The World by Us

Ever contemplated the state of the world today and felt a bit overwhelmed by the fact that despite millions of dollars committed each year to the poorest countries in the world, more than a billion people still live in extreme poverty? We certainly have. It’s a bit daunting, isn’t it?

Believing that the key to the challenges of the developing world is local solutions, Spark* takes a different approach and works to turn the tide against poverty, not  by giving money, handouts or ‘charity’ in the traditional sense, but by enabling local leaders to develop their own solutions.

At 25, self-taught Brisbane artist Courtney Brims is loved for her whimsical, fairytale-inspired illustrations. Having graduated with a degree in interior design and worked a few years in the field, Courtney only transformed her childhood passion for drawing into a career in 2008 and has since exhibited in Los Angeles, London and throughout Australia.

According to Brims, her work tells “tales of the unexpected. Neglected circus performers, sad girls, stray creatures all trying to find their place in this world. There is always interplay of dark and light in my work. What appears good and innocent on the outside can be hiding a dark and unsettling interior.”

We are amazed with what she can create with just a pencil and particularly love her portrayals of our furry friends.

You can see more of her work here, or steal a sneak peek at pieces she’s currently working on over on her blog.

Everywhere we go, we are faced with perpetual invitations to obtain more stuff. The latest technology, this season’s fashion trends, and a whole lot more. We will readily admit to being lured by the temptation for more stuff…and we often give in. Though since spending a couple years overseas in a much less stuff-centred world, we’ve made a conscious effort to buy less stuff and to strive for quality and not quantity.

We’ve just returned from another short trip overseas (more on this soon!) where daily life involved less stuff…and it was delightful. For those of you who have not yet seen The Story of Stuff, we urge you! Watch this. And then get rid of some stuff. We guarantee that fresh, new start, post-spring-cleaning feel. And It is glorious. Then commit to buying great stuff that will last and do away with the unnecessary!

Can you commit to de-cluttering your life this month? 

(Also check out The Story of Bottled Water and stop wasting your hard earned dollars on all that plastic!)

Hi lovelies

We’ve been on hiatus the last few weeks…working with some amazingly inspiring young women overseas.

We can’t wait to share some of their stories with you!

 Does this year’s floral trend conjur up memories of Kriss Kross, slap bracelets, and Clueless..for anyone else?

 We find it hard to embrace the trend this year without feeling like we’re back in 1995. But for those of you ready to welcome back floral with open arms, RUSSH Magazine’s online shopping feature has made it easy for you with a handy little category dedicated to the trend.

What other 90′s relics would you be happy (or not so happy) to welcome back into the teens?

What about this one?

This week we take a look at the work of the talented Irina Dakeva. Her 2010 collaboration with French music producer and DJ Breakbot has brought her massive recognition as well as numerous European award nominations for her impressive watercolour animation. Comprised of over 2000 watercolour images, the music video she produced for Breakbot took Irina 3 months to create.

While we sadly came across very little about Irina’s life or other work, we DID manage to find a short interview you might enjoy. You can check out the video below (do prepare yourself for a strong urge to boogie).

We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for her next project!

Today we thought we’d share with you, a few sites we LOVE that keep us happy & healthy.

Mind Body Green - ‘Your go-to guide for yoga and wellness.’ Whether you’re a long-time yogi, a newbie, or simply someone who values a healthy life-style you’ll find Mind Body Green informational and motivational.

Huffington Post – Healthy Living - An all-inclusive wellness site with focuses on mind, body, spirit, fitness & general related news.

Tiny Buddha  - Simple wisdom for complex lives. Great for daily bits of inspiration.

Tara Stiles - The lovely lady bringing yoga to the masses. Practicing what some have called ‘rebel yoga,’ Tara preferes to focus on the health benefits of yoga, rather than the hindu texts, chakras, or chanting. Her youtube channel has hundreds of videos including great 5-10 minute yoga routines you can do at home (Yoga Wednesdays), ideas to meditation on (Meditation Mondays) and healthy food suggestions (Feed Yourself Fridays). She’s also now created a Tumblr – Tara Eats where she shares her uber healthy creations. If you’re in NYC, she runs her own Yoga studio – Strala Yoga – which we’ll definitely be paying a visit when we’re next in the big apple!

Where do you go for your health & wellness fix?

A year ago, director Kevin Macdonald (Last King of Scotland, State of Play) asked YouTube users around the globe to submit a video snapshot of their lives on a single day – July 24 2010 – which would become the documentary film Life in a Day.

He also asked them to answer 3 questions:

What do you love?  What are you afraid of? What makes you laugh? 

Macdonald received over 4,500 hours of footage submitted by users from over 192 countries. The team also sent 400 cameras out to the developing world in order to ensure the film included a glimpse into the lives of the many who do not have access to the internet or cameras.

We loved hearing Macdonald share his own reaction to the film, and how it changed the way he sees the world:

‘It made me realize that cultural differences, which are the things we’re mostly preoccupied by are actually the superficialities of life. When you ask people ‘What do you love?’ – Everyone loves their family and their children. That’s the heart of what life is. And likewise, we’re all going to go through the same basic experience – we’re all going to be born, experience childhood and loss, we’re going to get ill, we’re going to die and that’s what we’re afraid of. Those fundamental building blocks are the same everywhere in the world.’

Filmmaker Kyle Ruddick was also interested in changing the way we see the world through film. Since 2008, he and filmmakers around the world have been working on One Day on Earth, a grassroots documentary aimed at ‘showcasing the amazing diversity, conflict, tragedy, and triumph that occur in one day.’ 

On October 10th 2010 (10-10-10), thousands of people from every nation of the world and ranging from ‘award winning documentary filmmakers to teenagers with mobile phones’ filmed their perspective and shared their voice over the same 24 period. The resulting film is set to be released in early August.

‘Life in a Day’ opened last week in the US & UK and does not yet have a confirmed release date in Australia (though you may have been lucky enough to catch it at the Sydney and Melbourne film festivals!).

We love the way both films truly represent ‘the world by us’… Check out the trailers below:

Representing exactly what we here at The World by Us are all about, Curvy  – an annual book and exhibition series – was created in 2003 to celebrate the work of talented women. Curvy showcases work from 100 of the most exciting female artists – both established and underground – from over 40 countries around the world.

“Collaborating with women from design capitals including Paris, London, LA, NYC, Melbourne, Toronto and Tokyo – and from countries as far afield as Ecuador, Mexico, Moscow, Serbia, Brazil, Indonesia, Norway, Malta and Israel among many others, CURVY is a platform where the latest generation of female creative talent can shine.”

The latest issue is available from their website and would certainly look lovely on your coffee table. However, we understand if dollars are precious (believe us we do!) so we’ve decided to share with you the work of some of our favourite artists featured in the book over the coming weeks. These women are too fabulous not to share here and we hope will inspire some of you!

So to start us off this week is Los Angeles fashion designer and illustrator Connie Lim.

Self-described as a ‘small asian girl whose life contentment is with a cup of joe and the local cafe, drawing the hours away in a daydream, secretly living in a fantasy,’ Connie has studied illustration and design both in LA and at Central Saint Martins in London. We love her gothic inspired playing card series and her tribute to Alexander McQueen. She says of her work, ‘I was tired of seeing glam and pretty in fashion illustrations. Just wanted to do something raw and emotional, something sexy and dark.’

Her website also showcases her life drawing sketches, which after our own recent attempt at capturing the beauty of the female body, we have a new appreciation for!

Speaking of which – If you are looking for ways to spice up your social outings, we recommend searching out life drawing options in your city. In Sydney, for a mere $4, you can spend a few hours of your Monday evening over a glass of red at The Art House Hotel listening to jazz and appreciating the female figure. We attempted our first ‘life drawing’ night a few weeks back and when our model walked into the room – packed with over 50 people – and casually stripped off, we thought ‘how brave!’ Though as the night went on (and thankfully our drawings slightly improved) we were inspired by the comfort the models must have with their own bodies and it was wonderful to admire and attempt to represent the natural (unairbrushed) female form – with all its imperfections. We suggest you give it a try!

We’ll leave you now with a selection of Lim’s work and will bring you another exciting female artist next week.