Colchester Orthodox Church Wallpaper

This project was inspired by the first wallpaper project I had done for the same community but in the small Chapel attached to the main church.

The basis for this project was to beautify the lower walls of the main church of St John the Wonderworker in Colchester, Essex. 

The inspiration behind these designs are Orthodox Churches of the Russian tradition. 

These creatives called towelling designs are seen in ancient churches from the 5th / 6th centuries in Rome, Egypt, and in places such as Cappadocia in Turkey. 

Back in those times, churches were decorated with real towels as decoration for interiors, and throughout the centuries and onto the millennia, this tradition has carried on but only with paint.

The toweling design was fairly straightforward as I had done something similar with the Chapel. However I could see the flaws of the previous design and I wanted to improve it and develop it even further. 

I therefore created a 2-Dimensional design with a 3-Dimensional effect created on Adobe Illustrator. The patterns and floral designs are purely decorative and reference church interiors in Eastern Europe. The best compliment that I've received is 'This is exactly what you see in churches back at home'.