I decided to learn how to surf after I'd had recurring dreams about wave riding for at least a year. This decision required that I learn how to swim, which I did, rather quickly and uncannily well. In August of last year, I took my first surfing lesson. I loved it. In February, I happened upon a girl who was looking to unload a longboard. I picked up the board from her apartment in the Village, and carried it for about 20 Manhattan blocks to Penn Station, where my chariot awaited. I'd never made so many fast friends in my life as I had that evening.

Right now it's too cold to surf in my neck of the woods as far as I'm concerned, but I know of one place where the surf's always up and the water's always fairly warm: Robertsport, Liberia. I've made mention of Robertsport a couple of times. The most recent mention was here. The first was to share with you the film, Sliding Liberia, a film about an American kid who "discovers" world-class breaks in the gloriously sleepy fishing village where my father and his father spent their boyhoods, as students at a boarding school perched on a hill overlooking "God's country." Much of the film is dedicated to the story of Alfred Lomax, a young man who becomes Liberia's first surfer after a harrowing turn of events.

I didn't get to meet Alfred during my recent pilgrimage to Robertsport, but I did get to catch up with his brother, whose name-- I am very embarrassed to admit-- I've forgotten. He was a dashing, gracious young fellow, and kind enough to let me capture a few snapshots. He surfs for hours on end everyday, but what he really wants to do, he says, is finish school. He hopes to become a computer engineer.

I absolutely love these electrifying but still vaguely haunting paintings by Senegalese artist Soly Cissé. His work was featured at the Milan furniture fair last month as part of Stephen Burks' "M'Afrique" installation for Italian furniture manufacturer, Moroso. Read about it on iconeye. Also part of the installation was the work of Nubian artist Fathi Hassan (whom I'll be featuring shortly) and the photographs of architect David Adjaye.

A couple of weeks into my Liberia trip, my father took me to meet some of the wood carvers from the Liberian Carvers' Association. He'd befriended them when he enlisted their help in acquiring a piece of redwood for one of his many pet projects. The gorgeous little guy is the grandson of the old man, who's showing off a piece of his son's work.

I met this knowing young man in Korma, the village where my grandmother was laid to rest last year. This isn't the best shot I captured of him, though; the best is a group shot with some of the other village children. While they smile and play to the camera, this fellow is sitting apart from the huddle, brow furrowed and head cocked-- as if to say, "What the f*ck?"

His skepticism (presumably of me)-- and the fact that he was positively, adorably swimming in his dashiki-- only served to draw me further in. He must have sensed my energy, which may account for his age appropriate softness here.

Of the nearly two thousand photos I took during my whirlwind of a sojourn to Liberia, this one is my favorite. I shot it-- and the most darling video ever-- from the passenger seat of my father's car, while these lovely little ladies enthralled at their reflections.

I'll be back soon.

In the meantime, if you've any suggestions as to where I could show this and other images from my trip, do send them along.

Meryanne Loum-Martin is living the kind of life many of us ladies dream of leading when we're of a certain age. The French-Senegalese barrister-turned-interior designer, along with her husband, American ethno-botanist Gary Martin, conceptualized, designed, and now operates Jnane Tamsna, a luxury guesthouse in the chic La Palmeraie district of Marrakech. Situated on nine luscious acres, Jnane Tamsna offers 24 ensuite rooms, five swimming pools, private interior patios, an organic (and water-efficient) garden that provides most of the produce used in Jnane cuisine, and world class cooking instruction that has been featured by the likes of Bon Apetit and Gourmet magazines.


Master of cuisine Bahija Lafridi, photographed by Jason Lowe for Gourmet
But Tamsna isn't all; in 2009, the Martins will open Jnane Ylane, a "living, integrated community with 95% of the land devoted to gardens and farmland." The land will be tilled by local farmers, and on-site workshops will be the birthplaces of the pottery and furniture used throughout both properties. Located in the countryside beyond Marrakech, the estate will feature privately owned villas, as well as a cluster of villas that will house 30 hotel rooms. Some of these rooms will feature private rooftop terraces with views over the kasbah to the Atlas Mountains.


Both properties are decorated in Loum-Martin's signature "New Moroccan" style-- a harmonious fusion of Asian, African, and European design elements. I'm dying to see more photos of the interior. Loum-Martin was a contributing editor on New Moroccan Style: The Art of Sensual Living, and also owns Ryad Tamsna, a restaurant-gallery-boutique where the talented lovely purveys Moroccan cuisine with a sub-Saharan twist, hand-painted shawls, Senegalese textiles, teas, home furnishings, and other thoughtfully chosen goods. Also credited with ownership of Ryad Tamsna is Syney Loum, a former ambassador to the UK; Meryanne's brother?

It's been a while (a year, to be exact) since I was introduced to-- and first thrilled by-- the work of Ghanaian architect Joe Osae-Addo. A proponent of what he calls, "inno-native design," Osae-Addo believes that "interstitial spaces and landscape are what define tropical architecture," and that the elements-- air, light, wind, water, trees-- and all their imperfections are to be embraced.

The images below are from his one-story, 2500 sq ft home in Accra (the one above, from Archiafrika, is unidentified). The absence of hallways allow for the free passage of light and air-- the latter of which is of paramount importance in an equatorial country like Ghana, where the heat often does battle with the humidity. Adobe mud block and timber culled from the countryside were chief among the building materials.



Osae-Addo's company, Constructs LLC, handles all manner of urban planning, landscaping, and architectural projects with an eye to bringing modern architecture and building techniques to Africa in a way that is contextually and culturally appropriate. Constructs has also made room on its full docket to join Brad Pitt and the Make it Right team in their efforts to rebuild the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans.

Mr. Addo is on the roster for a conference to be held in March in Monrovia that I also plan on attending; I do hope I get to chat with him! Read more about his philosophy and his home (and the darling backstory that catalyzed its construction) in the Dwell article and podcast.