FINDS: More than just Pottery from Etsy....

Here is another find from Etsy:  works from the Clay Studio by Heather Knight. 
Heather creates tiles - tiles which are beautiful little sculptures, inspired by the flora and fauna of the oceans, by creatures which live in an area that might never be seen by you but are so beautiful in their forms and patterns that they became the inspirations of a ceramic artist.

These tiles are not just meant to cover the wall of your bathroom or kitchen, these tiles are unique artworks, very fragile and delicate. But Heather does not only create tiles but also bowls, vases and more, equally inspired by the creatures of our planet...

In an interview she said: "...my inspiration comes mainly from textures and forms I find on my visits to the beach, or walks in the woods, and sometimes I find really cool stuff on city sidewalks..."

And now visit her studio on Etsy:

all images with courtesy of Heather Knight

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You think Quilts are out? Never....

Do you honestly believe that a quilt couldn't make it into a well designed big hallway? Why? Because you think a quilt belongs on a bed? Not so!
In my last post I was showing a very special art quilt with an exotic flair and motif. This time I chose something with a motif that should be familiar - Cygnes (Swans). I prefer the French name because it sounds much more delicate, more appropriate for those beautiful birds.

Would this beautiful huge entry hall not be predestined for a large art piece such as this hand stitched silk quilt? And would the grand piano in this place not be the perfect complementary object as if made for each other?

The original painting is certainly making a point but an art quilt would be a real eyecatcher - wouldn't it? Something that not everybody has on the wall.

The art quilt was made from silk, hand stitched with silk and finally painted. It is an hommage to one of the most beautiful birds on our planet, a bird that stands for grace, elegance, innocence and love:

"Cygnes"

76" x 54" silk art quilt

©Petra Voegtle

This wall hanging has been part of a project called “Piecing a Quilt of Life” an international project dedicated to empowering senior women by recognizing their creative abilities by Fiber Artist Dottie Moore in Rock Hill, South Carolina. It was part of an exhibition in the Rock Hill Museum for nearly 8 months and was featured on TV in the HGTV channel. More links...

Exotic Flair on a traditional American Medium

What could be more decorative than this art quilt - which means it belongs on a wall not on a bed. It is entirely handquilted with silk and finally handpainted. Inspired by the apsaras bas-reliefs in Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the Indian Epic Mahabharata this beautiful wallhanging will be an eyecatcher for every room. You can find the links to various stages at the end of this post.

There is something very personal about this art quilt because it brought me back to painting. While other artists, coming from the media “painting” suddenly turn their interest into working with fabrics and textiles, in my case it was totally the other way round. While I may go back to quilting from time to time and "test" my inspirations on rather unusual themes and materials again, it was the creation of fabric images and quilting that brought me back to painting, that I stopped doing for various reasons many many years ago.

The “Apasara” motifs existed in my head a long time before I even travelled to Southeast Asia. Memories from the 70′s and Indian influences that flooded the western countries during the hippy era already existed in rudimentary pieces in my brain. Through the years of travelling I developed a greater interest for the culture of the Khmer and I studied many photo documentaries in books and on film.

Although I have never been in Cambodia physically I got to know the country and its people through tales and contacts outside the country itself – many Cambodians still live in exile and have found new homes.

I have shown this art quilt a couple of times in various vignettes and now I want to show you the details of this piece.

"Apsaras"
52" x 69", silk art quilt

©Petra Voegtle

 

 

The following pic shows the back of this quilt which has been embellished addtionally with hand applications of satinee leaves.

The last 3 pics show the hand stitched, intricate details of the dancer's jewellery.

 

 

 

If you would like to know more about the background and "making of" this beautiful art quilt please check this link
Please use these links to get an impression of how this art quilt appears in the environment of a beautiful room: interior1, interior2 and interior3

Btw - this quilt has been juried into and shown at the main show of the big International Quilt Festival in Houston in 2004. Citizens of Houston will know what this means...

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Guilin - a Landscape for ROOMS, big ROOMS

I have brought this up a couple of times in order to show you the various possibilities to place a painting such as this one and how it could transform a room into a breathtaking place as it is shown in the example below. Sometimes it takes so little for this metamorphosis. The original art on the wall looked very nice but do you think it made you feel excitement?

I have a different idea - a landscape as below would make you gasp. A painting that emanates pure magic because the subject is magical. And this is what art is living from otherwise it is only a piece of decoration. So chose wisely!

In a large hallway such as this you need something that blows you out of your socks. There is so much space that can be used without stuffing it. This is my suggestion:

To see that breathtaking landscape with your own eyes will never let you forget about it. Photos are not sufficient to catch the special light, the atmosphere of this beauty. You can look at some of the photos I have taken here but I wished I could go back with the camera and the easel and do what so many artists have done before me. So many motifs I would like to share...

The painting consists of 5 panels which are painted on silk and even could be continued into a 360° view. Imagine a room with an endless landscape! It takes you into a 3d-view when you are in front of it and opens the space even more into nearly endless distance...

"Monuments of Guilin"
(from the Magic Landscapes series) 
Polyptych, 40" x 65", silk
©Petra Voegtle

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Art and Interior Design - an Offer for free

Imagine interior design devoid of any art object, no painting, without anything that pleases the eye other than having a useful purpose. A sad picture - isn't it? Boring, cold, repellent. Especially in rooms where you spend quite some time, where you have to wait for your dialog partner, a meeting etc.

Imagine arriving at a hotel lobby that offers no visual welcome besides a few flowers on the counter. How boring! On the other hand how inviting could the reception hall be with one or two pieces of sophisticated art on the wall or on a table.

Wherever we go we are surrounded by visual impacts. We perceive them often only through the subconscience but nevertheless they have an influence on our emotional response. This is revealed by a postive or a negative feeling. There is no difference whether you are in a public or a private room. I bet you sometimes cannot even tell what it is that causes your feeling of missing harmony. And this is exactly the moment where you need a person to help you to go into the right direction.

I can offer you ideas how a room could be turned into a harmonius entity. Sometimes you only need something very simple, an eyecatcher in order to add a focus. In other cases you need to take out some tension by adding a certain colour and this could be easily achieved f.e. through a painting or wall hanging without redecorating and changing the whole room.

Send me a photo or two of a room you are not happy with and I will see what I could come up with. And if you like we could even discuss this on this blog. If not I will keep this offline and private of course. Just let me know. You can contact me under vyala@vyala-arts.com. This is absolutely free!

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A Bathroom with a mysterious Landscape

I love mysteries. I love mystery stories, I love mysterious people and I absolutely love mysterious landscapes. I love to explore caves, gorges and all those places where you don't know what you can expect turning around the next corner. It is exiting, it is food for inspiration, it is a source for dreams of another world. What would our lives be without mysteries and dreams?

I am especially fascinated by stalactite caves. They are truly mysterious and your phantasies can go berserk when you look at those glitzy stalactites and stalacmites, the forms and patterns they create, sometimes looking like sculptures of humans or aninmals, sometimes filigree like crotcheted lace even in different colours depending on the minerals they contain. A natural miracle and mystery. Beautiful beyond any words.

This is how Mother Nature designs her interior:

all images are from ARGE Höhle & Karst Grabenstetten e.V.

And this is my humble example of re-creating a landscape from below the surface on silk:

"Underworld"
(from the Magic Landscapes Series)
silk, 40" x 21"
©Petra Voegtle

And in which interior design would I place this painting? F.e. in this bathroom where this painting would certainly add a mystic touch. Imagine you relax in your bathtub after a long working day and you dream of landscapes which do not seem to be on this world...

(unfortunately the original image source got lost...I apologize)

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Machu Picchu - a Silk Painting about a magical Place

This silk painting Machu Picchu belongs to the Magical Symbols Series. I love the warm colours - just the right thing to warm up your room when the temperatures start to go down again at this time of the year.
Machu Picchu is truly a magical place, an archeological site which still holds many secrets. Thousands of tourists undertake each year an incredibly exhausting trip to this place which is not easy to reach as it is hidden high in the mountains of the Andes. 

"Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). Often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas", it is perhaps the most familiar icon of the Inca World.
The Incas started building the estate around AD 1400 but it was abandoned as an official site for the Inca rulers a century later at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Although known locally, it was unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham. Since then, Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction.
Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Since it was not plundered by the Spanish when they conquered the Incas, it is especially important as a cultural site and is considered a sacred place." (from wikipedia)"

Whatever might turn out to be the real purpose of Machu Picchu - there is no doubt that this is a place full of magic and an incredible aura. Until today artefacts are found at this site and may lead to new discoveries.

"Machu Picchu"
(from the Magic Symbols Series)
40" x 13", silk

The ancient golden ornaments certainly add a special touch to the historical city and dreams about the lost treasures of the Inca people...

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Chocolate Colours in the Bedroom...

This is a wonderfully simple setting in a bedroom with the colours of the earth. It is far from being boring - instead it is calming and peaceful. I feel though that there is something missing on this dark wall, a focal point. So I thought I have the perfect painting for this bedroom: Ricefields at Dawn from the Magic Landscapes series.

original image source and with courtesy of 

http://www.livingetc.com

"Ricefields at Dawn"

(from the Magic Landscapes series) 
40" x 21", silk
©Petra Voegtle

The painting reflects all colours as shown in above image. It has been painted on silk and additionally stitched with silk thread in order to add texture.
The motif has been inspired by the many rice terraces you can find in southeast Asia which look absolutely awsome in the early morning light when the air is still full of moisture from the night.

You can find other vignettes with this painting here and here.

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