ELYSIAN Autumn 2023 The ARTs Issue by readelysian

ELYSIAN Women Inspiring Women

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Untitled #51420 Ink & Acrylic on Linen By Meighan Morrison

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Suzy Parker Kiss them for me . . .

56 BY KATE MCMULLEN

ELYSIAN 72 VOLUME 9 • ISSUE 3 • THE ARTS ISSUE / L’ÉDITION ARTISTIQUE • AUTOMNE 2023

The Artistic Splendor of Austria

The Crown Jewels

90 BY HELEN ARDEN

106

Kim Kassas’ Crown Jewels, is a tribute to the strong and influential women who wield the power of royalty. BY SAMANTHA PAIGE

Mary Cassatt The original feminist. BY LAURA MORLAND

128

Inspiring Women Alexandra Kauka page 130 Dr. Christina Rahm page 142 INTERVIEWED BY KAREN FLOYD

arts&entertainment Mitsuko Uchida: Portrait of a pianist. BY MARCY DUBROFF

art&fashion

NehaDani: Redefining the boundaries of jewelry artistry. BY TILOTTAMA SHOME

shopping

154 art&literature 160 166 philanthropy Art for reading. BY SINDIE FITZGERALD-RANKIN

art&artists

Marta Estrems: The power of Catharsis & healing through art. BY CARLA GROH

The fine art of poetry. BY DAINA SAVAGE

A Ground-breaking Fashion Experience to Benefit our Furry Friends.

200 back story BY CAROLINE RYAN

Team ELYSIAN and the ELYSIAN Circle set sail in Palm Beach for an unforgettable Summer magzine launch.

on the cover

Dr. Christina Rahm of DRC Ventures / Root Media photographed by Michael Paniccia.

architecture&interiors Art matters. BY SONIA HENRY

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Artist Roger Sichel + Friends

ARTCOM Southampton / June 5 - August 28

CREATIVITY IS A WAY OF SHARING YOUR SOUL WITH THE WORLD.” —BRENÉ BROWN

With love,

Karen Floyd Publisher

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PHOTOGRAPH BY ELISE RIMMER

uch like the romantic poets believed, I think the creative imagination is a spiritual force that has the capacity to change the world . . . In these complicated geopolitical times, the human condition is desperate for answers—how do we encourage more love and compassion and less hate and judgment? How can we explain our schizophrenic world . . . we land spaceships on Mars, send NFT’s to the moon, and invent cranial implants that interface with technology when we have rape and torture facilities, invasions and occupations, and children go hungry. How can we reconcile the distances we have both progressed and regressed? There will never be global reconciliation without human connection. Art is connection. Whether from telling authentic, personal stories or painting masterpieces on canvas, art is a conduit to peaceful coexistence. By way of example, two individuals who are at war can still love and appreciate the same work of art. That common denominator or art creates a relatability which in turn sparks an openness to receive and willingness to share differing perspectives. Because creativity is a foundational element to understanding one another, the artist in each of us must do more. I credit the inspiration for creating art as coming from the divine (artists use many names . . . God, Universe, Spirituality). Having interviewed hundreds of creators . .. from artists to authors, I have found two commonalities; first, many creators are intuitive and empathic, and second, most understand the responsibility that comes with these gifts. Both Inspiring Women Alexandra Kuaka and Dr. Christina Rahm realized at an early age their own path was unique and their responsibility to humanity was large . . . because they recognized the breadth of what they were bestowed. This Art issue examines Austria’s rich cultural history, and its place as a European power, which fostered an atmosphere conducive to artistic innovation. Austria’s love of art and music made it a thriving center for artistry that continues today. From nations to artists, ELYSIAN spotlights two exceptional women. The contemporary Indian-born Neha Dani’s use of unique gems and non-traditional metals which results in extraordinary one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry, pushing the boundaries of design, and translating into poetic composition in jewelry. And finally, renowned Mary Cassatt, whose childhood visits to museums set her on a path that would give the world her title, the First Lady of the early Impressionist Movement in Paris. Hers was a self-reflective life, whose art allowed this great creator to see her own soul. Mary, like many artists, took an isolated journey, never marrying nor having children of her own, yet becoming an early advocate through her art for women. Mary ventured alone the path that she was uniquely called to follow. Creating art, from whatever the source . . . comes in many forms. Take for instance CatWalk FurBaby, where creative powerhouses, women change-makers, and animal welfare organizations joined forces to make the world better for our furry companions under the auspices of ELYSIAN Impact, ELYSIAN’s philanthropic arm. At the intersection of Philanthropy (Bissell Pet Foundation providing grants for participating Animal rescues), Designers (from around the world, Turkey, Great Britain, and the US), Models (newly discovered and world-renowned), Rescues (spanning the US coast to coast and beyond), and ELYSIAN’s Inspiring Women (who championed the event) in the iconic Sony Hall . . . was New York Fashion Week. In this issue the winners are lauded in full-page spreads. With this and more, it is my sincere hope that the definition of ELYSIAN . . . “creative, blissful and divinely inspired,” is found throughout our pages. And that perhaps you, the ELYSIAN reader, are inspired to reignite your purpose and create or experience something you find compelling. Most importantly I wish you the opportunity to truly recognize the power of the gifts that you have been given. Thank you for sharing the journey.

ORANDO ENTRE FLORES -

PRAYING BETWEEN FLOWERS, 2023 Acrylic & charcoal on canvas

72 x 56 in

by RUBEN RODRIGUEZ MARTINEZ

EVEY FINE ART / PALM BEACH artevey.com

architecture&interiors

Art Matters BY SONIA HENRY

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Art is the centerpiece of this beautiful interior space designed by German born Interior Architect and Designer Victoria Maria. COURTESY VICTORIA-MARIA.COM

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in no place is art more meaningful, more intimate, and more inspiring than in our homes and personal spaces. It not only speaks to us but for us. And the art that we display can be an expression of who we are, a secretive glimpse at our inner selves, or a deeper inspection of whom we would like to be. Ivy Foster, a community activist, and self-proclaimed environmental warrior, would agree. In her warm and spacious living room, decorated in earth tones and enhanced by scores of plants, books by authors such as Jane Goodall, Bill McKibben, and Barbara Kingsolver, as well as dozens of photos of her family, a soaring painting hangs behind the sofa. The four-foot by six-foot work by mixed media/public artist Linda Cunningham, titled Regeneration, draws the eye into its swirling, uplifting imagery of beauty rising from the earth, and also invites visitors to look outward to experience the deep reds, browns, greens, and golds in Foster’s favorite room, all inspired by Regeneration. “The painting, which I purchased 30 years ago for a song because the artist was cleaning out her studio, has been at the heart of my home since it first made its way onto my wall,” said Foster. “To me, it represents life, hope, and a love of the earth that has been at the core of my work and my activism since I was young.”

Outstanding Upper Eastside New York townhouse by interior design company Apartment 48, located in Noho New York, founded in 1994 by Interior Designer, Rayman Boozer. COURTESY APARTMENT48.COM

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Designer Victoria Maria is based in Brussels with a solid network of suppliers throughout the World. COURTESY VICTORIA-MARIA.COM

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This bathroom features shaker-style pegs, wooden chest and a portrait of George Washington by ‘outsider’ artist Ike E. Morgan. ANDREAS VON EINSIEDEL / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO • Opposite: As part of her craft, Victoria Maria also recommends art pieces and original artworks to her clients to complement and elevate a room’s overall design. COURTESY VICTORIA-MARIA.COM

Art

has a long history of having a profound influence on interior design and has played a crucial role in shaping the overall aesthetic and ambiance of spaces. From Bauhaus’ quintessential modernist aesthetic to Pop Art’s abstract and geometric influences to classic Art Deco’s pomp and luxury, art has had the distinction of helping to synthesize architecture, furniture, and décor for both the famous (think Arts & Crafts home Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright) and your next-door neighbors (such as Ivy Foster). Interior design guru Martin Waller, the founder of design house Andrew Martin, has said that “paintings and photographs are the best way to inject color and character into a room. Statement pieces often contribute far more to the feel of a space than the furniture. Whether it is a brightly colored painting, a neon or a black and white photograph, the light reflected, produced or absorbed by its surface will impact the mood of a room.” Interior designer Victoria Maria, of victoria-maria.com, agrees. She recalls that she has been influenced by various artists throughout her career, including Gustav Klimt and German Otto Dix when creating spaces. She has also often worked with clients who have unique art collections of their own that they want to showcase in their homes, and she has had the pleasure of designing their rooms around these works. “It’s a fun challenge to work with these pieces, and to make them the focal points of rooms,” she said, bringing to mind that the art often influences the arrangement of furniture and the overall layout of the space. As part of her craft, Maria also recommends art pieces to her clients to complement and elevate a room’s overall design. “Artwork has the power to add depth, texture, and personality to a space, so it’s important to carefully consider each piece and how it fits within the design scheme,” she said. Maria believes that art is extremely important when decorating a home and creating an interior design. “Art can set the tone and mood of a room,” she said. “It showcases the personality and style of the homeowner, elevates the overall design of a home, and makes spaces feel more complete,” she said. Art can also inspire and guide the color palette of a room, much like Cunningham’s piece did for Foster. Designers, such as Kelly Hoppen, often pull colors from a painting or a piece of art to create a harmonious and cohesive look. “A beautiful piece of art can inspire an entire room and create a sense of harmony and balance

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A Labrador Retriever lies in the entrance hall of this newly built contemporary Cotswolds home accented in the doorway with terracotta Chinese statues. PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREAS VON EINSIEDEL / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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Abstract artwork adorns this dining room in a contemporary London home. PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREAS VON EINSIEDEL / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO • Opposite: A home showcasing the owner’s fine, yet eclectic taste in arts and crafts. PHOTOGRAPH BY TONY GIAMMARINO / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

within the space,” said Hoppen. The colors in a piece of art can provide a starting point for selecting wall colors, furnishings, and accessories that complement or contrast with the artwork. Rayman Boozer, founder and creative director of Apartment 48 Interiors, adds that “artwork can be the finishing touch that completes a room’s design. I always keep an eye out for unique and interesting pieces that could work well in a client’s space.” All of these designers believe that art provides a richness to a room and makes it feel more personal. Hoppen, in particular, feels that “art and interior design are inextricably linked. Each one can greatly enhance the other. When choosing artwork for a space, it’s important to consider the overall design scheme and how well the piece fits into it. A well-placed piece of art can really bring a room to life and make it feel complete.”

The

beautiful part of using art as an inspiration for a space is that the piece does not have to be expensive. Blogger and photographer Angela Cameron writes that art in interior design, often considered a luxury or impractical, does not have to be either. For instance, one form of art that has become popular in recent years is the photograph, and prints are often much more affordable than original paintings. What is most important, according to Cameron, is allowing the art to reflect the personalities and perspectives of the creators and the owners. “Art is used to express emotions, present ideals,

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The owner’s bold style and luxurious taste are reflected in this London apartment working room. PHOTOGRAPHY BY BAIKAL / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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Framed nudes surround a bath, by window, in this 16th century Elizabethan manor house, Suffolk, United Kingdom. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREAS VON EINSIEDEL / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO • Below: Interior design featuring sculpture as a centerpiece in this luxury loft apartment in Moscow. Living room interior. PHOTOGRAPHY BY BAIKAL / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO • Opposite: Every interior has a story, Apartment 48 takes an organic approach to building the client’s narrative. Regardless of the project, the goal of Apartment 48 is to discover our client’s voice and to cultivate a design that enhances their uniqueness and style. COURTESY APARTMENT48.COM

or explore concepts, many of which are not possible with other mediums. Art is important because it changes the way you look at space . . . and it can create an environment where people can feel comfortable, happy, and relaxed.” Whether it is a traditional and formal atmosphere or a modern and edgy vibe, the art creates the mood that the owner wants to convey, and that makes a space more meaningful and personal. Ivy Foster most definitely agrees. “When I sit in my living room, reading, writing, or entertaining, I always find myself glancing up once or twice at Regeneration. Every time I look at it, I see something different in its depths, and every time I tell the story of how it was acquired, I feel a deep sense of gratitude for both the brilliant artist who created it and the generosity she exhibited by selling it to me for just a few hundred dollars. It has certainly made my living space more meaningful over the decades and has created a sense of connection for me with the earth and all its wonders.” “Art in the home can be so much more than decoration,” wrote Cameron. “It is a way for us to express ourselves, to feel validated, and to have a dialogue with our surroundings.” And Waller, who advocates for mixing, matching, and finding colors and palettes that make your heart sing, believes that nothing in art is off-limits when you are creating your space, “as long as you love it!” ■

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Kelly Hoppen, of Kelly Hoppen Interiors, feels that “art and interior design are inextricably linked. Each one can greatly enhance the other. When choosing artwork for a space, it’s important to consider the overall design scheme and how well the piece fits into it. A well-placed piece of art can really bring a room to life and make it feel complete.” COURTESY KELLYHOPPENINTERIORS.COM

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arts&entertainment

Mitsuko Uchida: Portrait of a Pianist BY MARCY DUBROFF

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was a cold and frosty late February evening, but all 650 seats in Philadelphia’s Perelman Theater had been sold and, had been so since the previous fall. The venue was literally buzzing with anticipation, as the crowd had come to hear Beethoven’s Final Piano Sonatas—Les dernières sonates pour piano Op. 109, 110, and 111. That musical trio alone would have filled the classic Philadelphia Chamber Music Society’s event to capacity, but on this evening, the real draw was the performer—pianist Dame Mitsuko Uchida, one of the most recognizable and beloved pianists of our time and worldrenowned for her profound and peerless interpretations of the works of Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, and Beethoven. As Uchida lightly strode onto the stage, her trademark gossamer blouse billowing behind her and her gray-streaked mane flowing just past her shoulders, the crowd erupted into thunderous applause. The Japanese-born, Austrian-raised Londoner is now a youthful 75 years old, and her calm and grace as she performed these three sonatas was nothing less than soul-stirring. As the concert progressed, she navigated the arpeggios and furor of the opening sonata, the melodic tenderness and austerity of the second, and the passionate variations of the third as if she had a divine connection to the composer’s innermost thoughts and intent. Her trademark “silken touch, barely there” caressing of the keys coaxed both the softest of melodies and the most thunderous of crescendos from the mammoth piano that she somehow bent to her will. Peter Dobrin of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote in his review of her performance that toward the end of the concert, “Uchida entered another realm. The music here (was) as euphoric a rendering of liberty in sound as any composer ever wrote, and Uchida reached the stratosphere and guided us back to earth as if only she could find an entire universe between the notes.” And, as those final notes dissolved into the night air, the rapt crowd took a collective breath and then erupted in admiration with a standing ovation. This was a classic Uchida moment, one that has played out in concert halls around the world for her entire career and, one hopes, again and again for many years to come.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY RICHARD AVEDON / ARTS MANAGEMENT GROUP / ARTSMG.COM

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WHERE WORDS FAIL, MUSIC SPEAKS.” —HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN DANISH AUTHOR, PLAYWRIGHT, POET

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY GEOFFROY SCHIED / ARTS MANAGEMENT GROUP / ARTSMG.COM

PHOTOGRAPH BY RICHARD AVEDON / ARTS MANAGEMENT GROUP / ARTSMG.COM

chida began playing the piano at the age of three, and by the age of seven, she had already begun performing in public, winning several piano competitions as a child in her native Japan. Uchida’s parents were quick to recognize an exceptional talent in their shy, but gifted child, and from an early age, encouraged her to pursue a music career. When Uchida moved to Vienna at the age of 12 after her father was named Japan’s ambassador to Austria, she began several years of formative study with Richard Hauser at the Vienna Academy of Music. She gave her first recital at the famed Musikverein at the tender age of 14 and remained in Austria when her parents returned to Japan so she could continue her musical education. According to Slate magazine, her teachers at that time also included the great German pianist and composer Wilhelm Kempff, Polish-Belgian pedagogue Stefan

Askenase, and Italian classical pianist Maria Curcio, who was the last and favorite student of the legendary Arthur Schnabel. Thanks to the tutelage of these musical legends and her innate talent, Uchida went on to win first prize in the Beethoven Competition in Vienna when she was 19 and was “second in the Leeds Competition the following year, opening the door to an international career and her eventual move to London.” Her move to England marked the beginning of a successful career as a concert pianist, and Uchida performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls in the world over the next several years. She was already a well-known name in classical circles when she had what most critics describe as a career-defining moment, performing all of Mozart’s piano sonatas in a series of recitals at London’s Wigmore Hall in 1982. It was those performances that catapulted

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her reputation from exceptional to legendary and established her as one of the foremost interpreters of Mozart’s music. “Some people warned me against Mozart as a specialty,” she said in a Los Angeles Times interview. “My conclusion? Do not believe it.” Her way with Mozart, according to journalist Donna Perlmutter, “regarded as revolutionary, is a course that accepts all the bumps in transit from one feeling of exquisite subtlety to another...just as her view of Beethoven reflects the composer in hell dreaming of heaven, of concepts like freedom and human dignity.”

ince that seminal series of concerts, Uchida has established herself as a passionate and instinctual interpreter of great composers’ works. Her performances are characterized by their sensitivity, clarity, and depth of emotion, and her playing is marked by a sense of intimacy and emotional immediacy. However, Uchida does not constrain herself to the music of the masters—she is also a devotee of the piano music of Alban Berg, Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, and György Kurtág. She has enjoyed close relationships over her career with some of the world’s most renowned orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and in the United States, the Chicago Symphony and The Cleveland Orchestra, with whom she recently celebrated her 100th performance at Severance Hall. Conductors with whom she has worked closely have included Bernard Haitink, Sir Simon Rattle, Riccardo Muti, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Vladimir Jurowski, Andris Nelsons, Gustavo Dudamel, and Mariss Jansons. Uchida was also Musical America’s 2022 Artist of the Year, and a Carnegie Hall Perspectives artist across the 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25 seasons. Her latest recording, of Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, released to critical acclaim, was nominated for a Grammy Award and won the 2022 Gramophone Piano Award. Uchida is also an accomplished chamber musician and has been an Artistic Partner of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, with whom

she is currently engaged on a multi-season touring project in Europe, Japan, and North America. She also appears regularly in recital across the globe and is a frequent guest at the Salzburg Mozartwoche and Salzburg Festival. She records exclusively for Decca, and her multi-award-winning discography includes the complete Mozart and Schubert piano sonatas. She is the recipient of two Grammy® Awards—for Mozart Concertos with The Cleveland Orchestra, and for an album of lieder with Dorothea Röschmann—and her recording of the Schoenberg Piano Concerto with Pierre Boulez and the Cleveland Orchestra won the Gramophone Award for Best Concerto. A founding member of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust and Director of Marlboro Music Festival, Uchida is a recipient of the Golden Mozart Medal from the Salzburg Mozarteum and the Praemium Imperiale from the Japan Art Association. She has also been awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society and the Wigmore Hall Medal, and holds honorary degrees from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. In 2009, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. She is also a former recipient of the MacArthur Genius Fellowship. However, Uchida’s accolades are secondary to her drive to “revivify . . . music’s spirit” and to bring the joys of the master composers to today’s audiences. Her deep love and commitment to promoting the classics have spurred her to become one of the most sought-after musical educators in the world, and she has worked with young musicians through master classes and other educational programs in recent years. She has also been involved in the creation of several music festivals, including the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont and the Mitsuko Uchida Schubertiade in Italy. But despite her success and recognition, Uchida remains humble and dedicated to her craft, often spending months or years studying and analyzing a single piece before ever performing it in public. But when she does perform in public, it is sheer magic, as evidenced by the standing ovations that she regularly enjoys. “Every day of my life that I am allowed to play Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and the music of our own time too,” she told The Guardian, “is a gift from somewhere. If heaven existed, it’s heaven.” ■

PHOTOGRAPH BY HYOU VIELZ / ARTS MANAGEMENT GROUP / ARTSMG.COM

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arts&fashion

TAZLINA GLACIAL BLUE MOONSTONE & DIAMOND NECKLACE

Inspired by the majestic glaciers, the Tazlina Moonstone Necklace by Neha Dani brings alive the translucent shimmer of glacial ice, the blue moonstones and diamonds set in titanium, crystallizing the magic of Nature. COURTESY NEHA DANI / /NEHADANI.COM

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Neha Dani:

Redefining the Boundaries of Jewelry Artistry BY TILOTTAMA SHOME

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Jewelry Artist Neha Dani sculpts each organic dimensional form in wax herself in meticulous detail, turning it in her hands to perfect every angle in three dimensions. After the form is complete, she adds the gems and colors she feels will complete the piece. She selects each gemstone personally, painting and carving the wax to position it in place to express her vision. Her palette is often bold and unconventional, with striking contrasts of colored metal and gems. COURTESY NEHA DANI / /NEHADANI.COM

ithin the realm of jewelry artistry, a select few possess the rare ability to transcend traditional design norms and create truly extraordinary pieces. Neha Dani, an acclaimed jewelry artist, stands among these visionaries, pushing the boundaries of creativity and craftsmanship to new heights. With her distinctive style and unwavering dedication to her craft, Dani has carved a niche for herself in the world of fine jewelry. An artist par excellence, Neha creates timeless jewels that are masterpieces, each with a deeply embedded philosophy. Her multilayered sculpted creations are strikingly contemporary, drawing on her emotions and beliefs, inculcated as she traverses life. Her oeuvre is bold and feminine, intricately detailed to narrate stories from every angle. Her inspirations are diverse and emulated to

perfection. Whether a piece has been inspired by autumnal leaves, spring flowers, or a coral reef, Neha’s jewelry is poetic and vibrant. Dani’s personal journey is brimming with determination and passion. Born in India, her fascination with art and design was nurtured from a young age. She grew up in a traditional Indian family but her parents were intrepid travelers. Young Neha was raised exploring the world and was exposed to art and culture across several countries. She absorbed myriad wonders in her adolescence—from magical glaciers in Alaska to classical art in the museums of Europe. She later pursued her passion at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), where she honed her skills and deepened her knowledge of precious gemstones and metals. This foundation laid the groundwork for her remarkable journey as a jewelry artist. A lifelong passion for gems was born at

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MYRA DIAMOND RING

18K gold ring with custom green rhodium finish, set with diamonds and tsavorites.

Opposite: BRASSICA LEAVES PINK & WHITE DIAMOND EARRINGS Early Spring blossoms in crisp leaves of 18K rose gold set with white and pink diamonds in a light-to-dark ombre pattern. Four blossoms are centered with unique old mine cut white diamonds. The top blossoming leaves can be detached from the lower blooms and worn short, as button-style, timeless jewels. Post with clip. COURTESY NEHA DANI / /NEHADANI.COM

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the time and she went on to become a Fellow of the Gemological Association of England, returning to India to work as a gemologist. Soon thereafter, she started designing unique pieces with fine gems and diamonds. Her stunning presentation at the JCK Show in the United States was a statement of her bold and experimental style. A much-deserved “Rising Star” award at the show catapulted Neha Dani onto the center stage of the world of high jewelry. The global media had discovered a free-spirited young star in Neha Dani and she was featured in prestigious publications like Vogue, VO+, Women’s Wear Daily, Robb Report, Forbes, and The New York Times.

THE ARTIST AND HER PROCESS

COURTESY NEHA DANI / /NEHADANI.COM

hat sets Dani apart is her unique artistic approach and her ability to seamlessly blend traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design elements. Her creations are characterized by intricate detailing, bold shapes, and an exquisite interplay of colors and textures. Each piece reflects her artistic vision and storytelling ability, evoking a sense of wonder and captivating the viewer. As an artist, Neha has a deep connection to her innermost emotions which she translates into poetic compositions in her jewelry. Her inspirations are transformed into sculptural forms and threedimensional silhouettes that make her designs unique and refined. Her design process is meditative and begins with her carving out the details with her favorite medium—jeweler’s wax. She explores form, volume, light, and movement—often sparked by a journey of self-discovery and introspection. An art form that is dwindling in popularity in a world driven by digital design, Neha learned the art of wax carving at GIA, in California. Instead of following the prevalent path of designing with computer-aided software, she discovered the joy of experimenting with form, using her hands and a carver’s tools. Neha articulates, “Wax carving allows me to think as I work. You can make more organic shapes that are hard to achieve with traditional sheet metal and wire. My intricately detailed designs can be meticulously worked and re-worked on wax, like a sculptor working with stone or clay.” Neha and her team of craftsmen experiment and create with the wax until they get the form just right—by adding on or removing— continuing to perfect the design until they have a wax model that’s just right for casting. Using fine tools to saw, file, chisel, and carve, fine miniature sculptures in the shapes of petals, leaves, feathers, or abstract shapes take form, almost magically. “It’s a laborious and skill-intensive process that I enjoy immensely. It allows me to visualize in many layers which make my designs so intricate.” Neha spends contemplative hours working on each piece, trying permutations and combinations. She thinks not just of the aesthetic form but also of the minute engineering that will be required when cast in metal—how elements would need to be hinged, articulated, or locked; whether a pair of earrings will move as elegantly when worn, as she visualizes on a static frame. Her mind works tirelessly as she gives shape to each piece of gem, in wax, striving for a perfect piece of art. Success in this phase results from a combination of ideal form and perfect engineering. Each piece often needs to be broken down into several parts and linked back together to ensure comfort, movement, and a surprising view from all angles. Once she is satisfied with her creation, the wax models are sent to her designated workshops around the world to be cast in a metal of her choice—gold or titanium, and then studded with precious gemstones that she selects herself from the best and ethical sources. Neha is unafraid to experiment with unconventional stones—stepping outside the traditional boundaries of precious gems. Instead, she skillfully uses

unusual gems that suit her design aesthetic and complement her design. Dani has worked extensively with titanium, a metal known for its strength and versatility. By incorporating titanium into her designs, she challenges conventions and explores new possibilities. Being a lightweight metal, Dani is able to work with complex, voluminous designs which would have been too heavy to wear, if made of traditional metals like gold. The fact that titanium can be anodized in different colors has further inspired Neha to add striking colors when working with titanium. The result is jewelry that exudes modernity and elegance, while still maintaining a sense of timeless beauty. Another hallmark of Dani’s work is her meticulous attention to detail. Each piece is painstakingly handcrafted, showcasing her dedication to craftsmanship and her commitment to creating wearable art. From the smallest gemstone to the intricate metalwork, every element is thoughtfully considered and expertly executed. The journey of each complex one-of-a-kind jewel takes six months or more. Dani completes only about a dozen pieces each year so she can be personally involved in every step of the process. That’s why each wearable work of art has the clarity of her singular artistic vision. In the world of haute jewelry, Neha has forged a new design vocabulary by foregoing the traditional use of materials and opting instead for the riskier path of experimentation. “Only a handful of workshops worldwide can fabricate such detailed pieces, combining old-world techniques with modern technology,” says Neha Dani.

A GLOBALLY RECOGNIZED DESIGNER ver the years, Neha Dani has garnered international acclaim and has been recognized with numerous awards for her exceptional designs. Her creations have been showcased in prestigious galleries and exhibitions worldwide, captivating collectors and connoisseurs alike. Her collectors include discerning individuals who appreciate the artistry and craftsmanship that goes into each piece she creates. In 2017, Neha Dani was profiled in Juliet Weir-de la Rochefoucauld’s book Women Jewellery Designers, along with famous names in contemporary luxury design such as Victoire de Castellane, Coco Chanel, and Paloma Picasso. As she continued to craft iconic pieces, recognition came from several quarters. Her works were displayed at the prestigious PAD Paris and PAD London art fairs. One of New York’s foremost galleries—the Macklowe Gallery, exhibited her designs and these received much appreciation from collectors. Another eminent appearance—in May 2019, Sotheby’s New York presented a selection of Neha Dani’s floral pieces as part of the “In Bloom” exhibition. In June, of the same year, her Shrishti series was presented in London by Trinity House Gallery. In November, Vogue Italia and The Salon of Art & Design in New York presented Neha Dani’s works as part of the Protagonists 2019 Exhibition. In 2019, she was awarded the “Rising Star” Award from the Fashion Group of America in the fine jewelry category. In 2020, Neha Dani’s work was featured in the book Coveted by Melanie Grant; a comprehensive book on jewelry as an art form that features a collection of today’s most exclusive jewelers. Dani continues to evolve, with each collection pushing the boundaries of design. Her unwavering commitment to creativity and her ability to infuse soul into her creations have made her one of the most innovative jewelry artists of our time. Through her extraordinary designs, Neha Dani inspires us to embrace the artistry of jewelry and celebrate the boundless possibilities of self-expression. Her legacy will certainly serve as a testament to the power of imagination and the transformative nature of fine jewelry. ■

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Art for reading

BY SINDIE FITZGERALD-RANKIN

“A

book is made from a tree. It is an assemblage of flat, flexible parts (still called “leaves”) imprinted with dark pigmented squiggles. One glance at it and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, the author is speaking, clearly and silently, inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people, citizens of distant epochs, who never knew one another. Books break the shackles of time—proof that humans can work magic.” - Carl Sagan ■

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suzy parker:

Kiss Them for Me... by Kate McMullen

like to imagine that my grandmother walked past Suzy Parker once when they were both young. I can’t find any real proof of them being in the same place at the same time, but they were both young women in Florida in the 1940s when Suzy Parker was, as they say, discovered at age 15. If there’s one thing to know about Suzy Parker, it’s that she pulled people to her. I like to imagine my grandmother as a young teenager, passing Suzy on the street. She would have turned to watch her walk away. I’m sure many did. Suzy Parker was born on Long Island in 1932, and by the time she passed away in 2003, she had been photographed for countless campaigns, starred in films, and was one of the most recognizable faces on the planet. At the height of her career, spanning from 1947 to around 1970, peaking in the 1950s, she was the highest-paid model in the business. An icon’s icon, she inspired designs by Coco Chanel, performances by Audrey Hepburn, and even a song by The Beatles. People flocked to her for her beauty, trademark smile, and stunning copper hair, and stayed for her girl-next-door charm and loquacious whit. Christian Dior dubbed her “the most beautiful woman in the world,” but perhaps the most remarkable thing about Suzy was how level-headed and unaffected she seemed by her glamorous life. It’s her grounded nature despite her fame that has made America care so much for Suzy, the first supermodel that America seemed to know on a first-name basis. The most beautiful girl in the world is someone I could still imagine walking by my grandmother in a Jacksonville department store. The youngest of three children, Suzy was born Cecilia Renee Ann Parker, and grew up in a modest household with her parents and siblings. Her father started calling her Susie instead, and after her career got started, a French magazine changed the spelling to Suzy. Suzy was very close with her father and shared his curiosity, quick-witted intelligence, and his red hair and freckles. Suzy often played dress-up with her mother’s clothes, demonstrating an interest in fashion at a young age. Suzy’s natural beauty and poise were apparent even as a child. Despite her clear and early inclination towards the fashion world, Suzy had a well-rounded upbringing and excelled academically. Her parents did not approve of modeling as a career, even though all three of their daughters would eventually try their hand at it. Suzy’s older sister Dorian was her entry into the modeling industry. Modeling under the name Dorian Leigh, Dorian Elizabeth Leigh Parker is a modeling legend in her own right. Once one of the most photographed women in the world, despite her shorter stature, Dorian Leigh was Truman Capote’s inspiration for the character of Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Suzy began traveling to New York with Dorian when she was working and her older sister was a mentor

Actress Suzy Parker models a white cotton on black velvet evening gown by Anna Miller. PHOTOGRAPH BY GENEVIEVE NAYLOR / CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES

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Actress Suzy Parker models a black chenille evening gown with netting designed by Adrian.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY GENEVIEVE NAYLOR / CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES

Fashion model Suzy Parker wears a light gray shantung dress by Cohama.

to her throughout her career. Dorian modeled for the Ford Modeling Agency and asked that they take on her little sister, sight unseen, as a condition of her signing with the agency. Dorian was 5’5’’, petite and dark-haired. Imagine the agency’s surprise when they met fifteen-year-old Suzy, already 5’10’’, auburn-haired, freckled, sporting her iconic smile. As famous as Dorian would become, Suzy would eventually eclipse her. Where Dorian was known for being difficult to work with, Suzy was herself an innovator, game to try anything, and far more cooperative than her older sister.

uzy appeared in print for the first time in Life Magazine in 1947. Shortly after, Dorian introduced her to Richard Avedon. He had just set up his studio in 1946 in New York, beginning his long, iconic career photographing for Vogue, Life, and Harper’s Bazaar. He would become the lead photographer at Vogue, photographing most of the covers from 1962 to 1988, when Anna Wintour took over. He photographed The Beatles and the iconic Calvin Klein campaign that gave fifteen-year-old Brooke Shields her start, but it was Suzy who was his first muse (later it would be Audrey Hepburn, but who can blame him for that?). Suzy once said, “The only joy I ever got out of modeling was working with Dick Avedon.” Their collaboration began in 1951 when Avedon photographed Parker for a groundbreaking fashion spread in Harper’s Bazaar. The photographs, which showcased Parker’s stunning looks and versatility, captivated the fashion world and marked the start of their creative partnership. Parker and Avedon’s work together challenged the traditional notions of beauty and elevated the role of models in the fashion industry. Their photographs showcased a more natural, energetic, and expressive side of fashion, departing from the static and posed images of the time. Beyond their professional collaboration, Suzy and Dick formed a close friendship, which inspired the characters played by Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire in the film Funny Face (Suzy’s first film appearance was a two-minute cameo in the film). Avedon’s respect and admiration for Parker were evident in his photographs, which captured her personality and inner spirit. Their collaboration continued throughout the 1950s, producing iconic images that graced the pages of top fashion

magazines and solidified Parker’s status as one of the most sought-after models of her time. Their work together helped shape the fashion industry’s visual landscape and set new standards for creativity and artistry. Together, they pushed boundaries, inspired future generations of models and photographers, and left an indelible mark on the world of fashion and beauty. His photographs of her paved the way for Suzy’s rise. She quickly became the first model to make over $100,000 for her work. This relationship with Richard Avedon catapulted Suzy into the realms of high fashion. Suzy began working in Paris, where she caught the eye of yet another iconic fashion figure, the one and only Coco Chanel. While the exact nature and depth of Suzy Parker’s relationship with Chanel is not extensively documented, it is evident that Parker’s work with Chanel contributed to her career and solidified her status as one of the top models of her time. Suzy became the face of House of Chanel for some time, and Coco herself gave her advice on her career, men, and more throughout their long relationship, and she designed looks for Suzy for much of her life. During the 1950s, Suzy Parker became one of the most sought-after models in the fashion industry. Christian Dior, known for his revolutionary New Look designs, recognized Parker’s unique beauty and versatility. He saw in her the embodiment of his vision for the modern woman, with her elegance and ability to bring his designs to life. Suzy was one of his favorite models. She walked in a number of his runway shows and featured prominently in his campaigns. Dior’s designs, characterized by their feminine silhouettes, luxurious fabrics, and attention to detail, perfectly complemented Parker’s graceful presence and refined beauty. Beyond their professional collaboration, Suzy Parker and Christian Dior shared a warm and affectionate relationship. Dior appreciated Parker’s professionalism, and she, in turn, admired his creative genius. Their mutual respect and admiration contributed to the success of their collaborations. Their partnership was cut tragically short by Christian Dior’s untimely death in 1957. Suzy’s work with Dior left an indelible mark on the fashion world. Following the success of Funny Face, Parker went on to act in a series of films, often showcasing her beauty and charisma. Some of her notable film appearances include Kiss Them for Me (1957) with Cary Grant, Ten North Frederick (1958) with Gary Cooper, and The Best of Everything (1959) with Hope Lange and Joan Crawford. Parker’s acting career, while promising, didn’t achieve the same level of success as

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PHOTOGRAPH BY GENEVIEVE NAYLOR / CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES

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American actress and model Suzy Parker, in a white nightdress, as she lies on her back, a pillow over her eyes, and a white telephone propped beside her head, for a modeling photo taken in New York, New York, 1959. PHOTOGRAPH BY WILLIAM HELBURN / CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES

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her modeling career. She struggled to find roles that showcased her full range as an actress, and the film industry didn’t fully capitalize on her talent and potential. It’s fair to say that she didn’t love the lifestyle of Hollywood as much as she thought—another side of her everyday girl charm. Eventually, Parker decided to return her full attention to her modeling career. After her breakout Vogue cover in 1952, Suzy was sought out by Revlon founder Charles Revson, who was hoping to transform the cosmetics industry by introducing high-quality products and innovative marketing strategies. Suzy was chosen as one of the key faces of Revlon’s advertising campaigns, embodying the brand’s vision of sophisticated beauty. Suzy became the first model to sign an exclusive modeling contract with a cosmetics company. She appeared in Revlon’s print advertisements, billboards, and television commercials, becoming the iconic face of the brand. Revlon’s advertisements featuring Suzy Parker were groundbreaking for their time. They showcased Parker’s natural beauty and charisma, focusing on her radiant complexion and flawless makeup application. Together, Suzy Parker and Revlon reshaped the beauty industry’s advertising landscape.

uzy Parker had a life-long love affair with Paris. She loved the freedom of the place; how easy it was to fall in love with the city. She spent much of her career and life there, whether it was working at Paris Fashion Week or wandering the streets on a day off. It’s safe to say Paris changed her life in many ways. In 1950, Suzy secretly married Ronald Staton, her high school sweetheart. Her parents disapproved of the marriage, because of her age and because Ronald was part Cherokee. The couple tried to make it work, despite how young they were when they married and how much Suzy traveled in her early days of modeling. When she arrived in Paris shortly after her marriage to Ronald, she met journalist Pierre de la Salle at a party. She returned to the States after the trip and asked for a divorce from Ronald, who agreed if she would pay a substantial sum to him, which he spent on acting lessons and plastic surgery. In 1953, she appeared on the cover of French Vogue under the headline “Collections—Suzy Parker!” She married de la Salle in 1957, again in secret. Their relationship was tumultuous. In 1958, Suzy and her father were in a car together when a train struck the car out of nowhere. Suzy was hospitalized with minor injuries, but her father lost his life. Pierre, rather than providing support, steered clear of the whole ordeal, because she had been admitted to the hospital with his last name, and wanted to avoid the press, who had jumped on the connection. Suzy bore scars from the crash the rest of her life, which she hid from the public. When Suzy told him she was pregnant, he left her. She gave birth to their daughter, Georgia Belle Florian Coco Chanel de la Salle, in December 1959. Coco Chanel was the child’s godmother, and they were close throughout the rest of Chanel’s life. Parker named her daughter after her older sisters Georgiabell and Florian. Because Suzy disapproved of Dorian’s choices, namely putting her loose relationships with other men over her own children, she left her sister’s name out. She later named her second child with Pierre Dorian. After her divorce from Pierre Suzy married American actor Bradford Dillman in 1963. The couple had three children together: two sons named Christopher and Din, and a daughter named Pamela. Suzy and Bradford’s marriage lasted for over three decades until Dillman’s passing in 1996. Shortly after meeting Dillman, Suzy quit modeling. Her friends say she “wanted to bake bread.” In 1964, she was in the middle of rehearsals for her famous appearance in The Twilight Zone episode “Number 12 Looks Just Like You” when she was in another car accident. Dillman told her, “You know you don’t have to do this anymore” if she didn’t want to. Her response: “I don’t?” She stepped away from the business altogether after the episode wrapped.

Model Suzy Parker on the cover of a 1955 vinyl Lp of Levant Plays Gershwin Rhapsody In Blue by Oscar Levant Andre Kostelanetz Orchestra. RECORDS / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Opposite: American model and actress Suzy Parker (1932 - 2003) poses as she sits on a step next to a purse, late 1950s. PHOTOGRAPH BY HULTON ARCHIVE / GETTY IMAGES

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8 Suzy Parker’s Holiday Beauty Book from a vintage November 1973 Ladies’ Home Journal magazine advertisement. PATTI MCCONVILLE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

uzy spent most of her time post-supermodel career taking care of her children, and Dillman’s two children by his first wife. Suzy also explored entrepreneurial ventures outside the fashion industry after her career. She co-founded a successful interior design business called Suzy Parker and Associates. Her creative eye and sense of style translated well into this new endeavor, allowing her to express her aesthetic sensibilities in a different realm. She was known for her diverse interests, including art, culture, and literature. She was an avid reader and had an appreciation for the arts. Her career may have slowed down, but she continued to be recognized and remembered as one of the iconic figures of the fashion industry. Her influence and contributions to the world of fashion and beauty remained significant, and her impact on subsequent generations of models and artists continued to resonate. Vanity Fair describes her post-career life as much of the same. “A purist, she cooked without a Cuisinart or microwave, designed her own needlepoint patterns, always did the tree on Christmas Eve, and wouldn’t think of altering her face as she aged.” She was a constant cheerleader for her children in all they did, and all of them remember her supportive nature as a mother. Suzy Parker’s life was tragically cut short. She began battling health issues beginning in the mid-1990s, when during surgery for an ulcer, she died on the operating table. She was resuscitated with a large dose of steroids, and though this saved her life, she never fully recovered. She spent her last five years in and out of the hospital, resentful of her loss of freedom. She passed away on May 3, 2003, at the age of 69 due to complications from diabetes. Impossibly chic, and effortlessly charming, Suzy Parker left something of herself behind, it seems, in almost everyone she met. Despite living an incredibly public life, with her face on the covers of magazines across the United States and Europe, in films, and on billboards, she seemed against all odds to maintain a humbleness that astounded and left an impression. Looking at the images of her swinging bags on the cover of Elle, wearing enormous furs in Avedon’s studio, or roller-skating through Paris, she is both unapproachably beautiful and infinitely inviting. The movement and life Suzy could embody in a photo shows a woman ahead of her time, and she truly did revolutionize what the modeling industry thought of as its It-Girl. What worked about it was that none of it was fake. Suzy Parker lived fully and openly, and it is this beauty that sparkles the most in every photograph of her. ■

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70 Contact sheet of portaits of Suzy Parker, 1958. PHOTOGRAPH BY JACK ROBINSON/HULTON ARCHIVE / GETTY IMAGES

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The Artistic Splendor of Austria by Helen Arden

Famous statue of Johann Strauss at Stadtpark in Vienna, Austria. The monument, a popular tourist attraction in Vienna, was created by Edmund Hellmer in 1921. PHOTOGRAPH BY RRRAINBOW / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

a land steeped in rich history and captivating tales, Austria has a vibrant and diverse past that has shaped its present-day identity. The story of Austria begins with the ancient Celts and Romans who settled the region, leaving behind a legacy of impressive ruins and artifacts. It was during the medieval period that Austria truly began to flourish. The powerful House of Habsburg rose to prominence, ruling over vast territories and cementing Austria’s place as a European power. From the splendor of the Habsburg Empire to the turmoil of wars and revolutions, Austria has both strived and survived. It was the birthplace of iconic figures such as Freud and Wittgenstein, who left an indelible mark on psychology and philosophy. Today, Austria stands as a cultural haven, renowned for its stunning landscapes, captivating cities, and enduring legacy of creativity and resilience. Whether it’s exploring the imperial palaces of Vienna or savoring a slice of Sacher-Torte, Austria’s vibrant history continues to captivate visitors from around the world. For a country as small as Austria, its cultural impact far outstrips its size. From just the 18th to 20th century, Austria gave birth to or became the home of countless incredibly famous artists and musicians: Beethoven, Mozart, Gustav Klimt, and Egon Schiele. The creative minds at work in Austria across most of its history mean that a visit there is best spent in the country’s many museums, shrines to Austria’s varied artists across history. While it’s nearly impossible to reach them all, there is no shortage of must-see art in Vienna, the capital of Austria, so there is no wrong way to take in the art and history of the country. Vienna has a rich history that dates back to the Romans. Under the Habsburgs, the city became a hub for renowned artists, musicians, and intellectuals. As rulers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire for centuries, the Habsburgs amassed vast wealth and power, enabling them to support artists, commission artworks, and establish institutions that celebrated and

The Vienna State Opera is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll, and designs by Josef Hlávka. PHOTOGRAPH BY TRIFF / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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A late Carthusian cloister in Gaming, a municipality within the district of Scheibbs in Lower Austria. It is known, primarily, for an old Carthusian monastery existing within its borders . PHOTOGRAPH BY RENATA SEDMAKOVA / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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A beautiful morning in the picturesque valley of Morning mood in Hallstatt, Austria. PHOTOGRAPH BY HERMAN BJØRHEIM / UNSPLASH.COM Opposite: Aerial view of a train traveling on famous Kalte Rinne Viaduct of Semmering Railway line to enter a tunnel in the rocky cliff of alpine mountains with snow in the deep gorge, in Breitenstein, Austria. PHOTOGRAPH BY CHEN MIN CHUN / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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preserved artistic achievements. The family’s love for the arts shows in their lavish palaces, such as the Hofburg and Schönbrunn, which became centers of artistic activity and hosted opulent performances. The Hapsburgs also collected an extensive art collection, amassing works from renowned artists across Europe. Their patronage attracted and nurtured talent, drawing influential figures to Vienna and fostering an environment conducive to artistic innovation. Artists like Peter Paul Reubens, Diego Velázquez, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and perhaps most famously Gustav Klimt, received support from the Hapsburg dynasty. The Hapsburgs’ deep appreciation for the arts elevated Vienna’s cultural standing, making it a thriving center for creativity and artistic expression that continues to be celebrated and cherished today. From classical to contemporary, Vienna’s art museums offer a captivating journey through the world of artistic expression, making it a must-visit destination for art lovers from around the globe.

A RICH ARTISTIC HERITAGE Kunsthistorisches Museum

With the establishment of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, commissioned by Emperor Franz Joseph I in 1891, Vienna solidified its status as a premier destination for art enthusiasts. Arguably the crown jewel of Vienna’s art destinations, the museum houses an extensive collection of European art, including masterpieces by artists such as Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Rubens. The interior features granite, marble, and stucco interspersed with murals by Gustav Klimt and Hans Makart, a masterclass in 19th-century Austro-Hungarian design.

The Belvedere Museum

Inside a sprawling Baroque complex, featuring a cascading landscape of buildings, gardens, tiered fountains, and sculptures, is the largest collection of paintings by Gustav Klimt. Visitors to this vast estate, the summer home of Prince Eugene of Savoy, can view several of Klimt’s most famous paintings, most notably The Kiss. Completed in 1907-1908, the artwork depicts a couple locked in an intimate embrace, their bodies entwined against a golden background. The figures are adorned with intricate patterns and richly decorated garments, characteristic of Klimt’s decorative style. The painting exudes sensuality and passion, capturing the profound connection and intense emotions shared between the two individuals. The Kiss is celebrated for its fusion of realism and abstraction, with the use of geometric shapes and symbolic elements, such as circular patterns and flowing lines. This masterpiece has become one of the most recognizable and beloved works of art, symbolizing love, desire, and the power of human connection.

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Vienna is Austria’s most populous city. Its artistic and intellectual legacy was shaped by residents including Mozart, Beethoven and Sigmund Freud. The city is also known for its Imperial palaces, including Schönbrunn, the Habsburgs’ summer residence. In the MuseumsQuartier district, historic and contemporary buildings display works by Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt and other artists. PHOTOGRAPH BY JACEK DYLAG / UNSPLASH.COM

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Below: Austria is all about culture. From Klimt to Mozart, some of the world’s most legendary creatives germinated their first ideas in Austria. LEFT: PHOTOGRAPH BY PHILIPPE TINEMBART / UNSPLASH.COM • RIGHT: PHOTOGRAPH BY ARNO SENONER / UNSPLASH.COM Opposite: Moa by Egon Schiele. The model was a dancer and a friend of Schiele’s. She performed in cabarets with her dance partner Erwin Osen, a theater painter who also had close connections with Schiele. Both modeled repeatedly for Schiele between 1910 and 1911. HERITAGE IMAGE PARTNERSHIP LTD / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

The Albertina Museum

The Albertina Museum, in Vienna, boasts an enormous collection of art—over 1 million pieces, including paintings, photographs, graphic art, and architecture are housed in a magnificent architectural landmark that holds a rich history. The building itself dates back to the 18th century when it was constructed as a residential palace for Albert, Duke of Saxe-Teschen, and his wife Archduchess Maria Christina. Over the years, the palace underwent various modifications and expansions, ultimately transforming into the impressive neoclassical structure it is today. In 1919, the building was repurposed as an art museum and was officially opened to the public in 1921.

MuseumsQuartier

The MuseumsQuartier, in Vienna, was established in the late 1990s to transform a historic complex of baroque buildings into a modern and accessible cultural hub. The area is a mashup of Baroque buildings, filled in with modern architecture, and brings together museums, cultural institutions, exhibition spaces, shops, and cafes around central meeting places. It has become a dynamic space where locals and tourists can explore, appreciate, and engage with diverse artistic expressions, making it a vibrant and significant cultural destination within the city. Amid two very famous museums, you’ll find the Architecture Center of Vienna, coffee shops, and some very groovy outdoor chairs.

Leopold Museum

Home to the largest collection of Austrian art in the world, the Leopold Museum is a must-see. The museum specializes in Austrian art from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is named after Rudolf Leopold, an Austrian art collector, who amassed an extraordinary collection of artworks over several decades. Leopold’s passion for art led him to acquire numerous pieces by prominent Austrian artists. In 2001, the Leopold Museum opened its doors to the public. The museum’s striking architecture, featuring a sleek modern design, provides a fitting backdrop for the diverse range of artwork it houses. This is the museum to hit if you’re a fan of Egon Schiele, one of Austria’s most influential expressionist artists. The Leopold Museum houses the largest collection of Schiele’s work. Schiele’s art is characterized by its bold and provocative approach, often exploring themes of sexuality, human emotion, and the human form. His works feature

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The Maiden by the Austrian painter Gustav Klimt painted in year 1913. The Maiden was one of Klimt’s last paintings before he died. Currently it is stored in the National Gallery in Prague, Czech Republic.

PRISMA ARCHIVO / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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automne 2023 • l’édition artistique • readelysian.com • distorted figures, elongated limbs, and intense expressions, reflecting his introspective and psychological approach to art. Schiele’s use of line and color and his ability to capture raw emotions set him apart as a visionary artist. Despite facing controversy and criticism for his explicit and provocative subject matter, Schiele gained recognition and acclaim within artistic circles. His artistic career was tragically cut short when he succumbed to the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918 at the age of 28. Be sure to see Death and the Maiden, Seated Male Nude, and The Embrace, all in the permanent collection at the Leopold Museum. The Leopold Museum also holds notable pieces by other artists, including Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, and Richard Gerstl. The museum offers an immersive experience of the world of Austrian art, allowing visitors to appreciate the evolution of artistic styles and themes during a transformative period in the country’s history.

Museum of Modern Art (MUMOK)

Also located in the MuseumsQuartier, you’ll find the Museum of Modern Art, or MUMOK, which showcases a diverse range of artworks from the 20th century to the present day. MUMOK holds an extensive collection of over 10,000 pieces, encompassing various artistic movements and mediums. Visitors to MUMOK can explore a wide array of works, including painting, sculpture, installation art, video art, and multimedia installations. The collection spans various art movements, including abstract expressionism, pop art, minimalism, and conceptual art. MUMOK not only presents its permanent collection but also hosts temporary exhibitions that showcase the works of contemporary artists, addressing current social, political, and cultural issues. These exhibitions offer visitors the opportunity to engage with cutting-edge artistic expressions and explore the latest trends in contemporary art. With its commitment to promoting contemporary art and offering a platform for artistic discourse, MUMOK is an important cultural institution in Vienna. It provides visitors with a comprehensive overview of modern and contemporary art movements and serves as a space for reflection, inspiration, and dialogue.

ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN Museum of Applied Arts (MAK)

The MAK may be the first museum to use Bitcoin to acquire art, but do not let that modern edge fool you: it’s been around in some shape or form since 1863 when it opened as the Imperial Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry, founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I. On a campus with deep and fascinating history, it has been continually operating since it opened. The museum building itself is an architectural masterpiece, blending historical elements with modern design. The main building features a striking façade and interior spaces designed by renowned architects. It is dedicated to the exploration and exhibition of applied arts, design, and contemporary art. The museum’s collection spans a wide range of disciplines, including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glassware, metalwork, and graphic design. The permanent collection at the MAK houses the holdings of the Wiener Werkstätte (that’s Vienna Workshop in English), which was established in 1903 by graphic designer and painter Koloman Moser, architect Josef Hoffmann, and their patron Fritz Waerndorfer; chairs by designers Thonet and Kohn; woodcuts from Japan; porcelain from China; and you guessed it, more work by Klimt. The MAK also includes a library, a design shop offering unique objects and publications, as well as an educational program that includes lectures, workshops, and guided tours. ■

8 7 The majestic and monumental Austrian Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna, the MAK. PHOTOGRAPH BY TRAVELVIEW / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM Opposite: Posters outside MUMOK—Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, a museum in the Museumsquartier in Vienna. PHOTOGRAPH BY CHEUNGJOPRODUCTION / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM • The painting of Wally by Egon Schiele appears on Austrian postage stamp, serving as a testament to the great artist’s influence. PHOTOGRAPH BY SPATULETAIL / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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PHOTOGRAPH BY ASHKAN / UNSPLASH.COM

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Kim Kassas’ Crown Jewels is a tribute to the strong and influential women who wield the power of royalty.

Victoria

A classic mermaid silhouette based on a corset bodice made with Indian embroidered lace, a bold silk tulle skirt and an off the shoulder panel. COURTESY KIM KASSAS / WWW.KIMKASSAS.COM

Elizabeth

Appel de la Sirène An accentuated corset dress in a silver and ivory Indian embroidered glitter tulle with a high slit wrap skirt and a voluminous train extension. COURTESY KIM KASSAS / WWW.KIMKASSAS.COM

The Crown Jewels Kim Kassas Couture’s Siren Call and Deep Blue collections are inspired by the beauty and mystery of siren mermaids. The fantastical gowns are influenced by the splendor and lure of the feminine nature. Soft and delicate at first glance, but bold and beguiling in spirit just like the sirens, the collection captures the essence of the seductive sea creatures emerging from the water to enchant and captivate.

by Samantha Paige

Crystal

A glamorous mini corset dress adorned with rich silver and ivory beaded fringe layers.

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COURTESY KIM KASSAS / WWW.KIMKASSAS.COM

Ingrid

A sheer corset mermaid dress featuring silver embroidery on Solstiss lace with freshwater pearl accents and a gathered silk tulle hemline with an attached back-pleated overskirt.

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COURTESY KIM KASSAS / KIMKASSAS.COM

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Emanuelle

A loosely draped hooded dress in a rich silver and ivory beaded lace accentuated at the waist with an over corset bodice.

Elizabeth

An accentuated corset dress in a silver and ivory Indian embroidered glitter tulle with a high slit wrap skirt and a voluminous train extension. COURTESY KIM KASSAS / KIMKASSAS.COM

A micro mini hi-low corset dress made in an iridescent silver Solstiss lace highlighted by a voluminous ruffled hemline through to the train extension.

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Inspired by the opulence and glamour of royal events and ceremonies, this collection features handmade Indian embroidery, rich beading, and glitter fabrication to symbolize the extravagance and splendor of the Crown Jewels. Each dress in this collection is designed with a corset bodice to accentuate the silhouette shape and highlight various design details such as voluminous skirts and extended trains.. COURTESY KIM KASSAS / KIMKASSAS.COM

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Maria

A regal two-tier corset gown with cut out opening at the chest featuring a Indian embroidered lace bodice and voluminously layered silk tulle ruffle skirting. COURTESY KIM KASSAS / KIMKASSAS.COM

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A sheer corset mermaid dress featuring silver embroidery on Solstiss lace with freshwater pearl accents and a gathered silk tulle hemline with an attached back-pleated overskirt. COURTESY KIM KASSAS / KIMKASSAS.COM

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Victoria

(Left) A classic mermaid silhouette based on a corset bodice made with Indian embroidered lace, a bold silk tulle skirt and an off the shoulder panel.

Alexandra

A layered corset dress made of Podange featuring an exposed mesh bodice opening with Indian embroidery details and freshwater pearl accents along with a high leg slit and an attached overskirt. COURTESY KIM KASSAS / KIMKASSAS.COM

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Vatican

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A regal two-tier corset gown with cut out opening at the chest featuring a Indian embroidered lace bodice and voluminously layered silk tulle ruffle skirting. COURTESY KIM KASSAS / KIMKASSAS.COM

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The Original Feminist

Mary Cassatt by Laura Morland

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Lydi Reading Divan by American painter and printmaker Mary Stevenson Cassatt,1881. ART HERITAGE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

h 1 0 Mary Cassatt - American impressionist painter (1844-1926). PICTORIAL PRESS LTD / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

• Opposite: Mary Cassatt, circa 1882, by Edgar Degas. Degas had considerable influence on Cassatt, his pastels had made a powerful impression on her when she encountered them in an art dealer’s window in 1875. “I used to go and flatten my nose against that window and absorb all I could of his art,” she later recalled. “It changed my life. I saw art then as I wanted to see it.” NIDAY PICTURE LIBRARY / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

ER NAME WAS MARY STEVENSON CASSATT.

You would suppose “Stevenson” was her maiden name and “Cassatt” her married name, but that is not how it was as she never married. Mary Cassatt was an expatriate American artist who achieved international recognition as the First Lady of the early Impressionist Movement in Paris. She, more than any artist before or since, captured the very essence of maternal love in her tender paintings and engravings of mothers and young children: mothers caring for their children; women reading, crocheting, pouring tea, picking fruit off a tree, delighting in the company of other women—the simple pleasures of daily life are not simply painted, although Mary’s art is soothing and pleasing to the eye, as there is nothing simple about her work. Indeed, the childless spinster by her own choice had mastered a technique and skill through her own independent and forceful nature. For this reason, Mary Cassatt is one of the most famous female painters in the history of art—and one of the most complex.

orn in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania on May 22, 1844, Mary was one of five to survive infancy of the seven children born to Robert Simpson Cassatt, a prominent Philadelphia banker, stockbroker, and land speculator whose French Huguenot ancestors arrived in New Amsterdam in 1662; and Katherine Kelso Johnston, the highly educated, intellectually robust daughter of a wealthy banking family. Well-educated, Katherine had a profound influence on all her children but most especially her daughter, Mary. Art collector and feminist Louisine Havemeyer, a lifelong friend, shed light on the mother and daughter relationship in her memoirs, observing “Anyone who had the privilege of knowing Mary Cassatt’s mother would know at once that it was from her and her alone that Mary inherited her ability.” Mary was not particularly favored. High expectations and achievement through a rigorous education were demanded of all her siblings by their parents—of her sister, Katherine, named after their mother, who was ten years older than Mary; and Lydia, who was living in Paris with Mary when she died a spinster at the age of 45. Alexander Johnston Cassatt, the most successful, would become president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and Joseph, who moved his family to Paris to be near Mary. The loss of their brother Robert, who was only thirteen when he died while the family was living in Germany, and infant George made for a close, loving, and supportive family that became the inspiration of—and sometimes the models in—Mary’s art. She was very young when the Cassatt family moved to Philadelphia. There Mary began school at the age of six. As part of their continuing education—and in keeping with their place in Philadelphia society—Robert and Katherine took their children to Europe when Mary was 11 years old. Enthralled by the museums, she began to draw and paint and by the time she was 15 years old, professed her desire to become a professional artist—to her parent’s dismay. They did not want their carefully brought-up daughter to be exposed to feminist ideas and Bohemian behavior that

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Mimi as a Brunette—drypoint by Mary Cassatt, 1889. ARTOKOLORO / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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was increasingly the rage among young, upper-middle-class men and women who were feeling their oats. Reluctantly, they allowed her to attend the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and just as her parents feared, Mary was drawn into a network of new friends who advocated equal rights for the sexes—beliefs upon which Mary would build the foundation of her social life. Unhappy at the Academy, after several years of study, Mary told her parents “There was no teaching” at the Academy and, chaperoned by her mother and family friends, moved to Paris in 1866. Women were not permitted to attend the École des Beaux-Arts, so she obtained a permit to copy masterpieces at the Louvre as a means of self-education and took lessons from Jean-Léon Gérôme, a French painter and sculptor of the academic painting tradition, heralded as “arguably the world’s most famous living artist by 1880.” In that same year, she began taking classes from French genre

painter Charles Joshua Chaplin and also studied under Thomas Couture, a prominent art teacher who numbered Monet among his students. In 1868, she submitted her work to the renowned Paris Salon and, with New Hampshire-born artist Elizabeth Jane Gardner, became one of the first two American women to be accepted into this elite annual juried exhibition. For Mary, it was baptism under fire. She attracted the attention of a circle of painters who themselves would become immortalized by their work—among them, Gustave Courbet, Édouard Manet, Camille Corot, and Camille Pissarro, later her mentor, who embraced this independent, talented, sharp-tongued young woman. Considered radical in their day, they turned openly scorned the Academy style. As a friend of Mary’s, Eliza Haldeman, wrote home to her family, “Artists are leaving the Academy style and each seeking a new way, consequently just now everything is Chaos.”

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Mary Cassatt often used a complex printing technique which combines both etching and aquatint. Cassatt carefully controlled her use of aquatint so that particular are areas offset and complemented by a printed rich, black tone, setting off the pale areas.Opposite (left right):The Lamp, 1890-1891. INCAMERASTOCK / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO • The Fitting, 1891. • In the omnibus, 1891. WORLD HISTORY ARCHIVE / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO • Woman Bathing.

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The Franco-Prussian War erupted in the summer of 1870 and Mary returned to the United States to live with her family. Her father supported her financially apart from her paint and canvas, as he continued to denounce art as a fitting career for a young woman raised to marry and bring up children of her own. Mary was enraged. She wrote to a friend, “I have given up my studio and torn up my father’s portrait and have not touched a brush for six weeks nor ever will again until I see some prospect of getting back to Europe. I am very anxious to go out West next fall and get some employment, but I have not yet decided where.” She decided on Chicago. However, her plans went up in flames, along with most of Mary’s early works, in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Distraught, and with nothing more than the clothes on her back, she returned home . . . but when one door closes, as they say, another opens. Hearing of Mary’s adversity, Roman Catholic Bishop Michael

Domenec of Pittsburgh, a friend of her parents, commissioned copies of two paintings by 16th-century High Renaissance painter, Antonio Allegri da Correggio. The commission earned her enough money to return to Paris. “O how wild I am to get to work, my fingers fairly itch & my eyes water to see a fine picture again!” she wrote. Within months of her return in the autumn of 1871, she completed her painting, Two Women Throwing Flowers During Carnival, which was exhibited at the Salon of 1872. “All (are) talking of Miss Cassatt and her picture, and everyone is anxious to know her,” one critic wrote. In 1872, Mary traveled to Madrid, where she established a studio. There she studied the work of 17th-century Spanish Golden Age painter Velázquez, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV, who painted the Spanish Royal Family’s portraits—famously, Las Meninas—and José de Ribera, another leading painter of the Spanish School of that period.

Five O’Clock Tea by Mary Cassatt, 1880.

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NIDAY PICTURE LIBRARY / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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Lydia at a Tapestry Frame (1881). • Opposite: Lilacs in a Window (c1880). HERITAGE IMAGE PARTNERSHIP LTD / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

1874, Mary returned to Paris, where she rented an apartment and was joined by her sister, Lydia. That year at the Paris Salon she exhibited a portrait of a young woman entitled “Ida.” It was the most pronounced example of the Spanish influence in her work—but more importantly, the painting caught the eye of a French Impressionist painter named Edgar Degas, who remarked, “Voila! There is someone who feels as I do!” Mary felt the same about him. When she first saw Degas’ work in the window of a Paris art gallery she recalled, “I used to go and flatten my nose against that window and absorb all I could of his art. It changed my life! I saw art then as I wanted to see it.” They eventually met. Ten years Mary’s senior, the two began an artistic and personal relationship over the next forty years, until Degas’ death at the age of eightythree. They had much in common. Both came from affluent families. Both had studied in Italy and had similar tastes in art and literature, and neither was willing to sacrifice their independence on the altar of marriage. Degas courted Mary, mentored her, and introduced her to pastel and engraving, and to other prominent artists, as well—Monet, Pissaro, Renoir, Cézanne. For nine years, Mary was the only American, and only woman, to be a member of the emergent Impressionist fraternity. They called themselves the “Independents” or the “Intransigents,” and developed the plein air method of painting using vibrant, individual strokes of color that forced the eye to see the imagery. Mary’s life completely revolved around this avant-garde circle of artists: she exhibited with them, dined with them, helped them organize their shows, and got caught up in a constant wave of inspiration and stimulation. And she defended them when critics showed their wrath. When one critic deigned to suggest the Impressionists were “afflicted with some hitherto unknown disease of the eye,” Mary’s response was, “We are carrying on a despairing fight and need all our forces.” “For the first time, Cassatt found people whose biting, critical, opinionated attitudes matched her own,” one writer observed. In 1877, Mary and Lydia moved into a large apartment on the fifth floor of 13 Avenue Trudaine, where they were joined by their parents. Shortly after, their brother, Joseph, his wife, and their three children moved nearby. Degas was introduced to the family and often he would join them for walks through the Louvre.

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Cassatt painted The Boating Party during the winter of 1893–1894 in Antibes, on the French Riviera. ALBUM / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

By now the two artists were working together closely. Degas taught Mary how to work in pastels, a medium in which she would excel. The recognized master of etching, Degas taught her the elements of draftsmanship through the medium of drypoint engraving. In 1879, Mary’s and Degas’s paintings were proclaimed a triumph at the Impressionist Exhibit of 1879. The Revue des Deux Mondes cattily wrote, “M. Degas and Mlle. Cassatt are, nevertheless, the only artists who distinguish themselves . . . and who offer some attraction and some excuse in the pretentious show of window dressing and infantile daubing,” a jab at Renoir, Sisley, Manet, and Cézanne, who were conspicuously absent. Notwithstanding, the exhibition was not only declared the most successful up until that time, but the most influential, marking the turning point when Impression, finally, became accepted in the realm of art. Mary and Degas continued to collaborate closely, but their relationship was not without speed bumps. They were collaborating on a collection of prints when, abruptly, Degas withdrew. It happened at a time they were clashing over politics—notably, the Dreyfus Affair. Then Degas began making antifemale comments; but when he saw Mary’s painting, Young Woman Picking Fruit, and made the comment, “No woman has the right to draw like that,” it was the last straw. Professionally and personally, the couple became estranged. More than technique, it was finding a subject that presented a real challenge for Mary. Being a gentlewoman in Paris meant she could not, as her male colleagues did, frequent the bordellos, cafes, and clubs, or walk the streets at night as the subjects of their work. So, she created her own theater—the domestic realm, depicting bucolic family life with a subtle palette, and soft light. Yet, her careful and adroit structure of space, form, and perspective was as fine as any of her contemporaries. The 1890s marked the height of Mary’s creative period. She had found a new freedom, particularly in the woodcuts by 18th-century Japanese artist Kitagawa Utamaro, which is particularly evident in her drypoint and aquatint print, The Coiffure. However, by 1915 she had increasingly turned away from oils, favoring pastels as her eyesight, like Degas’, began to fail with age. In the end, she was forced to surrender. “I am crushed by the strength of this Art,” she said after returning to France from an exhausting trip to Egypt in 1910. Crippled by diabetes, rheumatism, neuralgia, and cataracts, she continued to paint, as painful as it was, until she was forced to stop, in 1914. Mary lived out her life at Château de Beaufresne near Paris until her death on June 14, 1926. She is buried in the family vault at Le Mesnil-Théribus, France.

The Visitor (c. 1881). This is a working drawing for an etching. The slanted silhouette of the young woman framed against the verticals and horizontals of the window, a seated figure in profile in the lower left quadrant of the composition, and dramatic contrasts of sunlight and shadow have precedents in Degas’s Mary Cassatt at the Louvre. However, the care, delicacy, and sensitivity with which the visitor’s face was drawn are entirely characteristic of Cassatt’s close observation of her mood. HERITAGE IMAGE PARTNERSHIP LTD / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO Opposite: The Black Hat (c.1890). ALBUM / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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Little Girl in a Blue Armchair stands as a testament to the newly formed relationship between Mary Cassatt and the impressionists, and to her assimilation of a freer style of painting.

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oday Mary Cassatt is heralded as one of “les trois grande dames” (the three great ladies) of Impressionism, along with her contemporaries, Marie Bracquemond and Berthe Morisot. Although she was guarded about using her celebrity to take a public stand on politics, she was nonetheless vocal in her position regarding women’s rights. As one writer observed, she “initiated the profound beginnings in recreating the image of the ‘new woman,’ drawn from the influence of her intelligent and active mother, Katherine Cassatt, who believed in educating women to be knowledgeable and socially active.” Her beliefs would ultimately create turmoil within her own family when her sister-in-law, a fierce anti-suffrage activist named Eugenie Carter Cassatt, instigated a boycott within conservative Philadelphia society in 1915 against an exhibition of Mary’s work in support of the women’s suffrage movement. Instead of leaving her work to her family, as had long been her plan, she sold every one of her paintings and gave the proceeds to the Suffragist Movement. Mary’s most important work was a commission she received from Chicago businesswoman Bertha Palmer, to paint a 12- by 58-foot mural with the theme, “The Modern Woman,” for the Women’s Building at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. It took Mary two years to complete. The mural was a triptych whose central theme was entitled, “Young Women Plucking the Fruits of Knowledge or Science;” the left panel, “Young Girls Pursuing Fame;” and the right panel, “Arts, Music, and Dancing.” Together they portrayed a community of women independent of men with the freedom to express themselves, pursue their goals, and follow their own paths to accomplishment. Tragically, the mural did not survive the demolition of the exhibition and all that remains are Mary’s preliminary studies. However, the strong and vigorous statement she made in that work—and indeed, in all her works—was her intrinsic belief in the power of women. The woman who rejected marriage and motherhood had, through her work, become the art world’s preeminent advocate of family. ■

Mary Cassatt at the Louvre , soft ground etching by Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas. AGEFOTOSTOCK / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Opposite: Woman with a Pearl Necklace in a Loge (or Lydia in a Loge) is an 1879 painting by American artist Mary Cassatt. This painting shows a view of the modern woman and is similar in style to Degas, in how it was painted and the depiction of shifting light and color.

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Interior with a French Screen, by Mary Stevenson Cassatt, 1879. PETER BARRITT / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

THE WOMEN WHO INSPIRE US INTERVIEWS BY KAREN FLOYD

Women Inspiring Women . . .

* Copy edited for length and clarity. * Interview videos are available to watch at elysianwomen.com

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LYSIAN was the result of Karen Floyd’s personal quest to tell and listen to stories about exceptional women. From her early twenties as a young prosecutor . . . to the women she has interviewed over the past eight years as ELYSIAN’s publisher and editor, Floyd shares insights that are intended to encourage and move our readers. On the surface, Floyd’s interviews are about women succeeding, overcoming, persevering and enduring. As the number of years and interviews have grown, Floyd no longer asks, “Is it timing, virtue, luck, funding, perseverance, faith, endurance or passion?” Instead, she concludes, “While there is no one roadmap to achievement, these remarkable women have similar attributes. At some point, each woman ‘went against the grain’ and as a result they share qualities like courage, passion, steadfast persistence, hard work, un-deterring focus, strong loyalty, self-awareness, and independence. Though some led . . . others built, created and changed the world. Their interviews reveal a sense of self and a belief in something greater, many call faith.” With the thousands of interviews, Floyd emphasizes, “Their journey was often lonely, but their hardships created inner strength, enlightenment and ultimately an intention to uplift others.” It is that purposeful determination that Floyd mirrors in the women she interviews as she shares their inspiring stories.

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Interview Date: May 11th, 2023

Alexandra

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY ALEXANDRA KAUKA

With a lifelong affinity for the arts and a career in modeling and publishing, ALEXANDRA KAUKA always finds herself creating. She uses her art to heal, to inspire. Alexandra honed her business acumen over the years, first with two antique stores and subsequently as president of her late second husband’s publishing empire—finding true love not once, but three times along the way. Her natural beauty and gentle spirit permeated the art gallery as she settled into an interview with ELYSIAN.

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We are seated in the EVEY Fine Art Gallery in front of something spectacular. What are we looking at? It is my art, which I like . . . if I would not have created it, I would buy it. When I walked into the gallery your painting was the first thing that I was drawn to. It is lovely, stunning. A lot of your art is created “in hiding.” I think the world environment asks for hiding. What happened to our world? I don’t know. I read one of the questions you pose to your interviewees, “If you would meet God, what would you ask him?” I find this to be a very smart and courageous question. First I would thank him, for having me play a part in this divine comedy and ask him if he might consider some corrections. What would you suggest those changes or corrections be? It would revolve around mankind. We must be gentler to our earth. Maybe God should give us more understanding for one another. Two very different things; nature and peace. Let’s talk about nature first. You and your husband Rolf Kauka purchased a magnificent piece of property in Georgia. What year was that? This was 1980 and it was a plantation of 7,000 acres. You later granted well over two thousand acres to the state of Georgia? Yes. When we parted with our plantation, I kept a portion of about 2000 acres. I could not bear the thought of an elegant golf course on my beautiful land, with its exquisite flora, fauna, the little river, and majestic trees. I decided the land should be protected forever. The state of Georgia was very helpful as was Governor Sonny Perdue. He was a great outdoorsman as are you. What is your hunting preference? Yes, the governor was my hunting buddy. In Georgia, you can hunt turkey, quail, and ducks. The governor shot his first turkey at my place. Did he call it? Or did someone else? No, he had to call it. He did. Was it a box, friction or mouth call? You know about calls? It was a box call. Yes. It was very funny. We knew he would get a turkey. He had a fantastic blind and everything was just right. He was sitting and began calling the turkey. Suddenly, Sonny shot straight up. He was sitting on top of a mound of fire ants, and they were everywhere on him. When they take over, you don’t feel them or see them . . . until they bite all at once. It was serious enough for him to go to the hospital. The next day he went back and shot his first turkey. I am curious about your amazing life and this idea of peace . . . Where were you born? I was born in Carinthia, Austria. You were born during an era that was not peaceful, amidst the horrors of the second world war. It was not peaceful, and my childhood remains hard for me even to talk about. Those times after the war were difficult for everyone, back then. It sounds so unreal to talk about it in the present time. We were hungry, of course, and we learned to live with nature back then. My school had about 150 children in one class . . . with one teacher who had only one leg. My God, it was such a very different time. When did you know that you would leave your country of origin? My mother was Austrian, and my father was German. We moved from Austria to Germany where I received my education. I grew up with four mothers: two sisters of my mother, two sisters of my father, all unmarried and all in need of love . . . Because of the war, there were no men.

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They had a need for love and because of the war there were no men? Yes. They had no husbands, no children, and no family of their own. I was very aware of the fact, that I had to fill a space. From those times, I learned very early how to respond to the needs of others. Individually, they needed to be approached in different ways. Some just wanted to be touched and be embraced, and others were more challenging, constantly questioning my love for them. I grew up learning how to handle complicated people. Your father was required, as were all the men, to join the military. Because of the times in war, my father had to choose a practical profession as a doctor. My father really wanted to be a conductor as he was very musical and played a few instruments. He was a very artistic human being. With the war, and the times after the war, of course, it was not the right moment. Does your artistic ability come from your father? Yes, I do think so. They were very different times indeed. And yet despite your hardships, God graced you with three gifts involving beauty, and three great loves. Let’s begin with beauty; you are known for your depth and compassion, a beauty from inside (your brain and soul), you are a world-acclaimed model with beauty on the outside (you are lean and tall, with magnificently striking features) and you developed an aesthetic uniquely yours, an ability to create beauty with your art. In 1975 you met your second husband in Munich. What were you doing there? I owned two antique stores. It has been written that from an early age, you were dealing in art. Yes. As a child, I sold my art by drawing angels. I told people I saw them. Did you see them? I think I did. I think you did too. There really is something about you that is very spiritual. When you walked in, there was a light behind you, and I felt there was a certain aura. Maybe you are spiritual, that’s why you saw it. Let’s begin with your external beauty. When did you begin your modeling career, and how did that come about? It is a boring story. I was seen on the street by a female agent who asked if I would ever like to model. I responded yes, if it involves traveling. When she said there would be traveling, I told my parents. I was 17 years old, and they categorically said, no. I told the agent my parents would not allow me to model and she asked if she could speak with them. She was very convincing and explained that she would be with me in all the first shoots. When they agreed, my career took off. It was unbelievable. My father was considered very well off, but I earned in one day what he would earn in a month. You were on the cover of every class A magazine in the world . . . and a household name in Europe. What was your favorite cover? My favorite cover was not a grand magazine. It was a magazine in Hungary. That time was during the cold war so wasn’t Hungary still in the Iron Curtain? How did you manage that as a model? It was very interesting. A Hungarian photographer saw me in Austria. He connected with me and asked to have a photo session, which I granted. He was from Hungary, poor and in need. I did it for free. He captured the most fantastic cover I ever had. I wore a red chiffon turban blowing in the wind and I was looking at his camera, questioning, not smiling, not aggressive. It is a fantastic cover and he received recognition and a price for it.

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ELYSIAN Publisher, Karen Floyd, interviews Inspiring Woman and artist/ model Alexandra Kauka at EVEY Gallery in Palm Beach, Florida.

WHAT PULLED YOU OUT OF THAT LONELINESS?

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I See You - Triptych, alcohol ink & resin on canvas, 2022, by Alexandra Kauka. COURTESY EVEY FINE ART / PALM BEACH / ARTEVEY.COM

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Can you tell our readers about your work with death row inmates? I am honored and it has been one of the greatest lifechanging roles for me to facilitate the release of Jimmy Dennis’s story to the world, and to help his life dreams come true. Jason Flom, from the Innocence Project, has been a major supporter of Jimmy. He also founded and was the former chairman of several record companies, including Lava records. But Jason is also known for his work in criminal justice reform, and more specifically the Innocence Project. He has 30 million subscribers on his podcast, which came out on October 23rd. So, you explore the aftermath the families suffer . . . emotions like shame? Yes, and we will also expose what happens with the wrongfully convicted and innocent. Can you imagine being incarcerated when you are innocent, yet everyone around you believes that you’re not? How do you live with that? No, I cannot imagine that…not as a mother, as a sister, as a wife. Let’s shift to you, Consuelo, and start from the beginning. You have a worldview that is second to none. What are your first memories of London? Do you remember being in the United States before you left for London at the age of two? I do. My Dad loved gymnastics and would take me before I moved to London. I had a strong bond with my dad, which was my foundation and the beginning of memories. I adored gymnastics. How do you maintain your physicality today? I work out four or five days a week and then things slowed down during the Pandemic when I was unwell, and now I am fully recovered and back to working out 3-4 days a week. So how do you mitigate stress? I learned about managing stress when my mom got sick. I became her health proxy, which was my greatest honor, to take care of her for her last four years. I found a way to deal with her situation in the most amazing way because I saw myself as if I was a person watching myself. I was the best of myself then. I managed my stress in the most powerful way. At that moment, I was able to see myself in the worst of times under stress. Whether it was taking walks, writing, or being completely in my music journaling, it was my absolute release. I learned that if everything were to be banished . . . if I were to lose every piece of jewelry, everything tangible, and was left with only the clothing that I had on my back, the one thing that I would have is my journals. They are the chapters of my life and tell the stories of my life. Are you going to publish them? Probably. That truly was how I dealt with my stress at that moment. Today, I don’t deal with my stress the same way. But I am finding a way to meditate more peacefully, play piano, listen to calming music and to overall try to be more balanced. Which is not easy for me, lol, but trying. You really have learned a little bit more about yourself ? Just being very truthful about who I am. Even in that honesty, always acknowledging the place that I’m in at that moment, and facing my fears, and always trying to overcome them to the best of my ability. Your parents seemed to be very athletic, which told me a couple of things about your point of reference—your physicality, determination, and willpower. As an outsider, I see these as your strongest traits and characteristics. Can you tell me more about your mom? I just got chills. My mom was such a light. She was absolutely beautiful, looked like Barbie, and had a very dirty sense of humor. She had these amazing dimples and could get away with murder. She could just walk into a room and light it up. She could light up the world. She was silly and yet she also made the world a better place. She really did. She knew

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about family and understood connecting. She was all heart. What was your relationships with your mother like? We had a beautiful relationship, but as with most mother/ daughter relationships things can be complicated. I think being a singer going against the grain of my family was unnerving for my mother and I think she worried for my path but always supported my songwriting. How did you come about the name Rebel? I have never done anything that anyone ever told me to do, haha. Not ever. I follow my own rule book. Yet, have you been able to sustain a marriage? Yes and Rafael and I have a wonderful marriage. He is incredibly supportive always of my family and my Dreams. We have been through a lot together and I am forever grateful to him. He is hysterical, so talented, and incredibly bright and very handsome, I think. She was in San Francisco, and you had a seven-piece male rock band in Los Angeles. How did that work for the relationship? Raf and I had only been together for three months. I would commute between SF and LA singing in my band and taking care of my Mom. Raf would also come and visit in SF. I am so grateful to him for his support. I was recording an album in LA at the time, and I was working. I would go back and forth taking care of her. And then I would come back. I became an advocate for the American Cancer Society and the vice president of the Ovarian Cancer Coalition. All this allowed me to acquire information for my mom. I became a huge champion for the Ovarian Cancer Coalition, and that was my greatest gift. You were her advocate and caregiver until she passed. I was. My mom made dying okay on every level. She embraced it. She did. She did. She did something I had never known. She really made dying okay. She made the world okay. Walking through it with her, as painful as her chemo treatments or her radiation treatments were, I became a part of her journey. It wasn’t something that was wrong. Are you familiar with the CaringBridge? Yes, but for those unfamiliar can you describe the CaringBridge? It is a wonderful online tool that allows you to share health updates, and it lets the patient communicate firsthand in their own words, as my mom did, to thousands and thousands of people. Even when she may not have wanted to speak to someone because she did not feel well enough, family and friends would tune in and read her words. The sharing changed my mother’s life. The CaringBridge became her journal. It became the chapters of her life story. People from all around the world would read what she shared on CaringBridge . . . they would tune in every day. Beautiful. Consuelo, let’s now focus on your life at the time of your mother’s illness . . . on your music career. What was going on with your band? We wrote an album together, which was an extraordinary process because I had been signed and was in a production deal with Peter Amato, this amazing songwriter. On two or three occasions in my life, I have worked with genius songwriters like Matt Prime, where the world stops during the collaboration and there is such amazing magic. Were you a collaborator on songwriting? Yes, always. The magic happens and your world stops when you are so in sync with an artistic genius that you finish each other’s sentences. I write a melody; someone writes a from her days of as lyric. I had a collaborator, Alexandra Andrew Kauka Richford, whoearly is one a successful fashion model. the longest-standing Sony artists on this planet. He would call PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY ALEXANDRA KAUKA them purple notes. It’s an unimaginable world that you can’t quite describe, but where collaborations truly come from.

• automne 2023 • l’édition artistique • readelysian.com

Why do you think the camera loves you? What is it? I do not think the camera loves me. However, I will play with the camera like I play with life. So, I think it’s the other way around. The camera does not love me . . . I simply learned to manipulate it. You also play with life. 17 years old, newly discovered as a model . . . a mercuric career dealing in antiquities . . . and then you meet your first husband. What was that like? I was in New York where I had a screen test with Paramount. I was going out with Charles Bluhdorn. Paramount wanted me at the time, but I was in love with a gentleman back home, and I wanted to marry him. I had to make a difficult decision; stay in New York with an acting career at Paramount or return to my love back home. I decided to go home and get married. I am curious about your life . . . your perspective now and what you have concluded with reflection. Was your decision wise? I think it was the right decision because I was never really interested in the movie world. Later I had the chance with Carlo Ponti who wanted to work with me very much. I had a second opportunity to be in the movies, and I responded the same way, “Thank you but no.” I liked the idea of being married to my first husband. He was 20 years older than I was. At that age, I was still, in a charming way, innocent and untouched from life. He had an exciting life behind him and wanted to have a family and lead a more serious existence. That was where we clashed. You had one child together, your only child. Where is your son today? He is a patent attorney in Florida. I have two grandchildren who are lovely. The marriage lasted a very short time and then you went back to work? Yes, I went back to work and opened two antique stores. One was a very chic antique store in Munich named Gallery Antique. The other one was very chic as well, but we sold only reproductions. I grew up during that time and evolved into a businesswoman. You were in your late twenties, had a child, and owned two businesses (antiquity dealer and reproduction establishments) . . . how did you manage all that? It was hard work, but it was what I wanted to do. My son fit seamlessly into my life. He told me when he was very small, “Mommy, you never will have a problem with me.” He was very sweet, very honest, and yes, true to his word. Then you meet your second love, “the Walt Disney of Europe” Rolf Kauka. How did that occur?

I was asked to join a dinner party hosted by one of my clients. I didn’t want to go because the client was a bit too interested in me personally, while I saw him only as a customer. I thought I had to go though, because he had recently purchased a huge home and I wanted to fill his rooms with works from my galleries. That day, I did not even go home to get dressed or change from my daily work clothes. I went straight from work to the dinner party. Was everyone else in cocktail attire? Yes, and it was a very chic and elaborate dinner party. I was standing on my client’s roof terrace, looking down, and a guest arrived in a car. He looked up and waved to me. After a while, a voice behind me says, “Well, ma’am, from behind you look as tempting as from down there.” And that was how I met Rolf Kauka. When did you know you would marry? When I heard his enchanting voice. I learned later that none of the guests were married. The dinner party host asked each of us what kind of partner would convince us to get married? I knew why he was asking that question, which was directed right to me. So I conjured up a picture that was somewhere between Che Guevarra and Jesus. Everybody was breathless and Kauka said into that quiet moment. “Oh, that describes me.” I thought he was charming. I was horrified, but the next day I received a letter from him asking me to go out with him and have dinner. We went out and talked so much we had no time to order our dinner. After a while, Rolf Kauka said, “I asked you to marry me after two hours and you haven’t replied.” I said, “Yes, you don’t have a response because I don’t have an answer.” It was Wednesday when we had dinner. I asked him to give me time until the weekend. The next day, I drove to my parents, and I said something unbelievable had happened. I met a gentleman and I am considering marrying him. My father asked, “Can he support you?” I said, “I’m not sure, but I think so.” My father then asked, “Can he play the piano?” “Yes, I think he plays the piano,” I said. “I don’t know this gentleman, but I am very drawn to him.” My mother said, “You have seen him twice, you say, and he asked you to marry him . . . and you are even considering the proposal?” “Yes”, I said, “I am considering it.” And then my mother said something I will never forget: “I would marry him right away. You, who never wanted to marry again, who cannot make up your mind at all with men, are considering

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PHO TOG RAP HS CO UR TES YA LEX AN DR AK AU KA

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his proposal. He must be outstanding. Go and marry him.” And that is what I did. What a beautiful story. Did you love his heart or his mind? I was drawn to his mind and his personality. I fell in love and for 25 years it was total love. Did you think that type of love existed? No. Do you think that God blessed you in one moment? I think he blessed me, and my husband as well. Did he love you equally? Yes. You were a complete partnership? We were. After the person you love goes . . . how do you get through it? It was very, very difficult. Can you explain how you carried on . . . persevered? I wanted to keep his legacy alive. I did not go out. My friends tried to get me out of this…but the pain would not leave me. Sadness? Yes. I just couldn’t push it away, not for two years. I led a very lonely life. What pulled you out of that loneliness? Those days were filled with only me. Not with entertainment, not with friends, not with travel, none of that. I had to create my own focus which became my painting. I was married to such a grand artist who employed so many cartoonists and painters, I didn’t want to go to my atelier when he went to his ateliers, you know? You told me it was difficult to part with your paintings. Is that because art helped you to mend and heal? Yes. It must have been healing. And I think it still is. When you see my paintings, you will understand. I want to be recognized through my art. I am drawn to do what I do. I don’t want to have to produce at all so I only paint if I really feel like it. In your Spirit you are a creative? I am a very creative person. I really can’t help it. If I make something as simple as a sandwich, it is unique. Sometimes, I laugh at myself because I don’t do things like other people. Whatever I do, I am creating. Do you push yourself or does it just come? No. I absolutely don’t push myself. Do you think that you are divinely touched? Yes. I think so. What a responsibility? What a responsibility. I do not know where it will lead, you know? I really don’t know what it is for. It just happens. It is faith, right? You just must accept it and know that it is taking you beyond. Yes. I believe in this idea of “beyond” very much. Rolf was a genius? He was a great friend. He was highly intelligent and a good human being. He had a divine sense of humor, mostly about himself. Self-Deprecating. Absolutely. He was one of the greatest human beings I ever met. Fix and Foxi, how did that come about? People think he woke up one morning and eureka. But no, it was a play with words and with those cartoon characters. He loved the old German children’s tales. There was a fox, and he played with those ideas, they all had messages, which was his great forte. Where are Fix and Foxi today? I sold the copyrights to Stephan Piech, of the Porsche/Piech

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family. His family entertainment company is so successful. He was able to give Fix and Foxi a platform, because they own TV channels all over the world. It is now seen worldwide: from Arab nations to Thailand to Norway . . . Rolf ’s legacy was preserved by partnering with the right man. And that makes me happy. What piece of advice can you give me, as a publisher? You don’t need advice, because I saw your magazine.You captured a need, the intersection between the aesthetic and womanhood . . . creating and women. I am deeply impressed, and I truly hope you will go on producing this fantastic magazine though the title I find a bit strange. The Elysian Field is where the hero goes to rest and brings his legacy. ELYSIAN’s origin is Greek, and it means divinely inspired, beautiful, and peaceful. ELYSIAN will tell your story and it will inspire others, which is our ethos. Interesting that you explain it like that. For me, this interview was not an easy decision because it meant I had to “open up.” I do not know if you understand. You are a woman of such substance with little written about your lifetime achievements. What a tragedy for your son and your grandchildren, to be unaware of the extent of your gifts; three beauties (inner, outer, and creative). Not to mention . . . the beautiful story of 25 years with Rolf Kauka. You are very fortunate; many women have not found love even once . . . But Karen, I found it three times. And I never thought I would. I was not looking, and not interested at all after Rolf. I met my present husband, Sterling Morton Hamill, in an elevator . . . and in the elevator, you cannot escape. We both were in New York City to have a look at an apartment for purchase. I saw him and he saw me, and that was it. Half a year later, I gave a dinner party. One of my guests, a girlfriend, had run into Sterling on the street. She said, “Come, go with me tonight to a dinner party. Alexandra will be happy to have you and it will be fun.” My girlfriend brought him to my apartment. Did he know who you were when he came to the house? He had no idea. I had no idea. He sent me a flower the next day and called me on the phone to thank me. We had a nice conversation. You have been married for 12 years and still use the last name Kauka? Yes. Because I am used to it in the European business world. What does your husband do? He is retired now but used to built boats and ships. He is from a leading family from Chicago. His grandfather founded Morton Salt and he ran the family business. What were the similarities between your three loves? I would say their exquisite intellect. What piece of advice would you give to a young woman, in this very complicated world? Perhaps a thought for your granddaughter. What would you tell her? I know exactly what I would say to all of them. Be unique and be who you truly are. Do not copy an actress in a television series, be who you authentically are. Our youth look alike, and they all act alike. How sad. They forget that they are unique themselves . . . and worse, they are afraid to be unique. Maybe they feel more safe following others and maybe our youth feels that by copying someone else they can avoid being hurt? Wisdom. Alexandra, there is no one more unique than you. Thank you for this privilege. Thank you very much for listening. I hope I could convey something that might inspire someone. ■

• automne 2023 • l’édition artistique • readelysian.com

Alexandra’s Fix, Foxi and Lupo. Fix und Foxi was a weekly German comics magazine created by Rolf Kauka, which ran uninterrupted from 1953 until 1994. Re-christened Fix & Foxi, it was relaunched as a monthly magazine in 2000, 2005, and 2010 respectively. Since the end of 2010, publication has once again ceased. During its heyday it was one of the most successful German comics magazines. PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY ALEXANDRA KAUKA

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Interview Date: October 31st, 2022

Christina

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOY MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY / JOYMARIEPHOTO.COM

DR. CHRISTINA RAHM grew up in a small town but has a big vision, one of providing solutions to the world that help people, animals and the environment. Christina has always excelled at academics, which continues to be a part of her life today. She faced a number of health problems over the years, including Lyme disease and cancer, and has learned to be self-reliant. Christina holds multiple patents; she is a scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, psychologist, and humanitarian. It is fitting, then, that she uses art in all that she does—the creative process, sparked by a dream, fueled by a desire to give to others, is intertwined in her more technical endeavors. She views art as transient, yet the impact her work has left on countless lives is more enduring.

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Christina, thank you for opening your home and your heart. Over the past three decades I have interviewed hundreds of women. Your interview is the first to be covered in two publications. The Art issue interview will focus on your formative years and inherent creativity. The subsequent ELYSIAN Fashion issue will expand to science, environ-ware and the businesses you have built. Thank you. I appreciate you coming because I know it was a lot. You are multidimensional, with unique foundational influences. Can you describe your childhood and your family? My mom and dad met in high school in Campbell, Missouri. My mother’s family owned farmland. Her mother went to Peabody, Vanderbilt, which was quite unusual for the time. My grandmother’s family was heavily invested in Campbell and I think my mom had a happy childhood. My father’s family moved into town and owned a bakery and a restaurant. His father was a superintendent of schools, and his mother was a Home Economics teacher. They transferred from Murray State to Peabody, Vanderbilt. My parents met at ages 13 and 14 and started dating until they were married. They went to college together. Both parents were really involved in the school. They were good parents. My dad ran hospital systems for the state of Missouri. He was passionate about the Special Olympics. My mom was a classical pianist and cellist and eventually taught school because they lived in a small town. I was a tomboy. While I can’t say I was my mother’s favorite, I think I was my dad’s. I have a sister who is a year older, and a brother about five and a half years younger. We are very close. When you grow up in a town of 6,000 people, I don’t know how to describe it, but you feel safe. The families all knew each other and my friends from childhood were the children of my parents’ friends. I was very academic in school and an athlete. I was a cheerleader and had a strong group of friends that I remain close to today. I had a solid childhood and I really enjoyed growing up in a small-town environment. I was premature so I had lots of health issues, even as a little kid. The women of your family were very strong. Tell me about them. My grandmother had my mother when she was very young, so my great-grandmother raised my mother. My great-grandmother was Cherokee and Choctaw Indian and had married an extremely wealthy man whose last name was Boyd. He was from Ireland and Scotland and had immigrated to the United States. In those times, Cherokee or Choctaw people were treated differently. I remember hearing stories of my grandmother riding in the back of the truck instead of in the front and obviously my great-grandfather did not treat her as an equal. It was a very different environment, and it was in the South. During that period, men were allowed to do whatever they wanted to women, who needed to be strong to survive. They worked hard and eventually owned almost every business in that town, including the grocery store. Your great-grandmother was beautiful. She was beautiful. Because my great-grandmother really raised my mom, she was more like my grandmother. Both my grandmother and great-grandmother had children when they were very young. And so, they were extremely close to me. I was very close to my father’s family too. Generationally the grandmothers helped raise the children while the mothers worked. I know it sounds strange, but I was fortunate to have had grandmothers with college educations. Back then, post-high school education was very unusual. In fact, on my father’s side, my grandmother Rahm had nine children; all of whom had college degrees (though I do believe one of the girls died). They were tobacco farmers in Ohio and Kentucky. Where did the emphasis on education come from? It was never a question for us to go to college or to get a master’s degree. It was expected. Do you know what I mean? That was part of my heritage. I didn’t realize that everyone didn’t have those educational opportunities. It was just how we

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were brought up. Now, when I look back at my aunts, I realize what great examples they were. They were debutantes, but they also were strong women who took care of their husbands, ran nonprofits, and helped other women. They were great examples and taught me to be who I am, just by my watching them. It is hard for me not to get emotional about it. They were amazing. While the women in your family played a strong role in your evolution and self-actualization, you mentioned your health challenges as well. I was a straight-A student on scholarship. I didn’t have to study because academics came very easy. I was working at Ridgecrest Baptist Conference Center when I contracted Lyme disease and ended up in the ICU. I could not add two plus two. I forgot everything I had learned in science and math, which were my strong subjects even, though I also loved history and English. I am surprised I graduated from college to be honest, because Lyme disease was so debilitating to me. I completely lost my memory. I also came down with meningitis and lost my hair and my eyelashes. I had an IV PICC line at first and then IVs every day to try to get rid of the Lyme disease and to try to help with meningitis. My parents were in Missouri at that time and though they came to take care of me for a little while, I refused to go home. I wanted to keep working. I was devastated during that period of my life. I cried and felt sorry for myself. My dad had his secretary write me a letter that said that I should stop feeling sorry for myself. He didn’t care if I had hair or not and he could care less if I lost my memory. I am so thankful for that letter now. But at the time, I think I had so much anger.

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ELYSIAN Publisher Karen Floyd interviews internationally sought-after scientific leader, spokesperson, and innovator in health and wellness, Dr. Christina Rahm.

I was close to my dad, so, when he wrote that letter, I took the anger it caused and harnessed it, and it helped push me forward. I noticed the colleges you attended early on and now I understand why. I loved my freshman college. I dated a football player that was a fifth-year senior. My father wanted none of that. He thought boys caused my grades to fall. So, he and Mom made me go where my sister was because she was 14 months older. He wanted her to watch me because she was always the rule follower, and I was the mischievous one. Why South Alabama? I ended up at South Alabama because that was where my boyfriend played baseball. I know it will sound horrible, but we had a sorority party with one of the fraternities. We were pulled for drinking on what was a dry campus. The next day I had to meet with the vice president and the dean of students. For whatever reason, and to this day I still don’t know why, he told me I could stay only if I would run for a vice president of Panhellenic and if I would run for Chief Justice of the student government. I also had to work in his office. His name was Dr. Dean Adams. Everyone else received community service. Did you ever ask him? Yes, I ended up being very good friends with Dr. Adams, his wife . . . as well as leadership at that university. He said that when he read my resume, he saw potential. So, I ran and was elected vice

president. The next year I was elected president of Panhellenic and Chief Justice. I also started the Gay and Lesbian Association because I wanted to help, protect, and promote everyone. I did not like it when people in the South treated people differently because of their sexual orientation, and I still don’t. I wasn’t gay and I wasn’t a lesbian, but for me, it didn’t matter. You should treat everyone with respect. I started the freshman advisory council, which is still in existence at South Alabama. I was very involved and active in college. Do you think people are predestined to illness or is your health a choice? Fortunately, I am O negative, which is a very strong blood type. I contracted Lyme disease while I was camping at Ridgecrest in North Carolina, in the mountains. I was in a bed of seed ticks when I was bitten. They originally misdiagnosed the bite as one from a brown recluse spider. My temperature spiked at 105-106. It was horrible. Did it trigger meningitis? Yes, and I am very thankful that I was in North Carolina. Had I been in a small town like Dexter, Missouri, and contracted Lyme disease, I’m not sure what would have happened. Lyme disease is also more prevalent in North Carolina. Because I was born prematurely, I faced health challenges from the very beginning. I do think that some people are just wired that way. I am also genetically predisposed to cancer. What kind of cancer have you had? When I had my oldest son, I had what was called a partial molar pregnancy. Molar pregnancies have serious complications including cancer. I was very sick. I kept getting sick, which is how they found it because I could not stop vomiting. It was just horrific. I chose to have my son. I won’t get into the details, but they didn’t think he would be okay. But he is, thankfully. If you look closely, you can see a scar here above my eye. I was 25, almost 26 when they diagnosed cancer above and behind my eye. They were worried I would lose my eye. I have had skin cancer and mole surgery. You experienced other serious health issues from the ages of 20 to 40? Yes. I have had a brain tumor, a pre-ductal number of pituitary tumors, syringomyelia, melanoma, and squamous basal cell cancer. I have scars on my back . . . and if you look at my nose there is also a scar. Were your health challenges catalysts for your entry into healthcare? No; when I was pregnant, I walked in on my husband who was with someone else. It made me understand that I had to support myself. How old were you? 26. I had another situation happen when I was 30 which retaught me that I did not have anyone but myself to depend on. I had to support my children. Is that how you began in the more traditional pharmaceutical space? Yes. I worked for a mobile mental health center, and I ascended in that organization. I started supervising people at a very young age as a psychologist. Was that the impetus for your Master of Science in rehabilitation and counseling? Yes, I studied both. I studied psychology and did work in a methadone clinic to help pregnant women that were on methadone. They would overdose because they would take methadone on the street. I worked with the seriously persistent mentally ill, sexually abused children and pedophiles. I ended up doing intakes. Sometimes I would do 40 intakes in one day because I supervised so many people. I had a beeper I carried at the ER. At the time I had a newborn baby. I still remember when I realized that career could not be my professional path. Was the rapid fire of what you witnessed emotionally taking its toll on you? It was honestly too much for anyone to witness. I couldn’t sleep because I was exposed to horrific sexual abuse of children. It was hard for me to understand. In graduate school, I was selected to be

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Dr. Christina Rahm at ELYSIAN’s inaugural CatWalk FurBaby event during New York Fashion Week 2023. PHOTOGRAPH BY JOY MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY / JOYMARIEPHOTO.COM

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PHOTOGRAPH BY JOY MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY / JOYMARIEPHOTO.COM

part of an experimental program in the state of Alabama where we served as mentors working with gang members. The program was in Pritchard, a very rough area. I prosecuted those types of cases, so I understand both the desire to help and the ramifications. How did it affect you and what specifically was your focus? I couldn’t sleep. When I was 25, I started working as a house parent in college with sexually abused kids. Before that point, I was the life of the party. Did you always maintain regular sleep and exercise? Yes. Though sleep has never been great for me. I can get by with three or four hours, but then I will crash. I am not a sound sleeper because I have an internal drive to get things done. Exercise, by contrast, is something core to my life and important to me. Almost all women that are wired like me have a hard time sleeping. It started when I was in college. If I needed to solve problems, it came at the expense of sleep. Sometimes I problem-solve in my dreams. Many formulas and other things I’ve created came from dreams. Do you wake up in the middle of the night problem-solving? Yes. I always have an off-and-on switch. If I write things down, I can go back to sleep. If I don’t, I can’t. It is not good for me to check my phone. We are in almost 80 countries, so I do check my phone a couple of times during the night. Once I had children I was also always worrying. I always wanted to make sure they were okay. I was never the kind of mother that could sleep. From their birth, I slept with my babies in bed with me which made me get used to not sleeping. Were you in school at the time? I don’t know if there has ever been a time since that I have

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been completely out of school. Even now I am working with a couple of universities in Africa developing a medical department and helping teach. You were working at Mobile Mental Health Center and would fly to the University of Sarasota in pursuit of your doctorate, then what happened? I was raised in a home where my grandparents and parents were always giving back to the community; my parents were foster parents and heavily involved in Special Olympics. Philanthropy is an important part of who I am and what I want to do in life, so I started writing grants. The grants I wrote benefited sexually abused kids. I think it distracted me from the horror of what they were going through, and I wanted to get money for them. I thought it was important. I wrote a grant to NIMH, which was part of NIH, with Dr. Bill Anthony and Dr. Sally Rogers. Harvard, Yale, and Boston were included. I had written many local grants successfully; they were always accepted. I was so naive. I know this sounds horrible, but I was so used to them being accepted, I could not understand what happened. I called them many times and finally, they called me back. “We don’t give someone a grant that is not with a university and that does not have experience working with governmental programs, they said. “What can I do?” I asked. They said, “You can come meet with us,”, which I did. They connected me to Bill Anthony who took me under his wing. I was one of the youngest research directors for that grant. I moved up just as I had with social services. But even with grant writing, I needed more money to support my kids. I started with a master’s degree at $18,000

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WHAT IS YOUR POINT OF ORIGIN WHEN YOU CREATE SOMETHING?

which increased to $32,000. But it just was not sustainable. I did a talk for women with depression and one of the business managers from Pfizer heard it and I was asked to an interview. Is the moral of the story, never give up? Yes, and that runs deep, literally. In high school, I ran longdistance track. At the first track meet, I had to stop behind the field house and get sick. I came out and finished the race. The next time we raced, I had in my mind I would win, despite the first race, when I got sick, I won. I won until I went to state. I really don’t think I’m a good athlete, but I just don’t quit. When I felt I couldn’t get up in the morning, when I had full blown Lyme disease or cancer I just did it anyway. I think it is one of the most important things in life. I want to delve into your creativity . . . what are your passions? I love travel, art, design, music, fashion. I love experiencing new things, seeing different styles. I find everything is artistic and I love beauty. Food art, right? I had an idea, and that was to touch art, music, and humanities. At the time we were only doing health, wellness, science, and medicine. But I really wanted to move into a world of creativity because it makes me happy. Art brings people together, and creative minds also seek solutions and care deeply about the environment. Creative people also care about people. What do you want to be remembered for? I really want to be remembered for providing solutions to the world to help people. I want to be remembered as someone that supports and helps women, men, and does the right thing. The biggest issue for me is not to be remembered for my accomplishments. I would rather be remembered as someone

that really tried to make positive change. When I was younger, I thought politics was the only way make to make significant change. As I became older, I realized there were other ways to make a difference. It is important to me that I make positive impacts, which is more important a legacy than money. I do want to ensure a legacy for my children so they can carry forward this work. How do you start an artistic endeavor? Usually I begin dreaming about what I am going to paint or design. Because I use art in almost everything that I do. You are a pure innovator and creative. I am. Someone coined you a creative genius or savant. Is that divine? I think it is divine. It was something I never worked at, but just happened. I’ve always known certain things, but I always say that it is the artistic side of me and the divine influence in my life that I have had since I was a little girl. What is that responsibility like? For me it’s, it’s humbling because I believe it was given to me to use to help people in the world. Even when I had cancer it made it even stronger for me because I understood that I had a gift that I finally realized other people didn’t really have. It hit me. My parents always called me special, which I felt was not a compliment. I was different and felt out of place, which happened a lot in my life. I realized it was a gift where I can help people, and I take that very seriously. The artistic side of me really made me a little bit more serious when I finally realized that I thought and did things differently than other scientists and other people in business.

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What is your point of origin when you create something? Humanity. I believe that I pivot to and am drawn to whatever is best for humanity and what can be created. What you read in a textbook does not create innovation. It is a foundation that you can learn from. If you read a textbook, you cannot create or innovate a sustainable future. Everything is connected: land, air, water, and man. It’s simple to me. I create for the betterment of future sustainability and not just now. And I see everything, even the paintings that I create, as transient. If the paintings were destroyed or used for something else, it wouldn’t bother me at all. Can you give me one piece of advice that you would give a “younger you” that would have made a difference in your own life? You don’t have to be what everyone else wants you to be. You don’t have to get married; you don’t have to have kids. I’m very thankful I got married and have kids. But I would tell myself, you can wait. You can make your own decisions. You don’t need your mother or grandmother to tell you who you will become. You need to be you and with that comes mistakes and forgiveness. Mistakes because they are part of life. Use it as an example to be better. I grew up feeling such guilt and was always worried. If I would have been told it would all work out and be okay, that I would fail constantly and be better because of it, it would have been different. I thought something was wrong with me. I thought I had to be perfect. I thought that, I really did. So, I would say to my younger self, you need to be you. How old were you when you realized that? Not long ago. How bad is that? Do you know who caused me to realize that? My husband Clayton. Because of his unconditional love? While I love my mom, dad, sister, and brother, Clayton doesn’t expect me to be perfect. I think he is probably the first person. But he doesn’t care about perfection and that is a gift. ■

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Dr. Christina Rahm with husband, Clayton. PHOTOGRAPH BY JOY MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY / JOYMARIEPHOTO.COM

You just kind of intuitively know it. It comes at such a granular level, and it begins in sleep. It begins in sleep or sometimes when I’m sitting somewhere I will know something, and I know it instinctively a hundred percent or I know what I need to do or create or even about someone in the room. I have experienced this since I was a little girl. I didn’t understand that everyone else around me didn’t have the same feelings or same thoughts or knowledge. I didn’t know. I have watched you in groups of people and you naturally gravitate to the loner. Why? That is so interesting you would say that because the principal at my daughter’s school told me when she was little that she did that… as do both my sons. Coincidentally, all three of my children have the same characteristic. It is a feature I must have passed on to them. I love people. I don’t like being in a room and feeling someone is being treated as an outcast or less than someone else. That really bothers me. Even in high school I always gravitated toward people that were being hurt or whom people were making unkind comments about. I just felt a connection with those people. When you had cancer did you ever think you would die? I knew they said I might die. But I felt like I had a longer purpose. I felt like my life wasn’t over and I felt that there was this long path ahead of me . . . things I needed to do. I was going to beat what was happening and continue to because the cancer comes back multiple times. I have seen your artwork and it comes to you with a thought or through a dream? My happy place is to create art. My passion is art, because when I’m creating, I feel it is something I can give or share with people. I don’t feel what I create is ever mine. I never feel I own it, which has led me, many times in my life, giving things I have made to the world and not owning them, and not being a part of it. There are some things that I worked on and created that mention my name. Creating art leads me to a very happy, almost euphoric space, where I’m completely content and at peace. Do you think your Native American heritage is the source of those feelings? The idea that no one really owns anything or anyone. Definitely, I don’t feel like anything I buy, even the home I live in, is mine. When I travel, if someone comments on an article of clothing or accessory, I give it away. I don’t feel like it’s mine. I do feel a need to leave some things for my children so that they have a part of me. I have an underlying belief that energetically we are all connected. It’s not just based on science, it’s spiritual for me. And so, you’re right, I don’t feel like I own anything. Your art is stunning; I am curious how you self-define your artistic style . . . Most of my art is in my house or the office. I have given a great amount of my art away, though we did auction some pieces. I take dirt or sand from the ocean and sprinkle it over either acrylics, oils, or watercolors. I even will use things from my kitchen in my art. There is a huge painting in my house of a lady dancing on a table with a long dress and a hat. It is very unusual and complex. Under all my paintings, I write a story around the picture or behind the picture. I write things on the back of the picture as well. I write about, honestly, female empowerment. Most of my artwork is of women. And if you ask me why that is, I don’t know. It is just what I would like to create.

I BELIEVE THAT I PIVOT TO AND AM DRAWN TO WHATEVER IS BEST FOR HUMANITY AND WHAT CAN BE CREATED. WHAT YOU READ IN A TEXTBOOK DOES NOT CREATE INNOVATION . . . EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED; LAND, AIR, WATER, AND MAN. IT’S SIMPLE TO ME. I CREATE FOR THE BETTERMENT OF FUTURE SUSTAINABILITY . . . I SEE EVERYTHING, EVEN THE PAINTINGS THAT I CREATE, AS TRANSIENT. IF THE PAINTINGS WERE DESTROYED OR USED FOR SOMETHING ELSE, IT WOULDN’T BOTHER ME AT ALL.

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Marta Estrems:

The Power of Catharsis & Healing through Art BY CARLA GROH

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Detail of D.C. Series 350, pastel, oil and charcoal on canvas, 2014, by Marta Estrems. COURTESY EVEY FINE ART / PALM BEACH / ARTEVEY.COM

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Untitled 303, pastel, oil and charcoal on canvas, 2007, by Marta Estrems. COURTESY EVEY FINE ART / PALM BEACH / ARTEVEY.COM

rgentian artist Marta Estrems, one of the leading Latin American Abstractionists, imbues her ethereal and often enigmatic canvasses with a powerful repertoire of emotional depth, kinetic energy and visual imagery, evoking complex connotations within deeper layers of the viewers’ intuitive perception. Her work is a form of meditation, an invitation to quiet the noise of the external world and to slow down to access the deeper layers of the self and human interconnectedness. Marta Estrems’ paintings seek to visualize the human capacity to connect with nature and each other, focussing on the inexpressible, the intangible, and the immaterial, with her abstract canvasses forming a bridge between our inner and outer world experiences. This focus is mirrored in her creative process of deep contemplation and immersion by accessing these raw collective emotions and experiences in human interconnectedness. By surrendering herself into this state of open receptiveness and vulnerability, no matter how painful or disturbing, her goal in this creative process is to allow these formerly intangible and sometimes chaotic forces to find artistic expression, and transmutation by materializing on her canvasses. Many of the artists’ paintings emerge from a need to respond to these disruptive forces representing harrowing violations against women, in this case of the painting titled N.274, the brutal abduction of about 274 girls, that occurred on April 2014. These young women were taken from a school in the small community of Chibok, Nigeria, by a terrorist group called “Boko Haram.” When Marta

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FOR THE STUDENTS, FOR ALL OF US WHO FELT SO USELESS WHEN SOMETHING SO INCREDIBLE HAPPENED AND YOU CANNOT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT, THE FACT OF BEING ABLE TO AT LEAST GIVE A LITTLE THING THROUGH SCULPTURE, THROUGH WHAT WE KNOW HOW TO DO, WAS HEALING.” —PRUNE NOURRY

FRENCH MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST

learned of these events she states it was like “274 thorns that were stuck in my heart”. She set to work immediately, first choosing the large size of the canvas, to symbolize the overwhelming power exercised by men over girls and eventually trying to resolve and reflect on this story through her immersive process using a neutral palette, with charcoal, oil, graphite, medium and working layer upon layer on the canvas. The interplay of light and dark hues creates a sense of depth and complexity, adding richness and texture to the composition and simultaneously conveying complex, underlying emotions. The sign of the number 274 was interwoven with various other symbols throughout the artwork, creating a dense and weighted atmosphere through the use of kinetic brushstrokes with “its repetition rendering strength to the barbarism inflicted on these young women.” as stated by the artist.

The

Chibok kidnapping brought worldwide attention to the need for more concerted efforts to protect civilians, especially young women targeted for seeking knowledge and empowerment through education, from violence and terrorism and sparked international outrage and a social media campaign with the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls. However, despite intense search efforts and negotiations, there are still

108 girls that remain in captivity. The brave resilience of these girls who first risked their lives to pursue an education and then in the face of their captors, by resisting their demands also inspired a series of art projects in Nigeria. One of them, titled Statues Also Breathe was conceived by French artist Prune Nourry and consists of 108 life-size clay heads, made by 108 students from all over Nigeria and inspired by Ife heads—terracotta sculptures made in the region centuries ago and considered to be among Nigeria’s most significant cultural artifacts. These clay sculptures, now on display at an art gallery in Lagos, depict the faces of the 108 Nigerian girls who are still missing nine years after they were kidnapped. Artists from all over Nigeria took part in the project as well as some of the girl’s parents and a small group of women who were released from the terrorist group. They used clay from the Ife area was sourced by a community of local female potters, who also contributed to the creative process. “For the students, for all of us who felt so useless when something so incredible happened and you cannot do anything about it, the fact of being able to at least give a little thing through sculpture, through what we know how to do, was healing,” the artist Prune Nourry said in an interview with Reuters. Marta Estrems’ painting N.274 is a tribute to this spirit of compassionate transmutation and serves as a reminder that art is not only a means of self-expression but also a path toward a deeper understanding and connection with the people around us, opening avenues of deep unity and collective katharsis. ■

About the artist

Marta Estrems (born in 1949 in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina) received most of her professional training in Buenos Aires and initially pursued studies at the Manuel Belgrano National School of Fine Arts, where she obtained a degree in teaching visual arts. She later studied in the Master of Fine Arts program, majoring in drawing, painting, and sculpture at the Prilidiano Pueryrredon National School of Fine Arts. She moved to the United States in 1987 and lives and works in Miami. Throughout her career, Estrems has participated in more than twenty exhibitions in Argentina, Italy, Spain, and the United States. Her work has been shown in cultural institutions such as PIAG Museum (Coral Gables, FL), Armory Art Center (West Palm Beach, FL), the Alvin Sherman Library (Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale), and the Latino Art Museum (Pomona, CA) among others. Her most recent solo exhibition includes Containment: The Tao of Aesthetics (Arch Gallery, Miami, 2012) and “Painting and Drawings by Marta Estrems” (Miami Beach Botanical Garden, 2008). The artist is currently in the pre-production phase of a new series of works dealing with a very personal and sensitive subject matter—book censorship. This topic holds significant importance to the artist as her home country, Argentina, sadly held a dubious record for banning books during their last dictatorship. Marta Estrems’ artistic exploration of the history and impact of book censorship in Argentina and other countries around the world seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the issue and its implications for intellectual and artistic freedom of expression. Through her artwork, the artist seeks to raise awareness about the dangers of book censorship and encourage people to stand up for their right to read and access information freely and honor the memory of those who have suffered under oppressive regimes and promote the values of democracy, human rights, and individual liberty. Editor’s note: Author Carla Groh, art specialist and archeologist, owns and operates Evey Fine Art located in Palm Beach, Florida.

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D C SERIES N274, mixed media on canvas, 2023, by Marta Estrems. COURTESY EVEY FINE ART / PALM BEACH / ARTEVEY.COM

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art&literature

The fine art of poetry BY DAINA SAVAGE

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Portrait (fresco) of Sappho, Archaic Greek poet from Lesbos.

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hink of a moment when you are at a loss for words. When the majesty of a pounding waterfall takes your breath away as you are misted in vapor. When you are struck by the subtle movement of a milkweed releasing its silken parachute seeds to the autumn winds. When you witness a child puzzling out a first language, a tiny mouth moves to shape sounds. When you feel the warmth of the parchment paper skin of a loved one’s hand slowly recede as they fade away. Nature, life, and death are the subjects of poetry because these are the things humans continue to try to describe, understand, and know deep in their bones. They are things beyond language. And yet, we try to find the metaphors to say what we mean. Even if, as Emily Dickinson says, we can only tell it “slant”: Tell all the Truth but tell it slant – Success in Circuit lies Too bright for our infirm Delight The Truth’s superb surprise As Lightning to the Children eased With explanation kind The Truth must dazzle gradually Or every man be blind – Before the written word, oral poetry held a people’s history. It was how stories were passed down through the generations, tales of bravery in battle, instructions on how to plant crops, and how other cultures lived and loved. Meter and alliteration and rhyme schemes made the words memorable and sharable. It turned the recounting into art. Rather than a rote accounting of facts, poetry captures the palpable experience so that listeners can imagine it for themselves with the same intensity, whether it is something familiar or unfamiliar. Poets notice, record, and pare down to what’s essential. The former U.S. Poet Laureate, Rita Dove, says “Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.” Poetry is an archive of human experience, repeated and revered. Amanda Gorman, the 2017 National Youth Poet Laureate and 2020 presidential inaugural speaker, says “Poetry is the lens we use to interrogate the history we stand on and the future we stand for. It’s no coincidence that at the base of the Statue of Liberty, there is a poem.” This essentiality of poetry is why so many turn to poetry to mark milestones. It is the ecstasy of joyful celebrations like birthdays and weddings and it commemorates and eulogizes tragedies and life’s passing. What graduation doesn’t reference Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” or what funeral doesn’t consider Auden’s “Funeral Blues” or Dylan Thomas’ “Do not go gentle into that good night”? In witnessing these rites of passage, the markmaking before the moment is history, there’s a sense of needing to assert an aliveness in the way that Louise Glück notes in her poem “A Myth of Devotion”:

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There is another sky There is another sky, Ever serene and fair, And there is another sunshine, Though it be darkness there; Never mind faded forests, Austin, Never mind silent fields Here is a little forest, Whose leaf is ever green; Here is a brighter garden, Where not a frost has been; In its unfading flowers I hear the bright bee hum: Prithee, my brother, Into my garden come! Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an

American poet. Although little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry.

Fragment (105a) You: an Achilles’ apple Blushing sweet on a high branch At the tip of the tallest tree. You escaped those who would pluck your fruit. Not that they didn’t try. No, They could not forget you Poised beyond their reach. (the ancient Greek poet Sappho (c. 630 – c. 570 BC)

A Girl The tree has entered my hands, The sap has ascended my arms, The tree has grown in my breastDownward, The branches grow out of me, like arms. Tree you are, Moss you are, You are violets with wind above them. A child - so high - you are, And all this is folly to the world. Ezra Weston Loomis Pound was an

expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works include Ripostes, Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, and his 800-page epic poem, The Cantos.

Departed There is a place of pure delight, Where love once parted shall unite And once upon that blissful shore In fond embrace shall part no more (Author Unknown)

I know why the caged bird sings A free bird leaps on the back Of the wind and floats downstream Till the current ends and dips his wing In the orange suns rays And dares to claim the sky. But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage Can seldom see through his bars of rage His wings are clipped and his feet are tied So he opens his throat to sing. The caged bird sings with a fearful trill Of things unknown but longed for still And his tune is heard on the distant hill for The caged bird sings of freedom. The free bird thinks of another breeze And the trade winds soft through The sighing trees And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright Lawn and he names the sky his own. But a caged BIRD stands on the grave of dreams His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream His wings are clipped and his feet are tied So he opens his throat to sing. The caged bird sings with A fearful trill of things unknown But longed for still and his Tune is heard on the distant hill For the caged bird sings of freedom. Maya Angelou was an American memoirist, poet, and civil

rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees.

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The Poor Ghost “Oh whence do you come, my dear friend, to me, With your golden hair all fallen below your knee, And your face as white as snowdrops on the lea, And your voice as hollow as the hollow sea?” “From the other world I come back to you, My locks are uncurled with dripping drenching dew. You know the old, whilst I know the new: But tomorrow you shall know this too.” “Oh not tomorrow into the dark, I pray; Oh not tomorrow, too soon to go away: Here I feel warm and well-content and gay: Give me another year, another day.” “Am I so changed in a day and a night That mine own only love shrinks from me with fright, Is fain to turn away to left or right And cover up his eyes from the sight?” “Indeed I loved you, my chosen friend, I loved you for life, but life has an end; Thro’ sickness I was ready to tend: But death mars all, which we cannot mend. “Indeed I loved you; I love you yet If you will stay where your bed is set, Where I have planted a violet Which the wind waves, which the dew makes wet.” “Life is gone, then love too is gone, It was a reed that I leant upon: Never doubt 1 will leave you alone And not wake you rattling bone with bone. “I go home alone to my bed, Dug deep at the foot and deep at the head, Roofed in with a load of lead, Warm enough for the forgotten dead. “But why did your tears soak thro’ the clay, And why did your sobs wake me where I lay? I was away, far enough away: Christina Georgina Rossetti was an English writer of romantic, devotional and children’s poems, including “Goblin Market” and “Remember”

A Word to Husbands To keep your marriage brimming With love in the loving cup, Whenever you’re wrong, admit it; Whenever you’re right, shut up. Frederic Ogden Nash was an American poet well known for his light verse, of which he wrote over 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyming schemes, he was declared by The New York Times the country’s best-known producer of humorous poetry.

Generations For your birthday she gives you Maruska dolls, fitting together the way we must have fit. You inside me me inside her and she inside her mother Our features, so close to one another. The blue, blue eyes that startle. The blond curls that darken with age. And the fine, long fingers that come as adeptly to the ivory of a keyboard as to the task of fitting concrete to stone. And I see, as we four gather around the card table alternating Go Fish with Canasta, that unlike Maruska dolls we change sizes, until finally, you, little one, will hold what’s left of our opened shells in your large, large heart. from Traces, by Daina Savage, published by I. Giraffe Press, 2013. (USED WITH PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR)

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Doesn’t everyone want to feel in the night the beloved body, compass, polestar, to hear the quiet breathing that says I am alive, that means also you are alive, because you hear me, you are here with me. The language of poetry is beyond the everyday banality. It is a language that elevates and commemorates, that rages and keens. Its out-of-time-ness is what fixes important moments in time, elevating the occasion by expressing the inexpressible. To experience this, poetry asks us to slow down, to pay attention. Its very structure creates more space for breath and wonder in the play between text and white space. What’s left out becomes just as important as what is visible, with layers of meaning there for the excavating. We turn to poetry to give shape and contain wild emotions. We marvel at the control in a poem like Elizabeth Bishop’s “One Art” when the progressive sense of loss is almost too much to bear, ending in the final lines: the art of losing’s not too hard to master though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster. We revel in the bold confidence of Maya Angelou, declaring herself a “Phenomenal Woman”: “I’m a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That’s me.” or Lucille Clifton, who pens a “homage to my hips” saying: they go where they want to go they do what they want to do. these hips are mighty hips. these hips are magic hips. We are heartened by the observations of poets like the current U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, who writes in “Give Me This”: I watch the groundhog closer and a sound escapes me, a small spasm of joy I did not imagine when I woke. She is a funny creature and earnest, and she is doing what she can to survive. We are inspired and awe-filled with the nature wanderings of Mary Oliver, who famously asks in her poem “The Summer Day”, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” and then answers it herself in her poem “When Death Comes”: When it’s over, I want to say: all my life I was a bride married to amazement. I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms. Poetry helps us make sense of the world. It functions as prayer and meditation. It lends itself to catchy songs and quotable sayings. How often do we recall Edna St. Vincent Millay’s famous lines:

My candle burns at both ends; It will not last the night; But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends— It gives a lovely light! Poetry can feel instructional and essential, pointing the way to living with more presence and meaning. The poet Adrianne Rich, who described poetry as “a liberative language, connecting us to others like and unlike ourselves,” famously builds those connections in “XIII (Dedications)” when she writes that “I know you are reading this poem through your failing sight, the thick lens enlarging these letters beyond all meaning yet you read on because even the alphabet is precious. When “the world is too much with us” (William Wordsworth) we turn to poetry to offer hope, inspire gratitude, and incite joy. The poet Natalie Diaz in “From the Desire Field” suggests as a balm to anxiety that the “you” in the poem to tell me a story about the sweet grass you planted—and tell it again or again— until I can smell its sweet smoke, leave this thrashed field, and be smooth. The poet Ellen Bass begins her third collection Like a Beggar with a poem that should hang on bathroom mirrors as a mantra, Relax: “Bad things are going to happen” She begins, with a listing of bad things. Thankfully, there’s also the delight in a wild strawberry: Oh taste how sweet and tart the red juice is, how the tiny seeds crunch between your teeth. Similarly, the poet Maggie Smith in her poem “Good Bones” reminds us that “Life is short” and that “The world is at least/fifty percent terrible, and that’s a conservative/estimate, though I keep this from my children.” Yet, she assesses that the world, as a realtor would note, has “good bones” that inspire hope: This place could be beautiful, right? You could make this place beautiful. That’s what poetry does, this constant reminder of what’s possible despite despair, this continual appeal to see beauty amid tragedy. This juxtaposition, just like the contrast between text and space, is where we as readers have room to discover our resonance and meaning. It’s where we find our inspiring mantras and the comfort in knowing we are not alone. It’s where our humanity is reflected as we try in our own ways to make sense of the world. And it’s where we site our place in history, feeling the same loss and elation as our ancestors, in our own particular, poetic ways. ■ Editor’s note: Daina Savage is Poet Laureate for Lancaster County, South Carolina

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Animal Advocates of Barnwell County was represented on the catwalk by model Belle Scott and Penny the Pomeranian. PHOTOGRAPH BY JARED SISKIN/PATRICK MCMULLAN VIA GETTY IMAGES

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philanthropy

A Groundbreaking Fashion Experience to Benefit our Furry Friends BY CAROLINE RYAN

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“. . . ELYSIAN Impact’s Inaugural CatWalk FurBaby fashion show … brought together designers, models, and rescue animals for a day of fashion and fundraising for animal welfare organizations.” – REUTERS. PHOTOGRAPH BY JOY MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY / JOYMARIEPHOTO.COM

EW YORK FASHION WEEK—the mere mention of this semi-annual event sends fashionistas into a frenzy and has media jockeying for coveted positions at the runway shows of cutting-edge designers. This past February, however, New York Fashion Week was more than a venue for beautiful clothing and the latest sartorial trends—it was the scene of Elysian Impact’s inaugural CatWalk FurBaby event, a spectacular showcase of fashion combined with a fundraiser designed to benefit animal welfare organizations across the country.

Sony Hall, one of Midtown Manhattan’s premier venues located in the Paramount Hotel, the air was electric. The crowd was buzzing with anticipation on the morning of February 10, 2023. Images of models and adorable rescue pets were projected on the screen, the venue was aglow with mood lighting, and a pulsing soundtrack set the tone for the imminent fashion show that promised to be not only spectacular, but otherworldly. As the lights in the room went to black, a soft voice was heard quoting Milan Kundera’s famous and haunting words, “Humanity’s true moral test, its fundamental test, consists of its attitude toward those who are at its mercy—animals.” As the words hung in the air in the darkened room, the screen segued to video

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ELYSIAN Publisher Karen Floyd, resplendent in black and sparkling emerald green, strode onto the runway to greet the crowd and praise the trailblazers who had helped her make CatWalk FurBaby a reality. PHOTOGRAPH BY JOY MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY / JOYMARIEPHOTO.COM • Big Dog Ranch of Palm Beach County, Florida, was represented on the catwalk by Paris-based designer Anne Fontaine, who developed the CHERYL Precious Dress to highlight the charity. Leah Reynolds modeled the piece, accompanied by Valentine, a poodle rescued from slaughter in China. PHOTOGRAPH BY JOY MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY / JOYMARIEPHOTO.COM

vignettes of rescue animals, underscoring the reason for this groundbreaking event and conveying support for the animal welfare organizations that would benefit from it. ELYSIAN Publisher Karen Floyd, resplendent in black and sparkling emerald green, strode onto the runway to greet the crowd and praise the trailblazers who had helped her make CatWalk FurBaby a reality. Floyd acknowledged that the event, like the fiery ELYSIAN logo blazing behind her, was made possible by a trio of impassioned women—Cathy Bissell of BISSELL Pet Foundation, whom Floyd called “the oxygen” of the event; Consuela Vanderbilt Costin, founder of SohoMuse, a network for the creative industry, whom Floyd dubbed “the fuel” and creative force that drove the event; and Dr. Christina Rahm, a pioneering inventor of scientific formulas, nutraceuticals, and environmentally friendly clothing, whom Floyd dubbed “the heat.”

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Without the support of Rahm’s DRC Ventures, CatWalk FurBaby’s title sponsor, the event would not have been possible. Floyd said that she and her collaborators designed CatWalk FurBaby as a way to “celebrate the spirituality of rescuing animals and to support the work of organizations that are making it possible for animals and humans to create meaningful connections.” This theme was the heart of the event, and the goal of making the world a better place for our furry companions was on full display during the two-hour show. Floyd unveiled the cover of the event’s companion ELYSIAN magazine, featuring a luminous Costin on the cover, and turned the microphone over to her ineffable colleague—and her fluffy white pooch, Bugsy—who then served as the emcee for the show. Costin presented 10 different teams consisting of a designer, a model, a charity, and a rescue animal, all competing for cash prizes. Over the course of the next hour, models wearing outfits

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Jameson Humane of Napa County, California, was represented on the catwalk by model Tanya Ward, who wore a design by Napa-based designer Karen Caldwell. Tanya was accompanied by Chloe, the dog, whose outfit was provided by Ruff Houzin. PHOTOGRAPH BY JARED SISKIN / PATRICK MCMULLAN VIA GETTY IMAGES

Opposite: Strong Island Animal Rescue League of New York, was represented on the runway by Noize Apparel, an ensemble worn by Kate johnson, who was joined by Rolo, an 8-month-old Rottweiler rescue puppy from Rescue Dogs Rock. PHOTOGRAPH BY JOY MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY / JOYMARIEPHOTO.COM

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Based in Oceanside, CA, Freedom Dogs was represented on the catwalk by model Logan Taylor and her dog Taylor, a rescued Great Pyrenees-Collie mix. PHOTOGRAPH BY JOY MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY / JOYMARIEPHOTO.COM

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Companion Animal Alliance of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was represented on the runway by Elise Wheatley, who wore a gorgeous Nicole Miller maroon sequin ensemble. Elise was accompanied by Hugo, a terrier mix. PHOTOGRAPH BY JARED SISKIN / PATRICK MCMULLAN VIA GETTY IMAGES

Opposite: Danny & Ron’s Rescue was represented at CatWalk FurBaby by designer Marc Bouwer, model Tina J. Parsenyuk, and dog Eliza. PHOTOGRAPH BY JOY MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY / JOYMARIEPHOTO.COM

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Friends of Williamson County Animal Center was represented by Merci Dupre Clothiers on the runway. Model Stephanie Hametner was accompanied by Tilly the dog. PHOTOGRAPH BY JARED SISKIN / PATRICK MCMULLAN VIA GETTY IMAGES

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Global Strays was represented on the runway by designer Gloria Lee, worn by model Quinn Copeland, who was accompanied by Fede, a mixed breed and former stray from Mexico, and Henry the Chihuahua, a former stray from Puerto Rico. The ensemble, “The Future of Animal Welfare,” represents Global Strays’ most recent mission, which is focused on educating young people around the globe on the importance of protecting and caring for animals. PHOTOGRAPH BY JARED SISKIN / PATRICK MCMULLAN VIA GETTY IMAGES

Opposite: Texas rescue Operation Kindness was represented on the runway by model Daphne Marleen Laan, who was wearing a creation by Soho Muse designer Victor de Souza. Daphne was accompanied by Daisy, a Great Pyrenees. PHOTOGRAPH BY JOY MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY / JOYMARIEPHOTO.COM

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The second half of the show was a highlight in itself when Dr. Christina Rahm, the visionary founder of title sponsor DRC Ventures—a company whose mission is to create sustainable solutions that challenge the status quo creatively, scientifically, and artistically—walked the runway alongside her models, unveiling Enviremware from Merci Dupre Clothiers, the ultimate in luxury eco-fashion and protection. This innovative nano biotech skin-coating technology offers a barrier against hazardous toxins that could threaten your health without sacrificing style.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY JOY MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY / JOYMARIEPHOTO.COM

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PHOTOGRAPH BY PATRICK MCMULLAN COMPANY

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Cultivating change is what Dr. Christina Rahm is all about, when it comes to helping people, animals, and the environment. PHOTOGRAPH BY PATRICK MCMULLAN COMPANY

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“This is the first time that fashion, animals, and charities have been brought together during New York Fashion Week,” Floyd said. “To do it in a way that will benefit the lives of countless pets adds a layer of meaning that will not soon be forgotten.” PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOY MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY / JOYMARIEPHOTO.COM

designed by the likes of Marc Bouwer, Malan Breton, Karen Caldwell, Anne Fontaine, Gloria Lee, Merci Dupre Clothiers, Nicole Miller, Noize Apparel, Victor de Souza, and Brooke Wilder graced the runway, each accompanied by a four-legged companion, all outfitted in complementary couture of their own. A video featuring each animal charity was presented, and a panel of celebrity judges—headed by Fern Mallis, the iconic and legendary founder of New York Fashion Week; supermodel, entrepreneur, and lifestyle/wellness expert Carol Alt; and award-winning actress, environmentalist, and speaker Karen Abercrombie—added star power to an already glittering event. The teams represented 10 animal welfare organizations: • Animal Advocates of Barnwell County (South Carolina) • Big Dog Ranch Rescue (Florida)

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• • • • • • • •

Companion Animal Alliance (Louisiana) Danny & Ron’s Rescue (South Carolina and Florida) Freedom Dogs (Ohio and California) Friends of Williamson County Animal Shelter (Tennessee) Global Strays (New York and international) Jameson Humane (California) Operation Kindness (Texas) Strong Island Animal Rescue League (New York)

Puppy models for the show were provided by Rescue Dogs Rock NYC (New York) and the Spartanburg Humane Society (South Carolina). One of the more impactful moments during this part of the show came from Marc Bouwer, a designer who worked not only behind the scenes, but who also walked down the runway

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alongside his model, both dazzling in silver flare leg ensembles, accompanied by a matching fur baby, and holding aloft a bold sign that read, “Adopt Don’t Shop.” Bouwer’s dedication to animal welfare is not something new. He has received a PETA Humanitarian Award as well as the United States Humane Societies’ “Compassion in Fashion Award” for his trailblazing work avoiding animal products in his designs. The second half of the show was a highlight in itself when Dr. Christina Rahm, the visionary founder of title sponsor DRC Ventures—a company whose mission is to create sustainable solutions that challenge the status quo creatively, scientifically, and artistically—walked the runway alongside her models, unveiling Enviremware from Merci Dupre Clothiers, the ultimate in luxury eco-fashion and protection. This innovative nano biotech skin-coating

technology offers a barrier against hazardous toxins that could threaten your health without sacrificing style. The Enviremware looks ranged from flowing kimonos to jackets bedecked with chains and portraits, to a flowing wedding treated with Rahm’s innovative Enviremware nanotechnology. “If we don’t protect our land, air, water, children . . . and animals, what are we?” she asked the audience. Two puppies in attendance who were up for adoption found their forever homes at the show. Hannah and Hugo, mixed-breed dogs from a local New York rescue, found their humans at this memorable event. “This is the first time that fashion, animals, and charities have been brought together during New York Fashion Week,” Floyd said. “To do it in a way that will benefit the lives of countless pets adds a layer of meaning that will not soon be forgotten.” ■

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JUDGE’S AWARD 1ST PLACE AWARD GLOBAL STRAYS, NEW YORK DESIGNER: GLORIA LEE RUNWAY: MODEL QUINN COPELAND & HENRY THE CHIHUAHUA SPONSOR: INGRID ARNEBERG PHOTOGRAPH BY JOY MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY / JOYMARIEPHOTO.COM

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JUDGE’S AWARD 2ND PLACE AWARD OPERATION KINDNESS, TEXAS DESIGNER: VICTOR DESOUZA RUNWAY: MODEL DAPHNE MARLEEN LAAN & DAISY, A GREAT PYRENEES SPONSOR: ANONYMOUS PHOTOGRAPH BY JOY MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY / JOYMARIEPHOTO.COM

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JUDGE’S AWARD 3RD PLACE AWARD & PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD BIG DOG RANCH, FLORIDA DESIGNER: ANNE FONTAINE RUNWAY: MODEL LEAH REYNOLDS & POODLE VALENTINE SPONSORS: BARBARA GILBERT & LAUREE SIMMONS PHOTOGRAPH BY PATRICK MCMULLAN COMPANY

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PUBLISHER’S CHOICE AWARD DANNY & RON’S RESCUE, SOUTH CAROLINA/FLORIDA DESIGNER: MARC BOUWER RUNWAY: MARC BOUWER, MODEL TINA J. PARSENYUK, & DOG ELIZA SPONSOR: DURBIN EMERSON PHOTOGRAPH BY JARED SISKIN/PATRICK MCMULLAN VIA GETTY IMAGES

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back story

IGHT IN WHITE—ELYSIAN Circle women and their guests were dressed in all-white attire for an evening of high fashion on the high seas, spending the evening at a luxe, all-inclusive event with cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and live music aboard the 137-foot yacht Caprice. The centerpiece of ELYSIAN’s En Blanc celebration was the unveiling of the Summer 2023 issue.“The Blanc/White issue was dedicated to the innovative spirit—to the well of imagination our curiosity drives us to, and to the manifestation of our creativity that springs forth,” said ELYSIAN Publisher Karen Floyd. ■

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Top row, from left: Carla B. Groh and Joseph Knapek, owners of Evey Fine Art in West Palm Beach, are ready to enjoy the evening; The Caprice; Yachts in the harbor; West Palms; Bella Mermersky with Angelika Zaugg. • Second row, from left: Rhonda Wilkins Fischer, ELYSIAN’s Summer 2023 covermodel; a magical night in white; Stephanie Folse, Tara Sherbert, ELYSIAN Publisher CEO/Founder Karen Floyd, Sarah Smith, and Lisa Crites. • Third row, from left: Kevin and Misti Hudson, in front of the yacht Caprice; Dr. Christina Rahm addresses the guests; Karen Floyd raises a toast to the crowd; Karen Floyd and Dr. Christina Rahm enjoy the evening; Donna Troiano with Lana Angarsky. • Bottom row, from left: Yulia Starks, President of the European Women’s Association, with Karen Floyd; Center for Family Services of Palm Beach County CEO Todd L’Herrou invites the crowd to support the CFS mission; (kneeling) Clayton Thomas with (standing, from left) Ted Baker, Dr. Christina Rahm, Patrick Moen, and David Smallwood of Deeply Rooted Causes, the evening’s sponsor.

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