10 days 10 pieces of art-

 As a result of our family being a rather large one, my Father working a lot from home as is common amoung scholars, and our homes always being on the more cozy end of the size scale, my parent's room was always more of a study with a bed than a hotel-like oasis. As a child, we were one of the few families to have a home computer and we were careful not to talk about it so as not to create interest and risk being robbed. This computer was in my parent's room and in use for many hours every day. As we children grew older my parents would often seek refuge in their room, reading and talking in the late afternoon or on Sundays. It was an adult sanctuary in a house of teenagers. The last retreat. Even after several of us had moved out my parents retained the use of their bedroom as a sort of relaxing/ reading/ study. In fact the last time I was there the large desk was scattered with a variety of books, both modern and ancient, a coffee cup stood near the computer, and my mother's violin music was propped on a music stand conveniently set near a dresser where the violin case could be easily opened and a cup of tea set safely next to it.

  I recently read a pleasant, light book called, 'Home Sweet Maison' by Danielle Postel-Vinay an American woman married to a Frenchman who spent a significant amount of time living in France. She writes about the similarities and differences in the way homes are laid out, decorated and used on both continents. As an international person, I am attracted to books by people who have lived for much of their lives in a country other than that in which they were born. It was in this book that a term was reintroduced to my mind stirring a string of memories and causing me to reflect on how I live and how my family, neighbors, and friends live or have lived. Specifically, the term, 'Boudoir', used not only in the most basic sense of a bedroom but including, in her discussion, the idea of having a sitting room aspect to that bedroom. A place of retreat, not only of sleep. Now, I must say that I have not lived in France for many years, and when I did, I was a student living in university housing rather than wife, mother, professional, householder or any of the things which may have been more influential to the way I chose to live in the rooms allotted me. And I do believe that many young French people have bedrooms which are simply bedrooms. 

   

When I first came to Austria, many years ago, I remember seeing the rooms of my husband's older relatives and thinking how they took my parents tendencies to a whole new level. Where my parents had a desk they would have a table and even a small cabinet with a few dishes and coffee making equipment. Where my parents had a reading chair, they often had an actual sofa, albeit often a rather small one. My husband comes from the countryside from a family who, as is not untypical here, often shared a house across generations or with a number of farm workers or others. The result being that each couple had its own sitting room where they could retreat privately or have a guest over without the noise and attention of everyone present.
As my family grows and our needs change,  I do tend to occasionally watch youtube videos on organization, homes for families and house tours. One thing has recently come to my attention and that is the trend of creating an almost empty, hotel-like or spa-like master bedroom in which it is possible to shut off the 'noise' of our busy lives. Or possibly to shut out the distractions of life. While most of these youtube episodes come from North America, it is a trend which is certainly not uncommon here. At least among friends who are building new houses. 

People work hard, and due to the continuing connection to work via their mobile devices, they often have a hard time unplugging. However, as my children get older my husband and I begin to behave as parents have for generations, we like to retreat to our 'boudoir', leaving our house to the music, the movies, and the excitement of the kids. We only have a reading chair in our room at the moment but we have been reflecting on what furniture we want to have in it for a while now; a table and chairs, or two reading chairs with a small end table between them. Perhaps a slim desk with space for a laptop and sketchbook.

 Ten days ago I joined a mini challenge to create 10 pieces of artwork in ten days, one a day beginning on the 16th of August. I made it through the first day normally. That is, working in my studio, but day two found me sitting in bed at midnight with a (tomato sauce) jar of Inktense pencils and a watercolor block in front of me looking for quick and easy inspiration before bed. I grabbed the glass jar I use for bath salts and started sketching. It has a form I have always liked and it was fun to draw, even that late in the evening.

 As the same thing happened again the next evening (think Groundhog Day) I again reached for a cosmetic product this time coming up with face cream- thus the boudoir series was born.

   Working from there I began to draw things which I associate with the bedroom or more specifically boudoir. Private chamber. Not every one of the items I drew over the following eight days has been expressly bedroom related but each of them was in my room. And was drawn while relaxing in the evening, often while watching a movie. Thus the idea of a sitting room has been firming up in my mind and I have included a few images which I would like to have in my boudoir in the future; espresso, dessert, and my sketchbook- just to name a few.

How do you use your bedroom, just to sleep or as a type of sittingroom? Leave me a comment.

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