A cosy Room with a touch of Nostalgia

Currently it seems that I have a soft spot for cosy rooms. Maybe it is the cold outside that has returned where spring temperatures should be dominant.
What I love here are the stucco ceilings and the touch of ease - nothing appears "staged" in this room, it seems to be totally natural. I also like the old apothecary cabinet that has been used here as a practical shelf/closet. And the small crystal chandelier adds a touch of nostalgia.
And of course I would add a piece of art if this were my room: a silk carving (bas-relief made of silk) that depicts an apsara face as a reminiscence of Angkor Wat in Cambodia with its many apsara wall reliefs.

with courtesy of http://www.livingetc.com
click here for the original image source

If you would like to know more about silk carvings in general and the series about Angkor's Faces please use this link.

"Apsara"
( from the Angkor's Faces series)
silk carving, 14" x 14"
©Petra Voegtle

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More than just a Cover for your Bed...

I love this sweet little bedroom. It could be in the cottage of my dreams, somewhere on the coast of Cornwall or Dorset, white sand dunes not far away, listening to the sounds of soft waves washing little shells and other little treasures ashore. No-one around. This could be a place to hide from all the rushing and bustling a city would impose on one's life.

Sweet dreams, memories of foreign countries and cultures, nymphs of the forest floating through your dreams or are those the apsaras who danced and played the music for their devine masters of the universe? A place for a poet...

The art quilt on the wall is called Apsaras, a reminiscence of Cambodia's temple bas-reliefs in Angkor Wat of thousands of heavenly apsaras. It is made entirely from silk, has been hand quilted with silk and painted. And it was juried into the famous Quilt Festival in Houston.

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

"Apsaras"
52" x 69", silk art quilt
©Petra Voegtle

A purple Bedroom

I am absolutely in love with this colour and I think quite a few people are. Here is a link to a website/blog which gives the colour purple a whole different meaning:
Chintz of Darkness The blog belongs to Seraph and Splendor from Seattle and their images about the colour purple reflect a whole new world in purple. Both say of themselves: We are

"two fallen angels that have landed in Seattle, Washington. Our days and nights are spent designing and collecting objects of beauty. Many of the masks, draperies and pillows featured in our photographs below have been created by us. Chintz of Darkness is celebration of dark decorating and other diversions, including our favorite books, artists and illustrators." (from their blog)

There is a lovely decadence in anything both are creating and very inspirational for people who look for something different.

Let's begin with a bathroom in my favourite colour for today:

Wouldn't this be the perfect complement for the following bedroom I found to be so wonderfully rich in purple colour.

Personally I would have added much more "chintz" to this one - I find it screams for more velvets, silks and brocades - doesn't it? But in order to keep it a bit more "subdued" I have just added those 2 silk carvings on the wall from the series Angkor's Faces. The two little sculptures are called Fragments of Angkor and refer to the magic apsara sculptures in Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

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

"Angkor's Fragments"
( from the Angkor's Faces series)
silk carving, 2 pieces
©Petra Voegtle

Please check out my blog In Terms of Colour for the articles I posted about the colour purple specifically - you might find a bunch of inspirational ideas and what the colour is all about...

Apsara in the Bathroom...

A bathroom such as this talks of elegance and certain expectations. So why not placing art into such a beautiful environment while taking a cleopatra's bath?
The silk carving on the wall is part of the Angkor's Faces and Figures series and belongs to a diptych called Fragments of Angkor.
Details about this silk carving - it is really made from silk - you can see here

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

"Angkor's Fragments"
( from the Angkor's Faces series)
silk carving, 11 1/2" x 9"
©Petra Voegtle

An Angel's Face on the Wall...

A bedroom that emanates innocence, a long gone era, simplicity and a time full of tenderness.
The silk carving on the wall is an Apsara, one of those heavenly statues and sculptures carved into the walls of Angkor Wat's temples.
If you would like to know more details about Apsara from the series of the Angkor's Faces and Figures please check this link.

with courtesy of http://www.livingetc.com
click here for the original image source

"Apsara"
( from the Angkor's Faces series)
silk carving, 14" x 14"
©Petra Voegtle

The House by the Sea and a little white Bedroom...

Looks like a painter's bedroom - doesn't it? So I thought this fits very well into my dreams of having a small old house by the sea, 2 or 3 very simple rooms to work in, sleep and have a guest or so. Silence besides the sounds of the ocean and the cries of the seagulls. A view out of the window, seemingly endless, where you hardly can realize where the sky meets the horizon. A place to dream...

If you would like to see more details of the Silk Carving Ganesha please see my website.

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

click here for the original image source

"Ganesha"
( from the Angkor's Faces series)
silk carving, 39" x 19"
©Petra Voegtle

Silk Carving in the Bedroom - Apsara

Who would not love to sleep under a lovely face that watches your sleep like a Madonna? I love this room with the archaic wall and the classical 4-poster bed with that simply white but nevertheless elegant bedspread.
The silk carving© (silk sculpture) on the wall is a reminiscence of one of the most beautiful temple areas in the world: Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Faces and Figures of Angkor is a series about the ruins and remnants of the temple area of Angkor Wat. The reliefs are all worked in silk, inspired by carvings in stone. They are a reminiscence of all the unknown artists of the past of whom we have neither memory nor documentation - only their unbelievably beautiful and sophisticated works, works that have survived hundreds of years.

Apsara is the first piece of this series and represents the heavenly figures which have been praised for their beauty in many Asian countries for centuries. Origins are to be found in Indian mythology which spread in variations all over the Asian continent. The most beautiful sculptures and reliefs can be found at Angkor Wat, created by unknown artists under the reign of kings who have long disappeared but their heritage has not.

See more about the silk carving© series Angkor's Faces here if you like.

with courtesy of http://www.livingetc.com
click here for the original image source


"Apsara"
( from the Angkor's Faces series)
silk carving, 14" x 14"
©Petra Voegtle

The "what-if" Question in a Doorway...

I am a person who constantly asks that question "What, if...". Do you know what I mean?
I love to play with things, change colours, create new compositions out of old. I am constantly trying to materialize ideas, think about alternatives in a given context. So I have done here. I admit, this is a voluptious place and it requires a bit more than just the common.

I do paintings with the right context i.e. I create images with precious materials - silk is precious - isn't it? And in order to make an image even more precious I mount it in a frame that would fit into any precious environment - such as this one.

If you want to see details of the silk painting please check this link. It belongs to the Magic Landscapes series.

original image source from http://www.design-theory.com

"Angkor's Relics"
(from the Magic Landscapes Series)
silk, 40" x 13"
©Petra Voegtle

A Silk Carving in a Spanish Room

Can you talk about the charm of decay? Normally I would say this is contradictory because decay never contains charm. Decay is linked to poverty or at least impoverishment and there is nothing charming about it. But this room tells a different story. It may be in an old Spanish villa or mansion somewhere in the highlands of La Mancha or in the south, loaden with history and many stories. These walls have a lot to tell...
See more about the silk carving series Angkor's Faces here if you like

original image source from http://www.forum-dueren.de

"Buddha"
( from the Angkor's Faces series)
silk carving, 14" x 14"
©Petra Voegtle