the Compton Verney Art Gallery in the summer holidays. She was an English painter, designer, children’s book writer and, yes, a distant cousin of Karl Marx. Her work is wonderful and inspiring. She did lots of printing and had a passion for patterns. I love the fact that she designed the seat covers (mocquette fabric) for London buses and tube trains in 1930’s.
The photo at the top of this post is an example of one of her seat cover designs from The London Transport shop: http://www.ltmuseumshop.co.uk/moquette/availability.html
If you want to know more about the wonderful Enid look at the Independent newspaper obituary http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-enid-marx-1158447.html and check out the Compton Verney Art Gallery website http://www.comptonverney.org.uk/collections/marx_lambert.aspx
Anyone who has ever used the London Underground and been charmed (or otherwise) by the patterns on their seats will know the names of different stations conjure up ideas and stories, even if you never actually get off at that station. TubeFlash is an interesting website based on flash fiction for different London stations. You can submit your own 300 word story (check the conditions first) or just read some of the ones already published on http://www.tubeflash.co.uk/ It’s a fun project.
Other writing news:
Very pleased to report that Words and Women, who support women writers living and working in East Anglia, have lauched their annual prose competition today! http://wordsandwomennorwich.blogspot.co.uk/p/competitions_11.html
Closing date for entries is 15 November so better get writing…
yasminwrites.com 