About Me

Mijn foto
Welcome! Thank you for visiting my weblog. I am Irene, Elisabeth Pouw, a Dutch blogger. As blogger I am connecting my readers with beauty, style, quality and craftsmanship in various subjects like interiordesign, architecture, haute couture, photography, art etc. I love decorating & bringing beauty and harmony into interiors. I created this blog to share my passion for decorating as well as the many other things which inspire me. From time to time I am also highlighting certain interior designers, decorators, architects, stylists, photographers etc. I hope you enjoy your visit. Feel free to give a comment on my blogs. I will react back as soon as possible. Best regards, Irene Pouw from Holland.

30 september 2017

Colorful Abstract Artwork by Japanese artist Kazuo Shiraga (02)


Be Inspired by this colorful abstract artwork from the Japanese artist Kazuo Shiraga (1924–2008). His painting method involves dripping paint onto canvas instead of using a brush and painting strokes with his feet while hanging from a rope. His work exhibits an incomparable feeling of power and speed and stands as one of the monumental landmarks in the history of Japanese avant-garde art. Love his free, creative & expressive way of making art. Would love to make artwork like this on my feet like Kazuo did do before. :-) I wrote more blogs about his interesting work, see THIS LINK
More about the artist
Kazuo Shiraga was a Japanese artist best known for his performative painting practice. Shiraga’s gestural style was influenced by American Abstract Expressionism and indicative of his participation in the Gutai avant-garde movement. The object of Gutai was to allow action and everyday life into the creation of dynamic artworks. The artist would suspend himself over his canvases, swinging back and forth, creating marks with his feet, creating a unique texture and thickness to his abstract swirls and splatters. 
Kazuo Shiraga in his studio, 1960. Ph. courtesy of Amagasaki Cultural Center

“I want to paint as though rushing around a battlefield, exerting myself to collapse from exhaustion,” the artist once proclaimed. Born on August 12, 1924 in Amagasaki, Japan, he graduated from the Kyoto Municipal Special School of Painting in 1948 and joined the Gutai group in 1954. 
In a seminal early work, Challenge to the Mud (1955), the artist explored the gesture of sculpting clay by throwing himself and contorting his semi-naked body in a pit of mud. Through the following decades, Shiraga continued to work on activating art through moving a body in space. He died on April 8, 2008 in Amagasaki, Japan. Today, the artist’s works are included in the collections of the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, the Dallas Museum of Art and the Hiroshima City Museum of Art among others.

Thank you for reading this blogpost.
Sources: ArtnetPinterest and Google

29 september 2017

Runway: Stunning Haute Couture gowns from Fausto Sarli (01)

I am completely in love with these stunning haute couture designs from Fausto Sarli. What a Beauties! Love his excellent feeling for Beauty, Style, Elegance, Creativity and Craftsmanship. Be Inspired ........ I will write more blogs about this inspiring fashion designer. 
Fausto Sarli at a charity event in 2010. Ph. via The Guardian
More about the designer Fausto Sarli:
Fausto Sarli is one of the prestigious names of Rome's high fashion trade. His prêt-a-porter collection is found throughout the world strengthening the prestige and fame of this Italian designer who excels in two fundamental aspects of fashion and elegance: creativity and practicality. 

Born in Naples in 1927, Fausto Sarli abandoned his business studies course at a young age and decided to dedicate himself to high fashion. He gained experience in the world of fashion at successful houses such as Schubert and De Luca. The 29 years old Italian stylist debuts at the Pitti Palace of Florence in 1956. The following year Sarli set up his own atelier in Naples. Encouraged by the success in his hometown, he decided to open a second atelier in Rome's Via Veneto in 1959. Those were the years of the "Dolce Vita" and Sarli's collections were enthusiastically received wherever they were presented. The perfection of his cut and his original styles won over both journalists and customers alike. The world's most demanding and famous women wanted to wear Sarli designs. Shy and modest by nature, the Italian fashion talent did not let his success affect him. He shunned cult status and carried on scrupulously and diligently with his work.

In the Sixties, the Italian label began to appear on TV screens, as Fausto Sarli created the costumes for the Italian singer Mina, as well as other starlets like the dancer Carla Fracci, the top models Carla Bruni or Valeria Mazza, actresses as Liz Taylor and Monica Bellucci, or politicians and authorities. The more the Italian brand's name becomes famous, the more its market spreads: from Japan to Canada, US and South America, Sarli brought the quality and excellence of the “made-in- Italy” everywhere. In 1980 Sarli began a new creative season with his "Studio" collections in which he furthered his stylistic research. In 1984 he launched the Sarli ready to wear collection. Different requirements and methods are the inspiration behind his prêt a porter collections which are studied in every detail, cut, line and are at the same time both comfortable and practical.

One of the Italian fashion designer's peculiarities is that he followed every collection through its various phases of creation as a team of dressmakers, modelers and cutters works on his models just as the Italian fashion school ruled. His models represent the result of true dedication and continuous research and have come to be a standard-bearer of the Made-in Italy.

For his hard work, Sarli has received a number of prizes in his career. Among these is the "Golden Lion", a prize that had only previously been awarded to Valentino Garavani and Mila Schön and which he won in 1987. For its 50th anniversary the Italian maison was also awarded with the Marco Aurelio prize in the occasion of a special show hold in the magic scenery of the Campidoglio Square. Just before his death in 2010, the Italian designer was gifted with a reproduction of the Lupa Capitolina by the city of Rome, to thank him for having brought the Italian fashion industry around the world. His designs can now be seen in the Guggenheim Museum of New York, which hosts a special collection created for the actress Eleonora Duse, as well as in the Museo della Moda of the Mondragone Foundation in Naples.

Fausto Sarli died in 2010 and his name received the highest authorities and figures homage. The Italian maison is now under the control of the Vanitex Srl. While the creative lead is hold by Alberto Terranova, the right-hand man of the Italian stylist. The High-Fashion house has expanded through the last decades with ready-to-wear collections and a special wedding dresses line, for which the Italian label is highly appreciated in the whole world. Fausto Sarli is the evidence that dedication, hard work and good taste always bring their positive results.

Thank you for reading this blogpost.

28 september 2017

Runway: Giorgio Armani F/W 2017-18

Highlights from the fashionshow from Giorgio Armani for Fall/Winter 2017-18. Be Inspired ......
Thank you for reading this blogpost.
Source: VOGUE

27 september 2017

MFW: Chic, Elegant & Sophisticated Collection from GIADA S/S 2018 RTW


While surfing on internet this afternoon I saw this chic and elegant collection from the fashion brand GIADA S/S 2018 RTW, seen at Milan Fashion Week 2017. Made by the young fashion designer Gabriele Colangelo. His collection looks seemingly simple but at the same time very sophisticated with exceptional forms and designed in luxurious fabrics. Be Inspired ......
The fashion designer of GIADA, Gabriele Colangelo
Thank you for reading this blogpost.
Sources: Vogue Italy and Trendy Style
Photos courtesy of GIADA. 

25 september 2017

Lighting Design: Melange table lamp in bronze with alabaster stone by Kelly Wearstler

While surfing this morning on internet I found this beautiful table lamp. What a craftsmanship! It's the Melange table lamp in bronze with alabaster stone by Kelly Wearstler. Be Inspired ......

Thank you for reading this blogpost.
Source: Kelly Wearstler