GUEST POST: The Latest at JHID

This morning I received a newsletter from Jessica Helgerson, Interior Design and I could not help but I had to publish this completely on my blog because everything that was created for this Yoga studio was simply marvellous and right up to my alley:

The latest at JHID

"This project was an interior remodel of a historical building in NW Portland for The Yoga Space.
We were fortunate to start with such a beautiful space as we added an entry, two bathrooms,
and two studio spaces for large and small classes.

In the large studio we used a very simple palette of white walls and dark beams, which highlights the lovely stained glass windows. Tall arched niches hold yoga mats, blocks, and other props. Mirrored niches reflect light to create a feeling of openness as they duplicate the beautiful beamed ceiling.

In the bathrooms and entry we used encaustic tile for the floors which adds a subtle pattern that feels harmonious with the mediterranean style of the building.

 In the small studio, the space is intimate and meditative with Moroccan metal sconces, and a vintage wooden alter.

We also transformed a former foyer into a cozy lounge area with lush plants, rugs and large ottomans.

The front entrance is marked by an inviting collonade lined with olive trees; a lovely example of the charm this building brings to Northwest Portland. We hope you'll come by and take a class! For more photos check out our website.

 

Photos by Lincoln Barbour

The project manager and lead designer and for Yoga Space Northwest was JHID designer Mira Eng-Goetz."

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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.

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FINDS: Exotic Gourd Lamps by Calabarte

I think it is time to show you another of my FINDS on the internet. You may have seen this already but I am sure you will be enchanted and seduced by these the same way as I was when I saw these images for the first time.

I was immediately struck by the magic of the shadow patterns these lamps create on a wall as I am also a big fan of all Moroccan handcrafts, especially the ancient brass lamps which also live through the pattern they create on ceilings, walls and floors.

"Artist Przemek Krawczynski from Poland can turn an ordinary gourd into a wonderful, stunningly beautiful table or wall lamp. There aren’t any analogues and never will, because all this is manual and very tedious work. Przemek dries gourds and then lignified gourds decorates with various ornaments. Przhemek’s works are known under the brand Calabarte. Carved patterns, ornaments, holes and figured the track, colored rhinestones add to pumpkin-chandelier an elegant and exotic look. Light from such exotic lamps will surely give any room an extra special atmosphere." (read more...)

But the gourd lamps of the artist do not only live through the light and shadows they are also very fine pieces of art, intricately carved from Senegalese gourds.

In his own words Przemek says: "The pattern of the lamp is structure of symetric, crossing branching as from the perforated layer through three basic outer forms to the deeper light carvings.
White surfaces are deeper layer of wood which allow some light to pass through it. Although the thickness of gourd mostly don’t exceed 4mm (more is on the top and bottom) the carved patterns in that places create structure of three different depth. Each one shines with different intensity. That carvings were definitely the most demanding part of work. The supporting stem is finished with brown jeweller waxed cording.
Also the part of the cord between base and switcher is weaved by thin cording in the same type.
The base is carved in wood and finished with natural italian oil."

Enough said - here are some images which show wonderfully how the lamps look like in natural daylight and how they magically transform everything that's hit by the lightbeams in the dark:

(all images with courtsey of the artist)

If you are eager to see even more of these beautiful images please check Przemek's Facebook page.

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A Dining Room in minimalist Style but so cold...

While I hate overstuffed and crowded rooms - the complete opposite is equally not to my liking.
Honestly folks - how would YOU feel in such a place? This may be hipp but who would feel comfort and really could enjoy a good meal here? The floor is cold, table and chairs do not really look inviting although the four of them would suggest that you expect some company? The wall is blank besides some fixtures and the lamp might be trendy but may add some warmth only when lit in the dark.
So what to do here?

(original image source www.housebeautiful.com)

Solution: at least adding some art on the wall. Such as this one, few colours only to stick to the design style but at least something for the eye to rest on:

The acrylic painting is from the Fossils series: Triassic Prints III. Like a faux marble painting it depicts the patterns of black marble but with the inclusion of ferns - which have been added btw with a special dye resist technique to embed them into the "stone surface".

"Triassic Prints III"

(from the "Fossils" series)

40" x 13", acrylic on cotton

©Petra Voegtle

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A Painting that complements the Cushions

From time to time I find this funny - looking for a piece of art that complements other accessories. Hm - I don't have a problem with that even if I consider myself a serious painter. I feel that art should be on a wall and if someone is looking for a great decoration piece - fine with me.

I do not paint for mere decoration, my work is reflecting my interests, my emotions, sometimes anger but more often joy, fascination and admiration. And most of all my work is coming from memories and impressions I have had the luck to see somewhere on this world, be it in the neighbourhood or on the other side of this planet.

 original image source and with courtesy of 

http://www.livingetc.com

"Red Door"
(from the Reminiscences series)
26" x 18", acrylic
©Petra Voegtle

If you would like to know more about this painting Red Door please see this link. If you would like to see more paintings of this series please see here.

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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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A Touch of Colour in the Bedroom...

I like this little bedroom with its stylish graphic decor although I am missing colour a bit here. So I thought I would add just a bit of an eyecatcher with a modern painting rather than leaving that net over the bed. I love mosquito nets as an element of romantic decor but in this case I would prefer a bit more colour.

with courtesy of livingtec.com

original image source http://www.livingetc.com

The acrylic painting belongs to the Reminiscences series, a painting series, that was created from my photo documentary about the Olympic Student Village in Munich, that has been torn down 2 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.

More about the painting itself and the whole series you can find under this link .

"Naranja"
(from the Reminiscences series)

26" x 18", acrylic

©Petra Voegtle

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A spacious Livingroom with a spacious Landscape

This is a wonderfully spacious livingroom, unspoiled and uncluttered. I love it how the interior designer left room to play with. I played a little bit with this arena and virtually placed a different painting on the wall because it seems as if this painting has been made for this wall.

The painting itself consists of 5 panels - painted on silk.The speciality of this painting is that you could hang each panel for itself because each is a landscape for itself. Btw - it was inspired by the terrific landscapes of the river Li in Guangxi, in the South of China. If you would like to see more details please check this link.You can find more images from the original landscape here.

 original image source from http://www.getdecorating.com

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

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A Bedroom and a Mystery Landscape on Silk

I am fascinated by rooms with high ceilings because they open so much more possibilities for design. Although they might be a horror regarding heating costs especially in climatically demanding regions if you don't install some energy saving system such as a solar system, high ceiling rooms promise a lightness and openess which "normal" rooms cannot supply.

There is a simplicity in this room design that I like very much. Nevertheless - if it were my room - I would add even a bit more drama to the view - a painting about a mysterious underworld landscape which may lead you into some adventurous dreams of treasures to be found beneath the earth...

You would like to see more details of this silk painting? Please use this link.

original image source from http://www.getdecorating.com

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

Although this room definitely lives from its phantastic view - what could be more beautiful than waking up seeing the ocean from your bed - I thought there is something missing: an additional piece of man-made art, a painting that depicts another wonderful view such as this, an inspiration from the beautiful island of Maui, Hawaii.
Rainbow over Wailua is painted on silk. The image shows the view from the Northern side of the Haleakala region where the lava fields were running towards the sea. Details of this paintings you can see under this link.

original image source from http://www.getdecorating.com

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

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Outstanding modern Design

If you haven't seen this already I would like to direct you to an extraordinary design: the interior of a new restaurant in Boston.

"Banq is the new restaurant in the old Penny Savings Bank (1375 Washington Street, Boston, MA) at the base of the old banking hall, designed by Office dA. The restaurant interior offers unique experience for guests and they’ll be remembering this restaurant design. The wall and ceilings were decorate using wave element made from unique pieces of three-quarter-inch birch plywood adhered together..." (continue to read here)

(original image source from Momoy.com)

The principal and founder of this design company is Monica Ponce de Leon, born in Venezuela. The company has received numerous awards for their salient designs.

I think this is an excellent example where architecture, interior design, art and craftsmanship result in a perfect sinfonia.
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