Playdate

Margaret Macdonald

 

Next in the series of great women designers is Margaret Macdonald.  Her famous husband, Charles Rennie Macintosh, is well known for his architecture and influence on the Art Nouveau/Arts and Crafts movements but it is their incorporation of interior design, furniture, textiles and art which is what I admire about their collaboration.   Together with two other students of the Glasgow School of Art, they created the 'Glasgow Style'.  This era in architectural design is one of my favorites.  The integration of nature and the harmony of porportions is a true lesson for all of us in our eco-friendly era.  Plus, I just LOVE how they designed each room with full detail. 

The bedroom of the Hill House (pictured here) is just a small example of their holistic approach.  Every detail was carefully thought out and custom designed.  Macintosh is the famous architect but Macdonald's contribution and influence is visible. 

This chair, designed for a tea room, is another piece of furniture I would love to have in my home.  (Perhaps not in the same room with the Eileen Gray side table.)  The intentially tall back provided privacy/intimacy when grouped at the table.  

Margaret and her sister, Frances, created some of the most beautiful artwork of that era, like the piece pictured above.   (Gustav Klimt, namely the frieze in the Succession Building, is a close second for me!)  I could stare at their art for hours.

Please take the time to browse through the links.  There are so many beautiful images from their body of work and Macdonald's story as an influential, creative woman is so interesting.  Similar to this visionary husband and wife team, my husband and I met in school.  Should we find a common creative vision, I wonder if Rob and I will work together? 

Eileen Gray

 

I've decided to do a series of posts on some of my favorite designers who are women.  I couldn't come up with a decent title for the series so for now I'll just use their names.

Having endured architecture school and having experienced the ratio of men to women in the field first hand, I find Eileen Gray's life story all the more fascinating.   She was an integral member of the International Style and her influence on the designs of her male counterparts wasn't fully credited.  Sadly, she was not alone in the battle for recognition.  Many women have and continue to be left out of the limelight.  (I would have loved to have attended this event at MoMA.)

The NYTimes article made me sad for women architects but I have to stay hopeful for us gals.  The least I can do is honor one of the great ladies on my little blog post. 

This is my all-time favorite side table.  One day, I will own one in my dream home/pallazzo.

In bloom

 

Park Avenue

.

.

 

Central Park Reservior

.

.

 

Bringing the outdoors in.

Spring is in full bloom!

Tweet, tweet

I loved Kris's post about birds when she wrote it but now I love it more because there is a new bird lover among us.  My four year old has been learning about birds and their characteristics in preschool.  Who knew?!

To foster this new appreciation, I've been getting books from the library so that we can both learn about these beautiful creatures.  (Is it sad that my son knows more about birds than me?  I guess I led an unobservant life as a child...or there were no birds on Staten Island beside pigeons.)  Anyway, LOVE the library!

Today is his last day of Spring Break.  I decided to use some fabric I had around the house to make his very own bird.  This is my interpretation of a female bluebird. 

 

Owen picked out the buttons for the eyes; one black and one red.  He tells me he wants to take it to school which tells me that he likes it.  Yay!

Packing paper

Instead of running out to get one of those cool single cup coffee machines, I asked my parents if I could have their coffee press.  You know, the one I gave them that they never use.  My dad was happy to declutter their home and I was happy to get a "new" coffee press.  My dad carefully wrapped the glass pot in some paper and placed it in a bag for me to transport home.  Here's the paper he used...

       

Am I crazy here or does his "garbage" practice sheets look amazing? 

My dad started calligraphy a few years after retiring.  At this point, it has been around ten years.  Several years ago he submitted work for a traveling exhibit.  His art went to four countries, one of them was South Korea.  Our extended family went to the exhibit and took photos next to my dad's scrolls.  I don't have pictures of that exhibit but I do have two of his scrolls in my living room.

Oh, the framed flower picture is his also.  This isn't even his best work!  There is one piece that has all Chinese 1000 characters perfectly aligned and perfectly drawn that I LOVE.  Their tiny apartment is packed with scrolls, books and rolls of practice sheets.  Incredible.

I am so proud of his work.  He started doing this amazing art so late in his life.  I can only imagine what he would have created if he had started decades ago.  I am truly inspired.

Overheard

Earlier this evening, I heard Joseph explaining to Hannah that "sometimes, when people are dead, if they were important people, they wrap them in toilet paper and put them in a special box and call them mommies." 

"Mommies?" she asked. 

"Yes, MOM-MIES," he said, louder and slower.

*Image Copyrighted by Historylink101.com & found at Egyptian Picture Gallery.