THE DISH

Barbara Jean’s restaurant, an island institution

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY TERRY DICKSON

F

For 23 years, the sign on the corner of Mallery Street and Beachview Drive has said Barbara Jean’s.

The sign designates more than ownership. It also tells diners the dishes on the tables were prepared to the exacting taste of their creator, Barbara Jean Barta, who owns the restaurant with her husband of 54 years, Jim. “We got married on April Fool’s Day,” he says.

“Guess who picked the date,” Barbara Jean says.

“Even I won’t forget April 1,” says the trim man who led Marine recon units in Vietnam and then piloted Phantom fighter jets.

The Bartas had a number of restaurant franchises before they decided to start a new business in the place they would retire. They came to St. Simons where Jim asked Barbara Jean to pick out a location for a restaurant. She found the corner where Don and Wendy Hogan operated Clifton’s, an ice cream parlor, about perfect.

When they learned the Hogans wanted to lease the space, they acted quickly to secure it. It also secured a long-time relationship with what the Bartas call wonderful landlords. couple of rules: Taste everything every day and hire cooks, not chefs.

“Cooks follow the recipe cards,’’ she says. “Chefs want to make everything their own, and that can deprive regular customers of the consistency they rely on.”

The Bartas know what that’s like. They once drove hours to a favorite restaurant in Annapolis only to find the interior and menu changed. They haven’t been back. The menu has changed at Barbara Jean’s but usually from growth.

She once cooked crab cakes for a construction manager, who asked, “Are you going to put these on the menu?”

“Absolutely not,’’ she responded. She finally relented and they’ve been there for years and are one of the reasons some customers keep coming back. They were popular enough at Barbara Jean’s that other restaurants added them to their menus.

“Our goal is to make as many people happy as we can,’’ Jim says.

They realize, however, that tastes differ and not everyone enjoys their mostly Southern fare. But perhaps the biggest fan of Barbara Jean’s cooking is Jim who enjoys home-cooked meals almost every night.

“Her best food is Italian, and she ain’t Italian,’’ Jim says.

Barbara Jean has a record of every meal they’ve eaten at home since January 2013. They do their taste tests before lunch and stay around to greet their regulars.The booths on either side of the door bear little brass plaques that read “One of Wally Spencer’s.” Both were reserved for the World War II Navy veteran the late Wally Spencer. “He’d get up and ask, ‘Are we going to Barbara Jean’s?’’’ she recalls. “He’d always sit and fuss at Jim.”

The Bartas were always within easy fussing distance. They take tables near the door and jump to their feet, menus in hand, to seat diners as they arrive. Jim often exchanges good-natured insults with male regulars. The Bartas usually end their day in the early afternoon and leave their son, Tyler, in charge.

The food is not the only important thing and Jim Barta notes that people use more than their taste buds to judge restaurants. Indeed, the ketchup bottles and other condiments are lined up laser straight from table-to-table down the center of the restaurant almost like Marines in formation. Customers notice that, he said.

As for the Barbara Jean’s crab cakes, they didn’t just make it on the menu; they made it on the sign.

“This is where they started,’’ the sign says. “The original and always the same...”

That can be said of about everything on the menu. In-house planning available.

Barbara Jean’s Killer Mac and Cheese

INGREDIENTS

½ lb penne or ziti 2 cups milk 2 cups Gruyère cheese, grated ¾ cup Monterey Jack cheese 1 cup parmesan, finely grated 2 eggs, beaten 4 slices white bread, diced 2 Tbsp butter 1 medium onion, diced small 3 Tbsp flour 2 Tbsp creamy garlic sauce Pinch of cayenne ⅛ tsp nutmeg ¾ cup chicken broth 1 tsp chicken base Kosher salt to taste 1 cup country ham, diced 2 cups ham steak, diced Cooking spray

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425. Combine all cheeses in a bowl. Beat ½ cup milk and the eggs in a medium-sized bowl. Gently add the bread and half the cheese. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the onion. Cook until the onion is golden brown. Sprinkle the flour, nutmeg and cayenne into the onion mixture and cook until the flour is dissolved and the mixture bubbles. Slowly add the chicken broth, chicken base, remaining milk, and bring to a boil. Stir until thickened. Whisk in the remaining cheese.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain and add to the cheese sauce. Spray a shallow casserole dish. Layer half of the pasta, then half of the hams. Repeat then cover with the bread mixture. Bake until golden and bubbling about 25 minutes. Rest for five minutes and serve.

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The Beauty of Movement with Susan Murphy

Form + Flow:

WORDS BY LINDSEY ADKISON PHOTOS BY TAMARA GIBSON

The road stretched on for miles with only hints of humanity along the route —

a house here, a dilapidated building there. But as I pass the McIntosh County landmark that is Webber’s Christmas Tree Farm and I feel sure I’m on the right track.

Turning near the Sapelo Island boat launch, I arrive at the inevitable dirt road. My Alabamian heart is all aflutter. Weaving through the dust, I see a sign post with hand painted names of important destinations ... Athens, to the right, the Blue Heron Inn and Marsh Studio to the left.

Pulling up to two properties, a familiar form emerges from a two story structure to my right.

“Yes, you’re in the right place,” Susan Murphy, assures me with a smile. “Come on in.”

Stepping through the door of her studio is quite like entering another world. Wooden floors offer foundation for an expansive open space. Trapeze ropes and cables dangle from the second floor and streams of sheer fabric woven with twinkling lights billow from the ceiling’s center.

The space is enchanting. But I honestly would have expected nothing less from Murphy, a woman who’s dedicated her life to the magic of movement. At 74 years young, the Jesup native has created several hubs for aerial performing arts, a journey that’s taken her from New York City to San Francisco to Athens, Georgia. Most recently, she opened a location on the brackish shoreline of Meridian in McIntosh County where she lives with her husband, Don Carson.

“Of course, before the pandemic, we were having classes and retreats here. We’d have six large events a year ... we could fit 100 people around the edges,” Murphy says, gesturing to the upper and lower perimeters of the room. “And now, Don is using this as a staging area for restoring a camper, so some of his stuff is here.”

Carson, a highly skilled photographer, displays his impressive photographs there too. The images adorn the walls, showcasing pieces of the couple’s many adventures.

Murphy turns to ascend the staircase, pausing right before climbing onto the first step. She fixates on a large black and white photograph that features a gaggle of performers clad in circus-like garb.

“Those are my babies. These were my first students at Canopy,” she says wistfully. “A lot of them are teachers themselves now.”

Climbing to the second floor, Murphy crosses the open floor, passing collections of precious objects — stones and crystals — purposefully situated in circles. Her latest foray into the creative arts is also a part of the mix.

“I started doing this stained glass art with my sister, Ellen, when the pandemic started. We choose the pieces and I sand the edges. Don rigs them to these pieces of driftwood,” she says, running her hand along the smooth glass of one design. “I’ve had a really good response from people. I’m looking to get them out more.”

As the glass and wooden mobiles danced in the breeze on the screened porch, Murphy settles into a cozy spot on her sofa. Picking up a blue book, one of the many that surrounds her, she grins.

“This is a wonderful book. It’s called The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner. He goes to every continent to ask people what their idea of happiness is,” she says flipping through the pages.

Murphy’s life has been a similar quest, albeit one lived in search of beauty, which she found in movement. From her early days of taking dance classes at Emory University to founding her aerial studio, Canopy in Athens, to receiving the Georgia Governor’s Individual Award for the Arts and Humanities, her life has been an ever-evolving experience of sharing emotion through performance.

She began to develop this passion by taking low-to-the-floor trapeze dance with Terry Sendgraff in Berkley, California, back in the 1970s.

“I was attending Mills College during the day and at night, I’d go over and do these wild improvi-

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sational things with Terry. She was also a therapist so a lot of what she does is rooted in emotion,” Murphy says.

After earning her master’s of dance degree, she dove in to learning more circus-like trapeze movements in New York City. She also became a certified movement analyst at the Laban Institute for Movement Studies there. But Murphy is one who is always looking to learn more. She continued her training from coast to coast, spending time with the Big Apple Circus in New York and the San Francisco School of Circus Arts.

Eventually, she found herself back in her home state, teaching aerial arts at the University of Georgia.

“It was at the height of the aerial dance craze and they loved it. The students were perfect for it ... young and healthy,” she recalls. “Then, we found an old warehouse which Don refurbished and we turned into Canopy. We had community classes and it did very well. We would go do performances in bars to generate interest.”

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But as evolution is a part of Murphy’s nature, she was eventually drawn back to the Coast, closer to home and family. In 2009, they took up residence in Meridian creating the space that became the Marsh Studio.

It’s a sanctuary where she can share her unique brand of luminosity and flow with students as well as the broader community. And while Murphy’s not staged a performance since the start of the pandemic, her fountain of creativity never runs dry.

Even now, her mind is teeming with ideas for her next show, one that will center on the notion of identity and rebirth.

“I’ve been thinking about it and I’m planning on a doing a duet. I would love to draw from these two poems. From part of one of Mary Oliver’s longer poems ... ‘oh what is my name, oh what is my name that I may offer it to this beautiful world,’” she says, her eyes sparkling.

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“I want to meld it somehow with part of this poem from Amanda Gorman, ‘Language is a life raft, we have recalled how to touch each other and how to trust all that is good and alright. We have learned our true names. Not what we are called, but what we are called to carry forth from here. What do we carry, if not what and who we care most for.’”

As Murphy considered these concepts and how they could be breathed into form, she found herself sensing a common thread, a notion that continued to inspire her, both in her art and in her life.

“For me, I think that beauty is about the harmony of relationships. The harmony of form and function ... of love and connection. And the tenderness of touch,” Murphy says. “I tend to always been drawn toward symmetry and balance. I find a lot of beauty there.”

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Beauty Bosses

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As a child, Morgan Polite detested sitting down to get her hair done.

Years later, though, she began to revel in the experience of being pampered during an appointment. She loved how she felt afterward, and she began looking for ways to put the same smile on others’ faces.

Polite, 24, has turned that passion into an entrepreneurial endeavor and recently opened her own business, MoeLashes&Mo, a beauty supply store located at 5427 Altama Avenue in Brunswick.

She says her store is the only one of its kind in this area. Her shelves are stocked with a wide variety of beauty products, and she specializes in eyelashes, wigs and hair extensions, which she began selling online long before opening her storefront.

She’s one of many women in the Golden Isles who have launched and lead their own businesses providing beauty and health services. Like Polite, they cater their products and services to what will make customers feel good inside and out.

Polite conducted plenty of research before she began purchasing the products on her shelves.

“Honestly it was all trial and error,” she says. “Before I had the store, I was making money off of social media. I would just make posts and have people pre-order things.”

After resigning from a previous job, Polite decided to take a leap and invest herself fully into MoeLashes&Mo.

“I prayed so hard,” she says. “Like, I’m only 24. I don’t have any kids or anything like that, but I know there’s a lot at stake.”

The years she spent working at her prior job gave her experience with personal financial management and other responsibilities, which she has carried forward into her new business.

“I’m just very grateful to be in my position at my age,” she says.

Polite graduated from Brunswick High in 2015. She earned an associate’s degree in marketing management and is now pursuing a bachelor’s in logistics and supply chain management.

Her mom, Karen Polite, has been a crucial partner as she’s gone through the steps of opening

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MoeLashes&Mo. Karen has admired the way her daughter maintains a firm grip on her vision and doesn’t let anything derail her.

“It’s been great watching her grow and expand month after month,” she says. “She’s really particular about what she wants to have in here.”

Morgan Polite also finds ways to promote other local business owners by selling their products in her store. On the shelves recently were natural and homemade face and skin care products made by Lynn’s Sugar Scrub, which Polite can attest is an effective product.

“I have eczema, so I have to work twice as hard on my skin as a lot of people because believe it or not I still have outbreaks as if I was 7 years old,” she says. “When my cousin got into this Lynn’s Sugar Scrub and I saw that it actually worked on my skin, I was like we have to put this in the store. I love the fact that she has something that actually works, especially for skin like mine.” Allie Stannard, owner of ALo Naturals, also pays close attention to how her products can improve the lives of the clients she serves.

ALo Naturals offers natural skincare products, as well. The business began as a hobby that combined many of Stannard’s interests. A dancer and a yoga enthusiast, Stannard started small by making a body butter for herself. She wanted an organic, all-natural product and found few for sale that fit the bill.

“I just got nerdy and started researching all these different ingredients and all types of things, and it just kind of grew,” she says. “I shared it with friends and family, and people would ask me, ‘What are you using?’ And they would want to buy it from me.”

She eventually decided to invest more time and energy into this endeavor and start her own business.

She has focused on ALo Naturals full time since moving to St. Simons five years ago, when she rented space in the kiosks in the Pier Village. When

those closed in 2020, she moved her store into a space at 265 Redfern Village on the island.

Her previous work as a professional dancer for 15 years gave Stannard experience being self-employed, but she had no prior experience opening her business until she launched ALo Naturals.

“There’s lots of things to learn,” she says. “I’m constantly learning every day. There are so many little details and things that nobody tells you about running a small business. There’s so many rewards, but there’s a lot of challenges too.”

She’s grown her business to feature many more items, including candles, bags and a line of Turkish cotton products that are organic and fair trade.

Both Polite and Stannard have found that a crucial part of having a successful business is knowing how to market yourself and promote brand awareness.

Polite devotes a lot of time to marketing her store and harnessing the power of social media.

Stannard sets up booths at local markets and partners with other businesses to make new connections. And throughout the pandemic, she’s turned even more attention to online sales through her website, alonaturals.com.

Polite’s goals down the road include opening a second location and increasing the number of products she sells. She also plans to launch a wig and hair extension revival service, and information about this new option will be added to her website, moelashesandmo.net.

Opening a business, though, brings many tedious challenges, they said, and there will unexpected twists and turns along the way.

“You don’t want to mess up,” Polite says. “You don’t want to move too fast, and you don’t want to put yourself in the position where your back is up against the wall.”

A passion for the work is a must, Stannard says.

“It’s a seven-day-a-week thing, and it’s a lot of work,” she says. “There’s a lot of work and just little details of things that I would have never known about until I got into it.”

Both women highlighted, though, the fulfillment they receive when they’re able to help others look and feel good. “That pain cream over there for instance — I’ve gotten so much feedback from people who say, ‘Thank you so much. I have arthritis, and this is healing me. Nothing worked for me,’” Stannard says.

Polite also works daily to make her clients smile.

“I love to see women that come in here and want to buy my hair extensions, and then they come back to show me their hair or they send pictures and they have this big smile on their face,” she says. “I help them smile because of my hair extensions making them feel good about themselves.”

Christine’s wearing a pink and orange Karlie dress from KJ Klothier on St. Simons. She was photographed at the Wesley Gardens near Wesley United Methodist Church on St. Simons.

Pretty in Pink

WORDS BY LINDSEY ADKISON | PHOTOS BY TAMARA GIBSON

Sally Barnes grabbed the comb and stepped behind the chair. Methodically, she combed through Christine Thompson’s dark hair as she simultaneously picked up a curling iron.

Barnes, the owner of Studio Bleu on St. Simons Island, is fully in her element, often tackling both hair and makeup for all sorts of special occasions.

“Lots of weddings,” Barnes says with a laugh. “ ... so many weddings.”

She has owned her own salon for more than five years, but has worked as a cosmetologist since 2012, though she’s dabbled in makeup for a bit longer. It was an interesting path that led Barnes to her current profession.

“I was actually always pretty tomboyish,” she says with a giggle, while turning out a flawless curl. “All I wore was mascara. I started carrying a purse when I was 21.”

But as she moved into adulthood, Barnes found herself in need of some extra income. It started by working the soundboard at St. Simons Methodist Church for weddings.

“That’s when I fell in love with weddings. I just loved everything about it. And during the economic crash, I decided to go back to school ... and I wasn’t even really wearing a lot of makeup then, just maybe some lashes and funky lipstick,” she says.

“But then I decided that I wanted to try this whole makeup thing. I started doing makeup for prom.”

Over time, Barnes refined her skills. She even picked up airbrushing makeup, a technique that

Christine’s wearing a Lpny top from Lady Outtfitter’s on St. Simons. She was photographed at Wesley Gardens near Wesley United Methodist Church on St. Simons.

she’s continued to master. In fact, it’s one of her most popular application options.

“It’s really quick and easy. It’s hypoallergenic. And I think it blends better. I still like makeup the old-fashioned way with sponges and brushes ... but it’s such an easier process,” she says, spraying Thompson’s curls with texturizing spray.

On this particular afternoon, Barnes was going to be creating a look featuring a springtime favorite — pink. Available in a broad range of shades, it’s an incredibly versatile hue that never goes out of style.

To start, Barnes first applies a base coat that prepares the skin for the application.

“I used a face base primer to help the makeup last. And I also use a separate eye shadow primer to help the shadow not crease. It makes it easier to blend too and helps with smoothing.” Barnes used Tarte Tartlette in Toasted, which contains a warm palette of various pinks. And the key to building beautiful eyes — blending.

“I went to a class with Patrick Starrr, who I just love. It was packed ... but I learned a lot. He says, ‘build and blend,’” Barnes says, sweeping the color on Thompson’s lids. “I usually start with eyeshadow, then work my way to foundation when doing airbrush, because it’s easier to wipe away an excess under the eyes.”

She continues to merge the layers to create a flawless shadow.

Christine’s wearing a Hatley denim dress from Lady Outtfitter’s on St. Simons. She’s standing in front of “Camellias” by artist Ella Cart at ArtTrends on St. Simons Island.

Christine’s hair and makeup were done by Sally Barnes at Studio Bleu. She’s wearing a Hatley denim dress from Lady Outfitter’s on St. Simons. She is standing in front a series of marsh paintings by Dottie Clark at ArtTrends Gallery, located at 3305 Frederica Road, St. Simons Island. The paintings are titled "June Marsh," bottom left, "Winter Sky," top left, "Golden Isles," right. Christine’s wearing a Hatley denim dress from Lady Outtfitter’s on St. Simons. She’s standing in front of “Star Lilies” by artist Ella Cart at ArtTrends on St. Simons Island.

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Using a deeper pink in the crease and lighter shades at the top lid. Barnes adds a bit of Urban Decay’s brightly colored palette, titled Electric.

“I’ve had a few brides over the years ask me for purple. Some of this isn’t as bright as it looks ... it depends on the pigment of the skin too,” Barnes says.

Then Barnes utilizes her handy dandy air brush tool to smooth and set the eyes. From there, she continues to apply the foundation to Thompson’s face, creating a soft and flawless finish over the skin.

Next, comes blush. Barnes reaches for a palette of blush, Morphe Blush, using a fluffy brush to trace Thompson’s cheek bones. She then applies a set of faux eyelashes and delicately adds liner.

“I like to wait to do these. Then, we do the mascara,” she says.

And last but not least, there’s the lipstick. Barnes chose a subtle but sweet mauve shade from Clinique called Bare Pop.

“Then we just line the lips, add the lipstick,” she says. “Beautiful.”

Sitting Down with a Style Icon,

Millie Wilcox

WORDS BY LINDSEY ADKISON PHOTOS BY TAMARA GIBSON

TThe first time I met Millie Wilcox, I was an incredibly young newspaper reporter. I may have been 24 or 25. I remember walking into her art gallery, Left Bank, which was located off Frederica Road in the same shopping plaza as Brogen’s North. It was such a bright, airy space filled with vibrant color, just like the lady herself. She was impeccably dressed, a characteristic that I would learn is second nature. Her dark hair was swept into a chic updo paired with oversized glasses. Her dark outfit was punctuated by pops of color.

She was every bit the picture of

Old Hollywood glam. It was like a brush with Old Hollywood, like meeting Lauren Bacall or Katherine

Hepburn.

It’s a sense of class and glamour that can’t be faked or phoned in, and I’m honestly a bit worried that it may be extinct. But Millie definitely has it and she always has.

On that day, our first meeting, she was kind and gracious, as she shared her story — her mother, Mildred Huie, was a legendary local artist. Millie herself spent a good deal of time in Paris, hence the Left Bank Gallery, which she owned with her late husband, Robert.

When I shared that I had studied French in school (mostly brutalizing the elegant words with my South Alabama twang), she suggested we sing La Marseillaise, the French national anthem. And we did.

Since that first encounter, I’ve seen Ms. Millie (or Aunt Millie as I call her now) countless times. She’s popped up at Chamber meetings, symphony society galas, and everything in between. But one thing that hasn’t changed over the 15 years I’ve known her — she looks like a million bucks. Every single time.

Millie’s love of fashion really blossomed when she was 21. The Albany native and University of Georgia graduate decided to take a bold step and move to New York City in 1951.

“I moved to New York after my mother started charging me room rent,” she says with a laugh.

She had originally planned to go into show business. She befriended another eager young actor, a fella named Jim Nabors, who would go on to play Gomer Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show.

“Of course, he was on my team and he told me that I did really well. But if you tell a fib, you tend to forget it and years later, he told my husband, ‘Wow you should have seen her in that.’ He didn’t really think I did so good.”

The casting team didn’t share that opinion. In fact, they called her home in Albany to talk more about the role. But, unbeknownst to the Hollywood folks, it was the elder Wilcox who answered.

“We have the same name so my mother would take a lot of my calls and if she didn’t like them ... I’d never hear from them again. She asked what the costumes were like and they said that they were short and she said, ‘Well no, I don’t think I’d be interested in that,’” Wilcox says with a laugh.

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While a life on stage wasn’t in the cards, Millie did have a glamorous future awaiting her. She became an assistant for couturier Eleanora Garnett, an Estonian designer with her own fashion label. That connection took her to the great cities of Europe — Rome, Paris and everywhere between.

“Eleanora was incredible. She was a very interesting woman with a fascinating story. She actually thought I was from Georgia (in the former USSR). She was very strict. But she could work without patterns. She was the first couturier to make her items in Rome and have them sent to New York on TWA,” she said.

This was how Wilcox first got into the world of fashion, learning all she could about fabrics and material. She also enjoyed connecting it to art.

“In those photos, they were done at these homes with exquisite art collections so the fashion and the art were styled together,” Wilcox says. She met a great many interesting people while flitting about Europe. One of those was Pablo Picasso.

“I was dating an artist and he was friends with Picasso and Cocteau. We’d have lunch together sometimes. I remember that (Picasso and Cocteau) would keep their paintings in the back of a Chevrolet because they didn’t want to pay for insurance,” she said.

It’s stories like these that continue to add form and color to Millie’s extraordinary life. But even though she’s retired, she continues to stay active and engaged. And, of course, stylish.

I recently stopped by Millie’s gorgeous marsh front home, an island treasure tucked away off a popular subdivision. Colorful canvases and keepsakes dot the interior and the lady, perfectly poised, sits in the middle of it all.

On this particular afternoon, the conversation centered on beauty and fashion — and Millie’s tips for looking one’s best.

“I think a lot of my habits go back to Eleanora. She helped me by osmosis and being around her with certain principles about your life and your health and what she expected. It got me into some routines that aren’t complicated but you have to be consistent,” she says. “Once you find something that works for you, just stick with it.”

Style Millie’s Points:

• Less is always more • Use a neutral base with pops of color • Don’t overload on jewelry • Make sure jackets fit, especially in the shoulders

Part of that is reaching for tried-and-true products like Ponds and Witch Hazel, but another is using cold — ice cold — water.

“I still put ice in my tub. I grew up in Albany, in Radium Springs, and my father would take us out there and we would sit in that cold water to get our temperature down,” she says.

As far as fashion, Millie also enjoys keeping it simple. She favors a black base that is accentuated by pops of color.

“I like wearing solid color and a jacket over it. I like a good pop or flash of color but not the whole thing. I’ve found that I like a neutral color. For me, it’s navy or black,” she says. “Younger people can do beige but it’s never been for me. I think it depends on your skin tone and your hair color.”

While Millie fully believes in an individualized look and a “less is more” mentality, she also feels that whatever outfit one selects needs to suit the body.

“You can have a dressy jacket or a sport jacket, but they need to look good on you ... you need to make sure your jacket fits you in the shoulders,” she says.

“And I think you know whether something works or not. You can put it on once for dinner or out for the evening and you know. If it doesn’t work, eliminate it so you don’t have to make so many choices.”

Strength + Grace:

A conversation with Ayla Wilson

WORDS BY LINDSEY ADKISON PHOTOS BY TAMARA GIBSON

Ayla Wilson folds forward, placing her hands on the ground. Shifting her weight into her hands, a wave of back and core muscles engage. Then, seemingly by magic, her feet float off the floor.

With the poise of a gymnast, she lifts her legs up into a perfect handstand. It’s truly a sight to behold.

Wilson’s strength and grace has been a constant commitment for more than a decade. And through both strength training (primarily CrossFit) and a consistent yoga practice, the 34-year-old St. Simons resident has built her body into a chiseled work of art, capable of doing some pretty astounding things.

But none of it came easily.

“I was never a gymnast. I was never a dancer. I was never on a sports team. I never did any of that,” she says, seated in a training room at The Brick.

Instead, she began her fitness journey as a way of dealing with traumas and conflicts rooted in her past.

“I had a lot of stuff I was dealing with … unresolved conflicts of growing up in alcoholism and abuse.

That weighed me down,” she recalls. “I moved here from Charlotte, North Carolina, when I was 18. I came to live

with my grandparents and get a fresh start. It forced me to really look at my life and how I was living and the choices I was making.”

Once she arrived, Wilson committed to walking a different path. She laid a new foundation with a network of support that helped her change her course.

“There were so many people in my life who helped me and who loved me before I knew what it meant to love myself,” Wilson says. “Everything about who I am today was 100 percent a result of the people who loved me, who believed in me, who saw something in me was worthy … because, I certainly didn’t see that.”

One of the places she found some of those people was in the CrossFit box. The notoriously difficult fitness regime not only helped her emotional recovery, it also gave her a sense of community unlike any she’d known before.

“It felt like a way to communicate with other people, to socialize with other people. It took away the pressure of having to be interesting — we’re all just doing the same thing. And it really just felt good,” she says.

The physicality of the workouts also tapped into something inside. And she thrived. Eventually, Wilson would go on to complete a master’s degree program while also teaching various fitness classes and offering personal training.

On her “rest” days from her own intense workout routines, Wilson started to practice yoga about eight years ago.

“It started as just a way to relax and unwind. I’m kinda wound tight anyway. But it never really resonated with me until I was ready,” she says. “I was in graduate school and I was teaching fitness in Savannah. That’s when I ramped up my yoga practice.”

Her commitment to time on her mat paid major dividends, not only in the impressive arm balances and inversions she learned, but also for her mental clarity.

“I was feeling kind of lost again, so I thought, ‘I’m going to try this yoga thing.’ But I didn’t quit CrossFit,” Wilson says. “Then, Patricia at OmCore said, ‘You should try our yoga teacher training. I was teaching fitness but I never considered teaching yoga. That really opened the door for me. I didn’t see myself in that spot.”

“… there’s nothing more beautiful than a woman who works for and asks for what she wants and deserves … and who helps other women to get there too.”

That helped to nurture a new passion. She expanded her practice in the realm of Ashtanga Yoga, a challenging style that originated in Mysore, India. The practice offers six set sequences of increasingly difficult postures. It can be equated to a martial arts form, where students learn a choreographed series of movements.

But, Ashtanga Yoga is also like a dance, in that, each pose is accompanied by Sanskrit counting.

Students progress at the discretion of a teacher, not moving on the the next pose until having proficiently executed the previous.

Wilson’s aunt, Paige Rainwater, who lives in Atlanta, has long practiced Ashtanga Yoga and helped to spark her niece’s interest.

“I would go through Primary Series with my Aunt Paige who practices at Balance Yoga in Atlanta,” Wilson says. “It took a while before it really connected, but now I love it.” For the past year, Wilson has been working in an apprenticeship program with world-renowned Ashtanga teacher Taylor Hunt in Columbus, Ohio. She plans to continue learning to teach the practice.

“The more I learn, the more I learn that I really love being a student. It’s the one thing in my life that I don’t feel I have to be so serious about,” she says. “But the practice has definitely made me more grounded. You cultivate a strength within that’s not necessarily visible on the outside, but you walk differently. You know yourself. You’re rooted in your own truth.”

Wilson is currently teaching a lead Ashtanga half Primary Series at The Brick. She also continues to teach yoga on Sea Island.

“I’ve also started teaching at a place called Telluric in Brunswick. It’s a gun range, where I teach a bunch of former special forces guys who couldn’t

touch their toes before,” she says with a laugh. Regardless, the style of yoga Wilson is teaching or where the students are from, it’s always incredibly rewarding.

“The thing I love about yoga is … it doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from. You could be a doctor or a teacher or whatever, and we’re all just there doing the same thing,” she says.

“It’s pretty transformative. You see people grow and progress in terms of their strengths and abilities … it’s pretty mind blowing.”

Through all of her endeavors, the common thread for Wilson is strength. And while her physique reflects the countless hours she dedicates to exercise and a healthy diet, it’s really about something deeper and much more meaningful than looks.

“When I’m doing something physically challenging, I feel strong and beautiful … not in an arrogant way, but I feel like I’m my true self. That’s where my confidence comes from,” she says. “It feels good to be strong. It feels good to feel pretty. I think a dress can do that for you or a workout can do that for you. But there’s nothing more beautiful than a woman who works for and asks for what she wants and deserves … and who helps other women to get there too.”

That last point is a tenet Wilson holds tight to, regardless of whether she’s working with a private client, completing a workout of the day (WOD) at CrossFit St. Simons or leading a yoga class. She’s committed to being a cheerleader rather than a competitor.

“We cannot step on each other to get somewhere. That’s a really unstable way to live. I want to be a woman who’s strong, but who helps other women feel that way too,” she says. “There’s no point in me doing this alone.”

FIND YOUR HAPPY PLACE From Our Kitchens to Your Table

Explore the Tastes of St. Simons

All your Southern coastal favorites are served at Halyards—just-caught fish and produce, paired with wines and handcrafted cocktails.

Try St. Simons’ best Italian restaurant. Tramici serves up delicious pastas, plus pizzas straight from our brick oven.

La Plancha serves all your Mexican favorites. Enjoy authentic homemade Latin American dishes and specialty margaritas.

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