Wrought Iron - The Art of Handcraft

As promised I am reviving this blog with a post about one of my favourite design themes: wrought iron.

This is the second post about wrought iron - last time the theme was wrought iron beds and other furniture. This time I am talking about the "art of handcraft", which seems to be an oxymoron because either is commonly used separately but in my opinion wrought iron can be a wonderful example for the perfect marriage of both terms. I am convinced that you will find the following objects as charming as I did.

Wrought iron has been used for centuries - the Eiffel tower being one of the most famous exponents - for many different purposes such as handrails, gates, fencing, all kinds of ornamental objects etc. Today most items are produced from mild steel but are still declared as wrought iron although not manufactured by hand any more. I don't want to linger on this fact but simply show an array of beautiful examples which can enhance a home in a very sophisticated way.

Venice – Ornamental barred window

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The following is an incredibly beautiful example for a wrought iron bed which I love especially:

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Another application for wrought iron would certainly be chandeliers and lanterns/sconces as below. Nothing could evoke a more romantic feeling than lighting made by these beautiful pieces:

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The next examples show the possibilities how wrought iron can be a magnificent interior design element for a private home and public rooms: 

And although the following examples are the classical application for exterior design, namely fences, doors and gates, I did not want to omit them because they are so beautiful exponents of this handcraft:

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And another classical application for wrought iron would be the railings for staircases and balconies of course:

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Last but not least wrought iron is an impressive "material" for sculptures of course:

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Volcano Landscape in a Moroccan inspired Living Room

Moroccan flair - what could be more inspiring than the colours, patterns and textures of Moroccan interior. I simply love the deep colours which bathe in an opulence that is always reminiscent of fairy tales and dreams of 1001 nights.

The colours especially touch the senses, purples, dark blues and then the shimmer of brass and silverware seem to emanate something vibrating that seduces you to forget about everything else...

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

While the vignette of this wonderful living room does not tell me how large the room actually is I feel I would add a painting on the wall, that repeats all those voluptuous colours:

The landscape is painted on silk which certainly would complement the brocades of the pillows.

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

This silk painting has been inspired by the breathtaking landscapes on the Hawaiian Islands, especially the Haleakala National Park. You can read more about it here if you like and what's so special about this painting.

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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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