Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Architect
I knew Charles Rennie Mackintosh (CRM) was an architect. I was right about that, but there was so much more to find out. I have only skimmed the surface I think, but nonetheless, have enough visual material and brain fodder to begin to formulate some design structures for weaving. Setting aside the design of buildings, there are some lovely examples of Mackintosh watercolours, textile designs and interiors.
This time around I have done quite a bit of primary research. I visited the Kelvingrove Museum, took tours around the Glasgow School of Art and the Mackintosh House at the Hunterian Museum and even had a coffee at the Sauchiehall Street Tea Rooms (no tea for me, thanks all the same)
From the outset, I was drawn to the watercolour paintings of flowers, not least because of the beautiful natural colour palette, rich yet muted tones of red through blue. Yes, he used other colours, but those within the red/purple/blue sector move me in
some way. They are the colours which he and Margaret Mackintosh used extensively in their Gesso panels for interiors, and the colours they sparingly scattered in the otherwise starkly black and white interiors.
In my sketchbook (left) I have brought together two images of Mackintosh's work, at the top left, a watercolour of anemone and pasque, and below it, the double doors leading to the Salon Deluxe (Dining Room) at the Willow Tea Room in Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow.What I found remarkable was the similarity of colours used in both images, though each in a completely different medium and setting, and years apart in realisation. The watercolour is dated 1915 and the tearoom interior was designed in 1904
When I visited the Willow Street Tea Rooms
I was disappointed to find the doors pinned open, and each one encased
in protective perspex box. I was disappointed. However, I do
understand the need for conservation.
In my sketchbook, I grabbed the key colours from the anemone painting, and explored the leaded glass doors,seeking out shapes and relationships between the leaded bands and the glass panels contained within them, to create the doodles on the right.
These colours are quite strong and I worked hard to pull out tones and shades from the basic colour palette - just as CRM has done in the watercolour. I lack a bit of skill in the painting department, but having said that, I achieved what I set out to do, which was to extract the tints tones and shades from the watercolour and transfer them to the linear shapes in my doodles. The blue/purple was the hardest colour to control, I think It's ok, perhaps a little nearer to blue than purple.
I became quite mesmerised by these doodles, they proved quite addictive (I did some more of these). I have loved working with the strong black line, and throwing a few curves into the doodles.
My own photographs of the doors are interesting and appear "arty", not by design, but because the doors were encased and I was unable to get the direct "up front" shot I wanted. And, I only had my phone with me, so the quality was pretty rubbish too. However, they are actually more interesting because of the restraints. This photo on the left was a key image for one of my submitted samples.
Two of my resolved designs
The topmost one was inspired by the leaded glass and is worked in double weave - the top fabric (shown) has an undulating surface created by working with the warp at a looser tension and packing down the soft, slinky purple yarn; when working in the black weft, I created a "danish medallion" across the purple weft.
This is a double cloth with Rya knots worked into the top cloth - in what I think of as the Charles Rennie Mackintosh grid
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| Antony Gormley's Angel of the North 1998 |
I am not sure what CRM meant to represent in the door glass, but it sent me off looking for an image of the Angel of the North :)
I have only seen this work sidey-ways on, when I have been driving past on the way to IKEA; images I found taken from the north side show the amazing wing span. Fanstastic !
