Monday, December 24, 2012

Sunday, December 23, 2012

OFF-TOPIC: This Time of the Year it should have been...


...this scenario








...or even this one which is one of the environmental crimes of the city of Munich again where the Olympic lake was dried out, fish and everything else "removed" only to be the playground for some idiots. These blockheads think it is so cool to have a World cup skiing slalom for ONE DAY in the middle of the city (but this is a completely different story) although the appropriate ground exists just 50 km south of the city towards the Alps (the pics show snow canons that produce the stuff that is needed for plastering the little Olympic mountain for this event). How irresponsible and shallow-brained is that? And the waste of energy that could have supported a whole village for one year not to talk about the damage that is done to the whole ground when the stuff melts away etc. etc.??




In winter time the lake is normally populated by all sort of waterfowl and other birds. Many come from northern regions to find food here and some open water still when everything else is frozen. But now the area is completely dead, not a single duck or goose to be seen. It is very sad. And you want to know what the greatest joke is? We currently have temperatures around 12°C and the snow is completely gone...

Btw - the photos have been made on the 12th of Dec. Four days later the snow was completely gone. This is typical for Munich city. So far to the planning skills of  a host and organizer...

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Saturday, December 22, 2012

Do You like empty Bedroom Walls?

Some people love minimalistic interior and others the contrary. The first one is often cold the second more often over-stuffed and cluttered. Both are not very helpful for a peaceful sleep I believe. Personally I don't like large rooms as a bedroom - I am more the cave type of person. My bedroom must be cosy, the bed should stand in the corner of the room with the wall directly behind my back. For protection - you know! You never know who could enter your cave to disturb your sleep and attack you. You need a safe place. This must be the remnants of evolutionary past?

What type of person are you? Would you be able to sleep in a wide open space with nothing behind and nothing in front of you and sometimes not even underneath? Let's say in one of those hyper-modern beds which are floating on a magnetic field? I could not sleep for the whole night for fear of drifting somewhere I cannot control.

Back to this example. As it stands this room is quite unappealing to me, too many squares and straight lines and the colour scheme is quite boring too. I would replace the armchair by something more colourful or at least upholster it with a different fabric.Then I would have something friendly and cheering to look at before I leave for the land of dreams instead of a dead brown thing that looks like a pile of dog poop.


And of course: the artwork is missing in this room. My suggestion would be to hang a large landscape on the wall that adds a bit more colour but fits harmoniously into the overall colour scheme such as this one:



The motif has been painted on pongé silk and depicts one of those breathtaking landscapes you can find on the Hawaiian Islands:

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

I have added Here are some details of the painting




The last picture shows a special detail. This couple of hikers is so small that it has been painted with a magnifying glass:
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Thursday, December 20, 2012

GUEST POST: Think about Glass Art

Yesterday I received another wonderful guest post from Shahab Shokouhi who is writing for Dulles Glass and Mirror.
I am totally addicted by glass not only for household items but for art of course as well. Therefore I am delighted to publish this article:

 Think about Glass Art



THINK ABOUT GLASS ART | “Spectacular Entrance”

A glass art design studio in Canada called ThinkGlass (TG) is producing these works of glass art that work in commercial spaces like hotels, casinos, restaurants, offices, hospitals, and even universities and churches. In this post, we will explore some of the latest and greatest works from TG.

The above piece of artistic glass called “Spectacular Entrance,” which resides floating on the ceiling of this home entrance, producing one of the most amazing and vibrant textures and bright array of colors ever seen in a foyer, giving it pop, as soon as you cross the threshold of this home.

And while each piece of glass art is uniquely handmade and individualized, the applications of functional glass art are countless.


Magical Flowers | New York, NY

Here’s an example of floral glass art titled: “Magical Flowers.” These crystalline flowers are made from ½” thick glass and fill up the ceiling. This photo is from a private residence in New York. It is a mix of many styles… a throwback to classical art and modern organic flare. And while it is a powerful piece, it still allows for the flow of light… one of the many advantages of creating art with glass. This means your home is still a bright and beautiful space, even with such a multicolored, multidimensional piece.


Glass Art Shower Enclosures

ThinkGlass has a huge collection of glass art for one's home -- which is a direct convergence of art and functionality. Instead of having a run of the mill glass shower enclosure, a custom glass art enclosure really makes you feel like you're in an out of this world resort -- as you can see in the above example. The sculptured design really makes your bathroom look like an “arctic oasis,” where no two are alike.


Crystal Bloc

In what is truly another combination of function and art, this functional art piece which is a 4 inch thick crystal colored glass kitchen countertop, titled: “Crystal Bloc.” Though, this beauty doesn’t come cheap. At $200-$400 per square foot, a kitchen countertop like this adds up fast. On the bright side, it can be custom designed to your specifications, with the colors and designs you want. And without fail, a piece like this would easily become the centerpiece of your kitchen.

All of the images and glass seen here are by ThinkGlass. They will be able to answer all questions regarding pricing and availability.



About the Author

Shahab Shokouhi is a Writer at Dulles Glass and Mirror – a manufacturer of commercial and residential glass products including custom mirrors, glass top, and glass top desks.

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Thank you very much for this nice article, Shahab.

~~~



Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Dark Blue and Cream in the Bedroom

Very nice colours - I thought when I saw this photo for the first time. A room that is completely harmonius, serene and not too dark despite the dark blue wall. But the light accents and carpet add enough brilliance.




I have an alternative for the art on the wall though. I would hang a different piece in order to add a bit more drama and movement without destroying the concept:

The artwork above the bed is the crop of a silk painting, a fine art print on heavy cotton canvas. The original silk painting shows a semi-abstract winter landscape:

 "Frozen"
(from the Magic Landscapes series)
40" x 20", silk

©Petra Voegtle
~~~

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Windows to your Soul

I would have loved to see more of this room than only this small vignette because I like the warm colours and the huge mirror besides the bed. So I can only start from here.

with courtesy of http://www.livingetc.com

As usual I was looking into my stock of art pieces and found a silk scroll that would fit nicely into this colour scheme and restrained pattern of the wall:




This silk scroll is a semi-abstract interpretation of the mind's view towards the inner self. As we never can see the whole until we have reached the perfection we will only be able to peek through many little windows. Doesn't this correlate wonderfully?

"Windows"
(painted and stitched)
 
silk scroll
 45" x 24"
©Petra Voegtle

~~~

Sunday, November 25, 2012

LUXURY PHANTASIES: Thrones and Bathtubs

How many synonyms do you think exist for the word "toilet"? Here are some examples from which a few  may not be exactly clubbable:
the ladies' room, men's room, WC, powder room, lavatory, throne, bathroom, latrine, privy, outhouse, can, commode, john, johnny, seat, pot, potty, restroom, litter box, sand box, washroom, water closet, chiffonier, loo, washstand, shitter, porcelain god, bog, the foreign office, public conveniences, carsey, crapper, bano, head, dunny, the dump, blow hole, thunderbox etc. I am sure there are much more.

Most of the symonyms I mentioned above are probably not appropriate for the examples I found during my little research because these "places" are more than just potties?

A 24-karat golden throne is this one - made in Japan, known to be the land of the most sophisticated toilets in the world...

image source

This golden sink with diamonds would certainly complement the golden toilet:
One brilliant cut diamond 2.00 ct, VS2 G, and eight brilliant cut diamonds 0.25 ct, VVS1 E, with Bazel setting in white gold.

image source

Another  24 carat gold plated lavatory that was unveiled at the last World Toilet summit and expo in China. It costs only $200, 000 and would be appropriate for any Royal Highness...

image source

The Hall Of Gold has become a famous tourist attraction in Hong Kong. Owned by Hang Fu­ng Gold Technology Group the golden throne is meant to be admired, not put to practical use...what a shame...

 image source

Designed by Jemal Wright, this is from the “Isis” range of bathroom fittings and is either fully or partially handset with Swarovski crystals...costs only 75.000 $

 image source

This is actually a Teuco Swarovski crystal bathtub and it is beautiful and fully functional...


image source


I think the following may rather belong into the bizarre section of expensive thones:
John Lennon's toilet from Tittenhurst Park, Ascot, which sold in an auction for 14.740 $. Btw - would YOU have thought that the Beatle finished his biz on a throne such as this one that may rather fit into a typical English cottage??

image source

It does actually not look like an expecially expensive bath tub but it is made of solid copper and hand-crafted. Over five feet long and two-and-a-half feet wide, the tub is spacious enough to comfortably accommodate just about anyone. The fluted faucet and hand-held shower unit are designed with the same aesthetic quality as the rest of the tub, featuring a finely engraved starfish-on-seashell knob. So the Kallista Archeo Copper Bathtub is available for a mere 67,557 $

 image source

The contrary of looking very expensive and not having to pay a fortune for this might be this example from Melanie Royals and her invention of the Modello Decorative Masking Patterns. "Any surface can be enhanced with design and decoration"... Melanie says and mentions a project by Kathy Wear where her beautiful stencils are used "to create a throne fit for a king":

image source


But back to the most expensive bathtubs. Here is one, made of turquoise malachite, designed by Luca Bojola and available for 222.000 $ only:

image source

There is a similar bathtub available, the Amaltea bathtub, also designed by Baldi of Florence, Italy,  but this is made entirely of the precious purple gem amethyst, and adorned with 24-karat gold-plated legs, priced at 190.000 $.

image source


Designed by Luca Bojola this bathtub is carved from a single piece of Amazonian rock crystal and measuring over 8 feet in diameter. Available for only 790.310 $. Nevertheless it is defintely beautiful.

image source

By the same designer a crystal rock basin matching the above bathtub:

image source

You think that's it? Not so. Here comes the  £ 1 million bathtub. It’s called “Le Grand Queen” and was sculpted out of an extremely rare stone that can only be found in the volcanic rocks in Indonesia.

image source

And last but not least you need the appropriate toilet paper. What would be more decadent than cleaning your derrière with money bills???


image source


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Tuesday, November 13, 2012

A lovely Room with an additional Touch

There is nothing to complain about this room. I simply love it. I love the window and how it has been adjusted to the door so that you have different shapes. I love the colours which are serene and very soothing but not dull. A very relaxing room but for all that the stencil on the wall looks to me a bit lonely...


 original image source www.homesolute.com

...therefore I would add a small unintrusive acrylic painting on the wall that perfectly fits into the colour scheme and design - if this was my room:


The painting belongs to the Reminiscenses series, a painting series that was created from my photo documentary about the Olympic Student Village in Munich, torn down a few years ago in order to be re-constructed.

In order to create a kind of memorial for the beautiful and often funnily painted walls which are now all lost I took hundreds of photos from the village. But this was not enough for me - I also decided to create a painting series from the most impressive and beautiful parts i.e. walls, doors and windows. The peeling paints and especially the marks all the vines left on the plaster created wonderful patterns and structures. There is an extra photo series only about these wall motifs which you will find here.


"White Wall"
(from the Reminiscences series)
acrylic, 26" x 18"
©Petra Voegtle
 
 
~~~
 mmm

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