The most beautiful short film...
Sunday 15 February 2015
Phenomenal Woman / Beyonce and Her Mother
Beyonce is just fabulous. Here is a fabulous tune from her. And don't just listen. Watch the video as well. Its full old old clips of her in her destiny's child and pre- Destiny's Child days. Even when really young she is so empowered and confident in her own skin I feel like we could learn a lot from the way she is. Also I want to acknowledge her mothers role in this. Yes being empowered is grasping at freedom and life ourselves and also standing upright and proud in ourselves but in young girls and children the mother also has such an important role to play, the mother gives girls support and love and importantly the license to be empowered. And that is something Beyonce's mother has definitely done for her. What a fabulous, phenomenal woman and single mother.
Art / Ian Fairweather and Lost Men, Hermit Painters. Part I
A moment for possibly my all time favourite painter, Ian Fairweather.
Ian Fairweather was born in 1891 in Bridge of Allen, Stirlingshire, Scotland where he was raised by his great-aunt after his parents returned to India. He originally attended officer training school but changed to studying art after fighting the in the First World War. He studied at the The Hague Academy, The School of Oriental Studies and The Slade School of Fine Art.
In the following years he lived throughout Australia, China, Bali, Canada, Singapore and the Philippines. He spent a considerable amount of time in Australia and is considered by many as an Australian painter.
When the Second World War came he fought again with the British Army in India from 1941-1943.
In the 1950s he built a hut on Bribie Island where he lived for the rest of his life except for occasional visits to London and India in the 1960s.
He died on the 20th of May 1974.
I, since a child, have always been mesmerised by the kind of post-war painter that lived as a hermit after the war. Not quite able or not quite willing to fit back into society and so would paint off somewhere by themselves.
I don't know what it was but I identified I suppose with a restless desire to be alone, to peacefully work. I would dream of of being a nomad. Alone. In the hills. By myself.
Ian Fairweather was born in 1891 in Bridge of Allen, Stirlingshire, Scotland where he was raised by his great-aunt after his parents returned to India. He originally attended officer training school but changed to studying art after fighting the in the First World War. He studied at the The Hague Academy, The School of Oriental Studies and The Slade School of Fine Art.
In the following years he lived throughout Australia, China, Bali, Canada, Singapore and the Philippines. He spent a considerable amount of time in Australia and is considered by many as an Australian painter.
When the Second World War came he fought again with the British Army in India from 1941-1943.
In the 1950s he built a hut on Bribie Island where he lived for the rest of his life except for occasional visits to London and India in the 1960s.
He died on the 20th of May 1974.
I do not own or have the rights to any images, paintings or words.
Perfume / Hermes Launches New Range of Home Fragrance (and I'm just so excited)
Another Amazing Way to Fragrance your Home
Designed by Jean- Claudes daughter, Celine Ellena. The bowls themselves are porcelain with colour wash on the inside and are designed by Guillaume Bardet. Perfumes are Des Pas sur la Neige (Footprints in the Snow), Temps de Pluie (Wet Weather), Fenetre Ouverte (Open Window), Champ Libre (Open Field), and A Cheval! (On Horseback).
Don't they all sound divine! I can't wait to smell them.
I haven't smelt them yet so if you have let me know what you think in the comments below.
I do not own or have the rights to any images, words, pictures or anything else.
Designed by Jean- Claudes daughter, Celine Ellena. The bowls themselves are porcelain with colour wash on the inside and are designed by Guillaume Bardet. Perfumes are Des Pas sur la Neige (Footprints in the Snow), Temps de Pluie (Wet Weather), Fenetre Ouverte (Open Window), Champ Libre (Open Field), and A Cheval! (On Horseback).
Don't they all sound divine! I can't wait to smell them.
I haven't smelt them yet so if you have let me know what you think in the comments below.
Saturday 14 February 2015
Phenomenal Woman / Diana Vreeland
Diana Vreeland was born in 1903 in Paris, a city that she believed taught her about beauty, style and everything there is to know in the world ("The first thing to do, my love, is to arrange to be born in Paris. After that, everything follows quite naturally.") She had a fabulously interesting and just plain fabulous early life which included dancing in Anna Pavlova's Gavotte at Carnegie Hall, being featured in Vogue in an article about socialites and their cars, dancing in the New York nightclubs of the roaring 20s, and getting married at the age of 21 to "the most attractive man" she had ever seen.
She moved with her husband Thomas Reed Vreeland, a banker, and her two sons to Europe where she met Cecil Beaton, Syrie Maugham, and lived in the house previously lived in by Willkie Collins. While there she also started and ran her own lingerie business in Berkley Square. Her clients included Wallis Simpson and, Vreeland often proudly stated that she had provided the lingerie that had brought down the English monarchy.
She began working at Harpers Bazaar in 1936 working on the "why don't you..." columns, where she would, in the cold worrisome world of the depression, suggest fabulously bright, happy, ludicrous, extravagant and joyful things to do; such as "wash your blonde child's hair in dead champagne, as they do in France", "turn your daughter into an infanta for a fancy dress party", "sweep into the drawing room on your first big night", "go to the theatre in a black tweed evening suit with a jacket embroidered in brilliant paillettes", "if you are a tawny blond, wear bright yellow pyjamas with carved coral bracelets", "order Schiaparelli's cellophane belt with you name and telephone number on it", "give someone an enormous white handerchief linen table cloth, and in different handwriting and in different colors (black, acid green, pink, scarlet and pale blue) have embroidered all the bon mots you can possibly think of" or "try a lovely combination of tourmalines and pale rubies".
She went on to become the editor of Harpar's Bazaar where she is credited with having discovered Lauren Bacall, and later in 1963, Vogue. In 1967 she created the fashion slogan "This is the year you do it yourself" In 1971 she became a consultant to the costume department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She organised incredible exhibitions that where heralded in by parties that were attended by photographers, artists, celebrities, actors and models. A life-size doll, created by Greer Lankton, is currently on display.
She never identified herself as a feminist per se, however she nevertheless deserves, very much, to be featured here. This is because she was phenomenal. She was the kind of woman whose shear energy and independence enlivens the rest of us, encourages us to be free and be whoever and do whatever we chose. Often in my own circles creativity and working in the arts is at best not valued, at worst something to be ashamed of. Diana reminds us to never listen to them. To never listen to anyone that would stop us living our life. I just have to hear her say something or read something she has said to remember that i'm OK and that everything is going to be OK. And who wouldn't want to listen to her incredible voice and the beautiful, eloquent way in which she expressed herself? True poetry.
"Style- all who have it share one thing: originality"
"Elegance is innate. It has nothing to do with being well dressed. Elegance is refusal."
"I think your imagination is your reality"
"You don't have to be pretty. You don't owe prettiness to anyone. Not to your boyfriend, spouse, or partner. Not to your co-workers, especially not to random men on the street. You don't owe it to you mother, you don't owe it to your children, you don't owe it to civilisation in general. Prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked female"
"A new dress does not get you anywhere. It is the life you are living in the dress."
"I believe in dreams. I think we only live through our dreams and imagination. That's the only reality we really have"
"Fashion must be the most intoxicating release from the banality of the world"
"You gotta have style, it helps you get down the stairs. It helps you get up in the morning. It's a way of life. Without it you're nobody. And I'm not talking about a lot of clothes"
Films to watch are:
Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel (2012)
Who are you, Polly Maggoo? (1966)
Lady in the Dark (1941)
Infamous (2006)
Funny Face (1957)
We'll take Manhattan (2012)
Read:
D.V by Diana Vreeland
I do not own any images, words, pictures or anything. Nor do I have the rights to them.
She moved with her husband Thomas Reed Vreeland, a banker, and her two sons to Europe where she met Cecil Beaton, Syrie Maugham, and lived in the house previously lived in by Willkie Collins. While there she also started and ran her own lingerie business in Berkley Square. Her clients included Wallis Simpson and, Vreeland often proudly stated that she had provided the lingerie that had brought down the English monarchy.
She began working at Harpers Bazaar in 1936 working on the "why don't you..." columns, where she would, in the cold worrisome world of the depression, suggest fabulously bright, happy, ludicrous, extravagant and joyful things to do; such as "wash your blonde child's hair in dead champagne, as they do in France", "turn your daughter into an infanta for a fancy dress party", "sweep into the drawing room on your first big night", "go to the theatre in a black tweed evening suit with a jacket embroidered in brilliant paillettes", "if you are a tawny blond, wear bright yellow pyjamas with carved coral bracelets", "order Schiaparelli's cellophane belt with you name and telephone number on it", "give someone an enormous white handerchief linen table cloth, and in different handwriting and in different colors (black, acid green, pink, scarlet and pale blue) have embroidered all the bon mots you can possibly think of" or "try a lovely combination of tourmalines and pale rubies".
She went on to become the editor of Harpar's Bazaar where she is credited with having discovered Lauren Bacall, and later in 1963, Vogue. In 1967 she created the fashion slogan "This is the year you do it yourself" In 1971 she became a consultant to the costume department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She organised incredible exhibitions that where heralded in by parties that were attended by photographers, artists, celebrities, actors and models. A life-size doll, created by Greer Lankton, is currently on display.
She never identified herself as a feminist per se, however she nevertheless deserves, very much, to be featured here. This is because she was phenomenal. She was the kind of woman whose shear energy and independence enlivens the rest of us, encourages us to be free and be whoever and do whatever we chose. Often in my own circles creativity and working in the arts is at best not valued, at worst something to be ashamed of. Diana reminds us to never listen to them. To never listen to anyone that would stop us living our life. I just have to hear her say something or read something she has said to remember that i'm OK and that everything is going to be OK. And who wouldn't want to listen to her incredible voice and the beautiful, eloquent way in which she expressed herself? True poetry.
"Style- all who have it share one thing: originality"
"Elegance is innate. It has nothing to do with being well dressed. Elegance is refusal."
"I think your imagination is your reality"
"You don't have to be pretty. You don't owe prettiness to anyone. Not to your boyfriend, spouse, or partner. Not to your co-workers, especially not to random men on the street. You don't owe it to you mother, you don't owe it to your children, you don't owe it to civilisation in general. Prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked female"
"A new dress does not get you anywhere. It is the life you are living in the dress."
"I believe in dreams. I think we only live through our dreams and imagination. That's the only reality we really have"
"Fashion must be the most intoxicating release from the banality of the world"
"You gotta have style, it helps you get down the stairs. It helps you get up in the morning. It's a way of life. Without it you're nobody. And I'm not talking about a lot of clothes"
Films to watch are:
Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel (2012)
Who are you, Polly Maggoo? (1966)
Lady in the Dark (1941)
Infamous (2006)
Funny Face (1957)
We'll take Manhattan (2012)
Read:
D.V by Diana Vreeland
I do not own any images, words, pictures or anything. Nor do I have the rights to them.
Words / Waterloo Sunset
Waterloo Bridge - The Kinks, Monet, Cope and Film
I love The Kinks, always have always will but I wanted to share this one because of a, perhaps odd, obsession I have with Waterloo Bridge. I don't know why but this particular bridge in London has always captured my imagination. Its also captured the imagination of a great many musicians, poets and artists including Monet, The Kinks (as below), Mervyn LeRoy (the 1940 film Waterloo Bridge) and Wendy Cope.
Below is a video of The Kinks' classic with lyrics written underneath.
Underneath this are some beautiful paintings by Monet. Monet would often explore the same subject repeatedly, e.g. hay stacks, churches and finally water lilies. These are known as his series paintings. We are lucky enough that in the early 20th century he chose to paint some of this captivating bridge.
There are two films of Waterloo Bridge one produced in 1940 by Melvyn LeRoy staring Robert Taylor and Vivien Leigh as well as an earlier version from 1931 staring Mae Clarke and Douglass Montgomery / Kent Douglass (Douglass Montgomery was a stage name). Watch both. They are very different but equally magnificent. The leading men and women are very different and create very different characters from each other, not to mention the important plot differences. They are also fascinating as cultural documents. The original film is set during World War I, then, in 1940 with Europe in another war the film was reprised to tell the tale of new but similar lovers, people cast out of place by large events finding one another.
I love The Kinks, always have always will but I wanted to share this one because of a, perhaps odd, obsession I have with Waterloo Bridge. I don't know why but this particular bridge in London has always captured my imagination. Its also captured the imagination of a great many musicians, poets and artists including Monet, The Kinks (as below), Mervyn LeRoy (the 1940 film Waterloo Bridge) and Wendy Cope.
Below is a video of The Kinks' classic with lyrics written underneath.
Underneath this are some beautiful paintings by Monet. Monet would often explore the same subject repeatedly, e.g. hay stacks, churches and finally water lilies. These are known as his series paintings. We are lucky enough that in the early 20th century he chose to paint some of this captivating bridge.
There are two films of Waterloo Bridge one produced in 1940 by Melvyn LeRoy staring Robert Taylor and Vivien Leigh as well as an earlier version from 1931 staring Mae Clarke and Douglass Montgomery / Kent Douglass (Douglass Montgomery was a stage name). Watch both. They are very different but equally magnificent. The leading men and women are very different and create very different characters from each other, not to mention the important plot differences. They are also fascinating as cultural documents. The original film is set during World War I, then, in 1940 with Europe in another war the film was reprised to tell the tale of new but similar lovers, people cast out of place by large events finding one another.
Dirty old river, must you keep rolling, flowing into the night
People so busy, make me feel dizzy, taxi light shines so bright
But I don't, need no friends
As long as I gaze on Waterloo Sunset, I am in paradise
Every day I look at the world from my window
But chilly, chilly is the evening time, Waterloo sunset's fine.
Terry meets Julie, Waterloo Station, every Friday night
But I am so lazy, don't want to wander, I stay at home at night
But I don't, feel afraid
As long as I gaze on Waterloo Sunset, I am in paradise
Every day I look at the world from my window
But chilly, chilly is the evening time, Waterloo sunset's fine.
Millions of people swarming like flies 'round Waterloo underground
But Terry and Julie cross over the river where they feel safe and sound
And they don't, need no friends
As long as they gaze on Waterloo Sunset, they are in paradise
Waterloo sunset's fine.
And here are the film posters to get your interest.
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As usual I do not own or have the rights to any of the music, images, paintings or words or anything else.
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