Buddha and Krishna in a Hallway

This is an image I saved a long time ago. A wonderful spacy hallway of a huge villa or even hotel somewhere in Asia. During my travels I have seen the most beautiful and spaciest lobbies in Southeast Asia where they seem to have plenty of place although this is paradoxical in overcrowed cities such as Hongkong or other Asian metropoles. But somehow there is always money somewhere which can buy these places with spaces that cover a whole village...

There is a beautiful Buddha statue in the background and I thought I have created another beautiful sculpture that could serve as a wonderful room devider: a triptych of "Krishna and Radha" without obscuring the view towards the Buddha but what an impact this could make:

This paravent has been entirely handcarved from pinewood and then painted with a varnish that looks like old ivory. It took me 9 months to finish this work from drawing to polishing and quite some blood as a sacrifice. The chisels are very sharp! It was inspired by Indian stone sculptures and wood carving but the design is truly original.
I have added a few detail photos for you so that you can see how filigree the carving is.

"Krishna and Radha"
Indian style triptych, hand carved, massive wood, 

85" x 93" x 7", 65 kg
©Petra Voegtle

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FINDS: Frédérique Morrel

Some time ago I stumbled over an artist you might know already but if not you might find her as interesting as I did. Actually it is a couple who combine their creative juices and make something new from old in a unique way. The couple I am talking about is Frédérique Morrel and Aaron Levin.

Frédérique says about herself that she "was troubled by the fact that her grandmother's needlework was discarded when she passed." She became obsessed with the idea to bring these kinds of artefacts back to life in a completely new way. Aaron is more the guardian of the Morrel brand and on the lookout for unique tapestries which are then worked into new pieces of art such as the following.

What I found to be extremely charming are the life-sized deer sculptures (called "MY DEAR" by Morrell) in all kinds of colourful patterns but which carry antlers which ARE realistic.

These sculptures start with a fiberglass taxidermy mold, injected with expanding foam. Pieces that are molded separately are assembled and reinforced with steel rods. Realistic details such as hoofs, ears, muzzle, teeth and tongue are finished with resin or latex and airbrushed. Real antlers are fixed to the head. The mold is then completely covered with vintage tapestries (from their website).

Smaller sculptures are these "trophy heads" which of course are really charming in contrast to those abominable real hunting trophies which I could never tolerate:



But there is more that this creative couple creates, "artifacts are their personal answer to re-enchant the world, using their special ingredients: materials that tell stories of simple, ideal happiness".

If you want to see more of these works and learn more about this creative couple from France you should check out the website of Frédérique Morell.

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Adult Content in the Living Room

I love this room for its simplicity. I absolutely love the floor and that it was not destroyed through paint whether it might be trendy or not. Wood can be so beautiful especially when it is old and talks of many years of usage. It can be even more beautiful when it is cared for as in this room. I also love high ceilings in old houses and I love old houses because they have character and personality. You probably have guessed so...

I also love the simplicity of the furniture that gives this room  its personal character - so if this were mine I would not have changed a single thing besides... Well, I must admit I have  certain weakness for little extras, which are not common, which can be a bit provocative so I would have chosen a different wall piece than the original one, such as this...

 original image source and with courtesy of 

http://www.livingetc.com

The mural is a heavy, hand carved, sculptured wall piece, named Mithunas, which means "lovers" and which took me more than 6 months to finish (inspired by India's temple ornamentations in Kajuraho. This mural is however my own original design).
If you would like to see more details please check this link on my website or click on the photo below.
The mural has been treated with a varnish that is my own recipe so that it looks like old ivory. This increases the preciousness of this art piece and makes it look like an ancient carving. Finally it has been polished with beeswax that makes the wood smooth and shiny.

 "Mithunas" 

55" x 46" x 7", 70 kg

hand carved, pine
©Petra Voegtle

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My favourite Bathroom and what I would do with it...

I am not an official interior designer and would not dare to call me so without the correct licenses but I love to look at all kinds of interior design and I love to help with advice. I am an artist and designer for all sorts of objects. So if you have a problem with placing a piece of art into an appropriate environment you can send me a photo or two. We could work this out together and I'd love to help.

I love to see what people like to surround themselves with, their different styles and tastes, their preferences for certain colours and forms. It tells you a lot about a person even if s/he did not create her/his own environment but had it designed by a professional. But I don't want to go into psychological details.

I even love to look at freaky designs and often ask myself what kind of "geek" may live in that kind of environemt. But this would be an injust and ignorant judgement. The world would be dull without these "individual" tastes. I only ask my self sometimes where does it come from, this judgement about something being freaky and outside the common rules? And who makes these rules? Is it that dreaded peer pressure (front garden syndrome), that tells you what you can do or not? Not always but often...

In many cases it is part of a certain social class that requires the individual to obey a certain kind of style, even trends no matter whether you like it or not. Sometimes people even stop asking themselves what they like or not, it becomes more important to be part of the establishment, living in the orbit of important names and becoming an important name themselves, surrounding themselves with important objects. What a shame. But I am rambling...

But despite all social dependencies there is also that special sense for harmony and beauty, the magical Golden Ratio (sectio aureo). The Golden Ratio seems to be something that is firmly fixed in our brain. That decides which face or figure is beautiful (at least the analytic psychology tells us so), automatically indicates where we feel comfortable or not.

The Golden Ratio is an important element of the Arts and Architecture and describes the perfect proportions of all elements which lead to harmony and esthetics. The Golden Ratio can be found in ubiquitous examples of nature, especially in plants.

So what has this all to do with "my" bathroom? I think it is a subliminal affinity we ( me ) have towards classical architecture of earlier epochs, where the rules of the Golden Ratio and the esthetics were pre-requisitional for any building and smaller elements.

This bathroom reminds me of smaller ancient Italian villas you can find all around the Mediterranean coast. It may be a bit farfetched but this implies for me living and enjoying life in all its facettes. It contains the smell of rosemary and lavender, cypress and pines.

This would be "my" bathroom with exactly these colours. And dreaming of a bathroom such as this one, living in the "right" environment near the sea,  I added a little sketch that might complete this room such as this with my favourite sculpture Putri Dedes, the goddess of transcendental wisdom...

click on images to enlarge

original image source "left" House Beautiful
image "right"  ©Petra Voegtle

 "Putri Dedes"
Goddess of Transcendental Wisdom
(from the Asian Wood Carving Series) 
43" x 28" x 19" - hand carved
©Petra Voegtle
(private collection)

The sculpture has been hand carved in pine - no tropical wood. The completion took about 25 weeks and weighs 70 kg. It has been treated with an ebony-like varnish and polished with beeswax.

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An opulent Lady's Boudoir

This could be the lady's bedroom but it also could be a very generous guestroom for very special guests in a home where hospitality is considered an important virtue.

I love the colours and the aura of this boudoir and the original very decorative paravent that was placed in the same position of this room. But if this were my room I would add just a tiny bit more contrast and drama, a bit more material for your imagination. And what could be more appropriate than an interpretation of one of the most famous loving couple: Krishna and Radha from the Indian epic Mahabharata.

This precious paravent has been hand carved in many hours. It consists of 3 panels. It has been glazed with an ivory colour, patinated and waxed so that it looks like old ivory.

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

"Krishna and Radha"
Indian style triptych, hand carved, massive wood, 85" x 93" x 7", 65 kg
©Petra Voegtle

Intrigued to see more details then please check this link

A Bedroom to love...

This is one of the sweetest bedrooms I have ever seen and I wished it were mine!
The colours, the light, the lovely stencil painting on the wall, the bed itself - I personally don't like the pillows though with these ribbons - that's just a tiny bit too much - everthing is so romantic and inviting to spend a good time in this room:

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

And if this room were mine I just would have added my dearest sculpture Putri Dedes, the model for the goddess of Transcendental Wisdom, Prajnaparamita.
The original statue, by which this sculpture has been inspired, probably is the most beautiful and exquisite Ancient Indonesian statue, to be found in the National Museum at Jakarta.

The Javanese called this statue Princess Putri Dedes. She was the first queen of Singasari, from whom all kings of Singasari and Majapahit descended. One of the ruined temples in the south of Candi Singasari was called the Temple of the Princess, and it is thought that this statue may once have been enshrined there. Putri Dedes was the daughter of a Buddhist priest and an identification with the goddess Prajnaparamita would be highly appropriate. But there is no proof for this. Nevertheless - for me she is the goddess.

So in my fantasy I added a little cast iron table with a glass plate on which the goddess rests. This would make the room for me complete - just as below:



This sculpture literally carries my heart blood because carving this piece was quite an endeavour and took about 6 months - it was a full time job. Carving chisels need to be extremely sharp and more than once a little blood drippd from my fingers into this wood. Also the figure is terribly heavy - it's massive wood.

To give you an impression about the details of this figure I have added a few photos. I especially love her face for its expression of total harmony and peace. The voluptuous form of this sculpture is a tribute to Indian temple ornamentations and figurines.

"Putri Dedes"
Goddess of Transcendental Wisdom
(from the Asian Wood Carving Series)
43" x 28" x 19" - hand carved

©Petra Voegtle

You can see here that the figure's back has been fully sculptured as well by showing her full hairdress as well as her jewellery and dress.


Her throne has been carved separately. This way the whole weight was devided up and it was easier to carve the intricate pattern. The basis of this throne are stylized lotus petals.

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ECCENTRIC DISCOVERIES: Sleeping in Ice

Might this belong to your most eccentric fantasies - to spend a couple of days like an ice princess in a crystal clear chateau? Wrapped in furry blankets to keep you warm, listening to some ethereal music coming from nowhere, lights which seem to glow from within that crystal clear substance you call ice? A magical scenery that carries you into another sphere...

Quite a while ago I found this about an amazing hotel in Sweden, the ICEHOTEL, near the Torne river.

"The company Jukkas (now ICEHOTEL) has been a tourist operator in the region since the 1970s. For many years the company focus was on the summer season and the magnificent outdoor experiences offered by the land of the midnight sun. During the dark winter the river was frozen and the people of the small village of Jukkasjärvi went into hibernation. Read more"

What attracted me most on their website, was the incredible art that was carved from the ice and the interiors that were created in and from ice, each room by different artists and each year this had to be done anew. In 2009 you could find these rooms among others:

main hall

where you sleep under stars

the Mush room - a psychedelic experience

Recaptured - where fragmented fractures of frozen memories are recycled

the Queen's room

the Art room

From the years before I specifically loved the following rooms and other sceneries. I truly recommend scrolling through all the images of ICEHOTEL. It's magic!

the Taonga room - with Maori symbols

the Russian art nouveau room

the Recurrence room - from Japanese artists

the Dreams room - what could be a more magical environment...

the Cupola room - sleeping under a the cupola of heaven

a dreamy landscape - relegated into a different era or planet?

(all images with permission from ICEHOTEL, photographed by Big Ben Productions)

And in case you would like to be part of next season's designs - ICEHOTEL is calling for artists:

"We hereby invite artists from around the world to send us your ICEHOTEL suite design for 2009/2010. We need your proposal no later than July 15th 2009."
for Application form click here .

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My own fantasies about iceworlds have been created on silk, a scroll that depicts the fantastic colour hues of the artic landscapes. More under this link.

"Iceworld"
79" x 25", silk scroll
©Petra Voegtle