Chispa!
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WE THE PEOPLE CRA V E A BETTER LI FE M oral i t y, Et hi cs,Val ues, W here Art Thou?
magazine
D E B R A B L A C K I N A LL SEA SONS
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THE PLUM :
DI RECTORS TA K E THE STA GE, GI ULI A NA A ND BI LL RA NCI C, A ND M ORE
DI SCOVERI NG
M I CHAEL KORS, D. SEAN, THE M ASTERS ON FI LM
I N THI S I SSUE Editor's Letter 06 Your St rat egy Professional 08 Mompreneur 12 Windy Artist 16 SENIORita 20
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Relat ionships How Strategic Are Your Current Relationships? 22 Conversat ions Michael Kors; Not The Label, The Designer 24
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Feat ures We The People 28 Live Life 32 Call it Cultural Anthropology 36 The Plum Creating 2nd Act Directors For The World-Wide Movement 42 The WOW Factor 44 Celebrating 25 Years 46 Celebrity Couple to Celebrated Power-Couple 48 Cover St ory Debra Black Uncovered 52 A Bet t er You Fashion + Style 62 Health + Beauty 72 Smart + Homey 74 Travel + Culture 76
Through The Lens Lombroso?s Link to Love 80 Bookworm Cheers to the Devotion of Love and the Words that Detail its Depth 91 Book Excerpt: Coming Up For Air 94 Must Haves 100 She's Got Chispa 103
Chispa! magazine
Edit or-in-Chief Mavian Arocha-Rowe
Managing Edit or Mia Guerra
Feat ures Edit or Milo Senallé
Creat ive Direct or Christian Ruben
Direct or of Sales Scott Rowe
W rit ers Sherry Abbott Tina Adams Cena Block Alan Gruver Daniel Henderson Dan King Joanie Manas Judy Pearson Judy Robinett Brandon Smith
Phot ographers
Advisory Board Johnny Arocha Pam Black Mario Luis Judy Pearson
Dietmar Becker Thanun Buranapong Shyamanta Baruah Anna Dziubinska Alejandro Escamilla Charlie Foster Sonja Langford Justin Leibow Dominik Martin Caleb George Morris Sebastian Müller Adam Przewoski Kundan Ramisetti Sandra Valenzuela How Soon Ngu Jay Wennington Matthew Wiebe
Advisory Board Paola Ramirez Vivian Reina Maggie Sabatier-Smith Karen Shayne
For information on advertising and/or subscriptions, call 404.717.5400 or email sales@chispamagazine.com. Editorial questions, submissions, and/or pitches, email editor@chispamagazine.com. Vol. 1, Issue 1 ©Chispa Magazine. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use, without permission of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited. Photo credits are not given to improperly identified photos.
Chispa Magazine
EDITOR'S LETTER I was sitting at our church gathering and anxiety continued to flare up. You see, three minutes ago we had just dropped off our son at Bloom, our church?s daycare. My husband sensed something was wrong with me so I told him, I felt something was wrong with our son. He consoled me, as best as he could, yet tears began to flow. I had no idea what was going on with me, nor could I put into words what I was feeling. The best way I could explain: pure anxiety. Thirty minutes passed and I felt a vibration coming from my phone. It read: ?Hi, this is Christina from Bloom. Your son is upset and I wanted to check with you for soothing tips.? Because this gathering was so packed, we weren?t able to sit toward the end of the row, which is our usual spot. So, I looked left, I looked right and hurriedly dashed to the right when I saw I could make a fast exit. I felt bad to jolt out of my seat because our pastor Louie was praying; however, I knew I had to run to my child. When the secure doors were opened for me, I immediately saw a little boy with red blotches all over his face, crying with all his force. As our eyes met, he picked up his arms and extended them toward me? He knew he was now secure. In my many years of wanting a child, I heard many moms speak of this innate connection between mother and child; I had yet to experience it. At nine months old, my little baby boy connected with his mom despite the many people in the way, despite the many walls between us, despite our environments. How cool is this? Very cool, indeed! As I sit to write this letter and sip on my morning cup of coffee, I watch him chew on his rubber turtle and playfully place his face against his Chispa Magazine
Pack ?N Play; his smile awakens my senses and brings chills up my spine. This little man that was given to me and my husband by our Father is completely dependent on his mommy and daddy; he is a borrowed gift in training to be an impact for our society. His name, Rio, means ?river,? and as each day rises, I am reminded of the strength of a river and how rivers are channels to places where the refreshing of water is needed. In the Bible, John pinpoints the Spirit of God as ?rivers of living water? to become available after Jesus?ascension (John 7:37-39). The Holy Spirit is compared to a river; not only is He a refreshment to us, but He also makes us an overflowing tributary of His fullness, life, and love to others. This little Rio of mine has opened my eyes to the responsibility I not only have with him, but also, to God?s many children. I never thought it would take me 14 years to launch my magazine. Nor, did I ever think I would finally launch it with a nine-month old at home. And I for sure did not think He would ask me to use my lifestyle magazine experience for what matters most to Him. However, He knew. He knew that when I truly understood the role Mary Magdalene played on the first Easter, I would understand His love for women and have an overwhelming joy awaken me, the same way rivers of living water are awakened. Jesus called out to Mary. He didn?t call Peter, he didn?t call Simon Peter, he said,? Mary.? As she ran toward Him and grabbed on, He said, ?Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ?I am ascending to my Father and your Father to my God
and your God.? Here lies the foundation of Chispa Magazine. We are called, we are chosen, we are beloved, we are invited, and each woman has the duty to live a life of Chispa. The word Chispa when translated from Spanish to English means lively (as a verb) and spark (as a feminine noun), both very essential to ignite passion and fire to our roles, life?s assignments, and seasons. Through in-depth conversations, appealing visuals that speak volumes to the fashion-paced mindset or the culturally-driven enthusiasts, Chispa Magazine is alive as a vehicle to bring light and consciousness toward the One who paid the price and set us free. To the chief of her own boardroom; for the mompreneur; for those who are stepping toward their career ladder; for the windy artist; the professional mom; and the wise adult woman, let?s charge forth into deeply rooted paths and choose to live beautifully and eternally purposeful.
Mavian P.S. Here's my Rio.
IS THE NEED FOR HEADSHIP A DIVERSION?
LEA DERSHI P, V I SI ON, A ND THE HOLY SPI RI T. For many years, I was a confessed ?leadershipaholic.? With a desire to be as effective and influential as possible for Christ, I devoured all the latest and greatest expertise from Christian and non-Christian gurus. Naturally, I hoped to be more respected, productive, and validated as a ?leader.?I was also a ?visionaholic, ?working hard to borrow all the best ideas from other successful ministries so I could inspire the congregation with the bigger and better ideas the Lord had ?laid on my heart? in order for our church to continue to grow our numbers and expand our impact. Common wisdom stated that the bigger the dream, the clearer the path, and the more long-term the plans? the better the leader. Uncert ain Assumpt ions. Over time, my assumptions about vision and leadership began to disintegrate. In spite of the cultural love affair with these concepts, usually viewed as essential for ecclesiastical success, I felt significant unrest as I read my Bible. (The Bible has a way of dismantling our pre-conceived notions.) I finally had to admit the Bible has very little explicit teaching on the Western ideas of ?leadership? and ?vision? with which we are so fascinated by. Leadership and Vision in t he Bibl e. I recently did a search of the word "leadership" in the NKJV, ESV, NASB, and NIV versions of the Bible. The word appears in Exodus 33:1, referring once to the leadership of Aaron and Moses. It appears in a prophecy in Psalm 109:8 (NIV only), referring to the replacement of Judas, and is then quoted in Acts 1:20 as they actually replaced the defected disciple. Only the NIV mentions it again in
Romans 12:8, within a list of six other spiritual gifts, where it says, ?...if it is leadership, let him govern diligently.? Similar discoveries occur when you search for ?leader? and ?lead?. It is mentioned incidentally (particularly in the Old Testament) and rarely in the New Testament. The Bible is virtually silent on our modern-day notions of Type-A, high-powered, skill-based influence. Over the years, I often felt compelled to give a ?vision? sermon. This word is referred to, largely in the Old Testament and Acts, as an actual unannounced, unanticipated, supernatural revelation from God or one of His angels. The word never occurs in any teaching passage in the Epistles. Still, we work hard to script a motivational long-term picture of where we need to go, typically using some verses out of context to do so. Seldom is it supernatural. Rarely is it the result of extraordinary corporate prayer and fasting. Typically, it is the product of borrowed ideas from other ?successful? leaders and is prompted by pressure from other type-A congregants who are imposing a business model on the dynamic life of the church of Jesus Christ. His Suf f icient Spirit . I am increasingly convinced the devil doesn't care what we do to replace the sufficiency, power, and wisdom of the Holy Spirit, as long as we replace Him with something. The more culturally successful, subtle, effective, and clever the replacement? the more dangerous it can become. I would suggest that our obsession with ?leadership? and ?vision? has replaced our pure and passionate reliance on the person and work of the Holy Spirit. In our day and age, we view the Holy Spirit as an ?app? to download along the
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way to enhance our plans and programs. In reality, the Holy Spirit is the operating system of all that we do. If we want a supernaturally empowered life, ministry, business? and an eternally significant destiny? we must discern this subtle but important distinction. Finding the heart and will of the Holy Spirit cannot be assumed, especially in our fast-paced society filled with countless distractions and alternatives. Our challenge is that living and serving in the prompting, wisdom, and power of the Holy Spirit requires us to slow down and pay full attention, often for extended periods of time. It requires self-emptying and the full surrender of our predetermined plans, assumptions, and strategies. This is not easy when our proud flesh is hard-wired for productivity, affirmation, and a sense of earthly significance. Still, the promise of the Spirit?s work compels us to a focused and full reliance on His leadership and inspiration. The Holy Spirit is the Author of Scripture (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:16), which is the sufficient source of wisdom for aspiring spiritual influencers. He is the indwelling Guide (John 16:13), Teacher (John 14:26), and Revealer of Truth (John 14:17; 16:13). He is our Comforter and Counselor and produces true leadership character in believers by the fruit of His life (Galatians 5:22-23). The Power of His Presence. Years ago, I did a thorough study of the lives of those throughout the Bible whom God used powerfully. The single
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...SLOW DOWN AND PAY FULL ATTENTION, OFTEN FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME.
IN OUR DAY AND AGE, WE VIEW THE HOLY SPIRIT AS AN ?APP? TO DOWNLOAD ALONG THE WAY TO ENHANCE OUR PLANS AND PROGRAMS.
common denominator was the phrase, ?the Lord was with Him.? This sense of the Lord?s presence and power transcended all the secondary factors of skill, personality, and training. This was also Jesus? final promise and reassurance: ?I will be with you always? (Matthew 28:20). This is a strong reminder that His presence, now living in us by the person of the Holy Spirit, is our sufficiency for influence in this world. A New Test ament Underst anding of Vision. We?ve become accustomed to vision by ?imitation? which amounts to motivating people based on the ideas and models of other businesses. We even embrace vision by ?intimidation,? which is the approach of a leader ?hearing from God? and imposing his revelation on everyone else based on some mystical and special hotline to Heaven. Vision by ?inspiration? is seen in the model of Acts 13:1-3, where the leaders were emptied of personal agendas and simply fasted and ministered to the Lord in community, waiting on the affirmed direction of the Holy Spirit. As one friend of mine states, they ?stayed one step behind the Lord and one step ahead of the people.? I?ve come to believe that the Lord entrusts His most fruitful plans to those who embrace the most focused passion. When it comes to ?leadership? and ?vision,? this most focused passion is seeking Him, His presence, His power, and His plans as He chooses to reveal them to a praying and abiding people, for His church and His glory. C Text by Daniel Henderson Photo by Caleb George Morris
A Better You Your| Fashion Strategy+| Style Professional 9 11
S R U E N E R P M O T M . N E V S E GEM S E M I I A T A N EG M RA T ST
Mompreneurs struggle with managing everything they need to do in the time they have. They are the newest and fastest growing group of small business owners. Entrepreneur.com defines a mompreneur as a female business owner who?s actively balancing the roles of mother and entrepreneur. The term was originally coined back in the late 1990s by Ellen Parlapiano and Pat Cobe, coauthors of Mompreneurs: A Mother?s Practical Step-by-Step Guide to Work-at-Home, Success and Mompreneurs Online: Using the Internet to Build Work@Home Success, as well as the creators of mompreneursonline.com. In fact, the pair have actually trademarked the term. According to the National Women?s Business Council (NWBC), there are 7.8 million women-owned businesses in the United States, alone. There are a variety of reasons why moms go into business for themselves. Some see an opportunity to provide a better service or product, others are drawn in from the prospect of being their own boss; making money and contributing to their family?s income. And for most mompreneurs, the draw comes from the idea they can get ?out from under?the demands of challenging careers and endless hours at work. Most are attracted to the prospect that as a business owner, they?ll have complete decisionmaking control and authority over their own time. And yes, moms drawn into self-employment seek ultimate flexibility without the guilt and hierarchical corporate career pressure to perform at all costs. However, if you ask any mother on the street,
you?d hear the same over-arching challenge: time management. While all moms struggle with managing their time to adapt to the demands of personal, family, and professional priorities simultaneously, moms who run their own businesses have even more to squeeze into the same 24 hours per day. Most people refer to this age-old struggle as time management. And those who on the surface look as if they are ?getting it all done?are assumed to be doing so because they are either ?good?or ?not-so-good?at managing their time. This challenge is exponentially more difficult when a mom takes on the added commitment of self-employment and re-defines herself as a mompreneurs. If a mompreneur?s time is not utilized effectively, juggling work tasks, household chores, and family schedules can, at the very least, cause undue stress on everyone but, if not managed effectively these added demands can ultimately cause any business model to fail. So, with so many mompreneur?s-in-the-making, I am on a mission to shift the age old perspective that ?time?can actually be managed. That?s right, I don?t buy it. In my work with hundreds of mompreneurs, I?ve realized that not all time management skills or techniques that center on being more productive matter as much as working hard to align your activities with what you value most. Because mompreneurs always struggle with high expectations, conflicting priorities, managing multiple masters, and juggling hundreds of tasks and projects, I suggest all women begin managing their time from the inside-out. You see, in addition to buying into unrealistic expectations, most moms
Your Strategy | Mompreneur 13
M I CHA EL K ORS; NOT THE LA BEL, THE DESI GNER
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A Better You | Fashion + Style 9
YOU?RE NOT LIKELY TO SEE ANYTHING TOO WEIRD ON MICHAEL KORS?RUNWAY. THE DESIGNER OF UPSCALE AMERICAN SPORTSWEAR IS KNOWN FOR HIS UNDERSTANDABLE, SALEABLE COLLECTIONS WITH UP-TO-THE-MOMENT ELEMENTS.
Fashion should be sexy, glamorous, fun, and flirty. It should live for the moment, it should get you as excited as dancing around the house when a great tune comes on. Who better to explain this way of living than Michael Kors? Michael Kors works for all his fans? old, young, rich, middle class, etc. The designer, who refers to himself as ?the oldest young designer in New York City,? is always preparing a new launch, whether it be handbags, perfume or glamorous outfits. ?You have to do what you do and evolve it for the world at large so your customers feel relevant,? he states. ?You?ve never arrived in fashion. People are always changing their minds.? Constantly up against designers such as Carolina Herrera, Ralph Lauren, Marc Jacobs, and Ralph Rucci, Kors says the biggest honor is being recognized amongst them. He explains, that people ?get the whole picture of what I was trying to do. When we put on a fashion show, we send men and women down the runway together,? he
says. ?It?s supposed to be a slice of life, and in real life there are couples, and there are older people, and younger people.? Michael Kors was born and raised on Long Island, a suburb of New York City. He attended The Fashion Institute of Technology, where he studied fashion design. Kors began his career in fashion at the age of 19 designing and merchandising a collection for the renowned boutique Lothar?s in New York City. The success of these clothes caught the attention of the fashion press prompting Kors to strike out on his own. In November of 1997, Kors was named the first women?s ready-to-wear designer for the house of Celine, a division of LVMH, MoĂŤt Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and in February of 1999, he was named Creative Director for the house, and given the additional responsibility of overseeing all women?s products and creative imaging. When Kors completed his contract with Celine after showing his 13th Collection in Paris, he was hungry and
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CONSTANTLY UP AGAINST DESIGNERS SUCH AS CAROLINA HERRERA, RALPH LAUREN, MARC JACOBS, AND RALPH RUCCI, KORS SAYS THE BIGGEST HONOR IS BEING RECOGNIZED AMONGST THEM. ready to move forward to focus solely on his namesake fashion house. Since he moved back to America full time, Kors obviously dumped the baguettes and became inspired by his homeland, hot dogs and all. In 1981 the Michael Kors label was formed; his first women?s collection was launched at Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue, amongst other stores. Since his collection was established, it has never strayed from Kors?initial vision of chic, luxurious American sportswear. In June of 1999 Michael Kors received the most prestigious award in the fashion industry the CFDA Award for Womenswear Designer of the Year. In January of 2002, the company launched a full scale men?s collection, which had previously been a capsule men?s wear line launched in 1997. The line received a fantastic response and in 2003, the CFDA bestowed Kors with the distinct honor of Menswear Designer of the Year. Michael Kors has also done very well as a destination
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designer? taking inspiration from the decadent vacations of the rich and famous and then offering the clothes they wished they?d had in time to wear. In Fall 2004, Kors unveiled his collection, MICHAEL Michael Kors, with an unprecedented launch in over 350 stores nationwide. The MICHAEL Michael Kors collection included women?s and men?s ready to wear, accessories including handbags and small leather goods, men?s tailored clothing, dress shirts, neckwear, and timepieces for both women and men. Fast forward to January 2014, Forbes reported that Kors now has a personal fortune in excess of $1 Billion, making him the latest fashion industry billionaire. We all know how much Michael Kors loves Hollywood and his current fixation is how actors live their lives off screen. In his program notes revealed at his shows, Kors said he was dressing the American thoroughbred. From the ski slopes to the city streets to some of the finest parties in town, these clothes are for the high stepping
cultured crowd. Celebrities who have worn Kors? clothes include Jennifer Lopez, Charlize Theron, Catherine Zeta Jones, Sharon Stone, Madonna, Barbra Streisand, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelica Huston, Sigourney Weaver, Liv Tyler, Rene Russo, and so much more. In today?s uncertain climate there is some debate as to whether fashion would opt for fantasy or conservatives, but according to Michael Kors, America is the balm for the soul of this seasons. As Kors prepared his next collection, there was more than simple fabric with earthy colors. Tones of nutmeg, khaki, neutral, black and white made the simple life seem sexy and set off tans perfectly. Slouchy wool pants, cozy knits, and full peasant skirts echoed an ease that?s been surfacing on the streets and runways. Shoes? Flats. Lots and lots of flats. This collection appeals to women of all ages, all shapes, and all budgets. Michael Kors is involved in numerous charitable organizations, serves as an Executive Vice President and is on the board of, The Council of Fashion Designers of America. In 2012, Kors was honored with the Golden Heart Lifetime Achievement Award by God's Love We Deliver, a non-profit organization that distributes fresh meals to people living with HIV/ AIDS and other diagnoses, which he has been involved with for over 20 years. And although he has been in the top tier of fashion stars for a couple of decades, he reached superstar status only in the past few years as one of the judges in Project Runway. Viewers who wouldn?t know the difference between empire waist from a shirtwaist loved his often funny and sometimes sarcastic comments about the creations paraded in front of him. Eager to give aspiring designers a chance to break into the notoriously difficult-to-crack fashion world, Michael Kors proudly served as a judge, but most importantly an industry mentor charged with selecting and molding the budding designers. C
Text by Milo SenallĂŠ
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LOM BROSO?S LI NK TO LOV E. AFTER RECEIVING AN ASSIGNMENT FROM KODAK DORIT LOMBROSO TOOK THE CHANCE OF RECREATING THE MASTERS AND FOSSILIZED A MOMENT LIKE NO OTHER PHOTOGRAPHER. CAREFULLY SHE EVALUATES HER CULTURAL REVERENCE WITH CHISPA MAGAZINE?S EDITOR-IN-CHIEF. Chispa Magazine
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Chispa Magazine
Q: What is your goal behind the visions that you portray through your form of art?
A: My style is meant to evoke nostalgia. I love the Q: How do you define the word art? A: Like most big questions, the answer is culturally dependent and varies. Clive Bell affirms there must be one common thread tying all art works. What quality is common to a Mexican sculpture, a Persian bowl, Chinese carpets, Giotto frescoes at Padua, and the masterpieces of Poussin, Piero della Francesca, and Cezanne? ?Only one answer seems possible? significant form. In each, lines and colors combined in a particular way, certain forms and relations of forms, stirs our aesthetic emotions.?If I may dare, I feel that one needs something beyond intelligence and artistic knowledge; to be an artist one needs special sensations. One must be born an artist with feelings from the heart. It is like love that is often instantaneous and almost always blind.
organic, the ethnic, and the raw forms. There are flowers and leaves everywhere, and my light is a kind of airy amber, which caresses the forms and objects. I don?t wish to compromise the urgent or the timely with the accidental or the candid. I prefer a staged world. In recreating the Masters, I interpret their work in my vision. I draw on the rules of painting, constructing the picture for the camera with the original source in mind. The tools used to achieve it are: composition, subject matter, lighting, texture, and film selection. By introducing grain film, I achieve a pointillist quality; I use it as a filter to cut out surplus information recorded by the camera. The grain lessens the clarity and creates harmony. I was assigned campaigns to bring the dream of the Masters into the realm of photography and contemporary commercial needs. For the Tahiti Board of Tourism, I photographed a campaign according to Gauguin. For the Mexico Board of Tourism, I was inspired by the images of Frida Kahlo and Diego Riviera; for Victoria?s Secret it was Rousseau, and for Caesars Palace it was Alma Tadema. My destination photography takes form by creating images in the spirit of the countries?Masters. In doing so, I connect the viewer to the art and culture in a familiar, immediate sense. In a pictorial language, I try to convey art as a close link to people. I execute the production while emulating the painters without care for imitation. In my travel and portraiture work, I attempt to be true to the paintings. My dream-like images and sensory representation of femininity are free from time and place.
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SHE'S GOT CHI SPA . A LL THE WA Y FROM LESOTHO, A FRI CA .
hile 'Who you become w s you are waiting is a ou important as what y are waiting for.' -Louie Giglio.
Dee Dee Huey, Beautiful Dreams Society
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A Better You | Fashion + Style 9