I Love You Real Fast

I Love You Real Fast is an amazing photographic journey through the lives of young Swazi women by Krisanne Johnson. In a country where one out of every two young women has HIV and where the life expectancy is 31 years, being a young person here is no easy task! Krisanne Johnson, takes us through so many of their brief life phases from performing ritual rites of passage in the rural areas of the country, moving to the cities in the hope of more opportunity, loss of family members and children due to HIV and even the loss of their own lives.

I love this collection not only because of Johnson's ability to really showcase all aspects of these young lives, but in doing so, allows herself and her camera to be a medium through which these women can tell their story, a story that would otherwise go unheard. 

{Photos: Krisanne Johnson}

Chapman's Peak

Ahhh - finally home after a month of traveling, working, and vacationing. Now that I'm back and settled in, I am really psyched to get back to blogging, sharing some of my recent travel adventures as well as sharing some other things that have come across my radar while I was relaxing and relating! Rather than spending the entire week on a brain/visual dump of my time in Cape Town, posts about about Cape Town will be sprinkled throughout the blog over the coming weeks as I share so much of what inspired me from this truly amazing city!

This photo is a view from Chapman's Peak on the road back to Cape town which provides what might be the most beautiful natural view I've ever seen. Miles of curvy roads provide jaw-dropping views one after the other and there are stops all over the road where you can pull over and snap a picture. On certain days (obviously not the day I drove through because that would be too convenient), you can even see whales swimming about!

{Photo: Brandie for Out & About Africa}

Sounds of Africa: Mayaeni

One of the artists that I've been jamming to on this trip is Mayaeni.Part Jewish and part Sierra Leonean, I heard her song Broken Glass on t.v. and couldn't get it out of my head. This of course led me to check out even more of her music which is part rock, part soul, and 100% wonderful!
 

{Photo: The Complex}

Halfway to Cape Town

Yes - it's true or almost true. I am indeed on my way back to Africa and more specifically to a city, Cape Town, that I've wanted to visit for such a long time. But before I get into the thrill of my destination, let me tell you a bit about my journey and why "halfway" may or may not be the right word to describe where I am.....

I write from Amsterdam which isn't exactly "halfway" between Iraq and South Africa. Getting here was pretty straightforward. There was the dash out of Iraq, quick layover in Vienna and then the hop over to Amsterdam. There was the literal chill of stepping outside and my flip flop-covered feet (accustomed to the 90 degree Iraqi sun) being unprepared for the downright cold Dutch air. A crawl into my hotel bed and a wake up call hours later and I'm back at the airport. This is where things start getting interesting. I try to check in at a kiosk but that doesn't work and when I get to the counter, I learn that my flight has been oversold. While very common in the travelsphere, this doesn't mean I like hearing the "oversold" word. The check-in guy feels confident that this is just a "minor" detail that will get worked out when I get to the gate. Fast-forward 2 hours and I get the "oh miss, I'm so sorry but this flight is COMPLETELY sold out and instead of taking the direct flight to Cape Town, you will now be re-routed all over creation in order for you to get down there". Ok fine, she didn't say those exact words but that's basically what has happened. Luckily a fellow passenger, also in the same situation, invited me to the airline lounge providing me a complete detour from the busy airport scene, uncomfortable chairs and endless hours of pain and suffering before connecting to the next leg of my trip. Note to self: travel more and say yes to lounge membership!!

Despite all the travel shenanigans, the fact remains that I am indeed on my way back to Africa!!! That it has been over 3 years since I last touched African soil makes me downright sad, a sadness that would be double the pain if I hadn't had the opportunity to touch so much other foreign soil in the time since I left. Even though I've blogged a gazillion times about various sites and sounds coming from Cape Town, I really do have zero idea what to expect which makes it even more exciting for me.

Anyway, posting here during the next two weeks that I'm in South Africa will be sporadic at best, but I really can't wait to share my experiences with you once I'm back home!

{Photo: Fernando Volgen Togni via Creative Roots}

Coloring Birds

Remember back in the day when busting out a box of crayons and a piece of paper and coloring for hours (ok, minutes if your attention span at that young age was as short as mine)?!? Well artist Alexander Teplov decided to bust out his box of crayons, but instead of random scribbles of nothing, he made these lovely portraits of Kenyan birds. Now I admit that I have indeed turned my eyes to the trees, binoculars in hand, at least once in my life to specifically stare at birds an event that only took place because I was in Kenya at a place - Lake Baringo - specifically known to have a variety of birds. Clearly I was a slacky at the time and did not bust out my box of crayons, but the truth remains that even if I had, I most certainly wouldn't have been able to come up with anything this wonderful!

{Photos: Alexander Teplov; layout: Brandie}

Ben Osaghae

Isn't this painting The Food League by Nigerian artist Ben Osaghae amazing?!

{Photos: Arthouse}

Tropical Style

There are so many Africans and African-descendants around the world, I which I could capture even a small portion of all that creativity out there. This editorial by Paul Barbera reminds me of the tropical vibe that Afro-descendants bring to Latin American/Caribbean cultures. Looking at these images, I hear drum beats, dancing feet, oceans waves, and the sizzling of the kitchen pot cooking up something good.....

{Photos: Paul Barbera}

Bold & Beautiful

After what feels like weeks of looking at fashion week collections, my eyes need a mini-break! Luckily this editorial shot from Cosmopolitan South Africa provides as much fun, bold, and colorful inspiration as anything on the runway!

{Photos: Cosmopolitan South Africa}

Design in Mali

It's not everyday you find an design shoot, done in Africa (outside of South Africa and Morocco), so you can imagine what a treat it was to find this shoot by photography Tobias Harvey done in Mali. I love the various textile designs that are highlighted and especially that they are shot in such an unlikely location, one that works completely well.

This last shot is by far my favorite look as I can totally imagine myself chilling on awesome lounge chairs like these.

{Photos: Tobias Harvey}

A Textile Dilemma

So I know your first question must be why I'm showing you a random picture of a bookcase, but this random picture might just be the solution to a longstanding decor dilemma of mine!

You see, I harbor a very mild obsession with textiles! I have dozens of wax print fabrics from West African, kangas from East Africa, woven pieces from Latin America, and a growing collection of vintage silk handkerchiefs. For the most part, they are all neatly piled away in my closet and only get pulled out when I need an extra dose of color. Whenever this happens, I go into "oh such pretty fabrics - how can I display them better in my home" mode. Three years in and still no solution.....that is until I saw this image and realized the perfection that could become of making a little pile of them on a bookcase shelf (that my bookcase is already filled is just a minor detail)!!

That I'm still abroad for another three weeks doesn't distract from the fact that I know this is going to be brilliant once I pull it together. I even recently got an idea of what to do with one of my very fragile handkerchiefs!!!

Can't wait to share once I pull these together!


{Photo: Desire to Inspire}

Big Life Foundation

Can you believe how ginormous these tusks are?! Worse still, can you imagine that these tusks are from poached elephants?!? Photographer Nick Brandt is so passionate about this worthy cause that he created the Big Life Foundation to combat this problem. Check out their site to learn more about how Big Life Foundation works as well as to contribute.

Oh and site also has even more of Brandt's stunning photography! 

{Photos: Nick Brandt}

Nobel Liberia

Helloooo - can we start the week with a major foot-stumping cheer to Leymah Gbowee and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf?!? Way to represent Liberia, Africa, and women all over the world!

P.S. Big Cheers to Tawakkol Karman of Yemen as well!!!!


{Photos: Advocates for Human Rights + bet.com}

Art Scene: Ben Enwonwu

Let's take a quick look at the work of Nigerian painter and sculptor Benedict Chuka Enwonwu (1921-1994)- a.k.a Ben Enwonwu.I love all the fluid motions in the top three paintings, but I think it's safe to say that this last painting would definitely have a wall of it's own in any home of mine with a spotlight beaming non-heat light down to make sure everyone passing by saw it's beauty!

{Photos: John Oakey's Gallery, Arthouse, Stevenson Gallery}

RIP: Steve Jobs

My daily existence involves at minimum one device that Steve Jobs created and I can honestly say that I find it hard (or just plain scary) to imagine a time when my day-to-day interaction with technology wasn't so darn fun, colorful, simply and just plain ol' creative (i.e. how the heck do people blog on anything but a Mac?!? I've tried and it's sooo much harder!) ! If you haven't already, definitely check out his commencement address which I've seen several times and always find inspiring. 


P.S. you can check out the text of the speech here.

 {Photo: Apple; layout: Brandie}

Simonetta

I...

LOVE...

these!!!!!

Let there be no doubt that I'm completely obsessed with what Italian designer Simonetta Ravizza has made of these wax print textiles for the S/S 2012 collection!

{Photo: Style.it}

Grand Dédale

If your jaw hasn't touched the floor already with this first picture, just wait until you scan through the rest! The Grand Dédale in the Doolhof Valley outside of Cape Town looks exactly like the place I could spend a lot of time!
 

{Photos: Grand Dédale}

Sunset in Iraq

So I get back to D.C. after my Watervale adventures and I basically had 48 hours to pull my act together and be back at the airport for a journey that is taking me away from home for a full MONTH! In addition to the usual stuff of cleaning the apartment, figuring out what to pack for that amount of time away in countries with vastly different weather temperatures at the moment, and tying up as many loose ends at work as possible, I also found time to squeeze in the following:

1) Play tennis outside with a friend. This was important because by the time I get back in November our games will need to moved indoors due to cold weather. In addition, we had missed our last two sessions for various (rain, drinking, laziness, etc.) reasons so this was seriously do-or-die time!

2) Stress about my ceiling. After tennis I discover a leak in my ceiling. Needless to say, leaks are the very last thing you want to deal with when a) you are leaving the country within mere hours and b) you have a friend and her child house-sitting for the entire time you are gone! My landlady (who is super awesome) was totally on top of it but what was suppose to be a small leak has, in my absence, turned into "replace the entire ceiling in both the living room and the kitchen" (please read: displacement of my friend and her child!)!

3) Catching up with a friend. Finally there was the need to catch with a friend. We literally continuously miss each other with him in one country for almost 6 weeks and me on the verge of a 4 week excursion and only hours of both of us being in the same city at the same time. A bottle of wine great music and even better conversation was just what the doctor ordered!

Hours later, I left my home and began a 16+ hour journey back to Iraq where I'm currently posting.

Tune back in later during the week to find out where I'm heading after my stay here in Iraq.

{Photo: Brandie for Out & About Africa}

Through the Lens: Alberto Cassani

Ok - let's talk about Alberto Cassani's collection of amazing photographs, especially his work taken in Zanzibar! These images not only make me want to head right back to Zanzibar (because it really is as amazing as the picture portray), it also makes me wish I had every piece of textile being worn by every woman in these images! Drool, Drool!

You can see more of Alberto's amazing work here and here!


{Photos: Alberto Cassani}

Watervale

Wow - the past week or so has just been full-on insanity, and I'm only now catching a break just in time to get back to you! Let me catch you up on a little of what's been going on behind the scene (aka - in my life). 

I recently took some time off to head up to Arcadia, Michigan to be a bridesmaids in one of my friend's wedding. The wedding took place at her family's amazing lakeside resort and my entire time up there was just sheer perfection! In addition to just sharing this very happy event with her and her family and friends, it was also just wonderful to get away from it all...literally! With no internet access for five straight days, my iPhone was my sole connection to the rest of the world and for the most part I even tried to disconnect from that. There was a lovely hiking trail to venture up, followed by speeding down sand dunes and walking along the beach; there was garland hanging all over the property turning this amazing space into an girl's colorful dream; there was a mega bonfire on the beach; multiple barbeques and just get togethers of women in the lovely little cottages; there were quick visits into town where I happened across the best cherry pie ever in Beulah, Michigan; and finally it goes without saying that there was dancing, drinking, picture taking and a LOT more fun taking place! If you ever find yourself looking for a relaxing place to enjoy a week or so in the summer, I honestly cannot recommend Watervale enough!

While there is an Africa-related post coming up later today, come on by tomorrow where I'll tell you about how I found myself back at the airport 48 hrs after landing back in D.C. and what (not to mention where) I'm currently up to!
{Photos: Brandie Maxwell for Out & About Africa}