Arts & Culture: Photography Books Celebrating the Art of Life

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I love taking pictures and one of the things that I really enjoy is looking at the work of amazing photographers. I love the artistry of a well-crafted photo. It's a true art!

Recently I've had the opportunity to enjoy two great books of photos that are rooted in the examination of style. On the surface it would seem that the two books are very different but actually they have a lot in common. They both celebrate everyday people who are being themselves and expressing themselves in the ways that they adorn themselves.

See the World Beautiful by Anne Menke,
published by Glitterati Incorporated,
http://glitteratiincorporated.com

The first of the two books is called See the World Beautiful. It's the work of photographer Anne Menke and chronicles her travels around the world. It's a beautifully large book that measures roughly 11x 14 inches and its sheer size makes it an amazing photographic experience. The pictures are large and you can see lots of detail which makes each image seem as if you're peeking through a window.

See the World Beautiful by Anne Menke,
published by Glitterati Incorporated,
http://glitteratiincorporated.com

Anne Menke really captured the true universal human experience in her wonderful book of photographs. The true artistry and her skill made for an amazing experience.

The Way We Wore: Black Style Then by Michael McCollom,
published by Glitterati Incorporated, http://glitteratiincorporated.com

The other book is called The Way We Wore: Black Style Then by designer and photographer Michael McCollom. This lovely book makes me think of a family photo album in that it documents the personal style moments in the lives of McCollom's family, friends, and acquaintances. 

May 1960, New York City.
Arlene Hawkins,
Owner of Arlene Hawkins Cosmetics

The book beautifully chronicles the style contributions of African-Americans and how that style has influenced international fashion culture.

Both books were very intriguing and I think they both shine a light upon something very important. Each book reminded me of the power of the individual and the connection to culture as a whole. In just being ourselves and expressing ourselves we are celebrating our creativity and to me that is an expression of art. We leave our mark by how we choose to show up in this world.

There is so much to explore and there are so many ways of living in this world. And living has an air of the artistic to it. I love that! We are here to create our lives and to embrace the journey.

Style - Personal Style

I'm not any kind of fashionista, but I try my best to look presentable when I go out of the house. I guess that you could call my style a bit of this and a bit of that. I tend to lean towards casual clothes with an accessory or two thrown in  ;-)

I've been thinking lately about ways to spruce things up a bit because I think I've fallen into a rut. So I've been reading up on ways to up my game. What I really want to do is to stick to my own personal style and just do a bit better. I think that cultivating your own personal style is important and that we should all play to our strengths.

As I go on my journey to refine my personal style, I'm going to keep in mind the things that I like about my style because I always want to be true to myself. And if I follow that path, I can't go wrong :-)

Style/Home: Nods to the Past

Recently when I was out on one of my Saturday trips doing some home store browsing, I had the chance to buy something that really appealed to me because it reminded me of back home. And I find that when I come across little things that remind me of the house that I grew up in, I'm drawn to them whether I buy the item or not. Things like this are subtle reminders of my roots and that is important to me especially since I live in a different country now.

So here's the piece that I found:

It's a little footed glass dish with a lid. It's not anything remarkable but it appealed to me because it reminded of a footed sugar bowl that we had around the house when I was growing up. The sugar bowl was clear glass and this one has a pinkish hue, but they are so similar. One of the things that I used to love to do when I was a kid was to fill the sugar bowl. I'd watch my mom like a hawk when she made her coffee. I'd peek around her to see if the bowl was close to being empty. And when it was I would plead with her to let me fill it. Usually I was given the chance to do it. This made me very happy.

When I saw the new piece my mind was instantly taken back to my childhood, so I had to have it for nostalgia's sake and maybe something deeper. I guess indeed it was all about roots for me. I bought it for about £5 ($8 US) which was a bargain.

This made me think about how it's important to create your own identity in your home. It's great to have the chance to create the look of your home with bits of what you like now and also sometimes nods to your past. This dish is my nod to my past :-)

Style/Home: Japanese Style Influences

For today's post I'd like to share this video of a beautiful house in California which is an amazing blend of 16th century Japanese architecture and 21st century design and technology. I think that this is such a gorgeous home and it just gives off this air of serenity. I love the sleekness of the design. The beautiful Japanese gardens outside do something that I love...they compliment the interior and bring nature inside. This house is one of those that's the ultimate in high end design and is out of the reach of most of us, but as I've mentioned before, it's fun to see what's out there. Seeing homes like this often inspire me to create my own take on the designs. I hope that you enjoy taking a look around this beautiful home.

Style/Home: Accessorizing Your Walls

Today is the second entry in our new Style/Home section. If you missed the first post you can find it here. As I mentioned in that post, this section has to do with all things stylish for your home. I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, however I love expressing myself through the way that I decorate my home. I also just like knowing what's out there. It's fun to discover all of the creative things that are created to help us perhaps bring some bits of personality into our living spaces.

Saturday is my favorite day of the week. It's a day that most of us get the chance to do things that we don't often get to do during the week. Sometimes that means running errands, doing chores around the house, or if we're lucky we get to do something that we just love to do. One of my favorite things, one of many, is to go and browse at home stores. On at least one Saturday a month you'll find me walking around places like John Lewis, Next Home, or Dunelm stores. All of these stores are fun places to just browse and find inspiration. I often walk out without a thing, but I always come away with an idea or two.

Style/Home Section Debut

Today we would like to introduce a new series of posts here at Labyrinthus XXI, our Style/Home section. Every other Saturday, we will be featuring content that has to do with all things stylish for your home. We will be covering subjects such as ways to make the most of the space that you live in or ways to spruce things up around your house.

These days , especially since the recession, many of us have had to hold back on making huge changes around our homes, so we have been challenged with reimagining our surroundings. Many of us may not be able to move to a new place right now, so we are adding little accents here and there in order to make our homes seem a bit fresher.

Therefore a lot of our new Style/Home section will feature ways to change things around the home inexpensively, but there will also be times when we will feature things that are not quite so economical. Sometimes we will feature some pricier things and then think of ways to adapt the style in a cheaper way perhaps. And then sometimes we will just feature beautiful things that are more of a fantasy, but they will hopefully fire the imagination and just be there for fun.

That is the motive behind this new section....having fun and tapping into our creativity! We hope you'll come along on the journey with us!