All posts by She Seeks Serene

My Journey of Reimagining Life, Love and Education

Previews: Smithsonian Magazine – December 2022

Smithsonian Magazine – December 2022

Smithsonian Magazine – December 2022:

The Sweet and Sticky History of the Date

Throughout the Middle East, the versatile fruit has been revered since antiquity. How will it fare in a changing world?

This Guatemalan Village Is Becoming a Work of Art

To help boost its appeal to tourists, local residents are transforming their lakeside town into a living art installation

Previews: Times Literary Supplement – Nov 11, 2022

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This week’s @TheTLS , featuring Anna Reid on Zelensky; @pwilcken on a divided Brazil; @james_waddell on manuscript collectors; @LamornaAsh on Tammy Faye; @LinahAlsaafin on Qatar; and Peter Thonemann on how Herodotus would fare in today’s academic job market … – and more.

News: Russia Ups Strikes As Zelensky Lays Out Peace Talk Rules, U.S. Elections

We give you the latest on the war as Russia ramps up its attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure and Volodymyr Zelensky lays out conditions for “genuine” peace talks. Plus: the US midterm elections and what the results mean for Ukraine, a flick through today’s papers and a check-in from Dubai Design Week.

Front Page: The New York Times – November 9, 2022

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Republicans Gain Ground in Push to Take House as Democrats Hold Off Red Wave

Republicans picked up momentum in their drive for the House majority, but Democrats held crucial seats, dashing projections of a blood bath, and claimed a key Senate seat in Pennsylvania.

Despite the Fears, Election Day Mostly Goes as Planned

There were the usual glitches, some ginned up into misinformation. But voting was largely free of major incidents of intimidation or disruption.

After a grueling election, officials brace for the aftermath.

This is the first election in which a substantial number of candidates for major offices are election deniers or conspiracy theorists.

Indoor Farms: AppHarvest – 90% Less Water With Tech

Business Insider – AppHarvest is exploring the future of indoor farming and agriculture technology by using up to 90% less water, human-assisting AI, and the power of the sun for reliable food growth. Alongside local education efforts, AppHarvest’s main focus is to provide US consumers with sustainable, reliable produce so that we can all enjoy a healthier, more vibrant planet in the future.

Abstract Art: ‘Collage’ By Willem De Kooning (1950)

Sotheby’s – Head of contemporary Art, David Galperin reflects upon how Willem De Kooning makes the impossible possible in Collage (1950) one of De Kooning’s most pivotal abstract paintings, which has been in the private hands for more than seven decades. Undoubtedly, Collage is a key painting within De Kooning’s color abstraction series, marking the beginning of a style that would define his work for decades to come.

Willem de Kooning was a Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist. He was born in Rotterdam and moved to the United States in 1926, becoming an American citizen in 1962. In 1943, he married painter Elaine Fried.

Art /Architecture: Domus Magazine – November 2022

The November issue of Domus, the latest edited by Guest Editor Jean Nouvel, focuses on urban globalization and its relationship with architecture. In his concluding Editorial, the French Pritzker Prize winner tackles the issue by writing about the right to live well that is being challenged by a world that is cloning itself.

“Living well is fundamental to everyone’s life. It is the starting point: without a happy living space, nothing can prosper. Urban globalization is the result of selfishness with no awareness of the immediate future, of a general absence of empathy”. This is followed, again edited by Jean Nouvel, by a selection of fragments from the book Dériville by Bruce Bégout, an essay on the thought of Guy Debord and the imaginative work of the Situationists.

This is followed in the Essays by Tom Avermaete, Professor of the History and Theory of Urban Design at ETH Zurich, and Michelangelo Sabatino, Professor at the College of Architecture of the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, tracing a history of the global in relation to architecture and the city. 

Classics: ‘Coolnvintage’ Is An Homage To Restoring Vintage Land Rovers (2022)

Coolnvintage´s new book is a photographic homage to Land Rover´s and everything they stand for. A simple life where less is more. We invite the reader to dive into our detailed craftsmanship and drive off on a lessknown road.

A glimpse into the heart of the places we have visited over the last 10 years. This book is a lifestyle journey, a zest of extraordinary road trips where every image shows the unique Coolnvintage Lifestyle.

Through relentless dedication and the incessant quest for perfection, owner Ricardo Pessoa and his team set up in Coolnvintage in 2012 and got to work on restoring Defenders to a much higher standard than when they left the factory new.

The creative process was built around simplicity, ensuring the restored examples weren’t likely be unused due to fear of scratching the paint or damaging panels, after all the Defender is a vehicle built for just about anything.

It’s a car renowned for its adaptability, durability, and capability, wading through muddy waters and scaling the

We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate 10 years of passion and creativity, and Coolnvintage’s new book reveals the process behind the obsession for detail and a commitment to the essentials, as well as the inspiration that they take from the world around them.

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Home Design: Pavilion House In Avalon, Australia

The Local Project – An interior designer’s own holiday home, Pavilion House reflects a studious approach to the relationship between architecture, landscaping and the internal environment. Crafted by Nina Maya Interiors and Maya Sternberg Architects, the home captures an escapist experience using an array of sculptural forms.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Interior Designer’s Family Holiday Home 00:35 – Introduction to Nina Maya Interiors 00:55 – The Location of the Home 01:11 – A Brief Based Around That Holiday Feeling 01:47 – Pavillion Style Architecture 02:06 – A Walkthrough of the Home 02:23 – Evoking a Ubiquitous Feeling 02:43 – The Connection Between Indoor and Outdoor 03:15 – The Landscape Architecture 04:05 – A Light-filled Home 04:27 – The Hand Carved Coffee Table 05:14 – Organic, Round Soft Forms 05:34 – Nina’s Favourite Features

Situated in Avalon, a coastal suburb of Sydney, Pavilion House stands as an interior designer’s own holiday home, settled in close proximity to the beach. As the beach house sits far back on a 1000 square-metre block, a house tour of the residence begins with a sense of land, space and privacy reminiscent of a luxury hotel. Architecturally, the building champions a pavilion style with an orderly spatial layout and front façade comprised of glass.

Entering Pavilion House, occupants find the kitchen and dining room, followed by the living quarters and, further back, all bedrooms and bathrooms. As an interior designer’s own holiday home, the residence effortlessly proposes a luxury living experience influenced by hotel designs from around the world. A seamless connection between indoor and outdoor space is maintained using doors which stack to their sides – opening the home to the external environment – and a sophisticated treatment of landscape.

Balancing aesthetics and functionality, Pavilion House is a prime example of an interior designer’s own holiday home. Having excavated a large portion of the front of the property, Nina Maya Interiors builds a refined outdoor dining area surrounded by palm trees, white pebbles and a custom marble table. In addition, the landscape features a firepit area and outdoor spa space, complete with a bar, vanity, free-standing bathtub and rain shower. The lighting of Pavilion House also nods towards its status as an interior designer’s own holiday home. In the lounge, a continuous skylight runs seven metres across the length of the room, inviting natural light to play across the plaster wall.

Raw finishes combine with a restrained colour palette to enhance the calming quality of the sunlight and sculptural furniture within the interior design. Exuding a sense of relaxation, Pavilion House is an uplifting iteration of an interior designer’s own holiday home. Nina Maya Interiors forges a strong connection between both the internal and external aspects of the home, establishing a coherent place of retreat.

Artists: Georgy Kurasov’s ‘Vibrant Geometrics’

Abstract Figurative Paintings by Georgy Kurasov

He distorts human figures by breaking them up into geometric shapes and planes.

Abstract Figurative Paintings by Georgy Kurasov

These abstract compositions are united by the Cubist style and vibrant color palette.

Georgy Kurasov was born in 1958 in the USSR, in what was then Leningrad. He still lives and works in the same place, but now the country is Russia and the city is called St Petersburg. Without any effort on his part whatsoever, Georgy seems to have emigrated from one surreal country to another.

Read a review of the artist here

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