ELYSIAN Spring 2019 by readelysian

Inspiring Women. Graceful Living.

Ar tistic blend of preser vation and modernization

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ELYSIAN

Volume 4 • Issue 1 • printemps 2019

Audrey Hepburn

Joanne Greenbaum

FEATURES

The rise to fame of this demure, funny-faced actress was a script made for Hollywood. BY LAURIE BOGART WILES

The Integrity of the Intimate. BY C.S. BURKE

Face of a Genius On the cusp of her architecture firm’s 40th birthday, we look back at the projects that earned Zaha Hadid the name “Queen of the Curve.” BY LATRIA GRAHAM

Inspiring Women Angie Blank page 98 Beth Daniel page 104 Betsy King page 110 Michelle McGann page 116 INTERVIEWED BY KAREN FLOYD

Rodarte, Spring/ Summer 2018 runway; Courtesy of Rodarte.

54 The Queens of Spring When it comes to outfitting for the flower season, no one does it better than Rodarte. BY KAREN FRAGALA SMITH

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DEPARTMENTS

travel

Marhaba Qatar/Hello Qatar. BY SHAHMIM AKRAM

health

fitness

Increase your flexibility, increase your health. BY ANGIE COMER

24 fashion

Fashion through the decades of the U.S. Women’s Open. BY ASHLEY CRAIN

beauty

Enter into exfoliation: the luxury of Turkish baths. BY AMY ZIMMER

wellness art culture 47 food dining graceful living Beat the burnout. Now! BY DR. KATHERINE BIRCHENOUGH

Golf landscapes by Linda Hartough.

CARACTÈRE. BY MEGHAN DANIEL

A breath of fresh air. BY RHONDA WILKINS

the cover

Talented golfing sensation Lucy Li of Redwood Shores, California was photographed by Donald Latham. Hair and makeup by Tiffany Brown.

144

the backstory

More on Lucy Li and some encouraging words from Inspiring Women: Beth Daniels, Betsy King & Michelle McGann.

philanthropy sport

A change in the tide. BY LATRIA GRAHAM

Women embark on the Augusta National Golf Club. BY SALLY J. SPORTSMAN

134

young creator

142

Italy, Inspiration & Instagram. BY JENNA REALMUTO

on the town

A reception & outing to honor GOLF FORE AFRICA.

130

E publisher

Karen Floyd editor-in-chief

Ryan Stalvey

c h i e f o p e r at i n g o f f i c e r

Katherine O’Neill

chief business officer

Jaclynn Jarrett

managing editor

Abby Deering

editorial director

Rita Allison

c r e at i v e d i r e c t o r

Carmen Thomas Rob Springer

director of photography

Donald Latham advertising

Nancy Cooper/n at i o n a l Cathy Williams/s o u t h e a s t James Navarrette/n o r t h e a s t / w e s t c o a s t comptroller

Kristin Eastwood p r e s i d e n t o f d i g i ta l o p e r at i o n s

Taylor Brown

d i r e c t o r o f d i g i ta l c o n t e n t

Jenna Realmuto

a s s i s ta n t a r t d i r e c t o r

Tammy Owens

graceful living

Rhonda Wilkins inspiring women

Karen Floyd columnists

Katherine Birchenough, MD, Angie Comer, Amy Zimmer senior writers

Laurie Bogart Wiles, Latria Graham contributing writers

Shahmim Akram, C.S. Burke Ashley Crain, Meghan Daniel, Karen Fragala Smith, Jenna Realmuto, Sally Sportsman copy editors

Diane High, Hadley Inabinet, Baker Maultsby, Phil Randall style director

Angie Woodard ta l e n t s c o u t / m o d e l i n g c o n s u lta n t

Robyn Shirley

production stylist

Tiffany Brown

social media intern

Ruby Kubac

ELYSIAN Magazine is published four times per year by Palladian Publications LLC, 113 W. Main St., Spartanburg, SC 29306. For subscription information, call 888-329-9534; visit subscriptions@elysianservice.com; mailing address: Subscription Service, Elysian Magazine PO Box 2172, Williamsport, PA 17703 All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

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From top: Chief Business Officer Jaclynn Jarrett sits in the lobby of the ELYSIAN office. • Editor-in-Chief Ryan Stalvey reviews the finished product of ELYSIAN Winter 2018-19. • Rob Springer and Elise Rimmer edit Inspiring Women interviews into video vignettes. • Becky Kerr takes a phone call. • Angie Woodard starts her day with a smile at the ELYSIAN office.

media director

WHOM MUCH IS GIVEN, “ TO MUCH IS EXPECTED. ”

s publisher of ELYSIAN, I have been fortunate to interact and work with incredibly talented women from diverse walks of life. From time to time, this leads me to an epiphany of sorts— an “aha” moment. In the final stages of laying out this issue, something dawned on me. In the past, we touched on themes of giving back—a foundational concept for this publication— but we had not yet zeroed in on the subject of women-driven philanthropy, the form it takes and how it is shaped by our shared sense of responsibility to the next generation.

Inspiring Women. (Anecdotal stories)

Graceful Living. (Deliberate, spirited and bold)

From the haute couture runways to the soaring heights of skyscrapers, our Graceful Living pages will transport you into a world defined by beauty, grace and style. In this issue, we explore the lasting architectural legacy of the late Dame Zaha Hadid, celebrate the ten-year anniversary of avant-garde fashion house, Rodarte, and uncover the fascinating personal history of Hollywood legend Audrey Hepburn. As we herald 2019 as “The Year of Women in Golf,” we have captured the spirit of the golfing lifestyle. We trace the ongoing evolution of the clothing styles seen on fairways and greens, and we preview one of the great watershed golf events of the 21st century—the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, in which women will compete for the first time on the hallowed grounds of the Augusta National Golf Club. We hope to continue engaging our readers through our twin focus, championing the individual and her successes while also celebrating the common connections and shared interests of the intellectually curious woman. Thank you for sharing the journey with us as we strive to do more.

Karen Floyd Publisher

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PHOTOGRAPH BY JOSH NORRIS

The stories of Inspiring Women in this issue demonstrate the ways in which philanthropy connects women within and across communities, and to issues of global importance, all while making a difference in ways that reflect women’s choices, individual talents and ambitions. In this edition’s Inspiring Women interviews, we focus on unique stories of philanthropy. They are largely, though not exclusively, centered around the sport of golf. Why golf ? Golf is a sport in which women have had to overcome obstacles to gain the recognition they deserve. Yet there is more than that: the very sport itself reflects the experiences and values of all women who have achieved success. Golf is a sport that requires grit, determination and unyielding commitment. It is also an especially individualistic, and sometimes even lonely, endeavor. The accomplished golfer must be self-reliant. She demands more of herself than of anyone else. In many ways, her efforts mirror those of women who have carved a path to success in any career. Hall of Famer Beth Daniel said it best: “Every life lesson can be learned on the golf course—winning, losing, problem-solving, managing fear and harnessing ambition.” Once these women became established, each shifted the focus of her energies. Collectively, they were determined to give back. Today, they find fulfillment in causes in which they have a direct impact. They share important perspectives on giving back across a wide range of philanthropic causes—from juvenile diabetes to clean water initiatives to veteran’s affairs. Their examples challenge us to do more as we strive to make a difference through this publication. As in each issue of ELYSIAN, we connect the perspectives of accomplished women to the aspirations of young women who are beginning to chart their own course. Along with Daniel, professional golfers Betsy King and Michelle McGann direct words of advice to up-and-coming golf superstar, Lucy Li. At only 16, Li herself is an inspiration to young girls who are passionate about sports.

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Sharq Village & Spa, an idyllic coastal retreat on the Gulf Bay, sits in the heart of Doha, Qatar’s capital city. COURTESY THE RITZCARLTON, DOHA

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Marhaba Qatar/ Hello Qatar BY SHAHMIM AKRAM

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The

sound of cantering hooves echoes across the stables as a majestic chestnut-colored horse, his mane flowing gracefully behind him, is led through the morning’s exercise. This daily training routine is a vital part of the work carried out by the team at Qatar’s Al Shaqab Equestrian Center, whose mission is to highlight the country’s equestrian heritage and admiration of the Arabian horse. No expense has been spared on this state-of-the-art complex, where hundreds of these thoroughbred beauties are bred and trained. Visitors can book a public tour to view the facility, which has air-conditioned stables, an equine Jacuzzi and a unique winding swimming pool. To celebrate its 25th year of operations, the organization presented show jumping, international dressage and para dressage events at CHI Al Shaqab 2017. During the competition, Qatar’s first professional female show jumper, Maryam Mubarak A. Al Ali, who had already competed internationally, proudly showcased her skill to her home audience. The same year, Qatar’s first female jockey, Maryam Al Subaiey, ranked in a race at Qatar’s Racing and Equestrian Club. Endurance rider Sheikha Reem bint Muhammad bin Faisal Al Thani is credited with pushing for more female representation within Qatar’s equestrian sports. Having competed internationally and regionally, she showed the nation’s traditionalists that the divide between culture and professional competitions need not be so wide. Her goal is to one day compete in the World Equestrian Games. In November, Al Shaqab’s performance arenas will again welcome the best show jumpers from across the globe as they compete for a spot in the finale of the Longines Global Champions Tour. Winter also sees regular races every Wednesday and Thursday at Qatar’s Racing and Equestrian Club. Qatar also plays host to other international sporting events, which include the Qatar Ladies Open (tennis), the Qatar Masters (golf) and the Grand Prix of Qatar (MotoGP). In a few years’ time, soccer’s biggest tournament, the World Cup, will come to Qatar.

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MIA Park, adjacent to the Museum of Islamic Art, is the perfect setting for spectators at the annual Senyar Festival. Below: Dhows, traditional Arabian/Indian sailing vessels, set out for the pearl diving competition at the annual Senyar Festival.

W COURTESY QATAR TOURISM AUTHORITY

Al Shaqab Equestrian Center welcomes the best Qatari equestrian athletes and will host the first event of the Longines Global Champions Tour 2019. Below: With air conditioning and an equine jacuzzi, the center is a horse’s dream come true. COURTESY QATAR TOURISM AUTHORITY

inning the right to hold the 2022 FIFA World Cup may have catapulted Qatar onto the world stage, but this small nation state has more than just sports to talk about. As multibillion-dollar towers of Qatar’s capital city, Doha, arose from the desert, the ruling Al Thani family set into place a program of initiatives to protect and preserve the country’s rich bedouin heritage and seafaring past. During the annual Senyar Festival, held in the spring season, traditional pearl diving and fishing competitions take place at Halul Island, while various activities are held for the public at Katara Cultural Village. Competitors sail out in wooden dhows with traditional sails as they navigate local waters using skills passed down through generations. They fill their boats with the bounties of the sea before returning with their precious cargo several days later. During the Al Galayel Championship, competitors hunt gazelles and bustards with falcons in the deserts of southern Qatar. It is an opportunity for locals to connect with the traditions of their bedouin ancestors, but organizers also use modern conservation methods to ethically manage the event. Katara is Doha’s cultural center with traditional shows and performances held by traditional artists and groups from around the world. It also hosts a world-class philharmonic orchestra at its heritage opera house. Among the labyrinth-like cluster of traditional buildings, you will find several small art galleries, a Greco-Roman amphitheater and restaurants offering global flavors. Enjoy a delicious, healthy breakfast at Al Jazeera Cafe, or book the best tables at Sukar Pasha or Mamig for a budget-blowing meal.

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visit to the Museum of Islamic Art should be on everyone’s to-do- list; the incredible penmanship of the works in the calligraphy exhibition are fascinating. The building itself was designed by the illustrious architect I.M. Pei, who mixed modern Western design with geometric patterns and other Arab design details. The exterior limestone-encased ‘blocks’ throw out ever-changing shadows under the Doha sunshine, while inside the main hall, there is a magical symmetry in the curving lines of the grand staircase and the chandelier above. A bus shuttle service takes visitors to Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, which houses more than 9,000 works of art and has previously held exhibitions by such thought-provoking artists as Shirin Neshat, Dia Azzawi, and Cai Guo-Qiang. The unique desert rose structure of the National Museum of Qatar is in its final stages of construction, while the new Msheireb Museums offer an incredible insight into Qatar’s history. MIA Park hosts regular outdoor events and a weekend bazaar during the winter season. Walk along the waterfront to find “7” by Richard Serra, an intriguing 80-foot-high rusted steel sculpture; it is just one of the many outdoor artworks you will find dotted around Qatar. Nearby are two small man-made hills where you can enjoy a picnic from the nearby MIA cafe,and contemplate the stunning views of the city skyline while watching the dhows sail away.

ocated on the top floor of the Museum of Islamic Art is IDAM, a fine dining restaurant from Michelin star chef Alain Ducasse and designer Phillipe Starck. Executive Chef Damien Leroux’s seasonal menus highlight French Mediterranean cuisine with an Arab influence. IDAM provides a world-class dining experience with professional service and perfect plating. You will come away sated with tales of a gourmet dream meal and perfect, delectable, petit fours!

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The Museum of Islamic Art is located at one end of the Doha Corniche, a sevenkilometer waterfront promenade where several annual celebrations are held. COURTESY THE MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART, DOHA

Take in world-class cuisine at IDAM, which sits atop the Museum of Islamic Art and bestows spectacular views of Doha’s skyline. ©PIERREMONETTA

PRIVILEGED ACCESS TO THE MOST DISTINCTIVE JEWELS

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Above and right: The Mondrian Doha gives the illusion that you’ve fallen down the rabbit hole and into Wonderland. COURTESY SBE MONDRIAN DOHA HOTEL

Left: The dazzling interior of Parisa’s private dining room only enhances the experience.

Above: Sharq Village & Spa has all of the modern amenities for complete relaxation encased in traditional architecture. COURTESY THE RITZCARLTON, DOHA

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ther celebrated international chefs have also flocked to Doha, with venues from the likes of Nobu Matsuhisa, Gordon Ramsay and Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Mondrian Doha, the modern surrealist hotel designed by Marcel Wanders, recently opened Morimoto and Cut by Wolfgang Puck. Richard Sandoval’s Pan-Asian restaurant, Zengo, delivers skyhigh dining from its location at the top of Doha’s tallest residential building. Relaxing in a cabana at The Pier, a chic outdoor lounge at Four Seasons Hotel Doha, is the best way to indulge as you gaze across the crystal-clear waters of the Arabian Gulf. At Souq Waqif, a meandering maze-like market with traditional buildings, you can find Arabian antiques, fragrant spices, artisanal handicrafts and souvenirs. Local policemen can be seen riding through its main passageways on beautiful horses. Head to the Falcon Souq for an upclose introduction to the majestic birds that are a vital part of Qatar’s heritage. The Souq’s cafes and restaurants come alive in the evening as locals and tourists enjoy the desert sunsets. The no-nonsense Yemeni restaurant Bander Aden serves hearty stews and hot breads with the option to sit and eat on the floor. For an unforgettable experience, head to Parisa, a Persian restaurant vibrantly decorated with stained glass windows, intricate paintings depicting Iranian fables and a spectacular mirror-bedazzled private dining room. If you’re looking for a warm welcome, head to the modern Indian restaurant Doha Gymkhana, known for its aromatic biryanis, rich curries and vegetarian courses. Book in advance and ask for the indoor verandah window table, a perfect spot for people-watching across the main square. In the distance, you will be able to see the lighthouse-shaped Bin Zaid building, an Islamic center that holds regular cultural events and arranges visits to Qatar’s mosques, including the Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, walk around the Souq and follow your nose to the smaller eateries that serve up some incredible dishes for a handful of riyals. Ask around for the kebab place, the chapati cafe and the Qatari outdoor restaurant where you can try local dishes such as machbous, harees and loqaimat. Local Qatari grandma Shams Al Qassabi runs Shay Al Shoomos, a cafe serving only Qatari breakfast dishes; if you prefer something sweet in the morning, try the balaleet, a saffron-enriched vermicelli egg dish.

he tranquil Sharq Village & Spa resort offers the perfect blend of traditional architecture and modern facilities. As you head to your spa treatment, you step back in time through the winding passageways of a Qatari village setting. You’ll walk out feeling refreshed and healed. The resort can provide you with a healthy meal to match your newfound state of nirvana, or you can head to Qanat Quartier, known as the Arabian Riviera, with its pastel-colored apartments, canals and pedestrian bridges. Enjoy a nutritious meal at Evergreen Organics, a local cafe serving 100-percent organic vegan dishes—order the “Be Magic” juice and take a walk outside to explore this little slice of Venice in Doha. For an uber-millennial cafe experience, head to Cue Whimsical Cafe; it has all the charcoal and matcha lattes your heart could desire. Head out of Doha and you will find plenty to keep you busy. On a day trip to the Equestrian Centre at Al Samariyah Farm, you can book horse riding lessons among palm tree-lined paths. Take a moment to find Qatar’s national animal, the Arabian Oryx, and then arrange a visit to the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum, where a veritable treasure trove of Qatari antiques and vintage cars await you. Go hiking at the surreal Ras Abrouq limestone rock formations in Zekreet, or go kayaking at the lush Al Thakira Mangroves. Take a traditional dhow cruise to Al Safliya Island, and then get ready to enjoy modern water sports, or head to the abandoned pearling town at Al Zubarah, a UNESCO World Heritage site. For a luxury escape, make your way to Banana Island for your own private tropical island experience in the Middle East. While at the Regency Sealine Camp, you can enjoy a luxury bedouin camping experience and eat your meals under Qatar’s stars. A dynamic range of modernization programs, coupled with smart financial investments, has helped to cement Doha’s status as a cosmopolitan capital city. Renowned international artists exhibit in its museums, global sports champions compete in its stadiums and talented world musicians play in its auditoriums. But the strong emphasis on hospitality and heritage has allowed this peninsula nation to preserve its exotic past and maintain a rich, vibrant culture for its people to share with the world. Don’t delay! Say “Marhaba Qatar” and get ready for an adventure of a lifetime. ■

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& THERE ARE THINGS YOU CAN’T CONTROL. TAKE A DEEP BREATH, AND LET IT GO

FOR BETTER HEALTH

s we age, our muscles and connective tissues naturally lose elasticity. While there are many factors that affect flexibility, this loss of elasticity can affect the range of movement around your joints, which may lead to stiffness and tightened muscles and joints. While strength training and cardio are front runners in the health and fitness space, flexibility is a key (and often overlooked) component of the equation. Being flexible is more than just a cool, late night party trick; it’s also integral to living a full, healthy life. Flexibility allows us to hit the ground running a little easier each morning, have a better golf swing and achieve functional, practical tasks throughout the day. Whether you sit at a desk or you’re a professional athlete, flexibility is beneficial and key to the task. Explore some of the many benefits of or some, winter is a time of snuggling up more than normal. At high elevation, flexibility, and then get some practical advice on how to become more by the fire, indulging in hot cocoa and your heart has to work harder to deliver flexible without devoting your life to stretching. hibernating until spring. While that can plenty of oxygen to the muscles that enjoyable, you’re far more likely to find need it most. To enjoy the heart-healthy Improve be Your Balance and Posture benefits of skiing without struggling with me on the slopes! Have you ever looked at yourself while walking past a reflective store Snow skiing is my favorite sport, and altitude sickness, try to get to your favorite window and noticed less-than-perfect posture? You’re definitely not alone. I love it so much that my entire wedding ski destination a day or two ahead of Poor posture isn’t just an aesthetic problem because it can lead to lower was planned around a week of skiing in time. That allows you to acclimate to the back pain and poor sleep. By improving your balance, you can also reduce beautiful Aspen, Colorado, with my entire elevation before you strap on your skis. the risk of injuries, slips and falls later in life. family and close friends. In addition to Focus on the Core thrill, skiing is a pastime loaded Increase being Youra Metabolism In order to keep an upright posture with health benefits. Whether you’re Every time you stretch, you increase your flexibility, as well as the when you’re skiing, you have to rely on eager to burn calories, build up your leg strength of the muscle fibers you stretch. Stronger muscles need more your core an incredible amount. For muscles or just get rid of anxiety, skiing calories each day, which means your metabolism gets a boost. Flexibility balance, you’ll use your obliques as well might be the sport you’re searching for. isn’t always inherently linked to weight loss, but it can definitely stoke your as your abdominals. Although everyone metabolism on a regular basis. expects to have sore legs the day after Improved Cardiovascular Fitness Sure, gravity is helping if you’re skiing hitting the slopes, don’t be surprised if you downhill, but your heart will still be can also feel it in your core. A few runs getting a killer workout! As you ski, your down a challenging slope is a lot more fun heart rate increases. The higher your than doing hundreds of crunches, that’s heart rate, the more oxygen your body for sure! needs - and the more calories you burn Muscles of the Lower Body in the process. Skiing is an aerobic sport, Whether you’re heading for the bunny which means that you’ll be keeping your heart rate elevated for much of the time slopes or the black diamonds, skiing is a great workout for all the muscles of you’re on the slopes. Keep in mind that if you’re skiing at the lower body. Your glutes serve as the high altitude, you’ll be taxing your heart powerhouse, helping to stabilize you and your cardiovascular system a little as you remain in the squat position for

Hit the Slopes

FIZKES/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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extended periods of time. Skiing is also going to help shape and build your quads and your hamstrings. Even the muscles in your feet and ankles get a workout when you’re skiing. Mental Health Benefits of Skiing Although the physical benefits of skiing are nothing to scoff at, it’s the psychological benefits that many skiers love most. Strap on your skis to enjoy a boost of endorphins and adrenaline - a combination of feel-good chemicals that can keep you smiling for days to come. Plus, since skiing is an outdoor sport, skiers get the added benefit of Vitamin D. A dose of sunshine is proven to boost mood and stave off conditions like depression. Just one more reason to head for the snow-capped mountains. While I love skiing for so many reasons, there’s no denying the health benefits of the sport. Although there’s something magical about cuddling up by the fireplace with a mug of cocoa, I promise the drink is a little sweeter in a lodge after a long day of skiing. ■ Wishing you love, health & happiness! Angie

Increase your flexibility increase your health

BY ANGIE COMER

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FIZKES/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

BEING FLEXIBLE IS MORE THAN JUST A COOL, LATE NIGHT PARTY TRICK; IT’S ALSO INTEGRAL TO LIVING A FULL, HEALTHY LIFE. Enjoy a More Positive State of Mind

Flexibility does more than just improve your body. Increasing flexibility involves choosing poses that open up your body and are proven to relieve stress. Stretching can relieve physical tension, and when your body is relaxed, you’re more likely to sleep well each night and wake up rested. A daily flexibility routine can improve your mood and even increase your happiness.

Boost Your Circulation

It’s no secret that circulation is important, and achieving flexibility can go hand-in-hand with better circulation. As you stretch, you’ll increase blood flow to the muscles of the body. This will help protect you from a wide range of diseases like cardiovascular problems, kidney disease and diabetes.

Improve Physical Performance

Perhaps the benefit most commonly linked to flexibility is the improvement in physical performance. This absolutely applies to anyone who is active and can do everything from improving shoulder rotation for swimmers to giving joggers longer strides. However, it can also help you get more comfortable on long car rides and counteract the hip tightness from sitting in a chair all day behind a desk.

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How to Get Started: A Realistic Guide

Ready to start working on your flexibility? The key is to commit. You don’t have to spend hours each day stretching, but commitment to a consistent daily practice of 15 to 20 minutes is key. Start with big muscles like the shoulders, the hamstrings and quadriceps and then take time to focus on smaller muscles. If you have any problem areas, hone in on them at the end of each stretching session. If possible, start each flexibility session with a warm up, such as jumping jacks or a brisk walk. When your muscles are warm, each stretch will be more productive, and there is a smaller chance of discomfort and injury. There is no set standard of flexibility you need to achieve in order to be healthy. Your lifestyle and daily activities will dictate how flexible you need to be, but increasing your flexibility can absolutely offer some benefits. Incorporating just a brief stretching routine to your day can make a world of difference. ■

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Fashion through the Decades of the U.S. Women's Open

BY ASHLEY CRAIN

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THERE’S SOMETHING TO THE OLD ADAGE, “LOOK GOOD, FEEL GOOD, PLAY GOOD,” AND WHILE THIS APPLIES IN SPORTS ACROSS THE GENDER BOARD, IN WOMEN’S SPORTS, THERE IS NO TRUER STATEMENT. Babe Didrikson Zaharias’ wool ensemble swishes as she takes a mighty lash at the ball during an early USGA event. COPYRIGHT UNKNOWN/COURTESY OF USGA ARCHIVES

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hen the first United States Women’s Open Golf Championship was played in 1946, competitors’ attire was—to say the least—less stylish and comfortable than the fashions we see today. Champion Patty Berg claimed that first trophy wearing a bulky sweater and long wool skirt. Surely, Ariya Jutanugarn was more at ease in the shorts and form-fitting stretch fabric she wore as she worked her way through the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open, earning her second major championship. Still, from early on, women golfers pushed boundaries of fashion, aiming to both look sharp and gain competitive advantage. And each year’s U.S. Open has been a showcase of both talent and the evolution of style. With men away at war during the 1940s, women gained new opportunities in the world of sports (recall the film A League of Their Own). These newfound roles found them struggling to balance fashion and femininity with

athleticism: the ankle-length skirts worn by early U.S. Open champions like Babe Zaharias and Mickey Wright weren’t designed to look particularly attractive or to make it easy to maneuver 18 holes of golf, but these ladies approached the game with grace and determination nonetheless. Thankfully, technology, trends and perceptions have progressed considerably. The ’50s and ’60s saw considerable loosening of norms throughout the world of fashion. For golfing women, skirt lengths rose above the ankle, allowing players the ease of motion to swing more freely. Female players sported leather saddle shoes on the links. They fully embraced the old sports adage, “Look good, feel good, play good.” Change accelerated throughout the ’60s, and hemlines continued to inch their way up. A new fashion choice emerged—the skort—that allowed women to bare their knees without fear of over-exposure. Bold colors emerged, and the view toward fashion became a bit more unisex. Women adopted flowy cotton shirt-dresses with no cinch at the waist. Some ditched the skirt altogether, favoring culottes or Bermuda shorts instead.

Paula Creamer, wearing her trademark all-pink, heads out to the first hole during the final round of the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open at Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minnesota. COPYRIGHT UNKNOWN/COURTESY OF USGA ARCHIVES

Above: Catherine Lacoste, daughter of famous tennis professional René Lacoste, during the 1967 U.S. Women’s Open Championship which was held at Virginia Hot Springs Golf & Tennis Club, Hot Springs, Virginia. Lacoste would go on to win the event. USGA/JOHN MUMMERT

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2010s ushered in technically developed, breathable fabrics that promoted flexibility and made hot afternoons on the course more bearable. 2010 U.S. Open champion Paula Creamer became something of a fashion icon. Nicknamed the Pink Panther for her polished, impeccably matched—often all pink—outfits, she was (and still is) regularly featured in Golf Magazine for her stylish choices. Then there’s golfing superstar and sports trendsetter Michelle Wie. She’s won numerous events, including the 2014 U.S. Open, but has earned acclaim as a golf fashionista, too. Just last year, Golf Magazine named her “Most Fashionable Woman in Golf.” When Wie stepped onto the course, she created another greenside shift: funky high-top shoes, extra tight shortshorts and collarless racer back tops. At last, it seemed, the female golfer was allowed the freedom to dress however she pleased. Eventually, however, this freedom would be tested. In 2017, the LGPA adopted a new dress code that restricts skirt length (must be long enough to cover the “bottom area”), prohibits plunging necklines and requires collared shirts. In a statement to Golf Digest in July 2017, LPGA chief communications and tour operations officer Heather Daly-Donofrio said, “The dress code requires players to present themselves in a professional manner to reflect a positive image for the game.” The dress code faced considerable backlash (even conservative news agencies’ headlines questioned if this constituted “body shaming”), but a professional dress code is not entirely unheard of in the golf world. The PGA Tour, after all, prohibits shorts of any kind.

In the 1967 U.S. Women’s Open, France’s Catherine Lacoste, daughter of famous tennis player René Lacoste, became the first amateur champion, most often wearing knee-length shorts. (You may recall René as the founder of major golf apparel brand, Lacoste, which produced the first classic polo shirt—albeit for men.) The ‘70s and ‘80s saw players like Hollis Stacy, three-time U.S. Open champion and World Golf Hall of Famer, further break with tradition by wearing pleated shorts, form-fitting pants and collared polos. Platform sneakers and color-coordinated outfits were the vogue of the era.

till, no major athletic brands were making golf apparel for ladies. The few companies that did give nod to women were beholden to the process: take a man’s article of clothing, dye it pink and offer it in smaller sizes. “Pink it and shrink it,” or so they say. Then, in the ’90s, at long last came Ralph Lauren and Ashworth, who created stylish women-centric golf apparel. Vibrant hues were out, and preppy was in. Pleated khaki shorts, paired with oversized polo shirts—that was the new look for women golfers. Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam was dominant during the era, winning back-to-back U.S. Opens in ’95 and ’96. She would reign among the game’s elite for the next 15 years. Capitalizing on her success, she partnered with Cutter & Buck to launch her own golf clothing collection, known for its meticulous design and technical fabrics. At the dawn of the new millennium, modesty was thrown out the window—the links had never been sexier. Ladies were showing a little more flavor and a lot more skin. But, as in past eras, changing styles were in part utilitarian; the 2000s and

he game of golf and its accompanying fashion trends are always evolving. Boundaries are tested, and sometimes trends emerge seemingly out of nowhere. Women’s tours and USGA major venues in particular are witnessing an onslaught of young talent. Recently, Lucy Li, the youngest amateur ever to qualify for a major event (the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open), dazzled the Pinehurst patrons with a star-spangled display of red, white, and blue—an outfit that currently resides at the USGA Museum. As high-end design and streetwear continue to influence sportswear, another fashion transformation may be poised to break out at the next amateur tournament. One thing is for sure: we can expect the golf fashions of the future to be as bold and exciting as the talented women who play the game. ■

Our cover model Lucy Li during the first round at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club, North Carolina. She currently holds records as the youngest qualifier for the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Open. Her stars and stripes ensemble is now on display at the USGA Museum in Liberty Corner, New Jersey. USGA/JOHN MUMMERT

Above: 2014 U.S. Women’s Open champion Michelle Wie smiles while carrying the trophy to an interview following the final round. USGA/DARREN CARROLL

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Enter into exfoliation: the Luxury of Turkish Baths

xfoliation is not a modern discovery, but one known for its healing benefits since ancient times. The process of cell regeneration slows as we age, meaning that our body is slower to shed dead cells and regenerate new ones. Old cells pile up and leave the skin’s surface looking dull, rough and dry. The dead cells can eventually lead to clogged pores, excess oil, blemishes and acne. Proper exfoliation removes that barrier of dead cells and uncovers new cells below. This allows moisturizing products to penetrate more deeply, nourishing the skin more effectively. The result leaves your skin looking fresh and healthy. In the Middle Ages, it was common practice to bathe in old wine because its tartaric acid content made it an effective exfoliant; products containing natural levels of alpha hydroxy acids were fashionable until the late 1800s. That changed when German dermatologist Paul Gerson Unna’s extensive research led him to scientifically formulate the earliest chemical peels. His pioneering research with salicylic acid is still used today. Exfoliating should be a full-body practice year round. If we only focus on taking care of our face, the rest of our bodies will start to show the true age of our skin. My favorite full body experience takes place in a Turkish bath, or hammam. Although this Middle Eastern variant of a steam bath originated in Arabia, it soon became a popular Turkish tradition. Think of it as the wet relative of the sauna—but with added benefits. ■

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BY AMY ZIMMER

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VISITING A HAMMAM ? JUST SIT BACK & ENJOY. Relax and Prepare

When you enter the camekan, or entrance room, there are changing rooms as well as a lounge to enjoy a cold drink or a cup of tea before or after the bath.

Adjust to the Warmth

Before stepping into the water, the tellak (staff member) will bring you to the iliklik, or intermediate room, where you can adjust to the heat and receive your towels.

Full Body Scrub and Soaking

Next, you enter the hararet, or hot room. Here, you will see the large marble belly or navel stone. Bathers lounge on marble slabs around the fountain, taking turns basking in the high humidity. If you want an exfoliating scrub, most spas offer private rooms.

Rinse and Massage

After the bath, a full-body massage will end your treatment. Now we’re talking Turkish Heaven! Be sure to hydrate and drink plenty of water after your treatment. Even though visiting a hammam is a wonderful experience, you don’t need to travel to Turkey to start your exfoliation journey. Here is a simple body scrub recipe to use at home:

Simple Body Scrub Recipe

1 cup sugar (brown or white) ¼ cup olive or sweet almond oil 1 tsp. Vitamin E 8-10 drops of essential oil of choice or zest of a lemon • After combining all the ingredients, store it in a pretty container to use in your shower daily.

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Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your vacation. Make it count.

4 Fox Grape South Forest Beach

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Beat the burnout. Now! BY DR. KATHERINE BIRCHENOUGH

any patients come to me with symptoms related to exhaustion and burnout from chronic stress and lack of self-care. Here’s your chance to opt for that ounce of prevention: out with old bad habits, in with newfound respect for yourself. It’s time to raise your standards! As you contemplate what changes you plan to make, let me put a few ideas in your head about what I think is important.

Body & Brain

Sleep is the ultimate overnight detox! Overnight is when your body carries out all of the repair work it can’t do when dealing with the work of digestion during the day. It requires many nutritional co-factors to do it efficiently, and magnesium is key. In addition to the body’s reparative functions, the brain also undergoes a nightly cleanse. Nighttime

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THERE IS NO BETTER TIME THAN THE PRESENT TO DETOX FROM STRESS AND RENEW YOUR SOUL. ESPECIALLY IF THE PRESENT HAPPENS TO BE SPRING.

SERGEY PETERMAN/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

is when by-products of neural activity that accumulate during wakefulness are cleared, preventing degenerative brain diseases like dementia. One of my favorite ways to get ready for a good night’s sleep and help detox is an Epsom salts bath at least twice a week. This is essentially a magnesium bath. If you have a big soaking tub, mix four cups Epsom salts, two cups baking soda, two tablespoons 20 Mule Team Borax and your favorite essential oil. Use half for a smaller tub. Soak for at least 20 minutes, put on those PJs, get some shut-eye and allow the healing to begin!

Food as Fuel

Eating is meant to energize—not deplete—your reserves. Do you find yourself craving the foods that you know will ultimately drain your energy, like sugar and refined carbohydrates? Usually, this is because there is an imbalance in the body, we are struggling from chronic sleep deprivation or we are feeling unsatisfied in our lives. Over time, minerals become depleted and blood sugar becomes unstable, leading to more cravings. To get this in check, take a temporary break from sugar and refined grains as well as foods that may cause immune system reactivity, such as

dairy, gluten, eggs, soy and corn. Avoid artificial sweeteners and foods containing preservatives, dyes and food additives. Ask yourself at each meal what your body needs at that time. The growing season is upon us, and soon we’ll have lots of fresh produce to eat! Listen to your body, and resolve to feed yourself well every day.

Soul Care

Winter is a time of rest and reflection, leading up to spring renewal. Think about what situations may be sapping your emotional and adrenal reserves. Many of us feel we need to “do it all” or risk losing control and thus, expend far more energy than we get in return for our efforts. This results in a loss of healthy boundaries, lack of self-care and burnout. We end up focusing more on the goal rather than on the journey, falling into the trap of workaholism or perfectionism. In the end, our health suffers. Can’t seem to pull together a nutritionally dense meal? Try a delivery service that sources organic ingredients and comes with everything you need to cook like a gourmet chef. Have a family to cook for? Treat yourself with meal-prepping lessons from a local nutritionist, and everyone in the house will benefit. ■

ABOUT DR. BIRCHENOUGH Katherine Birchenough was the fourth MD in the state of South Carolina to be certified through the Institute for Functional Medicine. A South Carolina native, Dr. Birchenough is a University of South Carolina School of Medicine graduate, board-certified in pediatrics and emergency medicine and has recently devoted herself full-time to her wellness practice. Dr. Birchenough practiced traditional medicine for more than 12 years, diagnosing and treating diseases but not really getting to the root cause. Over the years, she watched as unhealthy environments and poor lifestyle choices affected the health of her peers and her patients, at one point even herself, and knew that something had to give. She realized the pursuit of health, beyond just the absence of disease, is a specialty in and of itself but wasn’t available to traditional medical students. This realization brought her to a new career path in functional medicine and has fueled her passion to treat the patient, not just the symptoms.

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Inset painting: 18th Hole, Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, California. Large painting: 9th Hole Royal County Down, Newcastle, Northern Ireland.

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LADY

of the

GREEN

LINDA HARTOUGH HAS BECOME RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF GOLF’S LEADING ARTISTS. SO EXTRAORDINARY AND REALISTIC IS HER ATTENTION TO DETAIL THAT HER LANDSCAPESS SEEM TO COME ALIVE WITH A CLARITY THAT SURPASSES EVEN THE CAMERA. readelysian.com • printemps 2019 •

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Large painting: Augusta National Clubhouse 2014, Augusta, Georgia. Inset painting: 12th Hole, “Golden Bell,” Augusta National Golf Club.

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ABOUT THE ARTIST LINDA HARTOUGH A confirmed artist since childhood, Hartough painted landscapes, portraits and horses early in her career. In 1984, Augusta National Golf Club commissioned her to paint its famous 13th hole, an appointment that propelled Hartough toward specialization as a golf landscape painter. In the decades since, her work has achieved a distinguished status, being displayed in the permanent collections of such legendary clubs as Augusta National, Laurel Valley, Pinehurst and Pine Valley, as well as in the personal collections of such golf notables as Jack Nicklaus, Raymond Floyd and Rees Jones. Her work is also exhibited at the USGA Museum in Far Hills, New Jersey and the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia. Known for extraordinary attention to detail in her recreation of some of golf’s most beautiful greens, Hartough imbues her paintings with admiration for the scenery’s natural beauty and respect for the game’s history and tradition—elements which seem to emerge from the canvas. Hartough’s paintings of various holes at Augusta National Golf Club are prized by collectors the world over. In addition, Hartough painted the first of her U.S. Open series in 1990—commissioned by the U.S. Golf Association—a 25-year series she completed in 2014, while simultaneously finishing her official British Open Championship series from 1990-1999. Hartough has been honored with the Golf Digest Lifetime Achievement Award. She is also a Founding Trustee of the Academy of Golf Art, a professional society of golf artists established in 2004 to create an awareness and appreciation of golf art as a valuable segment of fine art. For more information, visit hartough.com.

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18th Hole, Swilcan Bridge, St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland. Top painting: 18th Hole, Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

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Queen Lace Crystal EXPERIENCE THE JOURNEY

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&dining Curious, Subtle, Delicate, Robust, Strong and Greedy. These adjectives aren’t a part of a personality assessment test, but they can be taste-tested at one of London’s newest restaurants: Caractère.

CARACTÈRE

ather than categorizing their roast rack of Herdwick lamb under “entrée” or their choux with hazelnut praline and crème anglaise under “dessert,” the menu at Emily Roux and Diego Ferrari’s Caractère of Notting Hill invites diners to explore a non-traditional presentation of dishes. The lamb, a hefty meat and potatoes dish, is listed under Robust, while the latter, a sweet pastry with praline and custard, is listed under Greedy; and quite honestly, if French pastries are greedy, we don’t want to be generous. Roux says of Caractère’s approach to the menu’s organization, “The character traits used to describe the dishes are quirky and characterful, describing not only the food but also both our personalities.” “Quirky and characterful” are fitting for the restaurant’s chic location. Popularized by the 1999 film of the same name starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, Notting Hill is an amalgam of London’s posh and eccentric: a hub for socialites, shoppers and diners. Caractère, its name an homage to the French word which translates to “character,” is well-positioned to become a

BY MEGHAN DANIEL

Notting Hill icon. The eatery’s apt name bespeaks its quintessential blend of casual, contemporary and comfortable.

mily Roux, the daughter and granddaughter of renowned Michelin star chefs Michel Roux, Jr. and Albert Roux, respectively, opened Caractère with husband Diego Ferrari in October 2018. A blend of French and Italian heritage is manifested in the lunch and dinner menus boasting a range of dishes—from an Acquarello risotto made with Carnaroli rice aged for seven years to grilled Monkfish, a common staple in French cuisine. The majority of the ingredients are sourced in the UK from Scotland to Cornwall; others, such as balsamic vinegar, pecorino and parmigiano, are imported directly from Italy. Though the pair are both experienced chefs with more than 20 years of culinary training between them, they have chosen to follow the adage, “There’s only room for one chef in the kitchen.” While Ferrari oversees the orchestration of the kitchen, Roux manages the front of house, an easy decision, she says, and “incredibly rewarding” due to the immediate feedback she receives from restaurant patrons. Of the pair’s respective responsibilities in the restaurant, Roux said, “Diego is my eyes and palate in the kitchen, and I am his in the dining room.”

POPULARIZED BY THE 1999 FILM OF THE SAME NAME “STARRING JULIA ROBERTS AND HUGH GRANT, NOTTING HILL IS AN AMALGAM OF LONDON’S POSH AND ECCENTRIC . . . CARACTÈRE, ITS NAME AN HOMAGE TO THE FRENCH WORD WHICH TRANSLATES TO “CHARACTER,” IS WELL-POSITIONED TO BECOME A NOTTING HILL ICON.

”

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Roux, Ferrari and the rest of the Caractère team use both clientele response and seasonality to amend the menu so that it accurately reflects the meeting point between the intentions of the restaurateurs and the desires of its patrons. One of Roux’s long-time favorites on the menu is the celeriac cacio e pepe, which Ferrari has been making for Roux for years. She calls it her “desert island dish.”

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY CARACTÈRE

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE CARACTÈRE MENU

CURIOUS BRAISED LEEK & MUSHROOM TART, GUANCIALE, with thyme vinaigrette - £11.00 CONFIT CHICKEN OYSTER: crispy skin, smoked parsnip purée, reduced jus - £14.00 SUBTLE ROASTED & PURÉED JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES with wild rice crisp, hibiscus & beurre noisette sauce - £14.00 CELERIAC “CACIO E PEPE” with extra-aged balsamic vinegar - £18.00 DELICATE GRILLED MONKFISH with sprouting broccoli, piquillos, cockle jus - £25.00 SEARED CORNISH COD with crispy potatoes, lardo di Colonnata, horseradish - £22.00

o get the entire dining experience, Caractère offers a tasting menu option for lunch. For £78.00, diners select a dish from each “character trait.” There is also an option to add wine pairings to each dish for an additional cost of £72.00. In addition, there is the “Spontaneous Lunch Menu,” which consists of a starter, entree and dessert for £39.00. To complement the fare, Caractère offers an extensive wine selection of around 150 bottles from France and Italy. Most are sold by the bottle, ranging from £33.00 to £640.00, to satisfy both the amateur and the well-versed connoisseur. Of the selection, Roux says, “Very much like the food menu, we have created a sensible wine list with bottles we like or would like to drink.” Since its opening, Romeo Bisacchi has served as the sommelier for Caractère. The dining room features bare, sand-colored brick walls contrasted by plush red and green velvet chairs. Statement lighting and goldrimmed, floor-length mirrors make up the extent of the décor, demonstrating the effectiveness of a “less is more” approach. The entire restaurant, which seats 62, can be booked for special events for either lunch or dinner. Whether you’re in the area and looking to stop by or designing a trip around a meal at Caractère, reservations are recommended. When in Notting Hill, look for the seafoam green building with brushed gold lettering on the corner of Ledbury and Westbourne Park Road. ■ Editor’s Note: For more information or to book a reservation please visit caractererestaurant.com.

ROBUST SLOW COOKED OX CHEEK RAVIOLI with kabocha pumpkin, flower sprout & barbucine £24.00 ROAST RACK of HERDWICK LAMB with multicoloured chard, glazed Rattes potatoes & jus - £31.50 STRONG GORGONZOLA DOLCE with baby leaf salad & accompaniments - £12.50 GREEDY ARLETTES MILLE-FEUILLE: pink Yorkshire rhubarb, diplomat cream, sorbet - £11.00 CHOCOLATE CAKE with pecan praline, salted caramel sauce, mascarpone ice cream - £11.00 * Information collected at close of Spring issue. Prices and availability may vary.

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Husband-wife team Emily Roux and Diego Ferrari opened Caractère to serve passion-filled food that go with your mood, like the “Subtle” celeriac cacio e pepe (top left) and the “Delicate” grilled monkfish (right).

a BREATH of FRESH

AIR

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOSH NORRIS

Ooh la la!

“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”

FROM HOSTING GARDEN PARTIES TO GOLFING ON THE GREEN, RHONDA WILKINS INVITES US TO STEP OUTSIDE & ENJOY THE CHARMS OF SPRING.

-William Morris, English architect, furniture and textile designer, artist & writer.

hese are words to live by, n’est-ce pas? I truly believe that the treasures in your home—from your wardrobe to your linen closet—should possess a timeless beauty. I look for pieces that are both unusual and classically designed—pieces that can be enjoyed now and also lovingly passed down from generation to generation. Let me share with you some stylish yet functional must-haves this spring.

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Rhonda Wilkins is wearing Versace sunglasses, Italian 18-karat gold hoop earrings, Chanel Resort 2019 Bracelet, Wolford Body Suit, Spring 2019 Valentino Scarf, Rain Jacket & matching pants. [1] Louis Vuitton Paperweight. [2] Louis Vuitton Circle Belt Monogram. [3] Louis Vuitton Box Scott. [4] Valentino Chevron Twill Skirt. [5] Acqua Di Parma Blu Mediterraneo Arancia di Capri Eau de Toilette.

SHOP & EXPLORE

On the Green

Golf is a great way to socialize and spend time outdoors—(although my late husband would tease me that I only took up the sport for the outfits). I’ve been lucky enough to train with pro golfer Donna White, a close friend of Inspiring Woman Betsy King. The hard work and dedication is paying off—I recently had my best round ever! Whether you’re an experienced player or a well-styled enthusiast, these golf fashions and must-haves will add a stroke of class to your afternoon on the course.

[6] Tory Burch Pocket-Tee Golf Loafers. [7] Louis Vuitton Golf Bag. [8] Tory Burch Performance Cashmere Fairway Cardigan. [9] Louis Vuitton Golf Set.

SHOP & EXPLORE

51 51

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Spring Onion & Sherry Vinegar Jam ½ cup (1 stick/115 g) unsalted butter 1 pound (455 g) spring onions, thinly sliced 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil * In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar the onions and 1 tablespoon of the oil and reduce the heat 3 tablespoons sugar to low. Cook, uncovered, until the onions soften, about 1½ teaspoons flake kosher sea salt 10 minutes. Add the vinegar, sugar, salt and remaining 2 tablespoons oil and stir to incorporate. Cook until the onions turn deeply golden and fragrant, about 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature before transferring the jam to a mason jar. Seal and refrigerate. Will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

à la table

Lemon Love Bars 1 cup butter, softened 2¼ cups flour ½ cup confectioners’ sugar 4 eggs 2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice Grated peel of 1 lemon Confectioner’s sugar

* Blend butter, 2 cups flour and confectioners’ sugar thoroughly. Press dough into a well greased and floured 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan. Bake in the middle of a preheated 350° oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, beat eggs until frothy. Add sugar, remaining ¼ cup flour, baking powder, lemon juice, and lemon peel; beat until smooth Pour filling into hot crust Reduce oven to 325° and bake for 20 minutes, or until filling is set. Loosen edge by running a knife around the inside of the pan. Place on rack to cool. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before cutting. Using a serrated knife, cut into 20 squares; then cut each square diagonally in half. Dust triangles with confectioners’ sugar. Serve at room temperature. Yield: 3½ dozen

Executive Editor of Graceful Living, Rhonda Wilkins, is a former Senior Executive at Balmar Printing & Graphics in the Washington D.C Metro area and the wife of the late former U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands, C. Howard Wilkins Jr. Rhonda brings a wealth of knowledge in the fields of style, design, entertaining, travel and healthy living. Rhonda currently splits her time between Palm Beach, Florida and Europe.

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOSH NORRIS

Everyone knows I love to cook, and al fresco dining might just be my favorite way to entertain. From picnics on the lawn to themed-dinners under the stars, there’s no end to the imaginative fun to be had. These are a few of my favorite recipes for outdoor occasions . . .

Gil Hanse thought of every angle. Now it’s your turn. Play the new Pinehurst No. 4.

It’s time to test your mettle on this rugged masterpiece. Renowned course architect Gil Hanse has transformed what Donald Ross first carved out of the sand a century ago into 18 dramatic holes you’ll want to play again and again. Introducing the latest championship course at Pinehurst. Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina | 844.788.4745 | Visit pinehurst.com

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Rodarte, Spring/Summer 2018 backstage. PHOTO © AUTUMN DE WILDE

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the queens of SPRING By KAREN FRAGALA SMITH

When it comes to outfitting for the flower season, no one does it better than Rodarte.

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Fit. Price point. Marketability. Licensing. It’s a fashion designer’s magic formula for commercial viability. To be successful at the retail level, a design house needs flattering and wearable garments, reasonable production costs, on-trend seasonal offerings and prolific licensing that includes perfume, sunglasses, handbags and shoes. This is the formula that made Michael Kors a billion-dollar brand. And it worked for Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren before him. But for sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy, founders of Rodarte, the most acclaimed brand in American fashion, commercial viability isn’t really a thing. Rodarte is all about creative expression. So it only makes sense that you’ll see more Rodarte gowns in their groundbreaking exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington than in the dress department at Nordstrom. “We are honored to be the first

designers to have a fashion exhibition organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts,” said Kate and Laura Mulleavy, who consider themselves artists who use clothing as a medium rather than utilitarians in service of the apparel industry. And while their dresses have appeared in dozens of museums around the world during the company’s 12 years in existence, the NMWA show is the most extensive Rodarte collection ever assembled, with nearly 100 runway looks precisely replicated from head to toe.

he vibrant, sheer tie-dye and floral silk sheath from Rodarte’s Fall/Winter 2013 show and the lushly embroidered gown with epaulets from Spring/Summer 2018 are creative highlights. But take a gander in any direction, and you will see boundless creativity and artistry that you don’t have

to be a fashionista to appreciate. A single Rodarte gown is built with up to a dozen fabrics, including tulle, organza, leather, lace, macrame, cheesecloth and silk. In most cases, the materials have been reworked with draping, pleating, dying or even burning to achieve unique textural distinctions. After cutting and assemblage, the garments are embellished with crystals, feathers, sequins, rosettes or silk flowers. The whole process, from ideation to completion, takes up to 150 hours, and the brand’s retail prices reflect the cost of labor and materials. It is not uncommon for a custom Rodarte gown to sell for $25,000. A typical Rodarte dress stocked by Bergdorf ’s or Neiman’s runs for $10,000. Pricey as far as party frocks go, but a bargain if you think of a Rodarte as a Picasso, an O’Keeffe or, as one reviewer put it, “the fashion equivalent of a Basquiat.” Even if you’ve never seen a Rodarte dress in a store, you’ve seen Rodarte

Rodarte, Fall/Winter 2008 backstage. PHOTO © AUTUMN DE WILDE

Kate Mulleavy (left) and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte. PHOTO © CLARA BALZARY

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dresses. In 2009, Michelle Obama wore Rodarte for her famous White House meeting with the Queen of Jordan. In 2010, Rodarte designed the tulleand-feather dance costumes for the film “Black Swan,” and when Natalie Portman accepted the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in the film, she was wearing a plum silk Rodarte gown. Taylor Swift wore Rodarte on the February 2013 cover of Vogue, as did Katy Perry a few months later. Rodarte is the red carpet choice for bold stars and

ingenues, including Lady Gaga, Nicole Kidman, Beyoncé, Julianne Moore, Ruth Negga, Rihanna, Chloe Sevigny, Tilda Swinton and Kerry Washington.

2009, Rodarte was named the Womenswear Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the most prestigious award in the apparel industry. Remarkably, this was just four years after the company’s

founding. Unlike the majority of their peers, the Mulleavy sisters are self-taught and have no formal training in fashion design. Kate studied art history, and Laura focused on literature when they attended the University of California at Berkeley. After graduating in 2001, the sisters moved back home with their parents in Northern California and spent their days watching horror movies and reading books on couture sewing. Before long, they scraped together the funds to create their first collection, which consisted of

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Rodarte, Spring/Summer 2018 runway; Courtesy of Rodarte. PHOTO © GREG KESSLER/KESSLER STUDIO

Opposite: Rodarte, Spring/ Summer 2018 runway; Courtesy of Rodarte. PHOTO © GREG KESSLER/KESSLER STUDIO

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seven dresses and three jackets. Cameron Silver, the owner of a vintage shop in Los Angeles, was the first fashion professional to see the inaugural Rodarte collection, and he immediately phoned his industry connections in New York to set up meetings with buyers and editors. Within three days of Laura and Kate’s arrival in New York in 2005, a Rodarte dress appeared on the cover of

the fashion industry bible Women’s Wear Daily. Their métier may be romantic dresses with gothic elements, but their mythical origins are pure fairytale. A WWD cover? A visit from Vogue’s Anna Wintour? A pop-up at the legendary Colette boutique in Paris? That was all during Rodarte’s first year, before the steady stream of awards, honorary degrees and costume commissions began.

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But even the Rodarte fairytale has its share of villains. One critic called Rodarte an “elaborate hoax” perpetrated on the fashion industry by a “brilliant trickster.” Legendary fashion writer Robin Givhan from the The Washington Post called Rodarte “the work of two wildly imaginative designers who dream up impractical clothes . . . but have not yet proved particularly influential.”

In 2017, the Mulleavys’ debut feature film, “Woodshock,” starring their pal Kirsten Dunst, was panned as “pseudosignificant, film-school twaddle, totally lacking in momentum and character development.” Ouch. And that was one of the more respectful reviews. For Laura and Kate Mulleavy, adhering to their own unique creative vision is more important than garnering accolades or amassing a fortune. Instead, they hope to create a distinctive design library for the House of Rodarte that is particular to the season in which it was produced but will survive indefinitely in the company’s archives. Each collection they’ve created has been inspired by experiences that are deeply personal to them (the redwood trees near their childhood home; some crumbling houses they saw outside of town; a book of mushrooms that they loved to look at as children), but once the clothes go out into

the world, they become another thing altogether, inhabiting the consciousness of each individual who experiences the clothes. “We’re developing our viewpoint, so it’s not disposable,” said Laura. “We create art that becomes fashion,” explained Kate.

is altogether fitting that the work of Rodarte is presented in the same space where influential painters, sculptors and photographers—such as Frida Kahlo, Shirin Neshat, Judy Chicago and Élisabeth Louise Vigée LeBrun— have been shown, at the only major institution in the world dedicated to the artistic contributions of women. But even the world of fine arts is not immune to the corrupting influence of commerce, and one must wonder how long the Mulleavy sisters will be able to

maintain a viable balance sheet doing the work they are best known for. They have long avowed their unwillingness to accept investors or to helm the design team at an established fashion house as many fledgling designers have done in the past. But they delved gently into the world of affordable fashion in 2010, with a 55-piece Rodarte capsule collection for Target that sold out in hours. Clearly, there are many more people willing to pay $80 for a Rodarte x Target garment than can shoulder the cost of a $25,000 beaded ball gown. There may come a day when Rodarte’s wildly creative frocks go the way of petticoats. But for now, the Rodarte fairytale is as vibrant and alive as a flowered headdress. The Mulleavys’ creative process is not easily replicated, and their aesthetic is far from universal, but it is hard to deny that their artistic integrity is worthy of praise. ■

Rodarte, Spring/Summer 2018 backstage. PHOTO © AUTUMN DE WILDE

Rodarte, Black Swan costume, 2010. PHOTO © AUTUMN DE WILDE

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Rodarte, Spring/Summer 2018 runway; Courtesy of Rodarte.

PHOTO © GREG KESSLER/KESSLER STUDIO

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The Unlikely Life of Audrey Hepburn By LAURIE BOGART WILES

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Audrey Hepburn as photographed by Dennis Stock while filming Sabrina, in 1954. COURTESY HERITAGE AUCTIONS/HA.COM

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Ella Audrey Kathleen Ruston

was born to Englishman Joseph Victor Anthony Hepburn-Ruston and Ella Van Heemstra (daughter of respected aristocrat, Baron Aarould Van Heemstra) in Brussels, Belgium on May 4, 1929. The family often moved from place to place before the marriage, plagued with recriminations of infidelity and abuse, ended in divorce in 1935. Ella, a vocal supporter of Adolf Hitler and a member of the British Union of Fascists, all but abandoned her daughter in the care of her father (who had fled the city) while she fraternized with German officers and nursed hospitalized Nazi soldiers. Her ex-husband would be convicted as a Nazi spy in 1940 and confined to a British internment camp until the end of the war. Later in life, his daughter, Ella Audrey, attempted to reunite with him, but Ruston remained emotionally detached, even though she supported him financially through the end of his life. Ella remained oblivious to the suffering of her countrymen, purposely alienating herself from her family during the Nazi occupation of Holland. The Dutch Famine of 1944 claimed the lives of more than 20,000 Dutch men, women and children as the Nazis halted all food supplies into Holland. Ella Audrey, now 15, suffered acute anemia, respiratory problems and undernourishment so severe that her rib cage never fully developed. Her ankles, swollen from edema, were permanently scarred from stretch marks. The trauma Ella Audrey suffered through tormented her for the rest of her life. “More than once, I was at the station seeing trainloads of Jews being transported, seeing all these faces over the top of the wagon,” she later recalled. “I remember, very sharply, one little boy standing with his parents on the platform, very pale, very blond, wearing a coat that was much too big for him, and he stepped on the train. I was a child observing a child. Had we known that we were going to be occupied for five years, we might have all shot ourselves. We thought it might be over next week . . . six months . . . next year . . . that’s how we got through.”

ou must know something of Ella Audrey if you wish to understand anything of the woman she would become—and the world would know—as Audrey Hepburn. At 5-feet 7-inches and just under 100 pounds, her developing beauty and natural grace presented her the opportunity to study ballet with Sonia Gaskell, director of the Netherlands Ballet, after the war. In 1948, Audrey moved to London with her mother and won a scholarship to study under the great Polish-born dancer and influencer of British ballet, Dame Marie Rambert. However, Rambert told her she would never advance to prima ballerina due to the lasting effects of her childhood malnutrition. Audrey instead began modeling and took small parts in films and theatre productions, becoming a chorus girl in London’s West End musical revues and making her film debut in Dutch in Seven Lessons (1948). In 1952, Audrey was in Monaco playing a small role in Monte Carlo Baby, when she was spotted by French novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, best known for Gigi. The enchanting story, set in late-1800s Paris, follows the platonic friendship between a wealthy playboy and a young girl, being trained as a courtesan by her elderly aunts, that eventually blossoms into love. Upon seeing Audrey, Colette exclaimed to her husband, “Voilà, ma Gigi!” Audrey set sail to New York to work with acclaimed playwright, Hollywood screenwriter and author Anita Loos (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), who was adapting Colette’s novelette into a Broadway play. At first, the frightened, untrained actress muddled her lines and lacked both the vocal projection and passion required of the leading role. “Get it together!” demanded renowned Belgian director Raymond Rouleau. Under his and Loos’s painstaking guidance, and the support of a generous cast (led by the grand dame of the New York and London stage, Cathleen Nesbitt), the curtain rose on opening night, November 24, 1951. In the early hours of the following day, papers hit the newsstands— with rave reviews of the unknown 23-year-old ingenue. “Her quality is so winning and so right that she is the success of the evening,” extolled The New York Times. “She is able to put an athletic show that would shame a track meet,” enthused Esquire. Audrey would receive a Theatre World Award for her role, playing 219 performances on Broadway before touring the country and finally closing in San Francisco in May 1953. The musical motion picture adaptation of Gigi would go on to win eight Academy Awards with Leslie Caron in the title role. But Audrey Hepburn, like a comet streaking across the night sky, had already shot to stardom and lit up the silver screen.

The British screen actress Hepburn on a publicity shoot circa 1964. PICTORIAL PRESS LTD / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Opposite page: Audrey Hepburn starring as Sabrina Fairchild in a Givenchy dress for the Paramount film Sabrina. In this Billy Wilder production, Givenchy was responsible for many of Hepburn’s outfits. It is believed that this is where their life-long collaboration began. COURTESY HERITAGE AUCTIONS/HA.COM

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Audrey Hepburn in Paramount’s 1961 classic based on Truman Capote’s novella of the same title, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Her portrayal of the naive and eccentric socialite, Holly Golightly, would become one of the most iconic characters to ever appear on screen. COURTESY HERITAGE AUCTIONS/HA.COM

Opposite page: Audrey Hepburn playing golf and holding a parasol, circa 1955. PICTURELUX / THE HOLLYWOOD ARCHIVE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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1953, Audrey won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award, becoming the first actress to win all three, the triple crown, for her performance as Anya/ Princess Ann in Roman Holiday, in which she starred opposite Gregory Peck. Filmed in Rome, director William Wyler, who had personally selected Audrey, said of his new star, “She was perfect. She has no arse, no tits, no tight-fitting clothes, no high heels. In short, she will be a sensation.” And she was. The film was a box office smash. That same year, she returned to Broadway, starring in Ondine, to universal accolades. “Somehow Miss Hepburn is able to translate its intangibles into the language of the theatre without artfulness or precociousness. She gives a pulsing performance that is all grace and enchantment, disciplined by an instinct for the realities of the stage,” said one New York Times critic. She won her second Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play. Back in Hollywood, she starred in one box office hit after another. First Sabrina, a 1954 Cinderella-styled comedy starring Humphrey Bogart and William Holden, the latter with whom she had a near fatal, career-ending affair. She was nominated for an Oscar and won another BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Bostley Crowther, critic for The New York Times wrote, “She is a young lady of extraordinary range of sensitive and moving expressions within such a frail and slender frame. She is even more luminous as the daughter and pet of the servant’s hall than she was as a princess last year, in Roman Holiday, and no more than that can be said.” The Nun’s Story, filmed in 1959, was a departure from her ingenue image. She spent hours in convents observing and talking with nuns to bring truth and reality to her role, reflecting that she “gave more time, energy and thought to this than to any of my previous screen performances.” Films in Review wrote that her performance “will forever silence those who have thought her less an actress than a symbol of the sophisticated child/woman. Her portrayal of Sister Luke is one of the great performances of the screen.” Now one of Hollywood’s most desirable actresses, she was cast as Natasha Rostova in the screen adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s classic novel, War and Peace. The colossal production was written and directed by King Vidor, one of the greatest figures in Hollywood and starred Henry Fonda as Count Pierre. Prince Andrei was portrayed by Mel Ferrer, Hollywood heartthrob, director of Broadway’s Odine, in which Audrey starred, Audrey’s husband of two years and father of her first child (they would divorce in 1968). On set, she met Jeremy Brett (as Nicholas Rostov) who would play Freddy Eynsford-Hill to Audrey’s Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady eight years later. In 1961, Audrey immortalized Holly Golightly in the Blake Edwards production of Truman Capote’s novella, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Not only was the role “the jazziest of my career,” said Hepburn, but she confessed, “I’m an introvert. Playing the extroverted girl was the hardest thing I ever did.” While the film scored a box office hit, it was the little black dress that Hepburn wore in the opening credits, designed by Paris couturier, Hubert de Givenchy, that catapulted her into the elite realm of international fashion icons. From that moment, the collaboration between Audrey Hepburn and Givenchy reinvented elegance, marrying sophistication with simplicity and changing the way women all over the world dressed. Givenchy set the fashion stage for Hepburn in four other films, and he supervised her personal wardrobe up until the end of her life. Of her dear, longtime friend she would say, “Givenchy gave me a look, a kind, a silhouette. He has always been the best, and he stayed the best. He kept the spare style that I love. What is more beautiful than a simple sheath made an extraordinary way in a special fabric, and just two earrings?”

1963

saw Hepburn, 34, playing a barely grieving widow in Charade opposite a mature Cary Grant, then 59. Though initially skeptical about his muchyounger co-star, by the end of filming Grant said, “All I want for Christmas is another picture with Audrey Hepburn.” The following year, she re-teamed with William Holden in the screwball

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Pick the day. Enjoy it—to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come . . . The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present—and I don’t want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future.

”

Few actresses have had as much influence on the fashion of the fifties and sixties as Audrey Hepburn. In her role as Nicole Bonnet in the 1966 film How to Steal a Million, Hepburn once again adorns a wardrobe designed by Hubert de Givenchy, her lifelong friend and the French designer who invented minimalist fashion. UNITED ARCHIVES GMBH / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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comedy, Paris When It Sizzles. Happily married to the handsome Ferrer, she refused Holden’s attempts to rekindle their earlier romance and sparks failed to fly both offscreen and on. The film was panned. In 1964, Audrey was cast in My Fair Lady, perhaps her most beloved role. Although she could not sing (her voice was dubbed by Marni Nixon), she was nonetheless chosen by Jack L. Warner, head of Warner Brothers Studio, over musical star Julie Andrews who had originated the role on Broadway. (In fact, Andrews was Audrey’s personal choice for Eliza Dolittle.) My Fair Lady received eight Oscar nominations at the 37th Academy Awards, but Audrey was snubbed; she was not nominated for Best Actress. As fate would have it, Julie Andrews took home Best Actress for Mary Poppins. “The happiest thing about My Fair Lady is that Audrey Hepburn superbly justifies the decision of Jack Warner to get her to play the title role,” wrote one reviewer. Another: “Audrey Hepburn is magnificent. She is Eliza for the ages.” Just as Hepburn was an underdog in casting the film, Rex Harrison was not the studio’s (or the director’s) first choice for the role of Professor Henry Higgins. Warner Brothers originally sought out Cary Grant, but he was preparing for retirement. He quipped, “Not only will I not play Higgins, but if you don’t use Rex Harrison, I won’t even go to the film.” After an unsuccessful attempt to secure Peter O’Toole (Lawrence of Arabia), director George Cukor finally approached Rex Harrison. In response, Harrison sent Cukor some naked Polaroids of himself. He was ultimately cast for the relatively low salary of $200,000. As much as Audrey Hepburn embodied Gigi, she did the same with the cockney-turned-lady Eliza Doolittle. The same could be said for Rex Harrison—not as Professor Henry Higgins, but because Rex Harrison was Professor Henry Higgins. Hepburn would star with Peter O’Toole in her next movie, the 1966 heist comedy, How to Steal a Million. The following year, she starred with Albert Finney in the comedy-cum-drama, Two for the Road, one of her happiest film experiences. Her next film, on the opposite end of the emotional spectrum, was the unhappiest one she ever made, Wait Until Dark, which her soon-to-be-ex-husband, Mel Ferrer, directed. Upon completion of filming, she announced she was retiring from making movies.

year after her divorce, Audrey married Andrea Dotti, an Italian psychiatrist, with whom she would have her second son. In 1976, she attempted a comeback playing an aging Maid Marian, now a nun, to Sean Connery’s Robin Hood, himself a little long in the tooth, in Robin and Marian. Met with high expectations, the film fell flat. After two tepid films, she costarred in a made-for-television spy caper, Love Among Thieves, with Robert Wagner. Her last motion picture was Steven Spielberg’s Always, in which she made a cameo appearance. As she appeared in her final few films, Audrey devoted more of her time and energy to UNICEF as a Goodwill Ambassador, traveling across the world to some of the poorest communities in Africa, South America and Asia. In many ways, Audrey Hepburn’s life had now come full-circle. She knew what it was to be poor, to live with fear and hunger. After enduring German occupation as a child, she was ready to give back the humanitarian aid that she herself had once received. In August 1988, Audrey embarked upon a UNICEF vaccination trip to Turkey to inoculate children against the six main child-killing diseases: measles, tuberculosis, tetanus, whooping cough, diphtheria and polio. Of this trip, she remarked, “The army gave us their trucks, the fishmongers gave their wagons for the vaccines, and once the date was set, it took ten days to vaccinate the whole country. Not bad.” Two months later, in October, she traveled to Venezuela and Ecuador and shortly after, made the first of two appearances before a joint session of the United States Congress on behalf of UNICEF. “I saw tiny mountain communities, slums and shanty towns receive water systems for the first time by some miracle—and the miracle is UNICEF. I watched boys build their own schoolhouse with bricks and cement provided by UNICEF.” In February 1989, she toured Central America, meeting with leaders in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. In April, she participated in “Operation Lifeline,” a UNICEF mission to bring desperately needed food and supplies to southern Sudan, which had been cut off from all life-sustaining resources during the Second Sudanese Civil War. “I saw but one glaring truth: These are not natural disasters but man-made

Audrey Hepburn during a visit to Expo ‘58 in Brussels. PICTORIAL PRESS LTD / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Opposite page: Audrey Hepburn from the 1957 American musical romantic comedy, Funny Face, where she starred alongside Fred Astaire. CINECLASSICO / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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tragedies for which there is only one man-made solution—peace.” Of her October 1989 mission to Bangladesh, UN photographer John Isaac said, “Often the kids would have flies all over them, but she would just go hug them. I had never seen that. Other people had a certain amount of hesitation, but she would just grab them. Children would just come up to hold her hand, touch her—she was like the Pied Piper.” In 1990, she went to Vietnam to work with the government to implement UNICEF clean air and vaccination programs. From 1988 to 1992, Audrey co-hosted the Danny Kaye International Children’s Special with actor Roger Moore. The program was broadcast worldwide from Holland, drawing enormous donations from all over the world. She also performed a series of benefit concerts for UNICEF, reading selections from The Diary of Anne Frank to original music written and conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas. In September 1992, now skin and bones from advancing cancer, she insisted on going to Somalia for one final UNICEF mission. “I walked into a nightmare. I have seen famine in Ethiopia and Bangladesh, but I have seen nothing like this—so much worse than I could possibly have imagined. I wasn’t prepared for this.” Her final observation about her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador was this: “Taking care of children has nothing to do with politics. I think perhaps with time, instead of there being a politicization of humanitarian aid, there will be a humanization of politics.”

I write, another great humanitarian, the 41st president of the United States, George H. W. Bush, is being conveyed by a special train to his presidential library at Texas A & M, where his body will be laid to rest next to his wife and daughter. Little more

than 27 years ago, he presented Audrey Hepburn with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor any individual can receive from the United States, in recognition of her more than 50 missions to Third World countries for UNICEF and her tireless fight on behalf of struggling children. “I have been given the privilege of speaking for children who cannot speak for themselves,” she said when accepting the award, “and my task is an easy one, because children have no political enemies. To save a child is a blessing: to save a million is a God-given opportunity.” Audrey was posthumously awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her contribution to humanity at the 1993 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards. In 2002, at the United Nations Special Session on Children, UNICEF honored Hepburn’s legacy of humanitarian work by unveiling a statue, “The Spirit of Audrey,” at UNICEF’s New York headquarters. Her legacy of service for children is also recognized through the United States Fund for UNICEF’s Audrey Hepburn Society. Her theatrical career, in the great scheme of things, pales in comparison to all she achieved in her life. She is ranked third on the American Film Institute’s Greatest Female Stars of All Times. Audrey Hepburn embraced life even when life itself was slipping through her fingers. And though she had both beauty and grace, more exquisite was the depth of her wisdom and pureness of faith. Two things she said in particular seem to me, at least, among the greatest lessons you can learn. “As you get older,” she said, “remember you have two hands: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.” And, “Forgive Quickly. Kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably and never regret anything that made you smile.” ■

The Nun’s Story, filmed in 1959, and shot mostly in the Congo, was one of Audrey Hepburn’s strongest dramatic roles. Here she is beautifully captured behind the scenes. COURTESY HERITAGE AUCTIONS/HA.COM

Opposite page: Hepburn as photographed by legendary French fashion photographer Gilles Bensimon. COURTESY HERITAGE AUCTIONS/HA.COM

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The beauty in a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart; the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It’s the caring and that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows and the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years.

”

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Greenbaum’s paintings are an energetic collection of brushstrokes lines and doodles all deriving from a spontaneity of overlapping techniques and colors, as seen here in two paintings from 2016, both Untitled.

the Intimate

The Integrity of

Joanne reenbaum:

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST & RACHEL UFFNER GALLERY

Opposite: The artist in her New York City studio. PHOTOGRAPH BY COSTAS PICADAS

By C.S. Burke

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here are 49 worn wooden stairs that lead up from the gray metal door on Leonard Street in Lower Manhattan to Joanne Greenbaum’s third story loft, and she has climbed them multiple times a day, nearly every day, for the past 27 years. “Especially with the dog,” she says, nodding at Tino, her grizzled black-and-white Chihuahua, held fondly in the crook of her arm. The staircase runs diagonally the length and height of the building, with a landing at each of the four floors. A path of slow, steady, direct ascension, it ends at a rear window, high in the upper back corner, that provides the only light.

Ms.

Greenbaum is no stranger to slow, steady ascents. She graduated from Bard College in 1975 and worked a nine-tofive career for decades in order to support herself as an artist. Even after she earned representation with the Rachel Uffner Gallery in New York and other galleries elsewhere, it was years before she finally decided to devote herself to painting, sculpting and drawing full-time. And it was still a move that carried some risk. The risk paid off, and Greenbaum can now set the terms of her work. The years she spent developing her style outside the pressures of the limelight means she feels no pressure to change now that the limelight has come to her. She maintains a distance from the mainstream that enables her interactions with various mediums to remain intimate and her work to grow organically. “I always wanted to do better earlier but that just never happened,” she says. “You want all these things to happen right away in your career, but it doesn’t always go that way. I’m one of these artists that was more of a slow burn. I never had a lot of attention, or money, at an early age. And maybe now I’m glad I didn’t.” Inside, her studio is a dream of old New York: high, tin ceilings; nooked, hand-built bookshelves; a long communal table where she draws, sculpts, eats and hosts; three massive floor-to-ceiling windows, facing south. Paint-flecked ladders lean against a wall. Finished work

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Untitled pieces from 2016. Opposite: Another Untitled from 2018. COURTESY OF THE ARTIST & RACHEL UFFNER GALLERY

is stored wherever it can fit, and fresh work—some complete, some unfinished—hangs on the walls. As we sit down to talk, she fiddles with a new sculpture before putting it aside. It’s made through a new process she’s experimenting with: molded wax, which is then cast in glass; the wax melts out during casting, leaving the glass form. At the far end of the table are finished ceramic sculptures. Some are jagged and angular, almost architectural; others are flowing and feminine, suggesting a floral element. She pushes a book of drawings, done in pencil, across the table to me and demonstrates her technique: arm and wrist rigid, vibrating at the elbow, she lays down a series of forceful shadings on an imaginary piece of paper. “I paint, I do sculpture, I draw constantly, so my activity is switching gears, all the time,” Greenbaum says. “I’ve maneuvered my life so that I don’t really have anything else to do. That’s the reward for years and years of having jobs and worrying. “Now,” she says, gesturing to a large painting behind her, “each element of a painting, each color, is weeks apart. I like the fluidity of that type of working, figuring out what best suits my energy at any given moment. Each artwork is a world unto its own.”

reenbaum is not a production-line type of artist. She uses no fabricationists. She loves to be in her studio, trying new materials, new paints and new approaches. She could be described as a loner but not an outsider. She maintains her relationship with the art world as she sees fit. For instance, though her work was featured at Art Basel Miami 2018, she chose not to attend. “It’s not selfish,” she is quick to point out. “People who don’t understand think, ‘So everything is just about you.’ But that’s my dream. There is that thing of ‘fear of missing out,’ but there is also that new thing of ‘joy of missing out’–that’s more where I am. I don’t want to go the Miami art fair. I didn’t need to do that.” I ask Greenbaum if she believes that artists—setting aside the commercial art world—are in it together, working toward a common goal of creating cultural expression. She quickly replies to the

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The art world seems to like old ladies,” she whispers, smiling coyly. “They like you when you’re really young or when you’re really old. That middle point is the hardest. There’s sexism there. There’s ageism there. When you’re [a woman] in your 40s, you’re anonymous; you’re invisible.

contrary. Her philosophy is that artists are independent, responsible for their individual choices alone. In the largest sense, whether practical or philosophical, it seems many of the patterns of her life were set already when she was a child. “I was a quiet loner kid, and I liked to draw and paint. It was a place to retreat to. My mother never let me put artwork or school drawings on the walls—it didn’t occur to me until much later that that was kind of weird and mean, and I’m being kind. I think sometime in that room I decided to become an artist.” Every decision she has made since has affirmed her commitment to making art. Over the years of what she refers to as her “doublelife,” there were several crossroads, including temptations to stick with the sure paycheck, the steady job or a personal relationship. In 2001, she earned a Guggenheim Fellowship, setting up her “nowor-never” moment. It led to what she calls “a juggling act”—years of making artwork, selling at a slow-but-steady rate and taking visiting artist or teaching jobs to supplement her income.

er first gallery in New York was D’Amelio Terras, where she met Rachel Uffner. Uffner now shows Greenbaum’s work exclusively and will present a solo show in November 2019. Over time, Greenbaum’s pieces have risen in price, though there’s room for growth in terms of sales volume. “The art world seems to like old ladies,” she whispers, smiling coyly. “They like you when you’re really young or when you’re really old. That middle point is the hardest. There’s sexism there. There’s ageism there. When you’re [a woman] in your 40s, you’re anonymous; you’re invisible.” But, she is quick to add, invisibility has its benefits for an artist. If no one is watching, an artist can develop her work independently, away from trends and expectations. In Greenbaum’s case, the artwork reflects all of that: nothing looks like it was created with social media in mind, or evokes any specific engagement with

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specific trends, contemporary or passé. Nor does it project the naivety of the (often faux) outsider art aesthetic. It is not cynical, and it is not metaphorical. It is colorful and experimental but also, to some degree, almost classic. It could fit into a retrospective of twentieth century art as easily as it could twenty-first, which makes sense, because Greenbaum has bridged both worlds. When I ask her if she thought the neglect of middle-aged artists who are women was the result of entrenched power structures (read: the maledominated art world) that fear the loss of economic control, or instead the result of bald misogyny, she is quick to respond: “Bald misogyny.”

reenbaum believes that much of the contemporary artwork created by women is as good or better than what is being produced by their male counterparts. Of the work she sees in galleries, she said the pieces that speak to her most forcefully almost inevitably turn out to have been made by women. They remain undervalued not because of economics but exclusivity. “The men want to keep you out,” she says. “Men sell better because most collectors are male, and they are going to buy men. It’s changing a little bit, but it’s very slow. I’m at the point where people are buying my work but not that fast.” She gestures again at the two huge finished paintings behind her, both Untitled, 2018.(Greenbaum does not title individual paintings. She says people read too much into titles, which, in any case, usually feel phony and forced.) “So I’ll just tell you,” she said. “This painting is $50,000, okay? A male friend of mine, a work of his the same size, is $250,000 dollars, you know? The market undervalues women. Women get paid less to the dollar across the board.” Despite any frustrations she may feel with the art world, and the reception of her work, Greenbaum is positive, cognizant and thankful. “A lot of people don’t understand this—to be grateful for anything you get. I realize how rare it is in this world to be able to get up in the morning and do what I want to do. I’m angry all the time about the state of the world, but I don’t let it interfere with my work.” ■

This Untitled piece from 2015, with its squiggly lines, oil and acrylic washes and topographic map feel are elements indicative of Greenbaum’s signature style. COURTESY OF THE ARTIST & RACHEL UFFNER GALLERY

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Generali Tower completed in 2017 in Milan, Italy. The skyscraper’s designer is the Anglo-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid. The geometry of the building is that of a warping shape, where both the floors’ dimension and their orientation vary along the tower axis. © HUFTON+CROW

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FACE OF A GENIUS These diagrams show the geometric rules plan of Generali Tower. COURTESY ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS

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was very young—I was only 11 years old when I decided to become an architect,” Zaha Hadid says to a documentary crew that has come to speak to her about the opening of the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center. “Of course when you’re very young, there’s only kind of a gut feeling—there’s no kind of reason. I was just intrigued by it and interested and of course, when you go to school, you grow up; you do other things.” Hadid is holding court in the center of one of the spaces she created. Cloaked in a black dress with geometric accents on the top, her presence in the all-white space is arresting. Here, in this brand new building in Baku, the capital and commercial hub of Azerbaijan, not far from the sea, Hadid tells the story of how she and the building she’s standing in came to be. “I grew up at a time in the 60s when everybody was interested in a new world. It was after the wars, and if you look at all the work in Chicago, America, Brazilia, Europe or the Middle East, there was an interest in architecture. I think that might be the reason why I became so fascinated with it,” she says. Hadid’s parents originally hailed from Mosul, Iraq. Her father, Mohammed Hadid, was a well-known economist and leader of the Iraqi Liberation Party, a progressive group advocating for secularism and democracy in Iraq. At the time, Baghdad was a cosmopolitan hub of modern ideas, and she grew up in a liberal environment with progressive parents. For her, it was “a place of enlightenment and progress, where religious affiliation mattered little, and girls were expected to become professionals.” The Catholic school she attended welcomed Jewish and Muslim students. Her mother, Wajeeha Sabonji, taught her how to draw, and it would become an integral part of her architectural practice. Hadid recalls happy memories of her childhood in Iraq, and she dates her love of architecture back to a childhood journey with her father where she studied the lifestyle of Marsh Arabs and their arched homes constructed of reeds.

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“My father took us to see the Sumerian cities. Then we went by boat and then on a smaller boat made of reeds to visit villages in the marshes. The beauty of the landscape, where sand, water, reeds, birds, buildings and people all somehow flowed together has never left me,” she told The Guardian of that formative time in her childhood. She also explored the ancient Sumerian cities in the south of Iraq. Picnicking where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers meet, Hadid formed some of her first artistic ideas in the cradle of civilization. Back at home, she drew design inspiration from everything in her path—including the intricately woven Persian carpets of her home. Inspired by the work of Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright, she studied math at the American University in Beirut, Lebanon. She graduated in 1968, with a degree in mathematics. Then at 22, Hadid traveled to London to train at the prestigious Architectural Association School of Architecture, at the time, a center for experimental design. Fascinated by the Russian avantgarde, she began to study the work of Kazimir Malevich, and his influence can be seen in her early drawings. After graduation, she joined her teacher Rem Koolhas in Amsterdam at his practice, named Office of Modern Architecture, a cutting-edge firm and crucible for gifted young architects.

01 Gym 02 Changing Rooms 03 Pool 04 Spa 05 Viewing Room 06 Automatic parking and storage Level -01 1’

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520 West 28th Street. COURTESY ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS

Opposite: Zaha Hadid by Steve Double.

y 1979, she had established her own practice, Zaha Hadid Architects, in a converted school in Clerkenwell. In 1983, she won an international competition and its £100,000 prize, for her designs of the Peak, a vast leisure centre in Hong Kong. Hadid desired to transform the area around the hills of Kowloon by excavating the rocky hills in order to build artificial cliffs. Her reimagined topography interjected beams and broken glasslike fragments into the structure to separate it into numerous parts, to make it seem as if the mountain was affected by some powerful destabilizing force. Hadid’s composition of fractured geometries and idea to break the landscape into multiple perspectives demonstrates

520 West 28th Street. Lobby stair perspective. COURTESY ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS

Lobby Stair Perspective

520 W 28th Street

On the cusp of her architecture firm’s 40th birthday, we look back at the projects that earned Zaha Hadid the name “Queen of the Curve.” By Latria Graham

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The view from the rooftop pool of Zaha Hadid’s One Thousand Museum residential tower in Miami, Florida. COURTESY ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS

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Many of Hadid’s later major works are found in Asia. The Galaxy SOHO in Beijing, China is a combination of offices and a commercial centre in the heart of Beijing. The complex is composed of four different ovoid glasscapped buildings joined together by multiple curving passageways on different levels. The complex, like most of her buildings, gives the impression that every part of the structure is in motion. ©HUFTON+CROW

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Isometric Annotated detail of the column of the Serpentine Sackler Gallery in Kensington Gardens London. COURTESY ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS

Isometric Annotated detail of the glazing of the Serpentine Sackler Gallery in Kensington Gardens London. COURTESY ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS

an approach now known as “deconstructivist architecture.” The cliff-top resort at the top would be the pinnacle of luxurious living, and her renderings were a series of angular planes, without visible means of support, which translated the geology of the mountain on which they were sited into seemingly airborne geometry. Her drawings and paintings of the concept, now housed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, are considered high art on their own. Her proposal, a fusion of the high-traffic city of Hong Kong and the landscape around it, is one of Hadid’s first attempts at figuring out how to defy nature without destroying it. Over the years, much of her work was reliant on context, and her buildings often seem to underscore the connectivity between our environment, ourselves and one another. Construction for The Peak was cancelled because the developers went bankrupt.

hrough her architecture, she sought to create new and heightened relationships between the inner and outer lives of her buildings, between the contents of an art gallery and the streets outside. She changed the way we see: Hadid does in painting what multiple cameras do in film and television, offering simultaneous angles as the viewer moves through space. Her firm gained a reputation across the world for groundbreaking theoretical works including her 1986 design of the Kurfurstendamm Office Building for West Berlin. Still, at this time, her work was strictly conceptual— she struggled to find backers for her avant-garde ideas, and even though her work won awards, none of her designs came to fruition. In Cardiff, she won the commission to design the city’s opera house—twice. Even though her proposal was lauded by design critics, the design commission rejected the concept, and local politicians did everything they could to ensure her work was never realized. “I’m a woman. I do strange stuff. I think it was all that intertwined,” she told the BBC. “There has been and there still remains—it’s a little better now—a stigma to the woman thing.”

Though Hadid became a British citizen in 1989 and even though she made the United Kingdom her home for more than 30 years, the country was slow to return the embrace. “For me, to be accepted as an architect,” she said with a thoughtful pause, “I’m not sure it’s fully done, not here, not in this country. I’m still considered to be on the margin, despite all these awards. I don’t mind being on the edge, actually. It’s a good place to be.” Hadid’s existence in what she called the “boys’ club that runs British architecture” gave her a different vantage point and often a different perspective from the other creators around her. It also meant it would be years before her buildings would ever be constructed in the UK. “To this day, there is a certain world that I cannot be a part of,” Hadid explained during a Q&A session at Oxford after receiving the Royal Gold Medal. “And it makes it harder. If I’m doing a cultural building, I think it’s easier than if I’m doing corporate work or something that requires some schmoozing. You have to be part of the club, and I’m not. Maybe eventually it will change.”

n 1995, she contemplated leaving the world of architecture. But Hadid means “iron” in Arabic, and like the structures she hoped to one day see come to fruition, her dreams were unyielding. In the meantime, she taught—the Yale School of Architecture, University of Cambridge, Harvard University and Columbia University, all welcomed Hadid and her ideas on postmodern architecture, and her passion was in pushing the limits of design. “I am non-European, I don’t do conventional work, and I am a woman,” she once told an interviewer. “On the one hand, all of these things together make it easier—but on the other hand, it is very difficult.” Technology finally caught up with Hadid’s imaginative designs and proved that her visions could be constructed. Revolutionary computer programs capable of rendering advanced threedimensional modeling techniques and innovative building materials meant that her work would finally make its way into the world. Hadid’s first completed building was a fire station near the German-Swiss border, for the Vitra Furniture Company, a noted patron of architecture. Inside the homage to Cubism, the walls tilt and break, a physical manifestation of being on high alert, as the workers in this station often would be. Sliding doors and moving walls were used in order to meet the functional requirements of the fire station housed within. The work began to come more frequently, and she designed spaces large and small, like the Bergisel Ski Jump in Austria and The BMW Central Building located in Leipzig, Germany. Her buildings began to make demands, asking that visitors inhabit the space and explore the open aesthetic in order to investigate our beliefs about contextual space.

n 2003, when her vision for the Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art opened in Cincinnati, Ohio, The New York Times architecture critic Herbert Muschamp called it “the most important building to be completed since the Cold War.” The building was also the first American museum designed by a woman. The radical creator mastered the fine art of breaking all the rules while expanding our architectural language and shifting the way that we experience buildings. “We don’t deal with normative ideas, and we don’t make nice little buildings. People think that the most appropriate building is a rectangle because that’s typically the best way of using space. But is that to say that landscape is a waste of space? The world is not a rectangle. You don’t go into a park and say, ‘My God, we don’t have any corners.’ There are so many terrains in architecture that

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As a woman, I’m expected to want everything to be nice and to be nice myself. A very English thing. I don’t design nice buildings—I don’t like them. I like architecture to have some raw, vital, earthy quality.

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— ZAHA HADID

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520 West 28th Street, New York City © HUFTON+CROW

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have yet to be explored,” Hadid said in 2014. By that time, the architect was leaving her distinctive mark on cities all over the world. Over the years, her style changed, from the acute angles of the earlier work to complex curving forms, although the emphasis on dynamic spaces and on defying gravity remained. Her buildings often evolved from their surroundings or from the memories of her home country. For the Signature Towers of Dubai, Hadid remembered the grasses in the marshes of her homeland swooshing and swaying, so she created tall buildings that look like dancing grass. She looked at stones in a stream and built the Guangzhou Opera House to look like the pebbles in the water. Inside the opera house, a singer onstage looks like a pearl in an oyster shell. Galaxy Soho complex in Beijing is a series of swirling buildings informed by photos of the stars and the galaxies that contain them. The structural silhouette of Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Bridge is in the form of a wave, its steel arches rising from the concrete, cresting 60 meters above the water it is meant to emulate. In 2012, she completed the first building that visitors and athletes would see when they entered the Olympic Park: the London Aquatics Centre. Hadid’s signature curves make their way into the Heydar Aliyev Centre in Baku, Azerbaijan, a visual narrative of rhythmic dramatic swoops, arcs and crescendos coming together to form a symphony of positive and negative space. Her buildings float and fly, muscular sensual

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compositions that refuse to take note of gravity. “I started out trying to create buildings that would sparkle like isolated jewels; now, I want them to connect, to form a new kind of landscape, to flow together with contemporary cities and the lives of their peoples,” she explained. With her visual flamboyance, she pushed the boundaries of what we expected from buildings and redefined architecture for the 21st century.

n 2004, Hadid became the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize, often described as the Nobel Prize of architecture. Her firm won the UK’s most prestigious architecture award, the RIBA Stirling prize, twice—once in 2010, for the Maxxi Museum in Rome and again in 2011, for the Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton. The architect was made a

Zaha Hadid Design’s cell candle holders appear to float in mid-air. COURTESY ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS

The Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan (2007–2013) is a gigantic cultural and conference centre containing three auditoriums, a library and museum. No straight line was used in the project of the complex. © HUFTON+CROW

Messner Mountain Museum Corones by Zaha Hadid Architects is an incredible structure on top of Mount Kronplatz in South Tyrol, Italy and offers breath-taking views of the Dolomites. © ZAHA HADID ARCHITECTS

Zaha Hadid Design collaborated with Perrin Paris for this cuffed clutch purse. © PERRIN—PARIS

dame in 2012 and won numerous awards during her career. In 2016, she was the first woman to win the Royal Institute of British Architect’s Royal Gold Medal award. The honor is personally approved by Her Majesty The Queen of the United Kingdom, and the medal recognizes an individual or group’s substantial contribution to architecture. Honorees are chosen based on their body of work rather than for one building. In addition to her architectural projects, Hadid worked on several high-profile product designs with her partner, designer Patrik Schumacher, including chandeliers for Swarovski, the Iconic Bag for Louis Vuitton and trainers for Adidas. The ergonomic contours of her furniture, often inspired by her observations of natural phenomena like melting glaciers, made her a mainstay in the Italian brand Sawaya & Moroni’s showroom.

Along the way, she challenged our preconceived notions about what household items needed to look like in order to serve their intended purpose. Vases, door handles, cutlery and tea sets all got the Zaha Hadid treatment. The media dubbed her a “starchitect”—one of the soughtafter icons of world architecture who traveled the globe creating world-renowned attractions that delighted and astounded all who came in contact with her work. Her firm employed more than 300 people, and she completed more than 40 buildings that span the globe, with dozens more in the works. Hadid was sculpting her own universe—a place where sea and galaxies can exist in tandem. Rem Koolhaas once described her as “a planet in her own orbit,” and she had within her the raw elements to conceive and describe shapes beyond the grasp of the human mind and hand.

ot long after she received the Royal Gold Medal, Hadid died in the early morning hours on March 31, 2016 at a hospital in Miami, Florida. She was 65. She left behind a number of unfinished global projects, but now the architectural trailblazer’s spirit and passion for experimentation live on through her firm, which seeks to complete the work she started and to continue reshaping architecture for the modern age. Using her command of mathematics and desire to find fluid solutions to rectangular problems, Zaha Hadid Designs ensures that her soaring structures and stunning creations continue to delight and astound people across the globe. ■

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The Dongdaemun Design Plaza, also called the DDP, is a major urban development landmark in Seoul, South Korea designed by Zaha Hadid and Samoo, with a distinctively neofuturistic design characterized by the “powerful, curving forms of elongated structures.” The landmark is the centerpiece of South Korea’s fashion hub and popular tourist destination, Dongdaemun, featuring a walkable park on its roofs, large global exhibition spaces, futuristic retail stores and restored parts of the Seoul fortress.

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CJ NATTANAI/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

W INSPIRING WOMEN Our Inspiring Women have been selected because each has carved out a unique path through life that is recognized by others as exceptional. You will see a commonality in the interviews. These remarkable women have achieved greatness by following their internal compasses while facing the circumstances they are dealt in life. None had a road map.

Portions of these interviews have been selected to showcase these women’s inspiring lives and have been edited for clarity and brevity. For video interviews, visit elysianwomen.com

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Interviews by KAREN FLOYD

ANGIE BLANK

Born: Brooks, Georgia Resides: Atlanta, Georgia

Director of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. Dedicated advocate for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Co-chair of Walk Like MADD 5K—the organization’s largest fundraiser. Board member of The Warrior Alliance, an organization that helps veterans and families during the transition from military service to civilian life. Serves on the University of Georgia Board of Visitors.

BETSY KING

Beth Daniel

Born: New Orleans, Louisiana Resides: Reading, Pennsylvania

Born: Charleston, South Carolina Resides: Delray Beach, Florida

Winner of 33 LPGA tour events and 1 major championship. Member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and LPGA Hall of Fame. Recognized during the LPGA’s 50th anniversary as one of the LPGA’s top50 players and teachers. Played on eight Solheim Cup teams and was captain in 2009.

SHOP & EXPLORE

First female golfer to win over $5 million in career earnings. LPGA Hall of Famer. Winner more than thirty LPGA tournaments and six major championships. Active in Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Founder of Golf Fore Africa, a fundraiser to bring mechanized water to schools and health clinics in Africa.

MICHELLE MCGANN

Born: West Palm Beach, Florida Resides: North Palm Beach, Florida

Winner of seven LPGA career victories. Member of the 1996 U.S. Solheim Cup team. Finished in the top 10 on the LPGA money list twice. Founder and chairperson of the Michelle McGann Fund, a 501(c)3 charity focused on diabetes education and awareness.

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When asked how important it is to give back to her community, Angie Blank responded: “It is something I wake up every day to do.” Now that her children are grown, she spends her time giving back to the community. Motivated by personal experiences, she serves on the board for The Warrior Alliance, an organization that serves the needs of veterans transitioning out of the military, and is an adamant supporter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

Philanthropist & Community Advocate

Angie Blank

Your immediate family is in close geographic proximity? Yes, my sister lives here in Atlanta, and we are very, very close. We talk every day, and we do everything together. She has two kids, and our kids are very close as well. My mother lives in Marietta. She lived in North Carolina for almost thirty years and when her husband passed away a couple years ago, she moved back to Georgia.

Trusting is a challenge. Tell me about that.

Yes, trust is a huge 5-letter word in my vocabulary. It has been integral to the relationships that I have been involved in. Any kind of relationship—a friend, a business, a partner—none of those can be successful unless you have trust, it’s the #1 ingredient. Once trust is gone, it is extremely hard to repair and rebuild relationships.

You are at heart an athlete. How did that come about?

Well, growing up, my mother always required me and my sister to be active. My mother played basketball when she was young, so she was sort of a tomboy. I loved basketball, and I started playing on a boys’ team (there wasn’t a girls’ team where I lived at that time). I played it through my sophomore year of high school. Then I decided to become a cheerleader for the basketball team. I also played softball, but I didn’t have a love relationship with the sport, and I was a terrible softball player. I was always competitive, and I still am very competitive. I love sports, really all sports. I think they are so good for our youth to participate in to help them learn lessons about life in general. Sports help reveal character; teach the importance of teamwork; require them to manage time between practices/games and homework; teach discipline for sticking it out through times when they don’t feel like it or would rather be at a friend’s party; develop better habits for taking care of their bodies with healthier eating and exercising; and probably most important—sports teach the lessons of both winning and losing . . . always be respectful of your opponent, take the lessons learned and move forward.

involved my children in sports when they were very young. My oldest daughter, Morgan, was a competitive cheerleader and ran cross country and track. She was very much a girly-girl, so she wasn’t ever interested in participating in “ball” sports. Morgan graduated from Auburn University with a degree in Interior Design and is married to her high school sweetheart. They also live in Atlanta. My two younger children, my son and my youngest daughter, both played soccer on club teams in Atlanta and at their high schools. We love soccer. My son, Drew, played through high school. He didn’t want to play in college because he wanted to go to an SEC school with a big football team. He is attending graduate school at UGA (just graduated in December 2018) and plans to earn a Master’s Degree in Sports Management and Policy. My youngest daughter, Emily, committed to play soccer at LSU during her sophomore year of high school but decided that she didn’t want to be that far from home during her senior year of high school. Her best friend on her club team was planning to attend Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC, and she decided to attend Wofford with her. Fortunately, she attended on a full-ride for one year, but then, she too decided she wanted to attend a big SEC school like her brother. She is a junior at UGA studying Sports Management.

Where were you raised, and where did you attend college?

I grew up in Marietta, Georgia and went to McEachern High School. I lived in the same house pretty much my entire life and was married right out of high school. We met in the sixth grade and dated most of high school. My ex-husband went into the U.S. Air Force right out of high school, and his first assignment was Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. When he finished his tour in Okinawa, he was stationed at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, SC. He served in Operation Desert Shield/Storm during 19901991. I attended USC-Sumter while we were living in Sumter.

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Does your philanthropic focus on the military stem from your early exposure to the military? Yes, I have a sincere passion for working with veterans, specifically helping them transition out of the military—not just into a civilian life but a purposeful life. I saw too many fathers and mothers leave their young children when Operation Desert Shield began. Some wives were pregnant, and it made me so sad to see these families being separated for long periods of time. The sacrifices these brave men and women (as well as their families) commit to in order to defend and protect our nation and our freedoms are the most selfless acts any human can give to his or her nation. I serve on the board for The Warrior Alliance. They work with different veteran service organizations to help with education, employment and any type of needs that veterans have when they transition out of the military into the mainstream. It really helps. I prefer to focus on resources that help provide a more fulfilling life, and I believe that, in turn, reduces the number of suicides. The reality is that 80 percent of our veterans transition fine and move on to have a purposeful and fulfilling life. But 20 percent struggle. I think we need to help change the narrative. All veterans should not be stigmatized when they apply for a job. Often, veterans are considered “broken.” The public may see or know they have been deployed to war zones and put a label on them that they will have issues and think they have broken lives. The reality is that the huge majority do not, and they possess so many exceptional skills such as teamwork, leadership, critical thinking, problem solving, perseverance, strength and resilience. The list is never ending...

You were raised in a traditional home, with one exception, your father. Tell me about him. My father was Larry Brantley, born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He was one of five children and was a truck driver. I was very much a daddy’s girl. He was also an alcoholic. He died at 47 from alcoholism. My heart was broken when my father died.

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How old were you? I was 21. I think the hardest part for me is that he never got to see his grandchildren and now his great granddaughter. He would be so proud.

He is proud of and still with you, Angie.

I know. I know he is. My son looks just like him. He was a very, very sweet man. So kind and so gentle.

You were his baby.

Yes, I was. He took me everywhere. He was determined I was going to be a boy when my mom was pregnant with me. Obviously, I wasn’t, so he decided that he would just treat me like a boy. He took me fishing, took me to ball games, took me everywhere. He was a very sweet man. Do you love fishing? No. I don’t! I’m very impatient!

The second man you married had similar characteristics to what you had seen growing up?

Yes, that is what is so weird. I should have been able to recognize alcoholism, but we didn’t live together before we got married. I didn’t have a clue that he was an alcoholic but found out very quickly after we were married. I was five months pregnant with my son when we were married even though we had dated for two years. It was a long and rough ten years of an emotionally abusive marriage. I think I said to myself almost every week “I have got to get out of this.” I just couldn’t find the strength to do it. I didn’t want to go through another divorce. I was terrified he would try to take my kids away from me. I was worried about them being away from me. I eventually had a breaking point and said, “I can do this.” I did it. The divorce took about two and a half years. He became physically abusive during that time. There are some days that I look back now and wonder how I got out of it alive honestly.

ELYSIAN Publisher Karen Floyd sits down with Angie Blank for a candid interview.

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At that time, you supported your family and continued to work in marketing, branding actually? Yes. I am not sure how. It was a rough period, but I continued to work straight on through all of it. I guess your maternal instincts kick in, and you know you have to do what you have to do. God gets you through it. I couldn’t have made it any other way.

Did you tell anyone?

My sister knew. A couple of my close friends knew something was going on. It was just an incredibly difficult period of my life.

You divorced from an alcoholic and left an abusive marriage with three little ones while working full-time. Did anyone help you? It was all on me. At the time, my mother was in North Carolina with her husband. She was taking care of him because he was very sick. The most challenging part about the situation was that my salary was based on commission only. So, if I didn’t sell, I didn’t get paid. It was also during the 2008 recession, and marketing was where most companies were cutting back. Fortunately, my sales were not affected too badly.

Were you scared?

I was terrified. Every month, I would just have to figure it out. It could be a bad month. It could be a good month. You just never knew. I am just thankful my kids never had a clue that anything was good or bad or indifferent.

The second man you married had similar characteristics to what you had seen growing up? Yes, that is what is so weird. I should have been able to recognize alcoholism, but we didn’t live together before we got married. I didn’t have a clue that he was an alcoholic but found out very quickly after we were married . . . I think I said to myself almost every week “I have got to get out of this.” I just couldn’t find the strength to do it. I didn’t want to go through another divorce. I was terrified he would try to take my kids away from me. I was worried about them being away from me. I eventually had a breaking point and said, “I can do this.” I did it.

How did you learn to harness that fear and move forward?

I have no clue. I held so much in during that time because I never wanted them to have any fear or for them to have any clue that anything was going on. It was just a really horrible time. I think part of it was just a mother’s instinct to protect her cubs. God never gives us more than we can handle, although I think He tests me from time to time!

When wasn’t it so hard?

I hate to say it but probably after he passed away.

Because you were no longer frightened?

Yes. Every day, I feared for my life. He had so much anger, and alcohol fueled it even more.

Did your children know anything?

Unfortunately, they did. I’d like to say they didn’t, but they did. My two youngest, that were his children, were nine and ten at the time that he passed away. He passed away nine months after our divorce was

final, from alcoholism—at the same age as my dad. They were both 47 years old. All three of the children witnessed way more than any child ever should. There were so many traumatic experiences that probably shaped who each of us are today, and it breaks my heart for my kids that I probably didn’t protect them enough, but I did the best I could.

Was your personal experience the reason for your support of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)?

Yes. When Arthur and I went to an NFL owners meeting in 2013, Mothers Against Drunk Driving did a presentation. They listed what each of the different teams were doing and the extent of their involvement with MADD. The Falcons were one of the only teams that weren’t engaged in the program. So, I asked him at lunch that day why they weren’t. And he said, “Well, if that’s something you want to do, that can be your project.” So, I started right away. Today, the Falcons organization is above-and-beyond, more involved than any other NFL team. I wanted to get my kids involved in the teen program to help educate them on the dangers of alcoholism and drunk driving. They were getting close to the driving age. I went to what was, at the

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time, called GATI, Georgia Teen Influencers. There, I met one of my best friends now, Amy Sands. She brought her two daughters. Her family had just lost their son, Tyler Sands, who was a senior at Clemson University, to a repeat drunk driver on his 22nd birthday. We became instant friends. Our goal is MADD’s mission, that there be ‘no more victims,’ and we really want to educate youth on drunk driving. There are so many alternative methods now for transportation.

How do you “pay it forward?”

For me, it is not just about giving a check. It’s about boots on the ground. Last weekend, I physically worked on a service project that was important. I want to be a part of initiatives that I believe in. I want to be hands-on. My heart and soul are truly invested in all the work that we do. Whether it’s with MADD or whether it’s with a veteran service organization, I really want to be able to pay it forward physically as well. I need to know that I am helping to make a positive difference.

How much of your day is dedicated to giving back?

Probably 70 percent of it. It is something I wake up every day to do. That’s my purpose in life. God has blessed me with so much more than I deserve. I want to give back where I can.

How did you meet Arthur?

That’s kind of a funny story. Our sons played on the same soccer team, Concorde Fire, here in Atlanta. We were standing on the sidelines and just started talking. After he walked off, one of the dads came over and said, “You know who that is, don’t you?” And I said, “I think it’s one of the dads.” And he said, “No. Do you know who that is?” And I said, “I think it’s one of the dads.” And he said, “That’s Arthur Blank,” and I said, “I don’t know who Arthur Blank is,” which is kind of embarrassing, being from Atlanta, that I didn’t know. But he said, “Home Depot . . . Atlanta Falcons,” and I said, “I’m sorry . . . I don’t know.” I’ve always watched college football, but I’d never been to an Atlanta Falcons game—well, actually I went to one Atlanta Falcons game a long, long time ago in Fulton County Stadium, a very, very long time ago. So, at the next soccer game, he came over and started talking. My daughter was going to the Falcons game that day with her best friend, whose family has been season ticket holders forever. I told Arthur where Emily was going because she came up to me and said she was leaving. He said, “Well, I’m getting ready to leave to go to the game, too.” He said, “She can come to the suite and sit with us if she wants to.” He gave me his card with his phone number, so she could let him know. She didn’t end up going to his suite because she said she would feel weird since she didn’t know him. I sent him a note

and thanked him for the invitation and explained why my daughter declined and told him the invitation was very kind. He said, “How about you bring your family to a game?” I offered him two dates that would work. He said, “How about both?” So, we went to both! That was in December 2011. He asked me out to lunch in FebruaryFebruary 7, 2012. We went to lunch that day and then started dating. We were married June 11, 2016.

What do you want to be remembered for?

I want my kids and God to be proud of the work that I am doing. I know my mom is very proud of me and that fills my heart with joy. I want to make a significant difference. I don’t want to be doing what I’m doing to say that I’m just doing something; I want to make a difference. Ultimately, I pray that lives are saved and laws are changed with drunk, drugged and distracted driving. If I can be remembered for just being an advocate for one state, I will take that; however, I would love to know that I have made a difference throughout the country. And with our veterans, we have so many men and women who have put their lives on the line for our country to defend our freedoms, thank you . . . thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart for your commitment, service and the ultimate sacrifice. I just want my kids, one day when I’m not around, to say, “I’m proud of my mom.”

When you are quiet and think clearly, is there something that you wish for?

I wish that there would be more focus on mental health and wellness for our country. There is a need for more research on mental health, and even though mental health does not always result in alcohol or drug abuse, there is a correlation between mental health, personal life circumstances/experiences and addiction. I think we all have different chapters of our lives that form our story, form our book so to speak. And I believe we all have some type of baggage that we learn from. Our different life experiences and circumstances are what make us ultimately who we are. We have to learn to live by the motto, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” I don’t believe God puts on us more than we can handle. We just have to learn to keep the faith and press on. My prayers, personally, would be for more people with mental health or addiction issues to seek help and not be ashamed to ask for it.

What inspires you?

Family . . . Anything to do with my family. I was just blessed with my first grandchild, a granddaughter, and that is the best experience in the world. She is truly a gift from God! I am in heaven. I love being with my family, so anything that we do as a family experience. I also love the philanthropic work that I do. It is very inspiring to me and gets me up and going every day. I love being involved in the different types of philanthropic work that I am doing.

What advice can you share with young women?

Angie Blank, Ronnel Blackmon and Amy Sands at 2018 MBS 5k/Walk Like MADD. This Atlanta event is MADD’s largest nationwide fundraiser, raising almost $500,000.

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Always be true to yourself. I think that is the most important thing; to always know who you are, what your values are, what your morals are and never, ever settle for less. In relationships, be strong, be resilient. If you see a situation is getting bad, get out. I have gone through personal experiences with alcoholism where I thought that I could change someone, and I couldn’t. I learned firsthand that you cannot change someone, nor should you try to. You can’t be a parent to a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a spouse. If you are going into a relationship thinking that you can change someone, or if you think a person will change because you get married or because you have a child, it generally does not happen. In most cases, those situations actually end up getting worse. My advice would be that when you see the signs that you need to get out, you need to do that so that you don’t hurt yourself or anyone else. I think, as a mother, you have to protect your kids ultimately. If you don’t, no one else will. There were many nights that I prayed to God that if He would save my kids, if He would get my kids out of this situation, if He would get me out of this situation, that I would do anything I could to help others. This is why I’m doing what I am. ■

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Junior golfer Beth Daniel learned golf course etiquette from golf pro Al Esposito at the Charleston Country Club. Honoring his legacy, today she lends her name to the club’s annual Junior Azalea Tournament which raises money for junior golf charities. Named LPGA Rookie of the Year in 1979, Beth has a career record of 33 tour wins. She was elected to the LPGA Hall of Fame and World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000.

LPGA Hall of Fame Member & Junior Golf Mentor

Beth Daniel

You are the youngest of three. Tell me about your brother and sister.

My brother, who is six years older than me, has been a banker his whole life. He attended The Citadel and was in the Army Reserves for over 30 years. He served in Desert Storm and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. My sister is three years older than me, but she looks younger. She was very smart, graduated with honors and wanted to be a marine biologist, but they were not hiring women at the time. Everywhere she went, they either told her she was overqualified, or they couldn’t hire women. She began working at The Greenery in Charleston, South Carolina, which is a floral and plant store. She became the manager and eventually bought it. Today, she still owns it.

A common theme is that you both took non-traditional paths. You held your first golf club at age six? Yes, that is my first memory of golf. Both my parents played golf. My brother and my sister also play. My first memory is at the Country Club of Charleston on the 10th hole. My parents were up ahead. I had a club and a ball, and I was hitting it down the fairway while they were playing.

Tell me about them: your father and mother.

My mother is Charleston born and bred. She is very quiet, very conservative. My dad was 17 years old when he enlisted in World War II. He originally chose the infantry, but they had too many infantrymen, so he was transferred to the Navy. They sent him from North Carolina to Chicago, where he trained, and then he went to San Diego for further training. Finally, he was sent to Tampa to board his ship bound for the Pacific where he served in World War II. My father enlisted because his family didn’t have much money, and it gave him the opportunity to go to college. After the war, he attended The Citadel which is located in Charleston, South Carolina, and that’s where he and mom met. My dad was a Coca-Cola bottler in Charleston. He started out in the fertilizer business and held a position much like an accountant. He then moved over to Coca-Cola, which he always says was the best move he ever made. He worked his way up in the company and became president. In those days, when you owned a Coca-Cola bottling company, or when you

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worked for one, the president went out and called on other businesses to get them to buy Coca-Cola. Because my dad has a big personality, he knew everybody in the town. He’s a jokester and fun to be around. He’s the life of the party. I have always said that my mom complemented him so well because she let him be that. She would throw in her little one liners every once in a while. The two of them together are pretty funny to be around.

Describe playing at the Charleston Country Club.

I was fortunate that my parents were members there, so I was able to play. At the time, there was a great junior program. The pro was Al Esposito, and he was very, very much into junior golf. He had boys’ and girls’ programs to help us learn the game, and he would give us lessons. He was my first pro. He had us go on the golf course where we had to take a little rules test, an etiquette test, so that we knew what we were doing when we were out there. He believed that if you allowed kids that are eight years old to play when adults are on the golf course, they had to know what they were doing. He got us all off to a good start. He was always very interested in our games, our lives and what was going on with us individually.

What life lesson did coach Esposito leave with you?

He always said, “There are no sand traps in the sky,” which was his way of telling you to hit the ball up in the air. He was also very good about building a bridge between kids and adults. At country clubs, sometimes there is a problem because the adults pay for everything and don’t want the kids around or in their way. He created this bridge where the adults embraced the kids, and I am forever grateful to him for that. To this day, I try to do that through my junior golf tournament and junior golf.

Is that your way of carrying his legacy forward?

I think it is something that I carried forward, and something that I want to carry forward. I try very hard to do that through my junior golf tournament and the charities. There are three major tournaments at the Country Club of Charleston every year, and they all are Azaleas. The main Azalea, which has been around for years, is for the top amateurs in the country. There is also the Senior Azalea, for golfers over 50 years

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PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRIS JORIANN

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of age, and then the Junior Azalea, which used to be the Al Esposito Tournament. It actually was the first tournament that I ever played in as a kid. I still have the trophy that I won which is on display at the Country Club of Charleston. It meant so much to me over the years that I kept the trophy. My tournament is different because we raise money for junior golf charities. It is how I try to pay it forward. The tournament is held the first week of August every year at the Country Club of Charleston. Qualification is through state and national junior rankings. The South Carolina Golf Association runs the tournament. Hart Brown, who is now the Director of Recreation, is very involved in the everyday running of the tournament. My tournament chair, Randy Adams, has a son, Zach, so Randy is very active in junior golf. He’s also involved in raising money for their programs and making this tournament as good as it can be. We were lucky to get him.

What tournament, prior to college, do you consider the most significant?

The biggest tournament I played in was the USGA Junior Girls, and I played horribly. I did not qualify. I went mostly for experience. It was being played at Augusta Country Club in Augusta, Georgia, which borders Augusta National. It is a great golf course. I remember going there with my mom. They had Pinkerton guards at the locker room. When you went in, they checked to make sure that you had all your credentials. I had never been to a tournament like that. I was scared to death, and I played terribly in the two qualifying rounds. I didn’t qualify for match play, but that was my first experience at big time golf. Some people would say I failed, but it was a great experience for me because, the next time I went, I knew what to expect. I knew what my body would feel like and nuances like that.

Do you have to “learn how to win”?

You definitely have to learn how to win. You have to learn how your body reacts when it’s under pressure. I try to describe it in a normal day’s life. It is similar to when you are driving a car. When someone cuts you off, you get this rush of adrenaline. Afterwards, you recognize that sensation. Imagine that while trying to control a golf ball on the golf course, controlling the speed of it, the speed of your swing, and things like that. It is the same thing except your body is like that for four hours.

Is winning about the willpower to block things out, or is it the reverse, just harnessing the rush of adrenaline and nerves? It’s a little bit of both. You definitely have to be able to block out the nerves. People always ask me how I can play in front of that many people. I always respond that I would rather play in front of a massive crowd than a few people because a massive crowd becomes a wall; I can mentally make it look like a wall instead of people. Then you have to learn what your body does when it has adrenaline running through it. It is the only way you will win because, obviously, coming down the stretch, you have a chance to win. Winning is how you handle that adrenaline, and you actually need it. When I had adrenaline going, I knew that I could hit one club less because I was so fired up. Where I normally would hit a six iron, when I had adrenaline, I would hit a seven iron. At first, I would hit the six iron over the green. Then, I had to learn that I can take less and get there. It is funny because I had caddies at times that would say you can’t get that club there. I knew I could because I knew how my body felt right then.

broken par in every round in a golf tournament. The experience taught me, “Maybe I can do this.” Prior to that, I was really off to a slow start. I wasn’t recruited for colleges or anything. Furman just showed interest in me. I had two partial scholarship offers in Florida: Rollins College and South Florida. I chose Furman because it was closer to home. I had an aunt and uncle that lived in Travelers Rest, which basically is on campus. When I was there, I would spend weekends with them. It was more of a comfort zone for me to go to Furman, and that’s the reason I chose it.

Who was your coach at Furman?

Doc Meredith was the coach when we won the National Championship, but for most of the time I was at Furman, we had many different coaches. That’s a whole other story because Doc Meredith was fired from the women’s team but allowed to coach the men’s team.

How did that happen?

Well, they found out that he was drinking when he was on trips.

It was okay for him to do that with men and not the women?

Exactly. There is a story here about the difference between men and women’s golf. After Doc was fired from coaching the women (Betsy King and Cindy Ferro were gone at this time), he continued coaching the men. My senior year, they hired a coach that knew nothing about golf. I went in to the athletic director essentially, and I said, “Listen, we just won a National Championship, and you’re taking our coach from us, and you are putting in someone that doesn’t know anything about golf.” He said to me, “Well, how do you coach golf ? What do you need to know? You just need a chaperone, right?” I said to myself that I would not play. Spring term my senior year, I talked to my mom and dad. My dad was fully supportive. He said, “If you feel this way, I’m with you.” I went into the athletic director’s office, and I said, “I am going to quit the women’s team.” The athletic director said, “You can’t do that.” Now, at this point, I had won two U.S. Amateurs. I said, “Yes, I am going to quit the women’s team because I disagree with this decision, and I am putting my foot down.” And I did. One day soon after that, Doc Meredith called me and asked if I wanted to play for the men’s team. So, I played for the men’s team spring term my senior year.

That’s fascinating.

When Furman recently said they didn’t have the funding for the men’s team, and they were going to drop it, I went in and helped raise the funds to keep the men’s team. People always ask, “Why did you do that?” I have a vested interest. I played for the men’s team, which ended up being the best thing I could have done to further my golf career. I was playing with guys who were really good, and I was playing 7,000-yard golf courses in practice (but never in competition). The experience brought out a whole new part of my golf game that I had never practiced. I had to learn to hit fairway woods. I had to learn to hit long irons. My short game had to get better because there were certain greens that I couldn’t even get to. I didn’t have the length to get to them. It ended up being really, really good for me.

Before you entered Furman, was there a tournament that stands out in your mind?

The Twin State Junior Girls Golf Tournament, which is North and South Carolina. It was the first time I shot under par in every round. I would say that would be a pinnacle moment for me because I had never

Do you have fear? Yeah, I have a lot of fear. Fear grows with age. Why?

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PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRIS JORIANN

Two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur and LPGA Hall of Fame member Beth Daniel sat down with ELYSIAN Publisher Karen Floyd at her home course, The Palm Beach Club, in Palm Beach Florida, to share her story.

What was your first big tournament win?

My first win was in Japan my rookie year. I started out doing pretty well.

Why Japan?

My agent set it up. I was 22 years old. I got on a plane and flew all the way to Tokyo. My agent lined up this Japanese agent to pick me up. He said the agent will “get you to your hotel.” Sure enough, I flew in and when I walked out of customs, this guy was waiting for me. He was the nicest guy in the world. He dropped me off at the hotel and said, “When you fly to Japan, if you arrive in the afternoon, shower and change. I’ll pick you up, and we will be going to dinner.” He took me to dinner and explained everything that would happen in that week and what as expected of me. At dinner, he took away my fork and knife and gave me chopsticks. He said, “You must learn to eat with chopsticks.” I learned to eat with chopsticks really quickly, and I still love eating with chopsticks. I didn’t know anybody in Japan, didn’t speak the language, but I won the golf tournament.

That win situated you financially for a short period of time. Before that, how did you pay the bills?

Some of the guys at the Country Club of Charleston offered to pull some money together to sponsor me. However, I wanted to try and do it on my own. I turned pro, and I worked at Seabrook Island. When I had enough money in my checking account, I drove my car down to Florida. I played in tour events before the qualifying school just to tune up. I won them both, so I had a little money; I made $1,100 for one tournament, and I think $700 for the other tournament. The entire time I was in Florida, I called friends and was sleeping on couches and things like that. When I look back on that period of time, it was just the best because my dreams were all ahead of me. I didn’t care what I had to do to make it a reality. It was awesome. I went to and won Q-School. I was on a roll. I won three in a row. The first tournament of the year

was the very next week, and I finished Top 10. The next week I think I finished Top 15. I started out well enough that I didn’t need money from anyone else. Then, I didn’t play as well for a little while.

Why?

I don’t know. I don’t know if I got comfortable or if the travel was uncomfortable. When I was in Florida, and I was in my car, I had friends. I could go to their house and do laundry. When I really started traveling, it was like get on an airplane. Your rookie year is always the hardest because you don’t know where you’re going. You don’t know the cities. You don’t know where to eat. You don’t know where to stay.

Do you have fear? Yeah, I have a lot of fear.

Did you have fear back then? Not as much.

Fear grows with age. Why?

I believe it’s because of experiences that don’t work out the way you think they should. I went through the yips three times in my career. That’s all fear. That’s fear to the point where you black out trying to do something, and your body won’t let you do that.

What is the yips?

The yips can be putting. It can be driving the golf ball. It’s when you have a very short putt, and your stroke just won’t happen.

And it happened to you three times? Yes, and I got over it three times.

How did you get over it?

I got over it with a lot of mental work. It was some of the toughest stuff I had ever been through.

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Do most golfers that encounter yips stop playing? A lot of them do.

Because it’s such a mental thing?

It’s just too hard. It’s too hard. Well, when you have the yips, it becomes a mental thing. The first time it happened, I would actually black out. People would ask, “How did you miss the putt?” I did not know. I never saw it. I would count, which was one way. I worked with a metronome that was in timing with my putting stroke, and I would develop a count or a song or something that went with that so that I could try to get my brain on task. When you get the yips, you have to change something. A fuse burns out on a circuit of something that you’ve practiced over and over again. There is a pattern that you practice every single day. You do the same thing over and over again. If you start missing a couple of them, then you can get the yips because your brain says, “Okay, this doesn’t work. I have to try something else.” Then you have to develop something different. I did anything and everything. I looked at the hole. I changed my grip. Golf is so mechanical and is so much about timing. You have to keep your timing no matter what, even when you’re nervous.

Is fear an impediment with age?

Fear becomes an impediment. That is why I think you reach a point in golf where you might feel smarter, but that doesn’t really matter because you have more fear. Now, I know if I miss this shot, maybe I’m not that good at it. Whereas, when I’m younger, if I miss the shot, I don’t care because I know I can make it up down the line.

Is that a metaphor for life?

Golf is so much like life. You take chances, but there are consequences. It may be a safer choice because you know you can deal with those consequences. If you take a chance and you cannot deal with the consequences, or they might be difficult to deal with, you don’t want to do it. It’s very much like life.

What is significant about the number 50 and the Hall of Fame?

I qualified for the LPGA Hall of Fame in 1999. When you qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame, you qualify for World Golf Hall of Fame. I asked if they would delay it to 2000 because it had the significance of my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary and my brother’s 50th birthday. I felt like my family has been such a significant part of this journey with me. To honor them, we would do it on a special year.

Solheim?

Solheim is one of the best things that can happen to you. It is the Ryder Cup of women’s golf. Golf is such an individual sport. When you get a chance to play on a team, it is really special and to represent the United States is pretty cool. I played on two Curtis Cup teams, which is the amateur version. Then I played on eight Solheim Cup teams. I was assistant captain under Betsy King and captain in 2009. All of them were uniquely great experiences because of the people that were involved. When I look back on my golf career, it’s not about my golf. It is about the experiences and the people I met and the things that I learned along the way from these people who are part of my life now. To me, that’s what life is about. It’s not about how well you play a sport. It’s about the experiences.

What is that piece of advice you would give our cover model Lucy Li? My advice to her would be not to hurry. Enjoy it. Enjoy the journey, and take it all in. Do not let someone push you to do something that you’re not ready to do. Golf will always be out there, so you don’t have to rush to make it happen. ■

You had some incredible peaks to your golf career. And incredible valleys.

Lots of peaks though. What is the one golf accomplishment that makes you the most proud? I think winning my first U.S. Women’s Amateur because it opened every door for me in golf. Prior to that, I was just one of many, and then, when I won that first amateur, all of a sudden, I was recognized by the USGA. I got into events that I wouldn’t have otherwise which helped me grow as a golfer.

Beth Daniel, captain of the 2009 American team poses with the Solheim Cup trophy after the United States had defeated Europe.

Tell me about Pine Tree Golf Club, where this interview is being held.

I became a member here in 1995. I was encouraged to join by Louise Suggs, who is a founding member of the LPGA, and JoAnne Carner. JoAnne and her husband were members at the time when I was looking for a club to join. They invited me to join Pine Tree. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. The members here are great. They’re very welcoming. It is strictly golf here. It’s a Top 100 golf course and was a really good move for me. It was a comfortable move for me too. I needed a club where I could come practice and feel comfortable. I feel comfortable with the members as well. They are just great.

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teaching skills for life South Carolina Junior Golf Associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s purpose is to continue the history and traditions of the ancient game of golf through its members and an active outreach to the youth of South Carolina.

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To learn more about SCJGA, please visit scjga.org

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Legendary golfer Betsy King has achieved 39 professional wins in individual tournaments, including six major LPGA titles. In 1995, she was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRIS JORIANN

Picking up her first golf club at age 8, Betsy King wasn’t phased by playing golf with all boys. With the mindset, “I need to be the best that God created me to be,” Betsy’s perseverance and determination fueled her to become one of the LPGA’s best golfers. With 34 tournament wins, Betsy qualified for the LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fames. In 2007, Betsy founded Golf Fore Africa, a non-profit organization, to bring clean water to children and their families living in extreme poverty in Africa.

LPGA Hall of Famer & Philanthropist

Betsy King

Tell me about your family and where were you raised? I was raised outside of Reading, Pennsylvania. My parents were part of that greatest generation and grew up in the Depression. My father worked from the age of 8 on. He was born in Canada, but his family moved to the U.S. when he was 5. My grandparents were Polish immigrants. I believe his father was a tailor. I never knew my grandfather. He passed away before I was born. My grandmother was a teacher, and my mother’s father was a baker. But both of my parents went to college. Education was very important to them. My parents have known each other for 70 years and have been married for over 60 years. They started dating in Junior High. My dad left college and served in the Canadian Air Force in World War II. He then came back, finished college and went on to medical school and was a physician. My parents insisted that my brother and I go to college. My dad wanted me to be a doctor, but I did not have the skill or the interest in medicine. My brother was in and out of medical school but ended up going to law school and getting his degree. He lives in Stuart, Florida, and even though he has a law degree, he owns and runs a couple of funeral homes. I also have two nephews. Overall, I have a relatively small family.

When did you first pick up a golf club?

I was about 8 years old. I grew up a typical tomboy probably because of having an older brother. When he would go outside, my parents would tell him, “Take your sister with you.” I ended up playing sports with all the boys: tackle football, basketball

and baseball. Then we started taking golf lessons together at the Reading Country Club. I was most fortunate because there were other kids to play with. It was all boys at first, which probably was better because I learned to hit the golf ball hard. When I was a teenager, there were some other girls that I played with, but initially, it was just the boys and me.

From the onset, did you have an aptitude for golf?

I was pretty athletic. It’s interesting because both my parents were gifted athletically. My father went to college on a football scholarship. My mother is in the University of Rhode Island Sports Hall of Fame for playing field hockey, basketball and tennis. My parents were very much into sports, and they introduced my brother and me to that as well. In the morning, the first part of the paper I would read would be the sports section. I loved playing sports, and they were natural to me. I played three sports in high school and was All-County in all three: field hockey, basketball and softball. Perseverance. Aptitude. Sportsmanship. Can you rank their importance? Well, to be successful takes a certain level of talent, so I would rank talent first. Second is perseverance. Sportsmanship is important but is a third. Talent and perseverance are the most important. Natural competitiveness and a certain level of talent can get you to number one. I am a strong Christian. My faith’s important to me. I need to be the best that God created me to be, and I let that guide me and the decisions I make on my journey.

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In 2007, Betsy King founded Golf Fore Africa, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that is dedicated to bringing clean water to children and families in Africa. To date, the organization has installed 161 wells, benefiting more than 750,000 people.

What brings you the most joy? How many hours a day would you practice golf?

It is really like a job, going to the office daily. There are many days you may not feel like playing, but you do. I would say, on average, you play six days a week. Then you practice an hour and a half before you play which easily takes about five hours. It’s an eight to ten-hour day, depending on the circumstances, and an average of six days a week.

Your career started out with a protracted dry spell. Did you ever think of quitting? I thought I might not ever win a tournament on the LPGA. I have the most unusual success story on the tour. There’s no one else in the history of the LPGA that went almost seven years before her first win. Then, I won 34 times. Usually, if you start winning (and if you win 30 some tournaments), you start within your first year or two. My goal was to be the best non-winner there ever was. Then, I changed instructors and learned how to win. I started working with Ed Oldfield, who’s now in his mid-80s. He helped me a lot. I made some fundamental changes in my swing. Once I won that first tournament, I knew what I needed to do to win, and it just came easier. I won the first time, and then I won two more times that first year.

What kept you going during the seven years?

Well, I was making a living. You’d like to end up a superstar, but I was making a living. When you get to the professional level, that’s what you want to do.

Were there moments where you thought about not persevering or doing something else? Not really. I never was to the point where I said I have to quit to make a living, to survive. I was doing well enough and still was getting by. Who knows, if another couple years had gone by, I probably would have been thinking more seriously about doing something else.

Your win record is incredible: 30+ tournament wins?

I had a ten-year stretch and won more tournaments than anybody else on the tour.

How do you practice humility?

Becoming involved in a cause bigger than oneself. When I was traveling on tour, I have to admit, it was very lonely. Even though you are friends with other players, you are actually competing against those same people. My faith became more important to me in my third year on tour. Someone that traveled with the tour led a Bible study, and I became part of that group. The experience changed how I looked at competition.

Did you become more grounded?

Definitely. We were called the Christian Fellowship Group, and we did a lot of projects and fundraisers for different charities. I worked on 15 Habitat builds, went to Romania twice to visit orphanages and traveled to Honduras to work on building homes. This helped me keep golf in perspective.

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How did you get to Furman? Colleges didn’t have golf scholarships at the time, so I wasn’t recruited to play golf anywhere. My parents had a place at Hilton Head, and when we went down there, my dad suggested I look at Furman. I only applied to two colleges, Furman and East Carolina. I was accepted and went to Furman but didn’t even interview until after I was accepted. Luck brought our team together, and that team won a National Championship. It’s a funny thing, but four members of our golf team ended up playing on the tour. Who were the four from Furman that played the tour? The one that everybody knows is Beth Daniel. Beth was a year behind me at Furman, and we really pushed one another. We butted heads a little bit, but it was such a great experience. The other player who went on the tour was older, Cindy Ferrell. She kept us apart. We ran in different circles, but the competitiveness really was the best thing that could have ever happened. Cindy played on the tour and has been a pretty well known golf instructor. She lives in Palm Beach and is an instructor at Lost Tree Country Club. Prior, she was an instructor at Baltusrol in New Jersey. The fourth person was Sherri Turner, a native of Greenville, who was two years behind me. She also won three times on the tour. It just worked out that way. We all pushed each other but particularly Beth. It was a great experience.

Beth is co-chairing the U.S. Open?

Yes. Beth grew up at the Country Club of Charleston where the U.S. Open is being held this year. I went home with Beth for a weekend and played there. It’s a great old golf course and will be a great site for the Women’s Open.

Tell me about the Golf Fore Africa event in Palm Beach.

It’s a golf pro-am and demonstration clinic. We have seven groups playing in the morning and then a clinic open to a wider group in the afternoon. There are six pros coming that will demonstrate, hit shots and do short game. We hold a reception afterwards with a short program about Golf Fore Africa and explain what we do. We are using the event to fundraise for a mechanized water system which would bring clean water to a health clinic, school or both. They dig a well and pump the water up to a holding tank. The water is then run through pipes to the health clinic or school. Ultimately, the system will bring western style toilets, showers and running tap water.

What brings you the most joy?

I would say when I’m in Africa. We go into villages where people

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I would say when I’m in Africa. We go into villages where people have next to nothing, and they have such a joy. They welcome complete strangers like us, who are usually going to donate wells or mechanized systems. We have had an impact on the community. They come and hug us and dance with us. They celebrate with us. Every time I go, I’m inspired to do more to make a difference. have next to nothing, and they have such joy. They welcome complete strangers like us, who are usually going to donate wells or mechanized systems. We have had an impact on the community. They come and hug us and dance with us. They celebrate with us. Every time I go, I’m inspired to do more to make a difference. One statistic that just floors me is that, in her lifetime, the average African woman will walk a distance from here to the moon walking for water. They start when they are four or five years old, and they carry a small container. They walk anywhere from half a mile to two miles, depending on where they live, to get dirty water that they know will probably make them sick, but it’s the only water source they have. It’s an issue for everyone in the village but particularly for women and girls because they are the ones that are tasked with walking for water. The girls who have had to spend two hours walking for water have missed school or are too tired to go to school. The adult women have missed time with their families. I heard heartbreaking stories of women that have lost

children. I met a woman whose little girl drowned in one of their hand wells, just a hole in the ground, which they had to keep digging down. She fell into it when the mother wasn’t there and drowned. I’ve heard of a woman who was pregnant with twins and fell walking for water. She lost both the babies. I met a grandmother whose daughter was raped when she was about 12 walking for water; she was infected with HIV, became pregnant and had a child. I met him. His name is Gift, and he’s 18 years old now. But the mother died from HIV when he was four or five. He was raised by his grandmother. She said, “Now my village has clean water. If we had had clean water, this never would’ve happened to my daughter.” It is a serious topic. At the same time, there are many successes, and we are making a difference. The level of poverty in the world is less today, and we are bringing clean water to more and more people each day.

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In golf, what is your greatest accomplishment?

Probably winning the LPGA championship by 11 shots. It was the best I played.

You also are a Hall of Famer?

That just comes from longevity, I think. Not having won a tournament the first six years, I wasn’t thinking about the Hall of Fame. Once you win, and you keep winning, it happens.

Is there a lesson here that you would share?

I really believe that you can’t think so much about winning. You just have to keep trying to get better as a player and being the best that you can be. You have to be prepared when you play and not really think about the outcome.

Is your involvement with the Furman women’s golf program your way of paying it forward?

Definitely. The last ten years of my life I have had many opportunities to mentor younger players, and I reconnected with the Furman girls. There are several retired LPGA pros that now are coaching at the college level. I am good friends with the coach at Ohio State. Through Golf Fore Africa, I still get out on the LPGA Tour four or five times a year to watch tournaments. I have taken some of the younger players to Africa with me, and that has been an opportunity. I love doing it. Now that I am not competing, it is much easier to share my experience with the younger players, even junior golfers at the club where I play in Scottsdale. One attends Northwestern this year as a freshman. Her name’s Kelly Su. I’ve played with her. A number of opportunities have popped up like that.

If Lucy Li asked you for advice right now, what would you tell her?

I would say go to college because it affords you an opportunity to grow up. I see a lot of the younger players that are pushed on the tour as young as 16, and they really never learn life skills because their parents are usually taking care of them the whole time. They’re still traveling with them into their mid-twenties. The parents are doing all the things off the golf course that mature people should do. So, the younger players never really have a chance to grow up.

Betsy King acted as captain of the U.S. team at the Solheim Cup tournament in Halmstad, Sweden in 2007, where she led the team to victory.

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The result can be catastrophic, really.

Yes. I have seen world-class golfers that haven’t learned about life. It really is a shame. It is probably the biggest difference that I see with the LPGA Tour now as opposed to when I was active. When I was there, my parents couldn’t afford to come and follow me. They were still working. I wasn’t making enough money that I could support them. They would come out and watch me play occasionally, but they never were inside the ropes or telling me about my golf swing. They were always supportive which allowed me to learn to live independently.

You participated in the first Senior Tour.

Yes. I played in the first U.S. Senior Women’s Open. They’ve had a Senior Men’s Open for about 30 years. Just think about it, 30 years later, they decide to do a Women’s Senior Open. It was great and it was a lot of fun to be there. If you won the U.S. Open, it didn’t matter when you won; you were exempt into this event. There were people like JoAnne Carner, 79 years old, who came out and played in it. People simply wanted to be a part of the first one. I think all the players appreciated it. For me to be competitive, it would have needed to happen about ten years ago. So, it was a little disappointing. I did my best. I made the cut, and I played with Pat Bradley and Amy Alcott, fellow Hall of Famers. We were all grinding to make the cut. So, it was fun. I congratulate the USGA for finally recognizing senior women’s professional golf.

The discrepancy between men and women’s golf must have been frustrating. Throughout my whole life, the only place that I’ve experienced discrimination has been in sports. I remember being in sixth grade, and we were having this competition. It was the boys versus the girls in a number of different sport activities. At the last running event, I ran the last leg, and we had a tie basically. The teacher took me aside, and said, “It was a tie, but I am giving it to the boys because he’s a boy.” I can still remember that experience. In high school, there wasn’t a girls’ golf team, and I wasn’t allowed to play on the boys’ golf team, so I did not play on a girls’ team until college. There weren’t scholarships for women either. My last two years I had a partial scholarship until I went on the tour. The purses are about 30 percent of what the men are playing for. I have one story about endorsements. My agent pitched to Reebok for me, and a top PGA Tour Pro. They were asking for $500,000 for him. They were asking for $25,000 for me. They sponsored him and not me. They paid his caddie $15,000 to wear the clothes. That was the way it was. Fortunately, things have progressed a lot. There are now six full scholarships for women’s golf at Furman. Even though the endorsements are not equal to our male counterparts, they have improved quite a bit. The purses have gone up, but percentage wise, they’re about the same as when I played.

Thirty percent is a tremendous difference between men and women’s earnings. Is that a focus of yours or is it a chapter that you’ve closed?

At the professional level, it’s probably a chapter I’ve closed. At the collegiate level, I am involved in raising money for the Furman women’s golf team. Beth and I started a pro-am to raise money for the golf program. We ran it for over 20 years. Today, the Furman woman’s program probably is one of the only Division I schools where women have more money than the men, largely due to the support from alumni. Golf Hall of Famer, Christian Fellowship Group, Habitat for Humanity, Golf Fore Africa, Furman University . . .What do you want to be remembered for? Well, hopefully for more than just golf but as one that persevered and worked hard. I suppose I would like to be remembered for the giving back to causes that outlive us. If we put a well in a community that will bring clean water to someone for the rest of their life, that supply of water will last way past my time here. ■

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bringing hope Golf Fore Africa is a 501(C)3 non-profit organization founded in 2007 by LPGA Hall of Famer Betsy King. We

are dedicated to bringing help and hope to children and families in Africa. We focus on providing clean water and health, education and economic development opportunities. Within each of these focus areas we have different projects and we encourage and welcome the support of anyone who is motivated to help.

To learn more about Golf Fore Africa, please visit golfforeafrica.org.

Michelle McGann has been one of the most popular personalities in women’s golf for the last 30 years. Perhaps most recognizable for her fashion sense and stylish hats, she has also claimed nine LPGA tour victories and appeared on two Solheim teams. While she has found success on the course, her best efforts may in fact lie in her determination to bring about diabetes awareness and empower families with the support and education they need to ensure a healthy today and tomorrow for their child.

LPGA Star & Diabetes Activist

Michelle McGann Where were you raised?

I was raised right here in West Palm Beach. I’m a native Floridian, which is a rare thing for my generation. I couldn’t be happier that my parents decided to move back from South Bend because West Palm really is heaven on earth.

Tell me about your parents.

I credit them with almost everything. My dad was a great athlete. He played basketball and football growing up; he played football at Notre Dame. My dad also loved golf, which he taught himself. He was a scratch golfer. My mom was a good athlete herself, a tennis player. But she was also the brain of our family and a pediatric nurse practitioner. She was the one that diagnosed me with Type 1 Diabetes. They have been with me every step of the way.

At age 7, you held your first golf club?

My mom was a nurse. Patients that owned a golf course came into my mother’s office, and in conversation, they suggested she bring me out some afternoon and see if I liked it. My mom took me to the golf course. We had daily clinics every Saturday. There would be ten or fifteen of us hitting balls. We had a lady professional who had diabetes, which is ironic because I was diagnosed with diabetes not long after.

When that golf club went into your hand, was it a life-altering moment, or was it something that you learned to love over time? I think I loved it right away. I loved being around sports. Originally, I was a gymnast, and then I was too tall to do that. Next, I played softball. Unfortunately, I was hit in the eye at a tournament. I had three eye operations, and as a result, I stopped playing softball. Back then, I am not sure that I could have become a professional softball player; however, now you can. So, I thought, “Well, I can probably

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make something out of playing golf.” I decided to follow my dream of being a golfer. “Who knows where this will take me,” I thought.

Was your height of 5’11 considered tall as a golfer?

It was more unusual for me to be a girl and play golf than it was that I was a tall girl.

What was the male/female ratio at the time? One to ten probably.

Talented in golf, beautiful, blonde, 5’11”, surrounded by a group of men... How was that? I was very shy, so I didn’t say a whole lot. I just really wanted to play golf. The guys were like brothers to me because I was an only child for nine years. It was fun until I started beating them. Then, they didn’t think it was so cool. As more girls got involved in playing golf, the guys wanted me to dominate. They wanted me to win all the time. It made me a stronger player because I always wanted to be better. I knew that somebody was always better than me. The guys pushed me to hit it a little bit further and to swing a little bit harder. To this day, a lot of those guys are still some of my best friends.

What was the moment when you realized that you were exceptional in golf? I set goals: to break 50 for nine holes; then to break 80 for 18 holes. I traveled out of the country, out of the state. I played in the Junior World out in California. During my high school years, I was dominating here in Palm Beach County. I won the state junior three years in a row and the high school state championship. I figured I was going to be pretty good at the sport. My goal was to win the U.S. Junior Girls, and I did that in ‘88, ‘87. To actually win, that was a thrill. I haven’t won an Open, but we now have a Senior Open, which I’ll be excited to play in 2020.

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readelysian.com • printemps 2019 • PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRIS JORIANN

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Are you preparing for that now?

Yes. I am trying to get into better shape. Mental is half the battle. Enjoying what we’re doing too, of course. How did your mother diagnose you with diabetes? I remember losing a lot of weight and taking a lot of naps, which was strange because I was very active. I did everything with my dad or my mom. We were always riding bikes or Big Wheels. I was just being a kid. I remember drinking excessive amounts of water. The Big Gulp had just come out, and it was nothing for me to drink several of those. Ironically, my mom was away on a seminar on diabetes. It was Mother’s Day weekend, and I was with my dad. When she came home, I had probably lost ten or twelve pounds in a couple days. It was very noticeable, and she could smell the ketones on my breath as soon as she walked in. My dad said, “You’ve been learning about this all weekend. There is no way Michelle is diabetic.” But she said, “I’m telling you, she is.”

Were either or your parents diabetic, or had there been diabetes in your family? A few generations back on my dad’s side, an uncle had diabetes, pre-insulin. Other than that, no one even thought about it. The next morning, my mom took me to the office. Back then, we didn’t even have finger sticks, and everything was judged by a urine sample. My test was off the charts. I went to the hospital right away. I had no idea what diabetes was, but I knew another boy that I went to school with had diabetes. When you’re a kid, you have no idea.

somewhat of a cure and hopefully could help me. My parents flew us to London. Other times, we would fly to Detroit and would drive into Canada. We’re not used to the snow, so we didn’t have heavy winter coats. I had to go once a month for five years, and it was hard. It was hard on my parents. It was hard on me sitting there doing the tests, which sometimes took hours. But, because I was on that medicine, I was off insulin for five years.

What was the medicine?

It was called Cyclosporin, and it helped keep my blood sugars in control. However, it was toxic to your kidneys. I had excessive gum growth and had my gums cut twice. I had a kidney biopsy as well. Finally, it wasn’t working to keep my diabetes in control. But, for the time I took Cyclosporin, it was good for my health. It was tough in school even though I had great teachers. I went to a small all-girls school, and they were fabulous in helping me catch up with my studies. Some of the girls thought it was a vacation for me every two weeks. I remember one of the Adrian Dominican sisters who taught us said, “You know, what? This will prepare you for what lies ahead.” She was right. When you play the LPGA Tour, you walk into a world of all women. Sometimes, there’s a little bit of jealousy or evil thoughts, but that’s life. So, every little step in my life, I have learned from steps before. Diabetes totally prepares you. You learn to just move on, and you go to the next step, and it made me stronger.

You were at a crossroads at 18. What was that?

With Type 1 Diabetes, is there a switch that turns on?

Every case is different. Sometimes, it can be hereditary. It can be caused when a virus or bacterial infection attacks your pancreas. I don’t think they’re a hundred percent sure. I was just fortunate enough that my mom was very knowledgeable and could pick up on it right away. Some people can go days, maybe weeks before being diagnosed, and then it might be too late. The symptoms are very obvious. You can tell by the loss of weight and other key signs. Any parent out there should get to know the signs because they could be right in front of you, and you don’t even see them. If you do, go right to the emergency room because something’s not right if you lose a significant amount of weight, drink tremendous amounts of water and urinate excessively.

From your diagnosis at age 13 until 18, when you went on tour, what role did the diabetes play? My mom worked for a pediatric doctor, and she read a little news blurb in one of the medical magazines saying that there could be a breakthrough. They had results of a study in London, Ontario, Canada for newly diagnosed diabetics. My mom and dad talked about giving me the best opportunity and doing everything they possibly could. There was a chance the breakthrough might be

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a juggle for me to play golf, keep up my studies and go on insulin. I decided to go to the University of Miami, but at the last minute, I decided that it might be just too much. At the time, no one was really sure about life expectancy, and nobody had been on this experimental program for that long. I talked to Dave Stockton, who was a great player. I played with his son. We were at an outing together. He said, “Why don’t you try to make it? You’re good enough. Why don’t you go to Tour School, and give it a shot?” My parents supported me in that decision, but I missed the cutoff for the first Tour School. And so, I only had one opportunity to make it to the final, and I made it. Then I made it through the final school. My first year on the LPGA was in 1989. I was just turning 19. I couldn’t rent a car, and I didn’t have a credit card. I didn’t know what I was capable of, and here I went. It was a struggle. It was a struggle health-wise. It was a struggle to get the confidence to play at a totally different level. I made less than $12,000, and I probably spent $40,000. It was a tough road, but I went back to school. I got my tour card, and I made enough money. It was just all uphill from there. It was also a struggle at times to try to manage my health. Imagine trying to control diabetes with layovers, missed flights, early tee times, late tee times, missing dinners, dealing with the climate and the difference in the temperature in Arizona versus Florida, the humidity, the dry heat, the cold temperature that sometimes you’d experience in Vermont and in New York, among other factors. All those things take a toll. There is so much more to diabetes than having to take insulin and not eating sugar. It is a learning process. Every day is different. Every day I learned something, and every day I continue to learn something.

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You have built a brand around wearing hats. Bill Murray saw you in a parking lot and said, “Where is your skull?”

Skull. Yes. I started wearing hats because I didn’t have a hat sponsor. I didn’t have a contract to wear somebody’s name or logo on my hat. I had just finished a really good tournament in Wilmington, Delaware. It was our LPGA Championship. I thought, “I’m just going to go shopping,” because who doesn’t like to go shopping? I ended up at the mall, and I went to Laura Ashley. There they were: these plain, simple brimmed hats with a grosgrain ribbon. I decided to try it. We were in Dallas, and I was staying with Marlene Floyd at the time. I came back to the house where we were staying, and I said, “What do you think, Marlene? Do you think I’m crazy? This will protect my face, and it’s really hot out. Maybe I’ll get a little more relief from the sun.” She said, in her little Southern voice, “You look adorable.” I remember, like it was yesterday, coming out of the locker room, peeking out like is there anybody out there? What is everybody going to say? It just became my trademark. I would go buy them every time I won a little extra money. Then, I’d coordinate my outfits. It wasn’t something I did to be showy. It just was my personality. I loved wearing bright colors, and it was fun. I’d walk out there, and if I felt good with the outfit I had on and how I looked, it made me have more confidence in how I was going to play. Sometimes it took a couple of outfits. I had to change them a few times if I did not feel great. It was fun on Sundays, and when I won, I would retire that hat. I have them in my house in cases now. It’s fun because of the memories that it brings back. I still wear them, and I always joke, “If I had a penny for every time it was windy, rainy or the conditions weren’t right to wear a big straw hat, and somebody said, ‘Where’s your hat?’” I always respond, “It isn’t raining on top of you?” You just can’t wear it; it’s blowing 15, 20 miles an hour. However, I had my own hat line, so I’d put a ball cap on and continue with my logo. I have great, great memories. Great times. To see people, no matter what age, what size, wearing one of my hats made me smile.

What is the Michelle McGann Golf Classic?

My husband and I started the Michelle McGann Golf Classic five years ago. This will be our sixth year coming up. We created a fund to help the kids that are less fortunate, that need a little extra help. For example, we are able to send some children to a diabetes camp where they won’t be singled out. Everybody there is living with the same thing and trying to be normal. When you go there for the day or the week, you are like everybody else. We also were able to hire a nurse educator at Nicklaus Children’s, which is just down the street from us. The nurse educator is able to help the doctor take care of the patients on a daily basis. I think they have over a thousand kids now with diabetes. There is no way that any one person can even start to manage that many children, let alone half of that. So, we feel great that we have been able to make a small impact right now in helping at Nicklaus Children’s and also sending kids to camps.

Michelle, wearing one of her trademark hats, practices her putting on her backyard artificial green outside her home in North Palm Beach, Florida. PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRIS JORIANN

I won the U.S. Junior Girls and was Player of the Year. I could have gone anywhere in the country I wanted to go to play golf. I narrowed my selection down to three or four schools. Also, I was coming off of this medicine, and I had to go back on insulin. It was going to be a juggle for me to play golf, keep my studies and go on insulin. I decided to go to the University of Miami, but at the last minute, I decided that it might be just too much. At the time, no one was really sure about life expectancy, and nobody had been on this experimental program for that long. readelysian.com • printemps 2019 •

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Our golf tournament is here at Lost Tree. Last year, we had a record year raising money, which allows us to spread our wings a little bit more. Sending kids to camp in different parts of the state is a key. We started locally to help here because you never forget your roots. We will expand our wings this year since we have raised enough funds to cover a few more kids. I was lucky enough to go to Camp Corral in Coral Springs last year with my mom. It was great to see the kids interacting with each other and to watch them checking their sugar, while sitting at the table. And then to walk out and overhear some of the kids say, “Hey mom, that’s the lady that sponsored me to come here.” Parents thanked us and told us that there is no way they could have done this without our support. That is what makes this whole thing worth fighting for and keeps us moving forward. It is incredible to see these kids begin to feel like normal people. Camp counselors all have diabetes, and they come back to give back. Now, that whole generation will keep this effort moving forward, and that’s what we need. Really, our objective is for them to just feel normal. I did not know anybody growing up, other than Mary Tyler Moore, with diabetes, and even then, there was such an age gap. Now, there are so many kids with diabetes that it’s unfortunate.

Michelle with her loveable three-yearold Golden Doodle, Teddy. PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRIS JORIANN

What is the Michelle McGann Fund’s endgame?

Every year, we have experienced such growth. In the beginning, the goal was to get this off the ground and save a few dollars after expenses. Our biggest expense is our tournament, the Michelle McGann Golf Classic. My husband and I do everything, so we don’t have any overhead. As the tournament grows, so do our expenses. Our ultimate goal would be to hold our own camp. Whether that dream will ever become a reality, I’m not sure. We have a lot of donors from New York, Connecticut and the Midwest. We will need to reach out to some of those people and say, “Listen, would you consider a generous donation? We want to try to help some kids in your local area and try to find camps for them to attend.” We have had camps apply for grants and that kind of stuff. Our efforts are broadening quickly. Each year, you want to make it just a little bit bigger and just try to grow and help a few more people.

This morning, a parent of a nine-year-old girl called. Is that common to hear from random parents?

Through the website and social media that we have now, we learned this little girl was diagnosed on New Year’s Day. The next day, her father sent me an email. He had just read my story and shared it with his daughter because she too likes to play golf. “You’re an inspiration for her,” he said. I love to Facetime, which is the best thing ever in life. I just said, “Listen, I’d rather talk to you. You ask me whatever you want to because whatever has happened so far, I guarantee you I’ve been through it. It won’t be an easy road, and there will be ups and downs. Try to take advantage of the ups more than the downs.” We talked for about 25 minutes this morning. Just to see that little girl smile and to ask her questions about herself was amazing. She likes to play golf, and she broke 50 the other day. She finished third out of four girls. She told me that she was in the Drive, Chip and Putt. I said, “Listen, I’ll meet you in Augusta in a couple years, so that will be a goal for you. When you win and go to Augusta, I’ll meet you there.” She said, “Okay, it’s a deal.” To see a little happiness and to give those parents some comfort in knowing that there are people out there that are willing to help is worth it. I’ve been through it, and I still go through it. I had terrible blood sugar about a month ago, and thank God my husband was here. Some people aren’t fortunate enough to have a good team around them. I owe all my success to always having a team around me. Whether it was my mom, my dad, my brother, my husband, other relatives or just friends, they have been with me through winning

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golf tournaments to finishing dead last when I thought I would never play again, as well as being with me in the emergency room after I’m one shot off the lead because I didn’t get enough insulin. The stories are endless. That is the power of all this now. You’re not out there by yourself.

What brings you the most joy? Seeing others happy.

What do you want to be remembered for?

Making a difference and just being a good person. I was a good golfer, but I’m a good person too. I would hope to be remembered for always trying to help others and trying to make this place a little bit better than when I started.

What advice can you share with our cover model and talented golfer, Lucy Li? I would say enjoy every minute. I think that a lot of young, talented players, whether male or female, live in the future. They live in a space that is so far past them that they face tremendous pressure. Enjoy it. You’re talented. You’re cute. Have fun with every minute. It sure seems to me like she does. But, golf is a tough game. Go with what it gives you. Some days the golf gods aren’t going to be with you, but try to take advantage of when they are. When they’re not, you have to fight a little bit harder. Hang in there. ■

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empowering families in need The Michelle McGann Fund’s purpose is to empower families with the support and education they need to ensure a healthy today and tomorrow for their child. Many complications from diabetes – such as vision problems, blindness, kidney disease, hypertension, amputations and others – can be avoided or minimized when children get the best treatment possible.

To learn more about the Michelle McGann Fund, please visit themichellemcgannfund.com

The Michelle McGann Fund

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t is early in the morning in the Florida Keys when Richard Ververs piles his scuba gear into a hydro-jet inflatable boat. The sun is just high enough in the sky to help the navy night transition into a lavender dawn when the boat pulls away from the dock, headed for a remote Carysfort Reef off the coast of North Key Largo. The coral reef system in the Florida Keys is approximately 150 miles long and four miles wide, making it the third largest in the world. Ververs, a former advertising executive turned underwater explorer, began diving when he was 16. He uses his photography to take people on a journey many will never be able to experience on their own in order to educate them about the ocean and all that live there. Even though he has hundreds of dive hours under his belt, Ververs is unsure of what he will find when he enters the water. Once this area was teeming with life—the vivid coral hidden beneath the waves is supposed to be home to thousands of varieties of

TIFFANY & CO. FOUNDATION USES ITS VOICE TO INSPIRE OCEAN CONSERVATION EFFORTS AROUND THE WORLD.

fish and a place where sea turtles swim with abandon, but the stories he’s heard lately indicate the world beneath his feet might be in trouble. He straps on his scuba gear and steps off of his vessel into the cerulean blue world below. When the bubbles from his entrance to the water recede, he is unprepared for the scene in front of him. The colorful coral enjoyed by so many are gone, and everything in this underwater world is white. The rose red and mikado yellow coral from the previous scientific survey are gone, their crumbling sarcosine-colored exoskeletons the only things left behind. Gone are the yellowtailed damselfish and sea turtles. Even the tiny fish that used the reef for protection are nowhere to be seen. Devastated by the discovery, Ververs emerges from the water to tell the world what he has found. The nonprofit he founded, The Ocean Agency, advocates for coral conservation by interpreting key research about ocean conservation into stories for a broad audience.

ervers has a powerful partner that helps get the word out: The Tiffany & Co. Foundation. The organization was founded in 2000 with the goal of being responsible corporate stewards of the environment. The foundation does so by supporting nonprofit organizations and civic institutions that focus on two main areas: responsible mining and coral conservation. Since its inception, the organization has awarded more than $75 million in grants. From supporting global outreach campaigns to funding cutting-edge research and clearing the path to create policies establishing marine protected areas, the Tiffany & Co. Foundation aims to bring corporate, scientific and community interests together to protect the world. “Support for action conservation is very thin,” Ververs says. “People often think that there’s a lot of philanthropy that goes to the environment, but it’s only approximately four percent of all donations. And the ocean only gets about 15 percent of that. When it comes to coral, there is little support. That makes foundations like Tiffany & Co. incredibly important.”

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GRANT THOMAS / CORAL REEF IMAGE BANK

Vibrant colors indicate that coral is healthy and thriving. The slightest change in water salinity or water temperature can be fatal to these delicate animals.

Why Coral? oral reefs are extremely diverse marine ecosystems hosting more than 4,000 species of fish, massive numbers of mollusks, crustaceans and many other animals. Often seen as rocks or deep-sea plants, coral are actually animals—marine invertebrates that inhabit tropical and temperate oceans zones. They emit calcium carbonate, which forms the hard skeleton that we often see in photographs. That exoskeleton of hard coral often becomes the framework of the reef. Coral grow incredibly slowly, adding only half an inch in height each year. Local economies near major coral reefs benefit from the abundance of fish and other marine creatures as a food source. Reefs also provide recreational scuba diving and snorkeling tourism. The annual global economic value of coral reefs is estimated from $30 billion to $375 billion, and 500 million people worldwide rely on the economy generated by the reefs. Coral reefs are under stress around the world, and their bleaching is an environmental crisis with global stakes and economic repercussions.

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A change in water salinity or water temperature variations of more than one or two degrees Celsius can kill some species of coral. “The ocean works very much like your own body—it is as fragile, so small rises in temperature, from 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit to 102.2, and suddenly you’ve got system failure,” Ververs explains. “For coral, small changes in chemistry, and you’ve got system failure. All life on Earth really is dependent on a healthy ocean.” When the animals cannot keep up with the changes they are met with due to coral mining, agricultural pollution and overfishing, they die. While local action, such as habitat restoration and herbivore protection, can reduce local damage, the longer-term threats of acidification, temperature change and sea-level rise remain a challenge. A thousand miles south of the Florida Keys, The Nature Conservancy’s Caribbean Program Executive Director, Luis Solorzano, is analyzing the surveys being done around coral reefs in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Solorzano and Ververs agree on many of the same points when it comes to coral conservation.

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The Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Queensland, Australia, is so expansive that it is visible even from outer space. Since 2016, the Great Barrier Reef has declined by 50 percent.

KATERINA KATOPIS / CORAL REEF IMAGE BANK

“These corals may be a thermometer of what we are doing to the planet and what we are doing to ourselves. We are part of the web of life on this planet. Coral reefs are the rainforest of the seas; we have to protect them too. Because they are under the surface and people don’t see them, they’re out of sight, out of mind,” Solorzano says. However, the approach to problem-solving by each organization is different: while Ververs and The Ocean Agency focus on changing the way we communicate about our changing world, Solorzano’s team stands on the frontier of coral reef science, using cutting-edge aerial technology to create high-resolution coral reef maps. Both approaches are integral to solving the ocean conservation problem, and The Nature Conservancy’s program has also benefited from the Tiffany & Co.

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Foundation’s grants: “The connection to the Tiffany & Co. Foundation goes beyond the 2017 grant,” Solorzano says. “They have been with us for years, and that is one of the outstanding things about the organization. They understand progress takes time and sustained support. Some other grants, they come and go, and it is harder to plan research and implement conservation techniques.” By some estimates, 60 percent of the world’s reefs are at risk due to human-related activities, and more than half of the world’s coral reefs may be destroyed by 2030. Still, Solorzano has hope: “Countries are reforesting millions of acres with trees. Why can’t we believe that we can eventually do the same for the coral? The research is happening,” he explains. “We still have the power to change the future.” ■

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Coral reefs host more than 4,000 species of fish, crustaceans and mollusks. The Ocean Agency, The Nature Conservancy and the Tiffany & Co. Foundation are working in tandem to protect these precious ecosystems.

SHAUN WOLFE / CORAL REEF IMAGE BANK (NATIONAL PARK OF AMERICAN SAMOA)

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AURORA PHOTOS / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

WOMEN EMBARK on the AUGUSTA NATIONAL GOLF CLUB BY SALLY J. SPORTSMAN

hen the lovely white flowers of the magnolia tree bloom and their sweet fragrance fills the air, it signals springtime in the South. To golfers, magnolias symbolize something even more. Driving down Magnolia Lane approaching Augusta National Golf Club signifies one of the more meaningful experiences in all of golf. The historic, private golf club in Augusta, Georgia, which opened for play in 1933, is home to the Masters Tournament, one of the four major championships in professional golf. While blossoming trees are interspersed throughout the course, the fifth hole, “Magnolia,” is often recognized for its special beauty.

his year, there is a new game in town. Another group of accomplished golfers—amateurs in this case—will have the opportunity to play the majestic course: the much-anticipated Augusta National Women’s Amateur makes its début this April. “Masters officials believe it will be the most widely attended amateur tournament in the world, and by a large margin,” said Fred Ridley, chairman of Augusta National and the Masters. To be played partially at Augusta National the week before the Masters, the new event is part of a gathering movement to help grow the game of

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MASTERS OFFICIALS BELIEVE IT WILL BE THE “ MOST WIDELY ATTENDED AMATEUR TOURNAMENT IN THE WORLD, AND BY A LARGE MARGIN. ”

— FRED RIDLEY, CHAIRMAN OF AUGUSTA NATIONAL AND THE MASTERS

golf. The tournament will be contested April 3-6 over three rounds, with the first two at the Champions Retreat outside Augusta and the final round on the Saturday before the Masters at the famed Augusta National course. The 72 women who comprise the field were determined by their victories at other recognized championships and the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings. NBC Sports will provide three hours of live coverage of the final round. Countless skilled, female amateur golfers no doubt will dream of and aspire to play in this esteemed event. The ones who ultimately succeed in being part of the field in years to come may take on an important role in the game of golf. “While we aim to stage a first-class championship, our motivation goes beyond the scores posted between the ropes,” Ridley said. “By providing this opportunity and shining a brighter light on this important segment of the sport, we expect role models to emerge who will help inspire a new generation of golfers.” The international field of 72 women amateurs will compete over 54 holes of stroke play. A cut will take place after 36 holes, advancing the leading 30 players to the final round at Augusta National. In the event of a tie after 54 holes, the winner will be decided by sudden-death playoff.

Center Stage

From young girls who are just learning to play to proficient collegiate players to seasoned amateurs—all will be keeping a keen eye on the firstever Augusta National Women’s Amateur, a singular chance for participants to showcase their skills and earn well-deserved accolades. The inaugural event represents an important moment of the growth of the game. “The Augusta National Women’s Amateur presents an exciting new opportunity for women’s golf and the future of the game,” said Suzy Whaley, who in 2018 became the first woman president of the PGA of America. “The PGA of America is delighted that women’s golf will take center stage at such a storied and breathtaking venue. The prospect of inspiring women and girls to play the game, while vying for the attainable dream of competing at Augusta National Golf Club just prior to the Masters, will serve as special inspiration for the players as they compete for their chance at golf history.” Provided she remains an amateur, the 2019 Augusta National Women’s Amateur Champion will receive an invitation to the next five Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championships, the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open, the 2019 Women’s British Open and any USGA, R&A and PGA of America amateur championships for which she is eligible for one year. If a junior is the champion, she will receive an exemption into the Girls Junior PGA Championship.

The Likely Field

College athletes no doubt will make up a substantial part of the field at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, giving them a chance to accomplish something rare as well as providing attendees and viewers a new opportunity to see a collection of the nation’s top college performers. “We are very supportive of the event, as it provides significant exposure to what should be a very deep collegiate field,” said Roger M. Yaffe, executive director of the Women’s Golf Coaches Association,

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formed in 1983 to promote women’s intercollegiate golf. “Having received this level of recognition from Augusta National and the parties involved with the event boosts the growth of college golf.” “I think the tournament will be very important for a number of reasons, one being that it will provide an additional reason for players to remain amateur,” Yaffe added.

The Eyes of the Golf World are on Augusta National

Julie Garner, director of golf and head women’s golf coach at Rollins College, in Winter Park, Florida, is among those who have great interest in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur and in seeing it grow in future years. A member of the Women’s Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2018, Garner is in a unique position to assess the significance of the new event. “The tournament will be fantastic for women’s amateur golf, a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity to play an incredible venue in a worldwide first-class event,” she said. With an eye on the college calendar, Garner does have her concerns: The practice rounds will require players to miss class for several days during the week. Also, the tournament will take place shortly before semester exams and the collegiate regional and national golf championships. There may be a number of players forced to decide between participating in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur or in the NCAA Championships. Yet, Garner said, the Augusta National Women’s Amateur occupies a unique place in the annals of golf history. “The benefits far outweigh the costs,” she said. “I find it hard to believe someone would turn down an invitation.” One of the young women slated to take the green is our cover model for this issue, Lucy Li, the youngest qualifier for the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Open, in which she participated in at ages 10 and 11 respectively. She will face off against Dixie Amateur champion Alexa Pano, who narrowly defeated Li last summer in the semifinals of the 70th U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship. Other players include Isabella Fierro, winner of the 2017 Mexican Amateur Championship and the 2017 North South Amateur Championship, and Natalie Srinivasan, the reigning Southern Conference Player of the Year.

The Larger Picture

The Augusta National Women’s Amateur is the newest spoke in a wheel that is turning women’s participation in golf into an increasingly welcome phenomenon. The spirit of golf has been evolving into one of inclusivity and engagement, not only to grow the game, but also to embrace equal opportunity in a more meaningful and long-lasting way. New opportunities for female golfers abound. Examples include the national Drive, Chip & Putt Championships, the First Tee youth development program, initiatives by the LPGA-USGA Girls Golf program, the inclusion of women in the Arnold Palmer Cup for collegiate golfers and more. Women’s golf is finding support from all corners. And none is more significant than the home to “Ámen Corner”—Augusta National. ■

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From her visit to Cai Guo-Qiang’s exhibition at the Uffizi (left) to sketching the Ponte Vecchio (right), Florence, Italy gave Anna Douglas Smith plenty of inspiration.

Italy, Inspiration & Instagram

nna Douglas Smith leads me to a detached garage at her Spartanburg, South Carolina home—just last summer, it was transformed from a “cat palace” into an artist’s den. There is some residual evidence of the studio’s previous purpose— boxes of Christmas ornaments and old keepsakes high up on mounted shelves—but for a young artist, the space is paradise: quiet, private and fully stocked. Paint-splattered ottomans make for eclectic seating. Tubes of paint peek out of the tops of boxes. Paintbrushes of all shapes and sizes blossom from baskets and mugs. Paintbrushes that have a mother’s

STUDY ABROAD EXPERIENCE, SOCIAL MEDIA SAVVY FUEL A YOUNG ARTIST’S CAREER.

BY JENNA REALMUTO

magic—most tools that Anna Douglas uses were once her mother’s, an artist herself. “They just do what no other brush can,” says Anna Douglas with a mysterious grin. A junior at Sewanee: The University of the South, the 20-year-old stands out among other developing artists. Her style is defined and practiced, though she tells me, “While painting, I’m always learning through experience.” Her feeling for pop art is evident—think sunglasses, green CocaCola bottles, Rolling Stonesesque lips. Stepping inside her studio, your eyes are immediately drawn to the walls, where canvases beckon with bursts of millennial pink and vibrant turquoise. In spite of being born and raised in the Deep South, her work doesn’t betray her Southern roots. The glittery works of Ashley Longshore, the street art of New York City, Gucci ads—these are the things that inspire her.

on’t expect to see the traditional fruit bowl or mountain landscape in this studio. Anna Douglas prefers vibrant pallets, tones so much larger-than-life that they are not usually found in the natural world. Her paintings are, simply put, chaotic with color. “You think of chaos as a bad thing, but I like chaotic work,” she explains. “It bothers me when paintings look too real. I like to know that it was made with paint and a conscious decision where every brush stroke is

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put.” It’s kind of like life today: very little room to breathe. Many of her paintings feature women, their eyes often obscured. “There’s an absence there. There’s a mystery there. There’s a vagueness,” she tells me of her decision to shroud the gaze of her female subjects. There’s much more emphasis on the mouth, which either twists or smiles or scowls to convey an incredible amount of emotion. Her paintings seem to suggest that words are more important than appearance. Like so many women, she has experienced moments of harassment and objectification. She hopes that her paintings will build a better, stronger image of women. She says, “I’m still figuring out what I believe in politically, but I am a feminist, and I really believe in social and equal rights for women, especially in art.” Other pieces focus on hands, such as the series of painted ceramic hands that she created on a recent study-abroad trip to Florence, Italy. Again, we see action over appearance. Not only did Anna Douglas step out of her comfort zone by taking a course in ceramics while in Florence, but the experience showed her something else—the absence of women as major

figures in the study of art history. One of her exams, she says, gave her a jolt: A question was phrased, “Name an artist, and discuss what you think his influence is on the art world.”

utside the classroom, her immersion in a culture where art is woven into the fabric of life was truly inspirational. “There’s art in every corner. Everywhere you look, there are people painting, there are galleries, there are so many people celebrating it.” In the U.S., pursuing art as a career is often discouraged—or, as Anna Douglas calls it, given an “eye roll.” Her Florentine experience opened her eyes to the disparity between the perception of art and artists at home and abroad. It also provided her with the motivation to earn respect stateside and to become established in the field. Her youth, along with the rise of social media, make Anna Douglas a testament to the changing landscape of the art world. Like many other young artists, she doesn’t anticipate showing her

A University of South Carolina student often commissions Anna Douglas to paint a particular subject, like Beyoncé. She says that she surprised herself with the skillful execution of the portrait.

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A step forward in defining her style, Star Girl is a display of Anna Douglas’ feminist beliefs.

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paintings in galleries, though she does sell her art at a local store on occasion. Not only can installing your work in a gallery be a drawnout process, but it requires the artist to mark up prices to cover commission fees. In fact, many in the art business are lamenting the “gallery crisis” around the world. Whether the internet or art fairs are to blame, the decline in art galleries has coincided with artists’ finding other ways to make a living through their work.

ndeed, Anna Douglas has already bypassed the traditional gallery route and begun a successful business through Instagram. She encourages any artist looking to build a career to start there. It’s free to use, and with millions of users, it is a good way to promote your art and create a platform for sales. With the social media app responsible for elevating influencers to the status of makeup moguls and professional models, there’s little doubt that a tech-savvy painter could use it as a springboard for a career. The commissions started to come in when Anna Douglas was still in high school. At first, most of her patrons were simply

Anna Douglas created 20 of these abstract paintings entitled her Circle Series to experiment with color, line, scale and everything in between.

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looking for a unique gift for a loved one (her most popular requests were pet portraits), but more recently Anna Douglas has seen a rising interest in her original creative pieces. Little of her work is on display in the studio, she says—most paintings have been sold. The impetus for her Insta-business isn’t just about money. It gives her additional motivation to improve, and commissions give her the opportunity to bring an idea to life that she may not have thought of on her own. But the business aspect has also taught her the true value of her time, effort and talent—just a few years ago, she would take nearly any price for a painting. Anna Douglas hopes to elevate the status of the professional artist here at home. She advocates for every artist—on Instagram, in school, in galleries—to know their own worth. “I want people to see my effort and be inspired by it—my effort to make art more important in our culture and less of an ‘eye roll.’ I just want to be a figure of that, hopefully.” Then she laughs. “And I want people to follow my Instagram.” ■ Editor’s Note: Follow Anna Douglas Smith on Instagram: @annads.art

A photo taken on a sunny Saturday in May was the subject of Saturday Shenanigans. It reminds the artist of happy weekends spent on campus at Sewanee.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY JOSH NORRIS

TEEING IT UP TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOSH NORRIS

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In January, ELYSIAN joined legendary golfers on the links at Old Marsh Golf Club in Palm Beach, Florida as the official media sponsor for the Golf Fore Africa Pro Am and Golf Clinic. Founded in 2007 by Golf Hall of Fame member, Betsy King, Golf Fore Africa empowers the golf community to support transformational programs in Africa that benefit children and families. The two-day event raised $150,000 for the nonprofit’s clean water initiative in rural villages in Zambia. One well takes $15,000 to fund and provides clean water to an entire community for life.

Photos, clockwise from top left: Lynn Shura, Mary Ourisman, Dawn Duross MacKintosh, Amy McGowan, LPGA Pro Brittany Lincicome & Rhonda Wilkins. • LPGA Pro Katherine Kirk teeing off. • The Lincicome/Wilkins group poses for a snapshot. • LPGA Hall of Famers Nancy Lopez & Betsy King pose alongside members of the Florida Atlantic University Women’s Golf Team, who served as volunteer caddies for the clinic. • Patty Lang, Sue McMurddy, Mary Ellen Yeager, Michelle McGann & Rae Evans size up a putt. Katherine Kirk demonstrates ball flight during the GFA Clinic. The latest ELYSIAN fashion—caddy bibs. More Rhonda Wilkins antics. • LPGA Pro Azahara Munoz’s (second from left) group strike their best Payne Stewart pose.

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ELYSIAN hosted an elegant kickoff party for the Golf Fore Africa Clinic at the Palm Beach home of ELYSIAN Executive Editor of Graceful Living, Rhonda Wilkins, The event brought together leading female golfers with the ELYSIAN Circle of Inspiring Women, prompting dialogue about philanthropic giving and celebrating women in golf. Guests learned about GFA’s commitment to ending the global water crisis. GFA has installed over 160 wells and funded 12 mechanized water systems, providing clean water to more than 750,000 people. VR headsets gave guests a side-by-side view of 8-year-old Beatrice hauling water back to her rural Zambian village and the transformative effect a well brings. ■

GFA RECEPTION PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOSH NORRIS

Clockwise from top right: A beautiful Palm Beach sunset and a roaring firepit was the ambience on hand to set the mood for an evening to benefit Golf Fore Africa. • Asian-inspired hors d’oeuvres. • ELYSIAN Inspiring Woman Mary Ourisman. • (Inset photo) Betsy King, Rhonda Wilkins & ELYSIAN Publisher Karen Floyd. • Tom D’Agostino Jr. & ELYSIAN Inspiring Woman Danielle Rollins.

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ur cover model for this issue is the young and talented amateur golfer Lucy Li, whose accolades in the sport of golf have already given her a spotlight on and off the green. ELYSIAN hopes to intensify this platform as she continues to succeed on the links. Holding the record as the youngest qualifier for both the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Open, Lucy Li took the green at a major competition for the first time when she was only 10 years old. Now 16, she is primed to be one of the biggest names in golf in the coming years, an aspiration she is pursuing passionately. We asked legendary LPGA golfers and ELYSIAN Inspiring Women, Betsy King, Beth Daniel and Michelle McGann to give her some words of advice about her future. With wisdom that only comes from decades on the links, the three women encouraged Lucy to embrace her youth and enjoy the journey that golf will give her. Betsy encouraged her to attend college and take the time to learn about life. Michelle reminded, “Have fun with every minute.” And from Beth: “Golf will always be there, so you don’t have to rush to make it happen.” ■

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