A house fit for a Hobbit

Once again another book adaption has hit our screens this festive season, with the Great Gatsby put aside until May, all eyes are on J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece “The Hobbit”. Lasting  a great 3 hours long, the book has been divided into three movies and has had an amazing turn over in the box office, with unbelievable visual effects and touching story the film is a must see for all fans of the Lord of The Rings franchise.  I finally got to view the much anticipated movie this week, the film had been hyped a lot with posters at nearly every bus stop and trailers popping up everywhere over the last few weeks so I was quite concerned as to whether it would live up to my expectations or not. As a major fan of Lord of The Rings I was delighted with the film and found the visual imagery stunning and the soundtrack as equally enjoyable.

Like most movies the setting plays a large part in the movie, for The Hobbit the viewer is transported into an entirely differently world full of strange creatures such as Orcs, Wizards, Dwarfs and of course Hobbits. One place that has always stood out to me since I first watched The Fellowship of the Ring was Frodo’s beloved Shire. In The Hobbit, The Shire is once again a place of great importance, it is fair to say that the cherished home of Bilbo Baggins is a familiar setting for any Tolkien fan, with its circular door, grass roof, and quaint wooden interior it is a cosy dwelling for any Hobbit and while The Shire may be hard to come across, it is possible to try recreate a room worthy of Baggins standard if the right approach is taken.

Below I have included some interiors that I think would suit any modern day Tolkien or Baggins who want a quiet and peaceful space to relax and read. 

 

An Artist's Sanctuary

According to Leonardo Da Vinci “An artist’s studio should be a small space because small rooms discipline the mind and large ones distract it.” Over time I think this concept has changed a lot but one things for sure, you can definitely tell a lot about an artist by simply observing their work environment. I have always been fascinated by art studios, in my opinion they are strongly connected to the artist’s work and can often reflect their style.

 

For instance, Francis Bacon’s studio [Fig.1], is full of clutter and collections with paint buckets and newspapers discarded all over the place, the viewer passes through into a world of disorder. I may not be a fan of his art but his studio is quite fascinating, an interesting focal point of this insane paradise has to be his circular mirror which shows Bacon’s fascination with circular shapes. He is known to have featured a lot of circles in his work so it is no suprise that he would display such a mirror in his studio. His loose brush and unusual subject matter can easily be associated with this hectic studio. The Studio itself has been relocated piece by piece to The Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin and is well worth the visit for anyone interested in interior décor and art.   

Fig.1

Other artists’ studios that have intrigued me include Louise Bourgeois’ cosy home studio in New York [Fig. 2] and Pablo Picasso’s vast studio space in France [Fig.3].

 Fig.2

Fig.3

Along with famous artists I also like to see the areas that other modern artists work in, I believe that the area you work in can affect the outcome of your art so it is important to set up a comfortable place suitable for your needs, by searching the internet I have found some beautiful work spaces and below are a few examples of my favourite studio spaces.