ELYSIAN Summer 2021 Magazine

ELYSIAN Women Inspiring Women

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1969 est.

www.tirolergoldschmied.it South Tyrol - Italy

the art of refinement diamond-studdet falconhoods

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Illuminate your escape.

Loma de Vida – a spa and wellness destination. Experience elevated in the San Antonio Hill Country for those seeking soulful reflection, joyful celebration, mindful movement, and vibrant living. It’s an escape that’s yours and it’s all within reach.

lomadevidaspa.com | 210.558.2252

“Dancers at the Barre” by Edgar Germain Hilaire Degas.

EVERETT COLLECTION / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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the rehearsal

Venture behind the curtain of Degas’ beloved ballerinas.

BY HANNAH SHEPARD

ELYSIAN

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Volume 7 • Issue 2 • l’été 2021

50 Some

Doris Day

BY LAURIE BOGART WILES

Giambattista Valli’s haute couture for evening is the epitome of high fashion without excuses or explanation, vibrant and alluring.

You either love him or don’t . . . but if you love him, you want him.

BY SIMONE BAUDELAIRE-FARROW

the Romance of Bel Paese

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Visiting Italy, the “beautiful country.” BY DAINA SAVAGE

FEATURES

Enchanted Evening

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Inspiring Women Kristy Woodson Harvey page 126 Tanya Trotter page 136 INTERVIEWED BY KAREN FLOYD

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12 the way I see it

Country music sensation Elizabeth Cook

architecture Aquatic artistry. BY CHRISTY NIELSON

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entertaining

The perfect setting. BY KAREN CUNNINGHAM & JESSICA FALCON

DEPARTMENTS

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beauty

A brief history on eyebrows. BY PEARL LUSTRE

mind&body

Unlocking your inner beauty. BY MARTHA WIEDEMANN

shopping my U-turn

Bring Paris into your home. BY SINDIE FITZGERALD-RANKIN

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A “best ever” kind of journey. BY SUZANNE JOHNSON

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change creator

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Piano virtuoso, Joyce Yang. BY EMMA MCCRACKEN

philanthropy

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The house that love built. BY DAINA SAVAGE

back story / the cover

Cover model Elizabeth Cook.

This issue is dedicated to the memory of a wise and beautiful lady, Trude Schonthal Heller, who died May 11, 2021 at the age of 98. I had the great honor of interviewing Mrs. Heller for our Winter 2016 issue as one of this magazine’s very first Inspiring Women.

A native of Austria, Mrs. Heller educated thousands of people about the evils and horrific impact of the Holocaust on the Jewish people and indeed, all mankind and proudly called herself a “Holocaust educator” rather than a Holocaust survivor. “My favorite word,” she told me, is ‘love.’

My least favorite word is ‘hate.’” Trude chose love. The world would be a far better place if everyone, too, made that choice. — Karen Floyd, Publisher

PRADA POPCORN CHROMCHROMOGENIC PRINT ON KODAK ENDURA

BY TYLER SHIELDS

igifineart.com

E publisher

Karen Floyd c r e at o r - i n - c h i e f

Ryan Stalvey

executive editor

Laurie Bogart Wiles chief media director

Cindy Bogart

managing editor

Kristen Henson

e d i t o r - at - l a r g e

Ruth Sherlock

editorial director

Rita Allison

social media specialist

Haley Hudson

e ly s i a n i m pa c t d i r e c t o r o f p h i l a n t h r o p y

Kelly Nichols

women inspiring women

Karen Floyd

arts

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c u lt u r e e d i t o r

Hannah Shepard

l i t e r at u r e e d i t o r

Kathie Bennett

wellness editor

Martha Wiedemann contributing writers

Karen Cunningham, Jessica Falcon, Simone Baudelaire-Farrow, Suzanne Johnson, Pearl Lustre, Emma McCracken, Christy Nielson, Sindie Fitzgerald-Rankin, Daina Savage

copy editors

Diane High, Hadley Inabinet, Baker Maultsby, Phil Randall c o n s u lt i n g e d i t o r

Jason Spencer advisor

Abby Deering director of web design

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development

Elliot Derhay

d i g i ta l s a l e s d i r e c t o r

Don Bailey

post-production editor

Elise Rimmer

post-production graphics

Ty Yachaina

comptroller

Anna Christian

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ELYSIAN Magazine is published four times per year by Palladian Publications LLC, 113 W. Main St., Spartanburg, SC 29306.

For subscription information, call 888-329-9534; visit subscriptions@elysianservice.com; mailing address: Subscription Service, Elysian Magazine PO Box 2172, Williamsport, PA 17703 All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

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PHOTOGRAPHED IN NASHVILLE, TN BY STACIE HUCKEBA

d i g i ta l m a r k e t i n g m a n a g e r

During her photoshoot for ELYSIAN’s cover, singer-songwriter Elizabeth Cook dances with the camera. The talented American country music singer and radio host has a one-of-a-kind story made for country music and a hilariously witty personality to boot.

Rob Springer

BOUTIQUE IN KING OF PRUSSIA MALL

PHOTOGRAPHED BY JULIAN LE BALLISTER

PAULAHIAN.COM

PAULA HIAN URSULA JACKET & JOLIE SKIRT PICTURED

PAULA HIAN

WHEN I WAS QUITE YOUNG,

my mother died on Easter Sunday. Knowing the importance of the day, my children gather a couple of weeks in advance to pay homage, in their quiet and knowing way. It was two Wednesdays before this milestone anniversary of 2021, and our twins were coming home for the weekend. I had been in a 12-hour-straight workday marathon, and I wanted to clear my head before I engaged with everyone. I quickly rushed home and put on my “dog walking” attire—a big hat, comfy pants and running shoes. I quickly grabbed the dogs, and as I was leaving our home, one of the twins pulled into our driveway with his puppy, a black Lab named Marlin, who I included on the walk.

Imagine if you will, as I was walking and talking on the phone, the three unleashed labs run across our yard and head for the Cotton Wood Trail—a part of my daily routine. In an instant, my husband’s hunting Lab TAR, a stout and incredibly fast dog, changed directions to chase the puppy. Unfortunately, there was one unintended obstacle blocking his path . . . me. In a charged gallop, TAR T-boned my leg, throwing me in the air, causing me to land squarely on the left side of my body.

There are so many teachable moments; dogs on leashes . . . no cell phones . . . the universe calling me to slow down, to be present . . . Today, I am recovering from an injured wrist, four hours of trauma surgery and a compound tibia plateau fracture. The natural frustration and impatience from being immobile are expected. The confusing parts of the situation are the “silver linings” that have come into play: clarity and gratitude.

I believe God speaks to us if we are only willing to listen. To underscore how timing plays into the “volume of what we hear,” you need to read the Doris Day “Icon” feature, written by Laurie Wiles. As she explains, Doris was trapped in a car and T-boned by a train sustaining two compound fractures in her right leg that would require steel rods being inserted from her thigh to her toes.

While the doctors pontificated whether she might walk again, Doris knew she would dance.

“Four months stretched to 14 when, toward the end of her recovery, she caught her toe on the living room carpet, fell, and refractured her leg. Bedridden, she sang along to Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and Ella Fitzgerald . . . which I believe triggered Doris’s interest in singing.”

The rest is history. I read the article when I was unable to walk. For those who have faced something similar, in a strange way, confinement brings CLARITY. Anything insignificant or on the periphery simply falls away. The important things in life; family, work passions, relationships and most importantly love . . . rise to the top. If you are listening to God through your inner voice, you will hear the answers you seek.

Daily habits are wonderful because you are not required to think; autopilot is quintessentially easy. Abrupt changes in daily routines caused by injury (and Covid -19) undergird our malaise and depression. When our anchoring “time consumers” are gone, “the unknowns” (which are part of the healing recovery process) disorient, making you feel alone. The physical being is unique which also means we all heal differently, and therefore, no recovery is the same . . . which effectively isolates. I have found that the feelings of loneliness and isolation are the doorway to “darkness.” Over the past several months, I have learned that the practice of GRATITUDE is “lightness,” and the best antidote to isolation, loneliness or “darkness.” Doris Day reminds us of just that: “Gratitude is riches,” she said.

Inspiring women. (Anecdotal stories)

Our summer issue focuses on literature and music through the personal and professional journeys of our cover model Elizabeth Cook, (country music star) and Inspiring Women, Kristy Woodson Harvey, (“New York Times” celebrated author with an internationally recognized blog “Design Chic”) and Tanya Blount Trotter, (acclaimed Americana vocalist spanning decades with The War and Treaty). Their spirit of gratitude spills onto the pages as each speaks to their unique path and their uncommon perseverance and adaptation.

Graceful living. (Deliberate, spirited and bold)

The deliberate professional callings of women across the globe span this issue with the intentional life choices of amazing women. Rhonda Leonard’s U-Turn career path (from banker to author to artist), the transformative philanthropy of Cathleen Trigg-Jones’s, Trigg House (where foster, adopted children and families are embraced) and the young Change Creator, aspiring and rising star, pianist Joyce Yang, represent graceful living in many forms. The spirited focus of wellness columnist Martha Wiedemann speaks to releasing your inner voice. Finally, bold living is seen through our pieces on architecture (pools), travel (Italy), entertaining (tablescapes), arts (ballerinas of Degas), fashion (Giambianchi Valli enchante haute couture) and much more.

I end this letter recognizing Doris Day’s life, with gratitude. She taught us by example: to be as uncomplicated as possible and to recognize that the important thing in life is just living and loving.

The ELYSIAN team joins me in thanking you for taking the journey with us.

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With love,

Karen Floyd Publisher

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the way I see it

Elizabeth Cook

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he is a darn funny woman, quick-witted and uninhibited, a sharp observer and top-notch storyteller.

But as most accomplished artists are, Cook is a deeply thoughtful person. Check out her song lyrics.

Or delve into her humor—hear her DJ on Sirius XM’s Outlaw Country or see her new TV series, “Upstream”—and get a feel for the humanity behind her jokes, for the real-life experiences that make her stories authentic.

In our interview with Cook, she shared some of her key life lessons, words of wisdom and most valued advice she’s received. We are grateful to Cook for sharing her unique perspective.

At the very top, she says, “Lead with kindness. And then if that kindness is not reciprocated, continue with kindness . . . or just leave.”

Some other foundations of her way of looking at life: DON’T LET ANGER GET THE UPPER HAND. “Reside in love the best you can. Anger is a normal human emotion, but I recognize it as a dragon that shows up to eat my joy. I’m always looking for ways to combat it. I will change my environment with incense, light and sound. Sometimes I will jump in the car and just go to a store for some retail therapy. But if you can shop like I can, that can be a costly coping skill. The simple ritual of making tea has become one of my greatest comforts.”

DON’T BRING HER DOWN. “I am fiercely protective over my space. If someone is bringing me down, regardless of history or relation, I will look to limit or remove them. It sounds harsh, but when I am vulnerable, I have learned I have to protect myself first.”

FASHION FITS THE MOOD. “Work to be on the outside who you are on the inside. It’s definitely an acquired skill. But fashion and our aesthetic are a huge tell of how we feel deep down. We send messages with our clothes and look, whether we want to or not. Our message can inform how we want the world to perceive and treat us.

“If I’m in sweatpants and a top-knot at the grocery store, this is a clear don’t talk to me day. If I’m in a skirt and lipstick, I’m like, ‘Hey world, what’s up?’ Or button-down silk blouse, boots and good jeans—I’m ready to do business. If I’m in one of my catsuit stage costumes, I’m diving in with my muse and we are going to perform for you. It’s all about living true to yourself so you rest at ease in your power. It can even work in reverse to help change my mood. Feeling drab, I’ll reach for something fitted and colorful. If I’m having a hard time relaxing, it’s an old loose cotton dress or favorite t-shirt time to get me in a chill mood.”

MOTHER’S ADVICE. “‘This too shall pass’ is the scripture my mother relied on her entire life. And whenever I have been miserable or upset in a situation, she was quick to remind me of her mantra. And it is absolutely true—the only thing that is certain is that nothing stays the same. Depression can feel so endless. But I know if I take care of myself and hang in there, my heart will laugh and smile and feel again.” ■

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architecture

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RUBBERBALL SELECTS / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Aquatic Artistry

BY CHRISTY NIELSON

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erhaps nothing is more synonymous with summer than a swimming pool. With pool designs ranging from classic to modern, massive to minimal, simplistic to ornate, pool architecture summons aquatic artistry. We’re diving into all things “pool”—from a brief history to unique pool designs featuring some of the most phenomenal pools in the world.

DIPPING A TOE INTO THE HISTORY OF POOLS

The history of manmade pools begins in the ancient world when they were used for water storage, religious ceremonies, and public bathhouses. Historians believe the first pool built by humans was The Great Bath of Mohenjo-daro, located in modern-day Pakistan and likely built in the third millennium B.C.E. The structure is surrounded by terraced decks and features two wide staircases that lead into the pool on both ends.

“It looks like a modern swimming pool, give or take,” says Kate Wiseman, landscape designer and history instructor for the pool industry.

The Greeks perfected the bathhouse experience for bathing and socializing. They also built palestras, open courtyards used for exercise, which included swimming pools that were used for military training, something that extended into the Roman period, as well. The Romans constructed the first known heated swimming pool, which was built in the first century B.C.E. by Gaius Maecenas and was warmed by a furnace-fueled central heating system.

Throughout history, there were beautiful pools and ornamental water features, providing a place for socializing, conducting politics, and serving as a status symbol for those in power. The grand gardens at the Palace of Versailles in France, the creation of André Le Nôtre, hold some of the most influential examples of this. The water features— including soothing waterfalls, fabulous fountains, and a huge canal—were fed by a work of hydraulic mastery that pumped water from the Seine to the palace.

Just as water features were limited to emperors and royalty throughout much of history, recreational backyard pools were largely relegated to the rich and famous in the U.S. following World War I, when the rise of Hollywood glamorized pool life. An iconic example is California’s Hearst Castle, designed by famed architect Julia Morgan and constructed over the course of almost 30 years beginning in 1919. The sprawling estate features two pools—the massive Neptune Pool and the ornate Roman Pool—with Greco-Roman references in the form of temple facades, colonnades, integrated tilework, and marble statues.

Backyard pools started booming in the mid-century. One

Opposite: A major design element of the modern pool is the ambience of lighting. The use of LED lights can greatly enhance the night time with low light aesthetics.

ALEXANDRE ZVEIGER / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Right: Talented architect Breegan Jane’s use of lighting adds a surreal, almost futuristic effect to this uniquely designed indoor pool, situated within the owner’s basement. The lighting features a circadian rhythm system that changes color and moderates an internal clock.

RYAN GARVIN & TYLER HOGAN / COURTESY BRTEEGAN JANE ARCHITECTURE

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The magnificent and ornately enclosed indoor pool at the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California.

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of the most famous private backyard pools is the Donnell Pool, designed by Thomas Church and Lawrence Halprin. Built in 1948, the pool features an abstract Adaline Kent sculpture rising from the blue and is one of the earliest and most iconic kidneybean pools which popularized the biomorphic shape.

“They were trying to figure out how to make the pool work with the architecture and with the natural surroundings and translate that into swimming pool design, but they didn’t have a template yet for what that looked like,” explains Wiseman.

It is a balance that architects, landscape architects, and pool designers have continued to strive for as the following examples illustrate.

SUBTERRANEAN & SPECTACULAR

Indoor pools, often constructed with wellness and fitness in mind, offer flexibility to extend the swim season year-round while providing the ultimate in privacy. No bugs or other lawn debris make indoor pools lower maintenance than their outdoor counterparts, as well. Thanks to designers who are elevating indoor pool design, you don’t have to sacrifice style to bring your pool passion inside.

An excellent example is the St. Vincent Place Residence basement pool in Melbourne, Australia, which was part of an extensive renovation to a heritage building in an exclusive inner-city suburb where land is limited and expensive. To address these challenges, B.E Architecture built a pool nearly 17 feet below an extension to the terrace, which is lit by the adjacent garden area. The pool is cohesively constructed of the same basalt cladding and granite tiles as the rest of the building, including the adjoining gym, onsen, steam room, and powder room, creating a cohesive style.

“This made the pool a body of water within the building shell rather than emphasizing the pool as a unique entity,” explains B.E Architecture’s Broderick Ely. “It is not about engineering feats or one-upmanship, but about quietness and the beauty of the materiality.”

Lighting, an important element for any design, is especially powerful in indoor spaces. Breegan Jane, a Los Angeles designer who loves incorporating cool, crisp, and modern lines, created a sleek subterranean Olympic-size lap pool for a home in Southern California that leans into a serene, enclosed grotto styling. The pool utilizes top-of-theline smart home technology complete with circadian rhythm lighting to produce a tranquil atmosphere.

“Because this space is cut into a mountain underground, it allowed us to create a darkened environment and almost mimic the ambiance of a natural cenote,” Jane says. “Having the ability to set the mood, follow the rhythm of the day, and tailor the experience was a determining element regarding the performance of the space.”

INFINITY & BEYOND

Infinity pools, with their vanishing edges and moving, reflective water, generate a startling, magical, and seemingly impossible connection between the built and natural worlds.

The infinity pool atop Grace Hotel in Santorini Island, Greece, resplendent with breath-taking views of the Aegean Sea, and its beaches made up of black, red and white lava pebbles.

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The Sanctuary on Solano, designed by architect Kirk Bianchi, is a desert oasis in the shadow of the iconic Camelback Mountain in Arizona. Its pool features a curvaceous vanishing edge, with the rim of the pool cast off into the distance so as not to distract from the stunning scenery.

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Vanishing edge pools are prolific at some of the world’s most luxurious resorts and exotic destinations. At the clifftop Grace Hotel in Greece, which arguably boasts the best sunset views on the isle of Santorini, for example, the infinity pool periphery disappears into the Aegean Sea. Hanging Gardens of Bali is located in the heart of the Balinese jungle and was designed by architect Gordon Shaw and landscape architects William Warren and John Pettigrew.

The resort’s main swimming pools are a multi-level masterpiece suspended over the dense rainforest, giving guests the sensation of floating above the trees. There are a total of 41 infinity pools on the property, including those in the private villas, and they are all tiled with volcanic stone and local slate.

Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, designed by architect Moshe Safdie, flaunts the world’s largest rooftop infinity pool (more than 400 feet long!). It looks like a curved ship cruising across the top of the three hotel towers upon which it sits.

There are plenty of incredible infinity pools in lavish backyards as well. The Sanctuary on Solano is a desert oasis in the shadow of the iconic Camelback Mountain in Arizona that features a curvaceous vanishing edge pool that creates the illusion of water revolving around you when viewed from inside the home. Designed by Kirk Bianchi, who is known for his artful pool stylings that play with light and water movement in a fabulous, yet functional way, the rim of the pool is cast off into the distance so as not to distract from the stunning scenery.

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DO POOLS ADD VALUE?

Our experts agree that trends are shifting to a simpler aesthetic in pool design where the pool is integrated into the landscape rather than making a statement. The increasing use of materials like raw concrete as paving around pools and the squaring out of the pool shape create a modern appeal.

“In the past we’ve seen a lot of curved edges to simulate ponds, but now the trend is leaning toward more sleek lines, which gives a modern appeal to pools,” Jane says.

In many markets, pools are a must-have for home buyers, and more people are installing them, especially now. “The pool industry is booming, with some businesses having ten times more requests than they can actually service,” says Wiseman. “It’s a symbol for many homeowners of doing the ‘right’ thing by making the investment to spend time at home.”

The financial impact of pools on property values depends on several factors, including your geographic location, climate, the prevalence of pools in your neighborhood, and whether your pool is well-maintained and in good working condition.

Perhaps the most accurate way to predict the potential impact of a pool addition is to obtain a real estate appraisal of your home with and without a potential pool.

However, experts say it’s best to think of a pool as a lifestyle investment. After all, it’s hard to put a price tag on memories made in and around the pool, especially on sizzling summer days. ■

For the St. Vincent Place Residence basement pool in Melbourne, Australia, B.E Architecture built a pool nearly 17 feet below an extension to the terrace. The pool is cohesively constructed of the same basalt cladding and granite tiles as the rest of the building, including the adjoining gym, onsen, steam room, and powder room, creating a cohesive style.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DEREK SWALWELL

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One might feel as though you are swimming in the clouds as you take laps in The Face Suites’ 38-metre long infinity pool. Located on the 51st floor of one of the Kuala Lumpur’s most luxurious hotels, it offers beautiful views of both the Petronas Twin Towers and KL Tower.

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entertaining

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the perfect setting

BY KAREN CUNNINGHAM & JESSICA FALCON

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husband and I love to entertain—and we do, frequently—socially and for business. For me, it’s a pleasure and great fun.

First, I arrange the seating—our guests come from such diverse and interesting backgrounds—and I always try to put people together who share common interests. I can almost hear the sound of laughter and imagine the lively conversations we will enjoy.

Then I prepare the menu. When I plan the menu, the food must not only be delicious, but the courses also must complement each other. Whether it’s a sit-down dinner where the food is served plated or as a buffet in the garden, the food must be as visually appealing and colorful as it is appetizing.

My color theme always reflects the season, whether it’s a holiday or a special occasion. Fine linens are one of my passions,

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and I have collected them for years. An antique Madeira cutwork embroidered tablecloth thrills me!

Picking up a sterling silver fork adds pleasure to each delectable bite. The paper-thin rim of a fine crystal glass allows my palate a full taste of a delightful pinot noire.

I take a lot of pleasure in mixing different styles, from different periods, and have been fortunate to inherit many family treasures, each piece enhanced by the wonderful memories they evoke.

This adds so much to my enjoyment of entertaining. The vintage mixes with the more modern pieces I have acquired myself. Don’t be afraid to mix old and new! When thoughtfully set in harmony, each plays off the rest to such advantage.

I love candles. I put out lots of candles, even on the warm days, because sparkling, flickering light adds so much atmosphere.

Flowers—whether a rambling bouquet of freshly picked wildflowers, flowers from the garden tossed like they don’t care into a wonderful vase, or a centerpiece from the florist—are the focal point of a table. Napkins complete the table, whether folded, placed in a napkin ring, or tied with ribbon or whimsically and informally with strands of colorful twine.

Recalling the many long and lingering dinners my family and I have enjoyed with our guests are among my most cherished memories. So, dine; immerse yourself in the fun and beauty of fine dining and the camaraderie of your friends. Savor each moment! ■

The “Fuga” pattern by Lundtofte, a Danish manufacturer of stainless flatware, was designed by Tias Eckhoff in 1958. Mathias Gerhard “Tias” Eckhoff (1926-2016) was an award-winning Norwegian industrial designer whose work is represented in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.

A major influence in minimalist design for chairs, flatware, and cutlery for Georg Jensen of Copenhagen, among others.

• Opposite: One perfect flower in its own miniature vase adds color and charm to any place setting.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ABIGAIL WHIGHAM

Pages 28/29 and 32/33: An abundance of white in the tablecloth and napkins, and floral-patterned, early 19th century Haviland Limoges china provides a wonderfully crisp “stage” for the vivid colors of the wine and food. Waterford clear crystal stemware is paired with Gorham crystal wine glasses and Gorham Old English Tipt flatware, popularly produced between 1870 and 2007. The color theme you select for your table setting should complement the colors of the foods you are serving, as the raspberry compote against the Limoges and the fresh flowers of the centerpiece shown here. Indeed, your flowers should tie everything together: the china, linens, stemware, and food, just as the crimson peonies, white hydrangea, stargazer lilies, and oldfashioned roses complete this romantic luncheon table.

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A Brief History on eyebrows, Their Use, & How to Wear them

BY PEARL LUSTRE

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beauty

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A beautician marks the dimensions of the eyebrow with a white pencil to prepare for an eyebrow enhancement procedure.

MICHELLE ALEKSA / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Greta Garbo portrait by Clarence Sinclair Bull.

COURTESY HERITAGE AUCTIONS / HA.COM

E Y E

BROWS HAVE A LONG AND COLORFUL HISTORY. We all know it started with Eve, but no one knows if or indeed, how, she might have shaped her eyebrows. After all, there were no pomades or powders, creams, or eyebrow mouses (which begs the question, could she have used apple juice?). If you look closely at “The Fall of Man, the Story of Adam and Eve,” by 16th-century Venetian painter Titian—which I did, at the Prado in Madrid—he gave Eve an arched eyebrow, kind of how Hollywood makeup artist William Julian Tuttle (1912-2007) did when he made up Katharine Hepburn for the classic Hollywood comedy “Pat and Mike” in 1952 and that same year Debbie Reynolds in “Singin’ in the Rain.”

But let’s be honest and give credit where credit is due—to Horus, a.k.a.

Heru, Her, or Hor, the big cheese among Egyptian gods whose dark eyebrows inspired his mortal followers to paint their own eyebrows and around the eyes with black oxide and carbon paint, Queen Nefertiti among them. And of course, so did Cleopatra, who Elizabeth Taylor portrayed in the major motion picture extravaganza “Cleopatra.”

Indeed, it is a little-known fact that Liz applied her own makeup from sketches drawn by makeup artist Alberto de Rossi. Al, you see, injured his back and had to have emergency surgery, so Liz had to do all her own makeup by herself, and a mighty fine job she did, too.

ONE CANNOT GIVE MAX FACTOR all the credit for shaving off many actresses’ eyebrows like he did Harlow’s—and Garbo’s, Joan Crawford’s, Claudette Colbert’s, and Myrna Loy’s, to name but a few.

It was the Chinese, during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), who deserve all the credit. This new fad caught on in the Japanese court, and they gave it a name—hikimayu—which, when translated, means “pull eyebrows,” or “tweezing,” one would suppose. Only noblewomen and geisha girls were permitted to wear white foundation and pencil-

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arched eyebrows high upon their forehead as a sure sign of nobility.

In fact, hikimayu has been in style among geishas ever since.

NOW, LET’S GALLOP FORWARD a millennium to Queen Elizabeth I of England. Not only did the Virgin Queen popularize plucking one’s eyebrows ‘til they were pencil-thin, but she advocated rubbing walnut oil onto the brow and, too, the hairline to thwart hair growth. Yes, you heard me . . . hairline. Queen Liz set the style for a hairline that practically began at the crown of her head (not crown, as in gold and gemstones; crown, the top of the head). Of course, what her majesty failed to disclose was that she had lost her eyebrows and almost all of her hair after she survived a nearly fatal case of smallpox when she was 29. Some transformation, eh? One day she’s this gorgeous young woman with a bountiful head of flowing red hair, and the next she’s an unsmiling spinster who wore white cake makeup to cover her terrible pox marks for the rest of her life. When she died in 1603, at age 69, it is believed the cause of her death was poisoning from the toxic zinc oxide and lead that were ingredients in her white foundation cream.

WOMEN FINALLY EMBRACED their natural eyebrows in the 18th century. This was the age of “big hair,” when coiffures rose to breathtaking heights by attaching fabric or cork heart-shaped cushions to the crown of the head, upon which the woman’s hair was curled, waved, frizzed, augmented with hairpieces, and even with wads of hair

IF THE EYES ARE THE WINDOW TO THE SOUL, EYEBROWS ARE THE WINDOW SILL.

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God created eyebrows to prevent the sweat rolling down your forehead from getting into your eyes when you’re working out at the gym. Max Factor created eyebrow pencil to give Jean Harlow dramatically arched, drawn-in eyebrows after he shaved hers off.

CINECLASSICO / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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collected from hairbrushes, then piled high. And, for the finishing touch, powdered heavily with white flour—which did indeed attract lice and other odious insects. Ah, what price beauty! Eyebrows were a point of pride and were never, or hardly ever, plucked. If a woman did not have sufficiently thick eyebrows, there was a solution that, alas, has not stood the test of time. Mice were trapped for their fur.

The fur was trimmed off the carcass, styled into an eyebrow, and attached to the woman’s forehead with adhesive. Voila!

WHICH FINALLY BRINGS US BACK to the 1920s and 1930s. Renowned British photographer Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) commented on Marlene Dietrich’s famously exaggerated, penciledin eyebrows after he photographed her: “Instead of eyebrows,” he said, “she has limned butterflies’ antennae on her forehead.” For those women who opted to pluck the hell out of their eyebrows, they gave shine to what hairs remained with a touch of Vaseline.

Again, for those of us with heavy eyebrows and a low threshold of pain when it comes to tweezing, we owe much to Liz Taylor and also to Audrey Hepburn, Lauren Bacall and Marilyn Monroe—and lest we forget, Joan Crawford, who grew her eyebrows back—and was lucky she could. Many women who over-tweezed, like my mother, never could get them to grow back. Beware!

And then there was Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), who celebrated the unibrow—which, thankfully, never quite took off. And the young Brooke Shields, who barely got away with it.

At

last, back to the present with the “fluffy brow,” as some playfully call it, which is both tweezed and made up au naturel, as Lily Collins and Angelina Jolie do. In an interview with the British edition of “Glamour” magazine, Lily “revealed that after she spent her high school years hacking away at her now-infamous eyebrows, she doesn’t let anyone else come near them now. That’s right, there is no threading here, it’s all just personal maintenance.

‘I do it all myself,’ she said. ‘I simply look in a magnifying mirror, get the tweezers and follow the line. I don’t let anyone touch them. I really think less is more and I like to mess them up. But to be honest, I do maintenance every night. They are a work of art, after all.’”

As for Angela Jolie, she recently commented, “I’m getting a wrinkle above my eyebrow because I just can’t stop lifting it, and I love that, you know.”

ELIZABETH TAYLOR MADE THICK EYEBROWS GLAMOROUS, SPARING GRATEFUL WOMEN LIKE ME FROM THE PAIN OF EXCESSIVE TWEEZING. BUT IT WAS NEFERTITI, QUEEN OF THE 18TH DYNASTY OF ANCIENT EGYPT, THE GREAT ROYAL WIFE OF PHARAOH AKHENATEN IN 1370 BC, WHO FIRST KNEW HOW TO SHAPE THEM. She explained to me that if you visually drew a line from the inside of your eye at the tear duct, upward to where your eyebrow comes above the bridge of your nose, that is the point where you want to tweeze, between your two eyebrows, but no more. Then envision the same thing from the pupil of your eye directly to the center of your eyebrow: that’s where the eyebrow should come to an arch. Follow the natural line of your brow to the hairline, only removing those hairs that are outside of the line as it tapers to a point about 25 degrees from the outside corner of your eye or wherever the brow naturally ends. As Anastasia Soare, founder of Anastasia Cosmetics, says, “The human eye uses the eyebrow as an anchor point for the rest of the face. This is why a woman can look truly stunning without any makeup but perfectly shaped, full eyebrows.”

And you can, too. ■

AND NOW, FOR A TRUE STORY. Once upon a time, a long time ago, I finally gave in to my mother’s relentless pleas and went with her to Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door Salon, on the tony part of Fifth Avenue in New York City, to get my eyebrows professionally shaped. I was reluctant when I walked in, and when shown to the cosmetician’s chair, froze in fear. I had heard the stories of women whose eyebrows never grew back!

I loved my eyebrows! So what if they were thick! God gave them to me! The eyebrow expert went at it for what seemed like hours, though probably it was only about 10 minutes. And when she handed me a mirror, I didn’t recognize myself. All right, I’ll be honest. I was gorgeous.

Closeup of a beautician applying the Japanese method of drawing on eyebrows to a model.

MILANMARKOVIC78 / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Opposite: Elizabeth Taylor as the title character in “Cleopatra,” 1960, photographed by Bert Stern.

COURTESY HERITAGE AUCTIONS / HA.COM

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mind & body

DMITRY LAUDIN / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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unLocking

Your Inner Beauty

BY MARTHA WIEDEMANN

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i n n e r

beauty comes from within. It is the “unadulterated self ” that is present in each one of us and the wellspring of our creative voice. Your inner beauty is unique to you, and how you articulate it is a language all your own. It is a gift given to each of us by our Creator, and how wisely we use that gift determines how purposefully, productively and graciously we live our lives.

No two people feel the same, see the world the same, or understand life the same. We are, however, the same when it comes to one thing: the Creator endowed you with the power to radiate the power of positivity that can bring light and fulfillment into your world. That light is your inner beauty.

You may question what I have just told you. It is a difficult concept to embrace. But think about it: every step you take, every decision you make, sets you further along your path in life. What propels you on your journey? What is your destination? There is only one destination—and that is your destiny.

THE POWER TO UNCOVER YOUR POTENTIAL

Go to a quiet place, somewhere you are not likely to be disturbed.

Do not bring your cellphone. Drown out the sound of traffic, or television, or the dog barking. Then listen . . . listen closely and in total calm. Hear it? That is your creative voice. This is the voice that speaks to your purpose. Your creative voice expresses your purpose in different ways. Your creative voice emanates from and is fueled by your inner beauty. Your creative voice speaks in productive ways, in kind ways, and in ways that can draw you closer to the people who are in your universe. When we are constantly bombarded by the noises and negative influences in our universe, how do we deafen the noise and dismiss the counterproductive influences? From within. The strength, courage, power, and grace from within, from your inner beauty, gives you the ability to choose, to think, to feel, and to act in ways that are true to our purpose in life. Routines and deadlines, demands, confrontations, and poor choices rob us of living a life fueled by our inner beauty and mute our inner voice. It binds our creativity.

When we allow ourselves to be inundated by mundane, senseless, and time-consuming activity and people who make it impossible to hear our inner voice, then we have chosen a detour along life’s path. The people who I see lose track of their road are those who are consumed by a desire to “fit in.” Again, we each are unique, and we each have our own road to travel. There is no need to fit in or follow anyone!

UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD AROUND US

To understand the world around us and how it impinges on our lives, we must first be aware of just how much daily “noise” we are subjected to. By this I mean how we deal with people, work, responsibility, a bad day, unexpected difficulties, etc. You must be

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able to distinguish between the “noise” of outside influences and the steady stream of your own creative voice.

There are many ways to do this. If you enjoy running, go for a run.

If you enjoy swimming, horseback riding, any sport or activity that allows you to be alone in your own company, then you have afforded yourself the opportunity to listen to your creative voice.

Let’s take something we all share in one way or another: music, art, and literature. The arts are the outward expression of creativity and can influence and touch us on many emotional levels once you are open to it. When you do, you allow yourself to be inspired, and when you are open to inspiration, your deepest feelings easily come to the surface. Have you ever listened to an opera or a symphony and discovered you had tears in your eyes? The beauty of the music has released something from within. Have you become immersed in the exquisiteness of a painting? The music, the art, has conveyed its beauty to your beautiful soul—and you feel it deeply.

All art—fine, performing, or literary—tells a story. All stories convey emotion. A story has a viewpoint. A story occurs at a point in time. A story is a recording of the artist’s experience, whether visual, audible or sensory. A story that inspires gives us insight into a world and can open doors to the mind and soul we may never have opened before. How someone else’s story may speak to you, however, is like answering the doorbell and letting someone in. Anytime you invite something new into the “living space” of your mind, be sure you are comfortable to let it in. This is a principle of feng shui and vastu shastra.

Identifying what you choose to allow into your life and the importance you give it is how you arrange the “living space” in your mind and embellish your inner beauty. Let’s look into this more deeply . . .

DMITRY LAUDIN / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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CONNECTING WITH YOUR TRUE SELF

A STORY THAT INSPIRES GIVES US INSIGHT INTO A WORLD AND CAN OPEN DOORS TO THE MIND AND SOUL WE MAY NEVER HAVE OPENED BEFORE. MUSIC

Music can have a hypnotic power. A beautiful song can lift the spirits and captivate the soul, a lyrical melody can lighten a burden, and yet a dissonant symphony can put us on edge and bring out feelings of anxiety and dread. The music you choose for your environment and living space must fuel your inner beauty and speak in harmony with your inner voice.

WORDS

Words—whether a short story, novel, or play; be it prose, a poem, or the lyrics of a song (for indeed, lyrics are prose or poetry set to a melody) have the power to enhance our inner beauty and influence our lives. Words, written or spoken, can connect us, through someone else—the author, storyteller, or reader—and tune us into our feelings. How many times have you related to a book and found yourself drawn to a passage—perhaps even memorizing it—because it “speaks” to you and your own experiences or thoughts? Beautiful words fuel our inner beauty and, carefully chosen, can conjure peace, calm, and goodness from within.

CONSCIOUSNESS

We live in a constant state of consciousness. The more aware we are of the environment around us, the more we attempt to control it.

If your inner beauty is rich in gratitude and happiness, your actions will be appreciated and joyfully received. If, on the other hand, you are overtaken by negative influences, your life is unlikely to be positive.

When tragedy or challenges come upon you—as they do us all— then the positive energy emitted from your inner beauty will give you the strength and courage to get through. How? • Schedule some sacred time for yourself each day • Avoid negative stimuli from others • Declutter your mind • Stabilize your emotions • Listen to your creative voice • Meditate

How do you connect with your true self and embrace the inner beauty that is uniquely yours? To achieve this, you must first break the cycle of habitual living, identify that which is absent in your life and embrace all that you want in your life. Failure to do this will prevent you from achieving peace and fulfillment. Habitual living is when you abide by the same schedule, day in and day out. You function automatically, performing daily tasks by rote without necessarily being present in your mind and soul. Repetitive actions force us to be creatures of habit. The alarm goes off at the same time every morning. We shower, dress, eat the same breakfast and drive to work along the same route. The routine is always the same, disrupted by incessant phone calls, meetings, untimely demands on your time and energies. It never changes, it never lets up.

However, when you are present in a conscious way, you have the freedom to make choices. Shall I answer that phone call—or not?

How much time can I allot to that meeting without impinging upon my personal time? Choices allow us to lead and not allow life to lead us. You are living in the moment—and living in the moment is a key to achieving inner beauty. Life can pass you by if you do not choose to live in the moment. To live in the moment consciously and with gratitude is key to contentment. By training your mind to be present, you will reduce stress, anxiety, regret, and fear. How we think, communicate, and love and, importantly, even the way we breathe will improve. The peace you will find will lead you to your place in the universe.

The Three Principles of Inner Beauty SCHEDULE SACRED TIME

Schedule sacred time—your time, just for you. This is your time to reflect and to nurture your spiritual growth. Think of your spiritual growth like a seed. If you plant it, give it sunlight, water it and stake it, it will grow straight and tall, and you will have a healthy spirit. If you do not, your spirit will be wilted and wanting.

MEDITATION

Meditation does not require a specific amount of time or, for that matter, a lot of it. What meditation does require is time each day, preferably at the same time. This regular practice will grow and sustain your inner beauty.

BREATHE

If you do yoga or Pilates, you already understand the importance of deep breathing. Breathing is a cleansing ritual. When you breathe out, you release uncertainties and breathe in peace, love, and gratitude.

AFFIRMATION

Spoken affirmations are words with power. To speak an affirmation confirms to the universe that which you desire. Whatever affirmation you speak, choose it carefully, write it down, repeat it often and sincerely. Your affirmation is your own personal mantra. ■

ABOUT MARTHA WIEDEMANN Martha Wiedemann is the Principal and Wellness Advisor of Badrutt’s Palace Hotel in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Martha was the leader of the multimillion-dollar expansion of Badrutt’s Palace Wellness Center to incorporate Ayurveda and Feng Shui. She is a world-renowned wellness and Ayurveda expert, nutritionist and has opened wellness centres in various five-star hotels and medical centres around the world. She is responsible for the concept, design and functions of Badrutt’s Palace Wellness Spa, as well as introducing the practice of Ayurveda to Switzerland.

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CHANEL CHAMPAGNE CHROMOGENIC PRINT ON KODAK ENDURA LUSTER PAPER

BY TYLER SHIELDS

igifineart.com

shopping

Summer love

F

BY SINDIE FITZGERALD-RANKIN

ASHION WITH A TOUCH OF NOSTALGIA—that’s what “summer love” is all about. A ruffled pastel chiffon dress—nipped at the waist with an everso-thin belt—when kissed by a light summer’s breeze, gently stirs the tiered skirt. Pencil-strapped silvery sandals that tether the toes and wrap aroundand-around the ankle. Pink-rimmed sunglasses the shape that Princess Grace loved to wear. Butterflies captured in enamel and diamante on dangle bracelets (never wear just one, always wear a pair!)

And a delightful, delicious, languid picnic on the banks of a river or in soft, tall meadow grass. A perfect day captured by a camera—and indelibly in your memory. ■

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2.

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7.

1. MARCHESA NOTTE High-Low Floral Printed Tulle Halter Dress with 3D Flowers ($1,495) bergdorfgoodman.com 2. GIANVITO ROSSI 105mm Embellished Metallic Ankle-Wrap Sandals ($1,295) bergdorfgoodman.com 3. SCULLY AND SCULLY Classic Four-Person Picnic Basket, in london-plaid ($495) scullyandscully. com 4. GVITERI Frailes natural, pink and brown plaid weave Toquilla straw hat ($154) gviteri.com 5. GUCCI Flora bracelet in 18kt pink gold and enamel and 18kt white gold and diamonds. ($2,305/$5,850) gucci.com 6. LEICA MP in white. All Leica M cameras are known for many distinctive qualities, one of the most notable is their unobtrusiveness. This attribute is characterized not only by iconic industrial design, but also by their barely audible shutter sound—offering a vital advantage in shooting situations that require the utmost quiet. ($8,995) leica.com 7. TOM FORD Rose Gradient Acetate Round Sunglasses in pink/brown ($415) neimanmarcus.com

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WHAT EVER WILL BE, WILL BE

by Laurie Bogart Wiles

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Hollywood legend, leading singer and animal welfare advocate Doris Day. COLLECTION CHRISTOPHEL / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

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In

ANY GIRL CAN LOOK GLAMOROUS . . .

JUST STAND THERE AND LOOK STUPID.”

THE CONSTELLATION OF STARS that illuminated Hollywood’s silver screen after World War II, none sparkled quite like Doris Day’s.

Her comparatively short film career spanned only two decades, but she made 39 major motion pictures and played opposite some of Hollywood’s greatest leading men—Clark Gable, James Stewart, Frank Sinatra, James Cagney, and many others. But her favorite co-star and one of her closest friends was Rock Hudson, who, like Doris, warily guarded his private life.

He starred with her in three movies, and they remained devoted to one another until Hudson’s death in 1985 from AIDS at age 59.

Doris Day’s film career began when she was 25 (though she professed, and appeared, to be two years younger.) She had been touring with the Les Brown Band when songwriter Jule Styne and his partner, Sammy Cahn, heard her rendition of the Gershwin classic, “Embraceable You.” They were so impressed that they recommended her for a role in the musical film, “Romance on the High Seas” (1948). Like a comet, she shot to stardom in a rapid succession of box office hits, making at least two major motion pictures a year—in 1961, five—including “Calamity Jane” (1953), “The Man Who Knew Too Much” (1956), “Teacher’s Pet” (1958), “Pillow Talk” (1959), “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies” (1960), and “With Six You Get Eggroll” (1968).

Acting came naturally to Doris. Hungarian-born American director Michael Curtiz (“Casablanca,” “Mildred Pierce,” “White Christmas”), who directed Doris in the musical “I’ll See You in My Dreams” (1952), told her never to take acting lessons, so pure was the innate gift, raw honesty and unpretentious charm she brought to the screen. She was best known for her comedies yet was equally admired for her dramatic roles. Her films were among the Top 25 box office hits 19 times and No. 1 four times, in 1960, 1962, 1963, and 1964—more than any actress in Hollywood history. She sang “Que Sera, Sera” in Alfred Hitchcock’s suspense thriller, “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” winning the 1956 Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Columbia Gold Disc for over a million record sales. Translated “What will be, will be,” it became Doris’s theme song in her television series, but more than that, it defined her attitude in life.

In 2004, she was bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush, and in 2011, approaching the age of 90, she released her 29th and final album, “My Heart,” one of the best-selling albums of 2011 and ranked ninth in Great Britain among the Top 40.

And yet, unlike the Doris Day the world knew onscreen, Doris Day’s personal life was besieged with disappointment, tragedy, and unremitting sadness.

AMERICA’S SWEETHEART

Sing, dance, act in comedy or drama, on the radio, in the recording studio, in films or on television, Doris Day could do it all. She was “America’s sweetheart,” “the girl next door,” as wholesome as home-baked bread, as chipper as a lark, with a dazzling smile that could dissipate a storm cloud. Nonetheless, she

would confess in her 1976 memoir, “Doris Day: Her Own Story,” “I’m tired of being thought of as Miss Goody Two-Shoes. I’m not the AllAmerican Virgin Queen, and I’d like to deal with the true, honest story of who I really am.” She never would realize her greatest dream, and is quoted in “American Legends: The Life of Doris Day” by Charles River Editors: “All I ever wanted to do was get married, have a nice husband, have two or three children, and have a nice house and cook.”

She found her real happiness in her only child, son Terry Melcher, a successful record producer, singer, and songwriter who predeceased his mother by 15 years when he died in 2004 at the age of 62 from melanoma. “Not only was Terry my son, but he was also my buddy for all of his life,” Doris mourned.— “American Legends: The Life of Doris Day” by Charles River Editors.

“That kind of saddens me a little bit about her life, that she couldn’t really be herself publicly because she had a lot of sadness behind the scenes,” observed Australian country singer and songwriter Melinda Schneider, who performed her one-woman tribute concert, “Doris Day: So Much More Than the Girl Next Door,” to sell-out audiences at the Sydney Opera House and recorded a No. 1 best-selling album, “Melinda Does Doris.” “She had four tumultuous marriages and a lot of tragedy in her life. But no one ever knew about it. That was always the secret.”

Indeed, it was her inherent perseverance and positive attitude that kept Doris from succumbing to the crushing lows and blows that would have destroyed most people. She put it like this in her memoir: “No matter what happens, if I get pushed down, I’m going to come right back up. I’ve been through everything. I always said I was like those round-bottomed circus dolls—you know, those dolls you could push down and they’d come back up? I’ve always been like that. I’ve always said, ‘No matter what happens, if I get pushed down, I’m going to come right back up.’”

CHILDHOOD

Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff was born April 3, 1922, the youngest of three children of first-generation German-Americans Alma Sophia Welz (1895-1976) and William Joseph Kappelhoff (1892-1967), whose respective parents emigrated to America around 1875 and settled in the densely populated German quarter of Cincinnati. She was named after her mother’s favorite actress, silent movie star Doris Kenyon, Rudolf Valentino’s on-screen paramour.

The Kappelhoffs lived in a red duplex on the corner of Jonathan Street and Greenlawn. Doris had two older brothers: Richard, who died in childhood before Doris was born, and Paul, who was three years her senior. The Kappelhoff and Welz families were neighbors and friends, and the marriage between Alma and William was likely arranged, as was common among old European families in those days. Doris’s father, William Joseph Kappelhoff (1892-1967), was a classical music professor and the church organist and choirmaster at St. Mark’s Catholic Doris Day (1922-2019) American film actress and singer, about 1950.

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Left to right: Roger Maris, Doris Day, Mickey Mantle, Cary Grant and Yogi Berra— Legends of the New York Yankees photographed during a cameo appearance in “That Touch of Mink,” starring Doris Day and Cary Grant.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF HERITAGE AUCTIONS / HA.COM

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Doris Day starred as the title character in “Calamity Jane,” the American Technicolor western musical film loosely based on the life of Wild West heroine.

ALLSTAR PICTURE LIBRARY LTD. / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Church, where the family faithfully attended Mass. William was an introvert who immersed himself in Mozart and Beethoven. His wife, on the other hand, was a vivacious extrovert who loved jazz, swing, and especially the “new sound” Jimmie Rogers brought to country music. Alma loved dancing, parties, and hanging out at the local beer garden to eat, drink, and dance with friends to the lively live music while her husband remained home with the children and played Bach on his gramophone. Husband and wife could not have been more different.

Doris was a sensitive and high-strung child who must have sensed the disparity between her parents. Creative and imaginative like her father, she was happiest in her own company and spent much of her time playing alone. But those carefree childhood days were cut short when Alma, obsessed with Hollywood, determined to make Doris a star. Doris loved to dance, and when she was 5 years old, Alma enrolled her in dance school. Doris was the youngest girl in her class and was shy and nervous at the beginning. When she went on stage to perform in her first dance recital, she became so anxious that she wet her pants. As she twirled around, the audience tried to suppress their laughter at the large wet spot on the back of her red satin skirt. Undaunted, Doris persevered, finishing her routine with a ladylike curtsey before running offstage weeping into her mother’s arms.

But something inside of her must have been sparked by the audience’s thundering applause. She was never shy and nervous in front of an audience again.

Alma enrolled her daughter in more classes—tap and ballet, piano lessons, and acrobatics, in which she excelled. She took speech lessons. She entered contests, always winning, spurring her mother to keep pushing. Alma took in sewing jobs at night to pay for lessons that cost more than her husband’s meager income could provide. Doris was now the main focus of her mother’s life—to the exclusion of her husband. William became more distant and absent.

When Doris was 8, she overheard her parents violently arguing. William was caught having an affair, but the blow struck even harder when it was revealed that “the other woman” was Alma’s best friend. The scandal became public, and William was fired from his teaching position and kicked out of the church.

He packed his bags and said goodbye to his son, Paul, but not to Doris, which troubled her the rest of her life. The divorce became final in 1936.

To his credit, William did not disappear entirely from his children’s lives. Every Wednesday, he would bring Paul and Doris to his sister’s house for a large family dinner. “I had a wonderful family, including aunts, uncles and cousins,” Doris would reminisce in her autobiography, looking at the bright side—as always.

Now a single mother, Alma moved her children to a small apartment and got a job at a bakery, and the children went to school. One of Doris’s classmates was

a boy named Jerry Doherty, who also was 12 years old and loved to dance. The youngsters formed a dance duo, began performing and became a local sensation.

In 1937, when they were both freshmen at Our Lady of Angels High School, they entered a dance contest sponsored by a department store. For weeks they rehearsed, and Doris and Jerry beat more than 500 other teams to take the first prize of $500—almost $10,000 in today’s money. That spring, Alma and Jerry’s parents set out for Hollywood with their children to pursue their careers.

As soon as they arrived, Alma arranged for Doris to take lessons from the famous American dancer and choreographer Louis DaPron, who coached, among many Hollywood musical stars, Donald Connor (“Singing in the Rain”) and later became head choreographer at Universal Studios.

A Paramount Studios talent scout noticed Doris and wanted to arrange a screen test for her, but Doris was committed to Jerry and refused. Her steadfast loyalty would define her friendships throughout her life.

That October, the families decided to move permanently to Los Angeles to pursue their children’s promising careers. They returned to Cincinnati to sell out and pack up for good. The night before returning to L.A., mutual friends from nearby Hamilton threw them a farewell party. Doris would drive out with Jerry’s brother, Larry, and another couple their age. It was raining hard, and fog began to settle. By the time they came upon a railroad crossing, the fog was so thick that the driver saw the lights of a fast-approaching train too late. The train crashed into the car, catapulting the driver and the front-seat passenger, Marion, through the windshield and Larry from the back seat. Remarkably, no one was seriously injured but Doris, who was trapped in the wreck and sustained two compound fractures in her right leg that would require steel rods to be inserted from her thigh to her toes. The doctors hoped she would walk again. Doris knew she would dance. However, dreams of Hollywood were crushed . . . for now.

The families reestablished their lives in Cincinnati. Jerry returned to high school and Doris recovered at home. Four months stretched to 14 when, toward the end of her recovery, she caught her toe on the living room carpet, fell, and refractured her leg. Bedridden, she sang along to the big band sounds of Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, and Tommy Dorsey on the radio. But the voice she loved listening to best was Ella Fitzgerald’s. Ella had a clean, clear, crisp voice like no other singer.

Alma decided her daughter needed to take singing lessons. Through a friend in the music business named Danny Engel, an audition was arranged with professional vocal coach Grace Raine. After hearing Doris sing, Raine told Alma that Doris lacked sufficient talent. But Alma persevered, and Raine agreed to give Doris a chance. The teenager’s desire to learn and dedication to her training

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Doris Day makes a phone call in the garden at her home in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles, California, circa 1955.

PHOTOGRAPH BY PHIL BURCHMAN/PICTORIAL PARADE/ARCHIVE PHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES

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enabled Raine to transform her young student, and Doris rapidly became her best pupil. Aware that Alma was sewing at night to pay for Doris’s lessons, Raine charged her for only one lesson out of every three. Years later, Doris would credit Raine for cultivating the voice that would thrill untold millions.

THE ROAD TO FAME AND FORTUNE

“I’m still Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff from Cincinnati. All I ever wanted to do was get married, have a nice husband, have two or three children, and have a nice house and cook. I ended up in Hollywood. If I could do it, you could do it. Anyone can do it.”

When she was 14, Doris and her mother moved into an apartment over her Uncle Charlie’s bar, Welz’s Tavern, at 3113 Warsaw Ave., Cincinnati. The personable teenager sang along with the jukebox, entertaining the customers as she served her aunt’s famous 15-cent barbeque sandwiches. At age 15, she landed a gig singing at Charlie Yee’s Shanghai Inn, a popular local restaurant, where she earned $5 a night. When she was 16, she landed her first professional job performing as a vocalist on the popular WLW radio show, “Carlin’s Carnival.”

That’s how bandleader Barney Rapp, who was looking for a female vocalist, discovered her. He sought her out and asked her to audition, but she was up against 200 other singers. She won the audition and began traveling all over the country as the lead singer of Barney Rapp and the New Englanders. Early on, Rapp told Doris that Kappelhoff was too long a name for a billboard or marquee. Loving how she sang the popular song, “Day After Day,” he suggested she change her surname to Day—and Doris Day was born.

The band’s trombonist, Al Jordan, courted her, and Doris fell in love. They married, left the band, and moved to New York City to broaden Al’s prospects, and there Doris gave birth to Terrance P. Jordan (who later would be adopted

by Doris’s third husband, film producer Martin Melcher, and would take his stepfather’s last name.) The marriage was short-lived. Al Jordan had a terrible temper and was abusive. Doris, an 18-year-old divorced single mother, would then return home to Cincinnati and move back in with her mother. Alma took care of the baby while Doris got work, but the occasional gig was not enough. Doris moved, alone, to Chicago to pursue her career.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

“I like joy; I want to be joyous; I want to have fun on the set; I want to wear beautiful clothes and look pretty. I want to smile, and I want to make people laugh. And that’s all I want. I like it. I like being happy. I want to make others happy.”

TELEVISION

Though Doris was first seen on television at the 21st Annual Academy Awards telecast in 1949, and afterward in various shorts, and with Bing Crosby on “The Bob Hope Show” in 1950, her first standalone television appearance was in 1954, when she was the mystery guest on the popular show, “What’s My Line.” It was on that show that she was presented with a gold record for selling one million recordings of “Secret Love,” first sung by Doris in “Calamity Jane” (1953), and which won an Oscar for Best Original Song that year—one of three Academy Award nominations for songs she introduced in films.

However, Doris never had any desire to act on television. In fact, she loathed the idea. She was a film star, and that was the environment that suited her best. What’s more, she had created her own brand of romantic comedy. After she made her last major motion picture, she decided to leave Hollywood and dedicate the rest of her life to animal welfare. She moved to Carmel-by-the-Sea, only to discover a detour along her chosen path.

Her third husband, Martin Melcher, died in April 1968 at age 53. He had managed Doris’s career since their marriage in 1951, and she, happily, left all the business dealings to him. However, he was not forthright with her on how he was handling her substantial wealth. It was, therefore, a terrible shock after his death to discover the true state of her affairs. Without her knowledge, Melcher had signed Doris to star in her own television series, “The Doris Day Show.” She was incredulous, angered, but true to form, knew she had no choice but to honor the commitment. She only learned of this when her son, Terry, stepped in to take care of Doris’s financial matters. Not only was Doris bankrupt, but she also was a half-million dollars in debt.

After the shock subsided she looked her misfortune squarely in the face. “Gratitude is riches,” she said. “Complaint is poverty.”—“American Legends: The Life of Doris Day” by Charles River Editors. From the first moment she walked on the set, Doris gave it her all; as always, she was a true professional. She even did the set design for the series’ home interiors.“The Doris Day Show” became an instant hit. One of the most popular shows on television, it aired on CBS for five seasons, from September 1968 to March 1973, with 128 episodes. After the series ended, Doris quit acting for good.

She would appear infrequently on television and occasionally for interviews on “The Merv Griffin Show,” “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson,” and “The Mike Douglas Show,” where she would promote her dog charity.

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It was during this time that Doris faced one of the most terrifying incidents of

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Doris Day began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, “Sentimental Journey” and “My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time” with Les Brown & His Band of Renown.

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Day’s best-known films are those in which she co-starred with Rock Hudson, chief among them 1959’s “Pillow Talk,” for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress .

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her life. Mike Love, who co-founded the Beach Boys with Dennis Wilson, wrote about the attempted murder of Terry Melcher in his New York Times best-selling autobiography, “Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy.” (Blue Rider Press, 2016.) In 1968, Terry Wilson had introduced Melcher to cult leader Charles Manson, who had visions of becoming a rock star. Terry, now an established record producer, was shaping West Coast music with hits such as The Byrds’ “Mister Tambourine Man” and “Turn, Turn, Turn.” But Melcher didn’t think Manson had any future in rock—news Manson did not take well. In his book, Love wrote, “Terry had told his mother, Doris Day, about Manson—and about some of his scary antics, his brandishing of knives, his zombie followers, and that Manson had been to the house on 1050 Cielo Drive (that Terry had been sharing with his then-girlfriend, actress Candace Bergen) and Doris insisted he move out.”

They did, and the owner leased the Cielo Drive house to director Roman Polanski and his eight-months-pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate. What happened soon after, on August 9, 1969, is one of the most savage criminal acts in modern history: Tate and four other people were murdered in the Cielo Drive house.

Doris admitted she had had a dreadful foreboding that led her to plead with Terry and Candace to move out of the ill-fated house. Love called it “a mother’s intuition.”

There were several suppositions: the mass-murder was targeted as revenge against Terry Melcher and that Manson was unaware that he and Bergen had moved out. Susan Atkins, a member of the Manson family, admitted her part in the slaughter and stated to the police and before a grand jury that the house was chosen to instill fear in Melcher.

After the tragedy, Melcher moved in with his mother. He later served as the executive producer of her television series, “The Doris Day Show,” co-produced “Doris Day’s Best Friends,” which spotlighted pets and their owners, served as vice-president of the Doris Day Animal Foundation, and co-owned the Cypress Inn in Carmel, California.

Tragically, Terry’s life ended after a long battle with melanoma. He was 62 when he died at home on November 19, 2004, with his son, wife, and mother by his bedside. Only once, after her son’s death, did she allude to her loneliness. “If so many people love me, how come I’m alone?”—“American Legends: The Life of Doris Day” by Charles River Editors.

HOME AT LAST

In the early 1980s, Doris sold her contemporary style home in Beverly Hills and left Hollywood for good. “I really loved being there, but then I started to notice that it was changing,” Day would later reveal in an interview. “It really started to change, and, oh, people were moving away because strangers from foreign countries were all over on the street and tearing the beautiful houses down and putting up boxes. I really wasn’t happy about that at all. Wasn’t the town I knew.”

She made her home a sunny, yellow-and-white, country-style house perched high above the Quail Lodge Golf Course in Carmel-by-the-Sea. The décor was charming, the overstuffed sofas and chairs were arranged around a huge fireplace, and there was a lot of wicker—she loved wicker—with a few poppy-red accent pieces strategically placed to break up the whiteness—most prominently, the red-painted piano her son, Terry, had given to her as a gift. Schumann Bavarian china, Wallace sterling silver flatware (a gift from her mother), and Waterford crystal were set on her Louis XV style dining room table whenever she entertained, which was often. The house was clean and uncluttered.

It was here, surrounded by a few close friends and her 14 dogs, that Doris Day succumbed to pneumonia on May 13, 2019. Her final wish was to have no funeral, no memorial service, and no grave marker. And perhaps that was unnecessary. After all, she left her true mark in the happiness her films and music have given countless millions and will continue to provide. Almost a year later, on April 4, 2020, the contents of the house, including her four Golden Globe awards, went under the hammer of Julien Auctions. The property was sold. Estimated at $200 million, all the proceeds went to Doris’s beloved animal foundations.

In 1974, Doris joined Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Kirk Douglas, Ronald Reagan (then governor of California) and a host of other celebrities in presenting the AFI Life Achievement Award to the late, great actor James Cagney, with whom she appeared in “Love Me or Leave Me.” Doris said, “You’re more than just an actor.

You don’t play the character; you live the character. You breathe life into your own performance and make the rest of us really look good. That’s because you’re there. And tonight, you make the whole world feel good just because you’re here.”

We could say the same about you, Doris, because through good times and bad, you made the whole world feel good—just because you were here. “I love to laugh,”“The Life of Doris Day” would quote her saying.

“It’s the only way to live. Enjoy each day—it’s not coming back again.” ■

From 1959 to 1970, Doris Day would receive nine Laurel Award nominations (winning four times). From 1959 through 1969, she received six Golden Globe nominations for best female performance.

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67 Actor Doris Day and photographer Frank Bez during a portrait session in 1959 in Los Angeles.

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68 mix of avant-garde bohemian saturated with romance, haute couture Italian fashion designer GIAMBATTISTA VALLI’s fashions for evening evoke something out of the FoliesBergère.Valli is the epitome of high fashion without excuses or explanation, vibrant and alluring. You either love him or don’t . . . but if you love him, you want him. ■

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Some enchanted evening From Valli’s Porcelain Flower Ramage Collection, this embroidered silk satin tulle ballgown envelopes the figure with tiers of ruffles, revealing a glimpse of a figure-hugging, wrist-length dress that is barely there.

Opposite: A bustier cocktail dress in silk duchesse is delicately embroidered and offset with “statement” draped taffeta bows at either side of the waist.

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Valli’s dahlia petals embroidered ballgown in soft peach is cinched at the waist and tiered from the front to the floorkissing train. The delicate neckline and sleeves are like a short cape. Opposite: Cascading white ruffles with a wide sweeping ballgown skirt and capped sleeves fall in gentle, waterfall-like ribbons to the floor.

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2 For the free-spirited woman . . . from the Porcelain Flower Ramage, an embroidered pink tulle, formless cocktail dress. Opposite: Valli’s draped and ruffled skirt taffeta ballgown features a skirt cut high in front and trails to a train. The neckline is a wreath of ruffles that sits high on the shoulder.

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Red is a signature color for Valli. This multi-frilled pleated tulle ballgown with roses d’organza embroidery is reminiscent of the Folies Bergere and the floating tulle defies gravity! Opposite: His haute couture evening cape of multi-tiered, frilled silk taffeta was a Paris runway show-stopper.

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77 The sweeping train of Valli’s confettis d’or tulle ball ensemble is embellished with embroidery and silk duchesse bows. Opposite: Brocade embroidered lame vest in black and white over a white silky georgette bell-sleeve evening blouse is the ultimate contrast in texture, as well, when paired with Valli’s multi-pleated black tulle skirt. Yet again, create a complete ensemble with Valli’s red evening cape to complete this dramatic nighttime fashion statement.

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Detail of the soft, sweeping neckline of Valli’s draped silk crepe evening gown is trimmed with ostrich feathers accentuated with coquetips plumes at the wrist—and beyond.

This is romance at its most romantic, all in white and pure as the driven snow. Opposite: Frilled taffeta over a high-neck and deep-cut sleeveless bodice is finished to perfection with a floor-length, taffeta-trimmed veil.

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As fancy as polka-dot has ever gotten: Valli’s gold-glittered polka dot tulle ball ensemble features a silk velvet jacquard top with embroidered lame brocade vest.

The sweeping petticoat skirt is ruffled at the bottom. Opposite: Full view of his draped silk crepe evening gown is trimmed with ostrich feathers accentuated with coquetips plumes at the wrist— and beyond. This is romance at its most romantic, all in white and pure as the driven snow.

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2 Ostrich feathers and coquetips plumes combine to create a fantasy in white, pinks, and greens like a flower garden about to bloom in spring. The unstructured, free-flowing line of the skirt and bodice is evocative of Monet’s garden in Giverny. Opposite: A robe bustier in coral is form-fitted before releasing at the waist to a ruffled silk taffeta skirt that falls high above knee before cascading to a short train.

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R

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the omance of Bel Paese

by Daina Savage

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Venice is built on more than 100 small islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. The city has no roads, just canals, including the Grand Canal thoroughfare, readelysian.comlined • l’été 2021 • and Gothic palaces. with Renaissance

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we all crave a post-pandemic return to travel, Italy tops many of our lists. Perhaps it’s the weariness of virtual meetings without the cues of body language providing a better picture of emotion. Perhaps it’s the monotony of our own home cooking for more than a year. Perhaps it’s the landscape out our windows that is too, too familiar. For those of us who have delighted in Italy in the past, the longing to return is deep and fills our daydreams. For those who have imagined Italy from afar, the desire to experience in the flesh is palpable.

We wish for springtime in Tuscany, summer in the Dolomites, autumn in Rome. We imagine the luxuriousness of double air-kissed greetings, being folded into an embrace, and the evenings stretching out past midnight with the table piled in delights, surrounded by the close company of fellow revelers, all singing, dancing, and savoring life with gusto.

It’s the gastronomic wonders that lure us to Italy, how the simplest ingredients combine to create both classic, comforting tastes and novel surprises. Often thought of as peasant food, they tell the story of a region and its people, holding the terroir of the land that produces the ingredients to create a flavor profile that gives you an intimate understanding of a culture through your senses. Think the strangolapreti or spinach dumplings in the Trentino (South Tyrol) region; the fave e cicoria or fava bean puree with chicory when in the Puglia region; or, of course, pizza in Naples.

It’s the proximity of fresh ingredients that whets your appetite, landscapes lush with olive groves, hillsides terraced with espaliered apples or lemons or grapes, balconies cluttered with potted herbs.

Dinner can be as close as a few snips of sage, a few threads of saffron, and a few plush pockets of ricotta wrapped in fresh pasta dough. Perfection.

Sourcing the ingredients for a meal is part of the day’s pleasure. Start the morning with a classic espresso and pastry (perhaps filled with pistachios or ricotta) at a nearby cafe, then wander the city’s streets. Savor the architecture, soak up the history, duck into the cool cavern of a cathedral and bathe in the light streaming

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It’s difficult to find an unsavory sight in all of Italy, whereby, seemingly on every street is a quaint and picturesque view worthy of a postcard. Left: A cozy corner restaurant in Venice.

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Above: A typical european street corner with little shops in Forio d’Ischia, Island of Ischia, Italy.

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through the stained glass, wander the corridors of a museum (yes, that is the Carravagio from your art history textbook). By now it must be time for an aperol spritz, which will arrive with filling accompanying snacks like crostini and tramezzini. Afterward, you can shop in the local salumeria for aged meats, the local cheese shop for buffalo mozzarella, and the farmer’s market for sun-warmed tomatoes.

Soon the piazza will fill as families bring their children to play, couples stroll arm in arm, friends recount the events of the day with animated gestures. Marvel at the ease in which they all wear impeccably tailored clothing, sharp footwear, the simplest, classic adornments. Silks and leathers, wool and linen. No one else dresses as smartly, as elegantly, as an Italian. Invariably, someone will break out in song. You may witness a proposal or a scolding. The entire community is on full display. The day’s sensory delights spill into the night’s preparation, the music, the laughter, the singing emanating from darkened streets all gather to fill your plate, top off your wine glass, leave you satiated and surrounded by life lived richly and heartily under a canopy of stars.

NORTHERN ITALY

You may choose to allow your tastes to lead the way as you choose which region to visit first. The Dolomites offer a hearty, Germaninfluenced fare that complements days spent hiking. Although the region became Italian more than 100 years ago, the Austro-Hungarian Empire ruled the region for 550 years and the German influence remains strong.

The region’s famous ski resorts turn into a network of trails in summer, varying in their difficulty but all breathtakingly beautiful. Hiking may be the point, but you may spend more time taking photographs of the placidly grazing cattle (in contrast to the ever-present sound of their cowbells) and the impossibly craggy peaks that appear to pierce the sky.

Gondolas and chairlifts take out much of the work, bringing you most of the way to the scenic apexes. Although there are plenty of alms or

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For centuries, the gondola was the standard means of transportation and the most common watercraft in Venice. In modern times, the boats still play a role in public transport within the city, catering mostly to tourists and romantic couples over the Grand Canal.

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Vintage cafés, bakeries and delicatessens line the streets of the inner cities, where smells of specialty coffees, delicious cannolis, Neapolitan pastries and aromatic rocciata cakes fill the air.

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huts along the routes, ready with snacks and refreshing beer or lemonade, it’s wise to carry a small backpack with reinforcements. Hiking sticks and good boots are also necessities. The Seiser Alm or Alpe di Siusi is a good starting point, as the alpine meadows stretch out with various levels of possibilities for all abilities. At the foot of the mountains is Kastelruth or Castelrotto, a charming town with a number of tasty restaurants featuring German-Italian favorites and spectacular pastries. In South Tyrol, the southern-Italian afternoon aperol spritz and savories more often take the form of tea and sweets.

For those who like their landscapes more cultivated, visit the gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle in the delightful spa town of Merano (Meran). Often referred to as Sissi’s gardens after the Empress Elizabeth of Austria, these terraced gardens create a natural amphitheater, rising to 330-feet from the base of the lake. The more than 80 displays of plants from around the world are organized by regions of origin and enhanced with artwork, interesting species of animals, and a striking suspended lookout. The juxtaposition of Mediterranean flora at the base of the snow-covered alpine peaks is incongruous.

The town of Merano itself is charming, and its spas, shopping, and delightful restaurants and gelaterias are all tempting. But there is so much to explore. A scenic sojourn to the Tirolo Castle offers a spectacular birdsof-prey show, with raptors swooping close enough for their feathers to graze your cheek. Early autumn arrivals may wish to hike and cycle up the steep hillsides of Bolzano, draped in vineyards, or likewise traverse up the twists and turns of Lana’s terraces, inhaling the heady perfume of the acres of espaliered apple trees.

CORNIGLIA

Slightly north of the Tuscan coast is the famed Cinque Terre, or “five lands.” The most charming of these arguably is Corniglia, with its heart-pumping staircases on steep slopes 330-feet above the sea. That height offers stunning views, punctuated with the bright scent of lemon groves on the slopes. The town’s homes complete the sensory delights, painted in sunny shades of yellows, pinks, corals, and peach.

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An assortment of colorful ice cream made from natural ingredients in an Italian gelateria.

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View of the romantic seascape in Cinque Terre, also known as “five lands,” including the towns of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.

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Opposite: The small town of Manarola (Manaea in the local dialect), a frazione of the comune (municipality) of Riomaggiore, in the province of La Spezia, Liguria, northern Italy is the second-smallest of the famous Cinque Terre towns.

With it’s lovely and colorful villas and homes that accentuate the craggy seaside landscape, and population of only 353, it makes for an intimate and beautiful destination.

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MILAN

For the best of Italian luxury, head to Milan, one of the global capitals of fashion and design.

The glass-ceilinged arcade of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II connects the piazzas of the Piazza del Duomo and its gothic cathedral and the legendary Teatro alla Scala opera house. In the arcade, you’ll find the epitome of Italian style in the high-end boutiques of Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Prada, as well as a wealth of cafés to take an espresso standing up and people-watching. If the Brera district’s flea markets are more your style, find fashion bargains on Via Fiori Chiari every third Sunday. Milan, known for its museums and art galleries, is also home to Leonardo da Vinci’s mural, “The Last Supper.”

VENICE

A city unlike any other, Venice should be experienced at least once for its singular beauty. The canals and bridges connect a striking collection of Renaissance and Gothic palaces, offering a timeless portrait.

The central Piazza San Marco, with the Byzantine mosaic-tiled St. Mark’s Basilica, and the Rialto Bridge spanning the Grand Canal both seem to attract the densest crowds. But it’s easy to avoid the crush of tourists by wandering the rabbit warren of smaller streets, where you’ll discover the hidden surprises of craft restaurants and masterful artisans. The shoulder seasons of early spring and late fall also help mitigate the masses, making it easier to find a seat on a water taxi or admire the hundreds of precious gems in the golden Pala d’Oro. A lesson from the 2019 historic flooding and the 2020 pandemic closures is that environmental concerns may soon trump tourism needs, so be alert to any caps on visitors.

ROME

Like Venice, Rome is on many bucket lists, which means that if you are a summertime visitor, you will be sharing the city with plenty of other tourists. Summer is also the time for European holidays, so you may find restaurants and shops closed while the owners take their own vacations. Still, the city itself is a wonder, with layers upon layers of history built on top of or next to each other. It is as if you are wandering through a great museum of art and architecture, punctuated by magnificent squares with ever-present fountains.

Even if the Vatican lines seem impossible, you can soak in the majesty by simply lingering in St. Peter’s Square. Visiting the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, and Trevi Fountain can take a bit of crowd-dodging, but often the late afternoons tend to disperse the crowds, allowing you to wonder at the Pantheon’s expansive dome and toss a coin in the fountain to secure your return. You may have more luck crowd-dodging with the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, whose understated exterior belies the masterpieces inside.

For a more authentic Roman holiday, plan to walk a mile or so away from the tourist spots and immerse yourself in the surrounding neighborhoods. There your gastronomy tour starts with prosecco and ends with gelato with generous shavings of parmigiano reggiano topping your plate in between. Be prepared with a few Italian phrases of gratitude, delivered with whole-body enthusiasm.

Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.

—COCO CHANEL

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One of the most anticipated fashion extravaganzas of the year, Milan Fashion Week is a clothing trade show held semi-annually in Milan, Italy, featuring the most celebrated designers from around the world.

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A spectacular sunrise over Gravina in Puglia.

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The Carnevale di Venezia is an annual festival held in Venice, Italy. The carnival ends with the Christian celebration of Lent, 40 days before Easter, on Shrove Tuesday (Martedì Grasso or Mardi Gras), the day before Ash Wednesday. The festival is world-famous for its elaborate masks.

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NAPLES

Nearby Naples is an easy train ride away. The underground rail system welcomes you with stunning artwork at many stations, foreshadowing the colorful steep streets (luckily, there’s a funicular if you need help with the climb) and tempting treats to come. The waterfront promenade offers a view of the hulking Vesuvius, a reminder of our temporal nature, and perhaps a nudge to savor every delight while you can. Which is an easy mandate with the wealth of restaurants to choose from. Here, the gifts of the sea play a starring role, with fried anchovies and codfish balls, a particular favorite, paired with plates heaping with clams and mussels.

For a contrast in senses, pair a visit to the Museum of the Treasure of San Gennaro with the cloisters of Santa Chiara.

Rivaling Britain’s crown jewels, this collection of art and artifacts has been gathered over seven centuries, often gifted to the church as a sign of devotion. The most stunning of these is the bishop’s mitre, embedded with 198 emeralds, 168 rubies, and 3,328 diamonds, as one of the most precious objects in the world. In contrast to the splendor of silver and gems, the cloisters of Santa Chiara offer contemplative citrus gardens decorated with columns and benches of colorful majolica tiles enclosed by interior walls with fading Old Testament frescos from the 1600s.

Pizzerias are plentiful here, naturally, with crowds queuing at the take-out windows. Circumvent the street food experience and take a table upstairs for a traditional pizza margherita that makes magic with the simple combination of tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil.

Another necessity of Naples is to experience its regional desserts. There’s nowhere better than Scaturchio’s, the oldest pasticceria in Naples (it’s easy to spot with a monstrous version of Vesuvius rendered in its famous rum-soaked pastries—Baba au Rhum).

Fortunately, you can find the fresh, normal-sized versions inside in its regular mushroom-like shape, plain or filled with a variety of fruit and creams. The other Naples staple is the flaky wonder that is sfogliatelle, formed with a multitude of the thinnest layers of puff pastry into a clamshell shape, then filled with a sweet custardy mixture of ricotta and candied citrus. Delightful.

MATERA

Although it’s difficult to leave the beauty of the Amalfi Coast, a trip east into the Basilicata region reveals the ancient city of Matera. Its unique hillside of grottos cut into the limestone during the Paleolithic era is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

These caves, which once served as homes and were condemned by the government in the ’50s, have more recently starred as the city of Judea in Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” and several have been turned into boutique hotel rooms.

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Giorgio Vasari’s wonderful masterpiece of “The Last Judgment,” inside the Dome of Florence Cathedral.

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Italy’s architecture spans almost 3,500 years, from Etruscan and Ancient Roman architecture to Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical, Art Nouveau, Fascist, and Italian modern and contemporary architecture.

Artistically, both Baroque and Neoclassicism originated in Rome and spread to all Western art. Italy maintained a presence in the international art scene from the mid-19th century onwards, with movements such as the Macchiaioli, Futurism, Metaphysical, Novecento Italiano, Spatialism, Arte Povera, and Transavantgarde.

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It’s easy to spend a day wandering the maze of alleys and courtyards, discovering sweet cafes, art galleries, and shops along the way. Crowned the European City of Culture in 2019, it boasts one of Italy’s most inventive, unconventional gelaterias: I Vizi degli Angeli Laboratorio di Gelateria Artigianale. In addition to the traditional fava beans and chicory dish characteristic of the region, Matera is also known for its crusty bread crafted from local “hard” wheat and topped with roasted vegetables or cured meats and cheeses.

Allow your nose, your taste buds, and your sense of adventure to guide your gastronomy tour of Italy. Soak in the art and architecture between courses. And if you are fortunate enough to stumble upon a street festival in any town in your travels, be sure to dance.

TUSCANY

The pastoral Tuscan region in central Italy is known for its food, its wine, and the rolling hills that stretch out like a painting. The picturesque countryside of manicured gardens, sculpted vineyards, and olive orchards, as well as the roads lined with cypress trees and lavender fields are a delight for drivers keen to visit wineries and savor the region’s best flavors. This is the home of Chianti. The tastes of the fertile soils of the area are also expressed in the olive oils, pecorino cheese, truffles, and even in steaks from famed Chianina cows.

Lovers of Renaissance art and architecture should visit its birthplace in Florence to find iconic favorites like Michelangelo’s “David” and the Duomo basilica. The medieval city of Siena is a delight for those who like to stroll and soak in the atmosphere, while the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Val d’Orcia valley sprawls just south of its hills.

The Tuscan coast moves from the sprawling sandy beaches of the north to the rocky Etruscan coast to the nature preserves of the south. ■

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The Tuscany region of central Italy is most recognized for its diverse natural landscape encompassing the rugged Apennine Mountains, the island of Elba’s beaches on the Tyrrhenian Sea and Chianti’s olive groves and vineyards.

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“The Dance Lesson,” 1879, by French artist Edgar Degas.

The artist added a panel of paper at top and on right to incorporate the violin player into this pastel rendering.

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onsider the great Masters of art. How often do you recall, first, the well-known details of their life—the tragedies and misfortunes, or even faux pas—before settling in on the work itself ?

We have all heard the tragic story of van Gogh’s missing ear…

It is in our nature to be curious about an artist’s life outside of the canvas. Today more than ever, artists’ levels of publicity or celebrity are likely a strong indicator of their works’ valuation. Furthermore, “best behavior” is expected of creatives whose collectors take personal accountability for the reputation of their artists. Yet, throughout this distraction, the artistry is often taken for granted. We lose sight of the hours spent in the studio, the development of technical skills and the depth of formal knowledge required to produce the object in question.

Artists are assumed to have—and respected for—a commitment to their craft and subject matter. We expect from an artist years of dedication to technical perfection, ongoing experimentation and expertise in their chosen subject. Da Vinci is idolized for his scientific approach to understanding the human form, going as far as performing autopsies to understand the body, quite literally, inside and out. Any artist will agree that this obsession with perfection becomes so all-consuming that the surrounding world fades away, causing a loss of interest or concern in societal norms.

With the approximately 1,500 paintings, monotypes and drawings he created of the ballet, there is no question that Degas dedicated his career to becoming an expert of the Paris ballet. And with dedication comes mastery: to this day, no other artist’s rendition of ballet is more widely recognized than the works of Degas. Yet, in his laser-focused obsession, Degas painted out of his view what we now know of the sordid truths of the later 19th-century Parisian opera houses. Rather, he devoted himself to objectively and beautifully capturing what is quintessentially the ballerina.

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ilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas was born in Paris in 1834, two years after Manet and during the same decade that gave us Cézanne, Monet, Renoir and Berthe Morisot. He spent almost 83 years of his life in Paris, where he eventually died, virtually blind, in 1917.

As a young artist, he aspired to be a history painter and went through rigorous academic training with a close study of classical art. In 1862, Degas met the artist Edouard Manet, who pulled him into the circle of Impressionist painters. Though Degas exhibited alongside this group and is regarded as one of the pioneers of Impressionism, he rejected this categorization and deemed himself instead to be a realist.

Where the Impressionists could be found painting en plein air, Degas could be found in a seat at the opera.

And while Impressionists were concerned with light and its changing qualities, Degas was intrigued by capturing the body in motion—making the ballerina his ideal subject.

Just as Cézanne claimed landscape for modern art, Degas was claiming ballet. Moreover, his training allowed him to apply the traditional methods of a history painter to the contemporary subject matter of ballet, making him a classical painter of modern life.

The poet Paul Valéry described him as “divided against himself; on the one hand driven by an acute preoccupation with truth, eager for all the newly introduced and more or less felicitous ways of seeing things and of painting them; on the other hand, possessed by a rigorous spirit of classicism, to whose principles of elegance, simplicity and style

“Dancer Adjusting Her Slipper,”1873-1874. Degas made several studies of dancers adjusting their shoes, shown in different poses and from different angles. These drawings served as preparatory studies for his ballet scenes of the same period. Squared for transfer, the figure in this study was used in the 1874 pastel “Dancers Resting.” The same dancer, shown in three-quarter view, also appears in “The Rehearsal of the Ballet Onstage.”

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In“Ballet Rehearsal,” 1873, Degas contrasts the linear architecture of the grand windows in the back with the dancers in the room who are organic, dancing, stretching and moving.

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he devoted a lifetime of analysis.”

Around the time of meeting Manet, Degas found a studio and apartment in the bohemian district of Montmartre, where he lived and worked for the majority of his life. Throughout his residence, his neighbors included artists such as Renoir, Mary Cassatt and van Gogh, as well as dancers and musicians of the Paris Opéra, which was within walking distance of his studio. He became close friends with several women; artists Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot, and some of the leading opera divas and prima ballerinas of the day. It wasn’t long before the magnificent Palais Garnier, home of the Paris Ballet, became Degas’ second home.

For the next four decades and until he stopped painting altogether in 1912, Degas became absorbed in the world of ballet, obsessively studying the movement of ballerinas.

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efore gaining backstage access, Degas’ earliest works of the opera depicted the stalls and boxes from which the performance was viewed, as well as the audience members and orchestra. “Orchestra Musicians” (1872) is, for the first time, where we see Degas highlight ballerinas as the pictorial focus, albeit over the heads of the orchestra, which fill over half of the painting’s surface. Even so, the ballerinas’ brilliant pink-and-white costumes steal the show, reducing the instrumentalists to mere negative space for the viewer.

“Orchestra Musicians” marks the beginning of Degas’ oeuvre of the modern ballet dancer.

Not satisfied with this singular viewpoint, Degas wrote a letter to Albert Hecht, a prominent collector and friend, asking, “My dear Hecht, have you the power to get the Opéra to give me a pass for the day of the dance examination, which, so I have been told,

is to be on Thursday? I have done so many of these dance examinations without having seen them that I am a little ashamed of it.”

It is important to mention how ubiquitous ballet was during this time, being one of the most popular activities for the Parisian upper class. Further, we must acknowledge the clientele who held these backstage subscriptions that Degas aimed to obtain.

The privilege to venture behind the scenes at the Palais Garnier was saved for wealthy males, called abonnés, who acted as voyeurs of the rehearsing ballerinas. Though Degas was also watching the ballerinas, his intentions lay elsewhere, as an objective observer to document and understand the ballerina—to become an expert of his subject.

“People call me the painter of dancing girls,” Degas once explained to Parisian art dealer Ambroise Vollard. “It has never occurred to them that my chief interest

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“The Dance Lesson,” (sometimes known as “The Dancing Lesson”), 1879, shows how Degas deviated from traditional painting compositions, with figures deliberately placed offcentre or cut off at unexpected angles and the large expanse of floor which appears to tilt.

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“Waiting,” 1880–1882, exemplifies Degas’ interest in portraying the reality of the ballerina hidden behind their beauty and grace on stage. Seen bent over, massaging her ankle, the viewer can better understand the physical and physiological toil such artifice took on the performers.

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“Dancers in the Classroom,” 1880. With years of practice, Degas became an expert at developing scenes that ceaselessly move the viewers’ eye across the canvas. From the exasperated ballerinas in the foreground to the fan’s vivid complementary colors and finally carried to the brilliant sunlight at the back of the room.

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in dancers lies in rendering movement and painting pretty clothes.” ith respect for the intensity with which the dancers pursued their labors, Degas endeavored to illustrate the reality of ballet that hid behind the curtain of polished choreography. In true realist fashion, he refused to romanticize the ballerina’s life and instead stripped away the beauty to show the hard work, the boredom and the scrutiny.

Illuminated by what occurred behind the scenes, Degas’ representations of ballerinas offstage quickly outnumbered those of performances. With this new perspective came an appreciation for the hours of work and training required by the disciplined ballerinas, who must repeat and repeat an exercise to

perfect it, as he was perfecting his own.

Two rehearsals happening at once. “[Her] work, it’s the lesson, the class; the rehearsals, in the foyer or on the stage, of steps, of groups, and of the ensemble. It all begins at nine o’clock in the morning and is over at four in the afternoon. . . . And do not imagine that [the hard work of the dancing lesson] will be finished after a short time. It must go on forever and renew itself without a break. Only under this condition will the dancer keep her suppleness and lightness. A week of rest will cost her two months of work—double-time and with no loafing.”

In “Dance Class at the Opera” (1872), we have our first glimpse at Degas’ depiction of the ballerinas at work: stretching at the barre, waiting in the wings, rubbing sore muscles, adjusting their tutus, talking, and of course, practicing. To build such a complex painting, Degas was known to create

numerous preparatory drawings for the individual figures. “Dancer Standing” (1872) is an example of one of these studies where Degas challenged himself to convincingly render the dancer seen twisting her foot and outstretching her leg in an awkward pose.

Likewise, one of Degas’ most revered drawings, “Dancer Adjusting Her Slipper” (1873), features a ballerina precariously balancing on one leg as she adjusts her slipper.

While the piece holds its own as a standalone drawing, executed in pencil on deep pink paper, it was purely an exercise before including the same ballerina in the foreground of “Two Dancers Resting” (1874).

With his pad and pencil in hand, Degas became a familiar sight for the ballerinas.

“He comes here in the morning. He watches all the exercises in which the movements are analyzed, and . . . nothing in the most complicated step escapes his gaze.”

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“The Dance Class” (La Classe de Danse),1874, foreshadows the evolution of Degas’ style still yet to come in which he moves away from treating the figures as separate and singular to blending the ballerinas into one, jointly moving figure, touching and responding to each other.

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“The Orchestra at the Opera” (L’orchestre de l’Opéra), 1870, was, quite literally, the tipping point before Degas fully shifted his view away from the audience and orchestra and upwards to the dancers on stage. Even so, the glowing tutus of the ballerinas eclipse the intricate musicians below.

Accurately rendering a complicated pose was one feat, but capturing movement was Degas’ chief interest. A common technique to convey movement in painting is to use energetic brushstrokes. As a talented draughtsman, Degas’ works often had an illustrator-like effect with a reliance on line to reiterate form. In “The Rehearsal of the Ballet on Stage” (1874), rather than compromising the outline of each ballerina with muddled strokes, he confidently allows the inherent movement in dance, with twisting, turning and effortless pivoting, to create movement for the viewer. And, as was customary for Degas, he provides multiple points of focus which keeps our eyes jumping around the canvas.

Alternatively, when it is decided that a ballerina will be the single dominant focal point, Degas allowed his hand to move more freely. “The Star” (1878) is a magnificently energetic painting that portrays the genuine spectacle of ballet through frenzied sketches, extreme contrast and an unusual composition. The main subject is situated at the bottom right of the canvas, feeling very near to the viewer, and with a vibrant, glowing skirt that is in stark contrast to the dark and undecipherable background, which directs all focus towards the dancer.

Degas was always experimenting and rarely considered anything finished. He never seemed to settle on any one combination of materials, colors or composition. In “Two Dancers on Stage” (1877), he opts for asymmetry, where the weight of the piece is held all in one quadrant, defying traditional composition. Yet, his scumbling and handling of color keep the viewer focused on the two ballerinas. The same can be seen in “Dancers Practicing at the Barre” (1877). Whereas both “Two Dancers on Stage” and “Dancers Practicing at the Barre” use almost monochromatic earthy tones, “Dancer Tilting” (1883) radiates with citron, chartreuse and vivid bursts of deep orange, showing Degas’ range in color investigation.

Unfortunately, Degas’ eyesight began to deteriorate shortly after completing “Dancer Tilting.” The odd use of color in his later works is attributed to his failing vision, as can be seen in “Dancers at the Barre” (1900) or “Dancers” (1884). The latter painting also marks a drastic transition that occurred in his later works. Previously, attention was given to figures individually, but here we see a shift in which Degas treats the group of ballerinas as one singular form with several heads, arms, and legs—touching and responding to each other.

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his final years, Degas continued to simplify his forms in a manner that neared abstraction, such as in one of his last ballet works, “Three Dancers” (1904-06). A servant to perfection, he continued to work and rework his countless studies of ballerinas into paintings as an attempt to find new ways of treating old subjects.

In his memoir of Degas, Vollard explained, “Because of the many tracings that Degas did of his drawings, the public accused him of repeating himself. But his passion for perfection was responsible for his continual research.”

Repetition, repetition, repetition...

Through the many years of working and reworking, Degas never felt he reached perfection. And that is the curse of all creatives, be that painter or ballerina. Yet, if not for Degas’ dedication to his subject matter, he might not have ever looked behind the curtain. ■

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Degas’ obsessive and precise preparation is evident from the creation of “Rehearsal of the Ballet Onstage,” 1874. Preliminary drawings can be found for almost every figure in this work, from the dancer scratching her back in the foreground to the woman yawning next to the stage flat.

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THE WOMEN WHO INSPIRE US INTERVIEWS

BY KAREN FLOYD

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

Interview videos are available to watch at elysianwomen.com

PHOTOGRAPH BY RYAN COLEMAN

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KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY “USA Today” Bestselling Author; Co-Creator of the award-winning design blog, “Design Chic;” Featured on “The Washington Post,” “Women’s Health,” “The Huffington Post,” “Entertainment Weekly,” “Parade,” “Southern Living,” “Traditional Home,” and more; Novels have been optioned for film and television; Received the Lucy Bramlette Patterson Award for Excellence in Creative Writing; Winner of Amara’s Best Luxury Blog.

TANYA TROTTER American musician and actress; Singer in the musical duo “The War and Treaty;” Multiple solo singles reached Billboard’s Top 100; First African American Duet on the ACM Awards; Nominated “Best New Artist” at the Soul Train Awards; Featured in the film “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit” with Lauryn Hill; Featured in “Rolling Stone,” “EBONY” and “The Washington Post.”

PHOTOGRAPH BY GRACE BELL

kristy Interview Date: August 13, 2020

A beautiful family and a desk to write were all that bestselling author KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY had in mind for her future. Little did she know her charming and spellbinding novels would capture the hearts and minds of so many. Six of her novels have become “USA TODAY” bestsellers and she has been featured in “The Washington Post,” “Women’s Health,” “The Huffington Post,” “Entertainment Weekly,” “Parade,” “Southern Living” and “Traditional Home,” among many others. Kristy’s larger-than-life stories were made to live beyond pages in a book. Many of her works have been optioned for film, including the highly anticipated “Peachtree Bluff” series soon to be released on a major television network. With a bustling author’s career, she still finds time to carry forward her award-winning design blog, “Design Chic,” created in partnership with her mother, where they share chic and timeless designs for the home.

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Before you had your son, how did you imagine motherhood?

No one goes into motherhood knowing exactly what being a mother means. You hear how much you will love your child and how much it will change your life. But I did not realize until Will was born the sheer depth of that connection and how much he would love me back instantly. You can pick up your crying baby, and they instantly stop crying. No one else in the world can do that. Will our son inspired my writing in an entirely different way. I remember bringing him home from the hospital and thinking what a huge gift he was. I imagined what it would be like if someone gave that experience up and how that would forever change their life. It inspired “Dear Carolina,” which was my very first novel. I wrote it in the middle of the night when I was up feeding Will. Motherhood changed everything for me. It opened me up emotionally. I started feeling things that I had never really felt before. Eight years later, being a mother is still full of surprises, but it remains the best thing I have ever done.

Did you experience postpartum?

No, I don’t think I suffered postpartum, but I did experience hormonal aftermath. Will did not sleep very much, so I was always very tired.

I remember being in the shower and crying and not knowing why.

I know women that have truly struggled. I was just very fortunate.

Your husband is a dentist, and you obviously are a writer. Is he proud of you?

He is my biggest fan. I have to tell this story and brag on him just a little bit. When we were first married, I told him I wanted to have lots of children, and if at all possible, I wanted to be a stay-at-home mother. It was the life that I believed I wanted. When I started writing, everything changed. Our life together is dramatically different from where we started to where we have ended up. I travel all the time, doing speaking engagements all over the country. I remember the first time I went on a monthlong cross-country book tour, trying to figure out where my husband and child might travel to meet me. Yet, he has never complained. If the tables were turned and he said, “I’m going to be gone for a few weeks; I’ll see you later,” I am not sure I would react the same way, but he just rolls with the punches. And yes, he is very proud of me. I think that is a huge testimony to my husband because his life changed a lot in the wake of my writing. Much is good about the new course we are on, but some of it is harder on him. My husband is my biggest fan, and I am so very appreciative.

Did you always know he would be so even-keeled?

I think so. I am high strung, and my husband is very laid back. I don’t know how to explain it, but he makes me even-keeled because he is a good balance. He takes things in stride and is pretty calm. I

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will predict that something is going to be really hard, and he will turn it into, “Oh, what a great opportunity!” I knew he would be a good father; I wouldn’t have married him otherwise. But, I did not know what a great father he would become.

You have a very close relationship with your mother. Describe the differences between the “mother-daughter” and “father-son” bond you observe.

A father and son bond is built partially around interest: they like the same things. They love fishing, boats, being on the water, and they are best buddies. But there is something about a mother and daughter’s bond that is just very, very deep and forever and ever and ever. I am really grateful that I get to have that with my mom.

Do you miss not having a daughter?

This will sound really strange, but I always knew that I would only have sons. I remember being pregnant and knowing our child was going to be a boy. When I was six weeks pregnant my father-in-law came to the house with a little tiny boat that was my husband Will’s, when he was a little boy. “This is for my grandson,” he said. “What if you have a granddaughter?” I asked. He said, “It’s definitely a boy.” It was funny because we all knew it was a boy.

You are a multi-tasking trailblazer. How many women do you know from a small town in North Carolina that have cast a television series, had multiple “New York Times” best-selling novels and a robust interior design following? What motivates you?

I don’t know the answer. I am naturally, internally motivated.

I always want to do more, be more, and experience new things. I have learned a great deal about myself in the past few years. I want to look back on my life and think I did as much as I was able. At first, I said yes to everything, even those “asks” that did not fit, or I was not suited to do. A few years ago, I decided to be intentional. I have a long way to go, but the new goal inspires me.

What is your current focus?

I had a book come out in April in the midst of Covid-19. We anticipated the novel would quickly hit the “New York Times” bestseller list, but shipping and other issues were out of our control and kept that from happening. It was heartbreaking at that moment because you work an entire year for this one week to get the book on this list, and it didn’t happen.

I was pretty upset. My major focus is “Under the Southern Sky,” which comes out in April and is poised to hit that list. I have been thinking about “Under the Southern Sky” for five years. The idea came about when a friend, who just delivered twins, told me she had leftover frozen embryos.

It never occurred to her that she would be faced with making a decision about what to do with the remaining embryos. I couldn’t quite find the

right angle to highlight the complexities families might face. I ended up with a story about a man whose wife died, and he faces the decision alone about what to do with the embryos that were frozen before she passed away. Single motherhood is something we can picture pretty easily, but single fatherhood is not as prevalent. People have very mixed opinions about embryos and issues surrounding when life begins. I raised the stakes a little bit more by including the mother’s death; the embryos are ostensibly what she leaves the world. It was a complex and fun book for me to write.

How long did it take to write?

It took me three to four months to write a first draft of “Under the Southern Sky” and then a few months to edit. I had been thinking about it for so long. In some ways, it felt like I was purging myself of the story. I was ready for it to be out in print. A lot of times when I write first drafts, I am just crazy. I want to write all the time.

Are you a fast writer?

I am a fast writer but not a fast typist. I need to work on my typing skills.

Beyond print, what were you working on for television?

“The Peachtree Bluff” series came out in 2017, 18 and 19 and has been optioned for TV. It is in development and going well. I am excited to see what happens. Until you watch a series on the screen, you can never be certain it will happen. I never want to jinx a project, but I feel really good about this one. We have an incredible team working on it, and I am fortunate to be extremely hands-on, which was not something that I anticipated. I am very flattered by being included. What a huge accomplishment to be able to see something that you “dreamed up” from nothing, come to life.

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Writing. Taking a blank sheet of paper and creating something from nothing. How do you do it?

“Under the Southern Sky” was different from my other novels. I knew what I wanted to happen in the story beforehand. Although the nuts and bolts of the story ended up being very different than what I originally thought, I knew the setup, a widower facing hard decisions. Other novels are more random, like the novel “Falling,” which was sparked by an experience. I had gone to pick up some photographs and was told they would not relinquish them until I had a signed release from the photographer. As I left that day, I thought about what would have happened if someone walked in and photos were given anyway without a release. Would the clerk be fired because of it? That was when I started the novel. I actually got in the car, my husband was driving, and began writing about two women Gray and Diana, which were their names from the very beginning. One of the very first lines of the book was from Diana’s point of view. My mom always told me that anyone named after royalty would grow up to be a princess. I thought, “She has to be Diana.” The idea really came from nothing. The magic of being a writer is completely unexpected. I can sit down, having no idea what’s going to happen, and the story just emerges and takes shape.

I think it is what keeps writers going back to the page time after time.

Even if you think you know what is going to happen, these ideas or angles just pop up and surprise you. They come from a different place and still come through you. Sometimes you do not even know you are thinking about them; it is a surprise every time. It’s amazing.

WRITING. TAKING A BLANK SHEET OF PAPER AND CREATING SOMETHING FROM NOTHING. HOW DO YOU DO IT?

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ELYSIAN Publisher, Karen Floyd, with Kristy at the publisher’s home in Spartanburg, SC, where they recorded Kristy’s Inspiring Woman interview.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY WILL CROOKS

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. . . THE MAGIC OF BEING A WRITER IS COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED. I CAN SIT DOWN, HAVING NO IDEA WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN, AND THE STORY JUST EMERGES AND TAKES SHAPE. I THINK IT IS WHAT KEEPS WRITERS GOING BACK TO THE PAGE TIME AFTER TIME. EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN, THESE IDEAS OR ANGLES JUST POP UP AND SURPRISE YOU. THEY COME FROM A DIFFERENT PLACE AND STILL COME THROUGH YOU. SOMETIMES YOU DO NOT EVEN KNOW YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT THEM; IT IS A SURPRISE EVERY TIME. IT’S AMAZING. Will you always write?

I think it depends on the day that you’re asking me. I love writing so much, but I am pulled in many directions. Putting that kind of pressure on yourself and saying, “This is the thing I’m going to do for the rest of my life,” is a big thing to say about yourself. This industry is changing constantly. The reality is publishing novels is probably not going to look like this forever.

I hope I am always writing. For me, it is the greatest love and a real passion. It really brings me joy. I can’t imagine not doing it. However, I have learned that for some writers, it is almost painful. A writer friend was talking about retiring a few weeks ago, and she’s fairly young. I thought, “How do you ever stop writing?” Once you turn the faucet on, stories are everywhere.

How do you turn that off? I will always write, but it might look different than it does right now.

Your writing appears to be very visceral, almost easy. For others, it is laborious. Which is it?

I think it’s a mixture of the two. I am disciplined in my work.

Sometimes, you do things that others perceive as being really simple. Only you know the behind the scenes work that went into what they see. When I began writing, I had this vision of how I was going to sit at my desk and write stories. That is not how it happens. So much work goes into every single part of the journey. I have to be disciplined to make deadlines, so we can keep book tour schedules. Knowing I will probably be on the road for six weeks at a time also means I won’t be writing, but I will have edits coming back for another book. At certain times of the year, there is publicity. My goal for every first draft is to write 2000 words a day. This takes the pressure off of me because then I know I will have the book finished. I don’t have to stress about “what ifs,” and at the same time, I try to get myself a little bit of grace. I think the worst thing that can happen is you rush yourself through a story, because you might write badly, although there are different schools of thought on that. Sometimes I think, this isn’t going to be poetry, but I am going to finish it. I do this because I need to mentally know that it is finished, and I can always change it later. There is that adage, “you can’t edit what you haven’t written,” and that is so true. I definitely live by that premise because I am a huge editor. I spend twice as long editing

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my stories as I do writing them. Sometimes it does make sense to take a break and start from the beginning or give yourself a little bit of time to breathe. My favorite thing is to walk away from a story for a few weeks and then come back to it with fresh eyes. You almost forget what you have written when you take a hiatus. “Wait, I said that? That was great. Gosh that was so good.” And then, “Oh, that was so bad. Did I say that?”

People look at you and your life, and they see perfection. What lies behind the curtain?

Definitely not perfection. I mentioned it a little bit ago. Giving yourself grace, for me, is a necessary part of life. It took me a long time to figure that out because I want everything a certain way. And it took me a while to realize you can’t do everything well at exactly the same time, unless you are super-human. You cannot be a great mother, attend every school event, while you’re writing a book or touring. Sometimes, something will fall apart. I think of my life in these smaller chunks. When I am at home, I am writing, class mom, driving to tennis and picking up. And then, when I am on tour, I assimilate into that mode. My family will meet me on the weekends, but I’m very much focused on work in those moments. When I come home, I am very much focused on my family. When I started to look at life as being parts of a whole, it started to become a little bit easier.

It is amazing to watch how you are able to compartmentalize the elements of your life to stay focused. What tip can you share with our multitasked reader?

Something that has helped me, because I am goal-oriented, is to start every year with a list of the habits I want to create. Instead of thinking about this part of my life, versus that part of my life, versus this part of my life, a couple of years ago I started to focus on the habits. This practice has helped me think about things that become automatic. Instead of asking yourself, “Did I exercise four times this week?” you already know you did because you always exercise.

You just do it. You don’t have to think about it anymore. When parts of your life become automatic, it frees you up to be so much more creative. It is something that I have really focused on, but it’s definitely not perfection. Sometimes I’m very tired, and I feel pulled in a million different directions. I ask myself, “Why would I have said that I would do something when I absolutely cannot.” There are times I feel like I am failing at everything because I cannot give anyone or anything enough time.

PHOTOGRAPH BY WILL CROOKS

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Which is stronger: your ability to compartmentalize or to multitask?

On a day-to-day basis, multitasking, because everyday I write, or I am working on “Design Chic” or helping with something at the office. I think it was really fortunate that I secured my first book contract when Will was an infant. I have lived a life where I knew that he might not take a nap, or he might get in the crib for only 10 minutes. I had to be able to turn it on for 10 minutes and work on the manuscript and then turn it off. I might only have little snippets of time and because I really wanted to write, I figured out how to do that.

How are you mentally able to be “present” if you are multitasking constantly?

I think it’s harder now, not because of the writing, but because of social media. I can feel my brain shift, and it forces me to refocus.

Not now because it is summer and Covid-19, but in a perfect world, I try to get up in the morning, have breakfast with Will, take him to school, workout, write. With Covid-19, everything is a mess. Nothing has looked like it was supposed to. You have to be able to step away, then step back when there is a better time. You need that flexibility to balance. I already know that this upcoming school year, I will probably be working more than I usually do because there is so much work to catch up on from last March through August. It’s okay and just going to have to be how it is.

Could you do it without a supportive husband or as a single mother?

I don’t think so. That is a bad answer. I could do all of the things as a single mother, except the touring part. You would have to figure that out.

Maybe your parents would step in, or you might have a great nanny. I don’t know. You could figure it out, but it would certainly present more challenges. I look at women now who do it, and I have an entirely new respect for single mothers and what they are able to accomplish. It is daunting to think about not having someone to step in when you can’t.

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Today, I texted my husband about our son’s virtual orientation at 4:30. I obviously can’t go. He was fine and said without hesitation, “I can go.” If you don’t have that tag team, I think it would be very, very difficult. I am so impressed with women that do this. I really am.

What do your father and mother do?

My dad has done all sorts of different things. He was the mayor of our town almost my entire life, which was really fun. You’ll love this. When my second novel came out, I went on a big book tour. We knew six months ahead of time the extent of the tour, so he decided not to run for reelection. He and my mom packed up with our son Will, who was not quite three at the time, and traveled all around the country with me for six weeks, which was absolutely amazing.

They are incredible, incredible parents. I am an only child, and I think they would have loved to have had plenty of more children.

We laugh because mom says, “We couldn’t have had more because you have taken all of our time these days.” My mom works as hard on these books. She is also my partner in “Design Chic.”

Tell me about “Design Chic.”

To tell you about the business, I have to tell you about its roots. My mom and I started this blog on a total whim. She wanted to learn a new skill, and I was doing a lot of freelance writing. At that point, I was still working in finance. I had a very different life than my life right now obviously, but I thought, “Oh, this will be fun, and we’ll learn how to do this together. We’ll do it for six months.” We were both redoing houses and decided to share pictures of each other. No one would ever read it, and no one would see it. We didn’t even tell our family and friends we were doing it. My husband jokes that we got our first thousand-page views because he would sit there and click all the time. But we really started enjoying it. The thing that surprised us

Kristy signs books during her national tour for her best-selling novel “Under the Southern Sky.” Opposite: Kristy is talking with readers at Huff Harrington Home in Atlanta, in celebration of the release of her 2018 novel, “The Secret to Southern Charm.”

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF HD PHOTOGRAPHY

the most is how connected we are to our readers. You strike up these friendships. If you had told me that before, I would have said that is the lamest thing I’ve ever heard. It’s an amazing phenomenon. You get to know these people, and they become your friends. We kept going, and we have had the blog for a decade. Things have changed a lot. At the beginning, people came to us wanting to advertise on our site. We were always very careful to stay on brand or, by contrast, decide something was not on brand. We tried to be selective. We eventually did start working with an affiliate company that we really love. They have a beautiful layout, which worked very well. We like to show a room or a home that is really lovely and then show people how they can make it their own. We reverse engineer. I believe the key to success is always just making sure that we love what we are showcasing. We have a very specific aesthetic, and everyone doesn’t like it. That’s okay.

That was another lesson; You can’t be all things to all people. It is the same with writing books. I am not going to ever write a book that every person universally loves. I wish I could because I am a people pleaser, but it’s not going to happen.

Do you and your mother’s aesthetic touch or are they completely entwined?

They touch; they do not completely intertwine. Because we are so busy, we don’t do as many home designs as we did before, an average of one a year. I love to take a risk and do something a little bit crazy.

Mom is more tailored than I am. It works because she pulls me in a little, and sometimes, I push her out of the box a little. We end up with a unique and really cool design: a blend of both of us.

Has your aesthetic changed with time?

That’s a hard question to answer because I think there are things that we love that we always love. We started looking back at posts from 2010. The Suzanne Kessler house that we posted that very first day is still perfection. I think it is a lesson. Find pieces that you love and know will always be a part of your home story. Those items will keep your home from ever being trendy, something you always want to avoid. By the same token, if you look over a decade, the overall style changes; maybe a little bit cleaner, or lighter or a little bit more colorful than five years earlier. One of my favorite designers is Andrew Howard, and he works in Florida. He says timeless design is not a real thing. You want to have a house that transitions as beautifully and slowly and elegantly as it possibly can. What you loved 40 years ago is probably not going to be exactly the same thing that you love 40 years later. Ideally, you can make those little tweaks and have your home transition without having to throw the baby out with the bath water, so to speak.

You showcase different aesthetics. Why? Mom and I always love the well-designed mountain house, farmhouse, super modern penthouse and the formal traditional homes. I think there are overlaps between all of them.

What overlaps?

Clean lines and classic pieces. No matter where you are, whether you are at the beach, the farm, the mountains, or the modern house, design should stand the test of time. Clean lines and neutral pallets with pops of color, transcend time and are key to that transition.

How much time do you spend on “Design Chic” a day?

If we did not have two of us, it would be a complete full-time job.

Mom spends more time on it than I do. At this point, I probably spend a couple of hours daily. I am trying to get better about doing batch work, meaning writing all of the posts in one day. It doesn’t always happen because sometimes it is hard to carve out the couple of hours you need for that. For years and years and years, and years and years, we have done every post, every day. When I was going on

a book tour, we would plan weeks of content and have it all done in advance, so that I wasn’t scrambling. When you are on the road, you might leave at six in the morning and get to your next place at midnight. There is nothing you can do about it, and you cannot be at your computer in the middle of the day.

Are you an introvert or extrovert?

I seem like an extrovert, but I think I am an introvert. Maybe I am an introverted extrovert. I love being with people, being on book tours and speaking. But then, I have to go and be alone to recharge.

The extroversion is diametrically opposed to what you need to do to be able to create. How do you do it?

It is an interesting balance, and I don’t think that it works really well for everyone. We spend months at home creating something that we are giving to the world. To be able to go out into that world and give it away is a gift. There is something cathartic about seeing someone else react to what you’ve been doing by yourself for the last nine months. Spending time with people who hopefully enjoy what you are doing and seeing their joy in that is amazing. Virtual book tours and online events are very different than having that person come to you and say, “That story changed my life.” You will never, ever, ever, ever forget those face-to-face moments. Nothing can replace that on a screen. It is exhausting, and when you look back on the tour, you think, how did I survive that? You look at your schedule in disbelief, but you are totally in the zone. It is almost like childbirth. You do not remember it when it’s over, six weeks just vanished in the air.

When you’re in it, you are living every moment. You might get up in the morning, do a TV show at 6:00 AM, have an event two hours away and then get on an airplane to go to another city to

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IT WAS, AS IT ALWAYS HAD BEEN, MY MOTHER WHO GAVE ME THIS INCREDIBLE STRENGTH AND INNER PEACE, MY MOTHER WHO LENT ME FORTITUDE WHEN I NEEDED IT MOST. IT WAS THEN THAT I REALIZED IT. SOMETIMES, BEING A MOTHER ISN’T ABOUT HAVING TO FIX IT. SOMETIMES, THE BEST THING A MOTHER CAN BE IS THERE AT ALL.” —“THE SECRET TO SOUTHERN CHARM” KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY

have an event that night before you get home. It’s crazy.

The impact of Covid-19… Fill in the blank.

Exhausting. We have all laughed about this because virtual events are so different than the two of us talking. Carrying the weight of every person on that screen has its own challenges.

When people are physically in the room, you get your energy from the person or people around you. Those people effectively carry you. You feel an energy high, and then you might crash for the rest of the day because you gave everything. “Why am I so tired? That was 10 minutes.” It makes you realize how connected we are because you really can feel the energy of those people in the room.

What’s the most difficult part of the trajectory you find yourself on?

There is so much unknown, which is so hard for a person like me. I don’t know what the next phase looks like. Can I sustain this?

Are they going to like my next book? Am I going to get another contract? There are so many unknowns.

Do you ever self-doubt?

Oh yes. I can’t tell you much, but I’m working on my first historical novel. This writing is different for me. What if my publishers don’t like it? What if my readers don’t like it? I think writers in general have a lot of self-doubt. We are very aware of what other people think of us because that is our job. You also have to be able to find that space where you’re telling an authentic story that feels like the story you need to tell.

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What do you want to be remembered for?

Something that I do that makes someone else happy. A gift of this Covid-19 time is realizing that if you can do something that makes someone happy, then maybe that’s enough. I think that might be enough for me.

If you could give your younger self a piece of advice, what would that be?

It will all work out. Don’t worry. Let the road unfold because it is going to take you somewhere great.

Is patience a challenge for you?

Oh my goodness. It’s the worst. I am so impatient. I want everything yesterday. I want it all done. It’s a struggle. Honestly, this job has taught me a lot about patience because nothing is fast. I remember getting my first book deal in May of 2014.

They said, “The book is coming out May of 2015.” I thought, “What a year? I cannot possibly wait a year.” It goes so fast, but there is something wonderful about what we do. Even in the moments of self-doubt, where you’re not sure about the future, there is always something to be excited about or look forward to.

If you could, at this moment, ask God one question, what would that be?

Why is there so much division in the world?

Is your faith important to you?

Yes, definitely.

Do you read the “Bible?”

Not as much as I should. I read “Jesus Calling” every day because I absolutely love it, but I don’t read the “Bible” every day.

Do you find joy in your work or in life?

Both. It is such a luxury and such a blessing to even be able to say this, but if I didn’t find joy in my work, I would do something different. It is hard for me because I am a little bit of a workaholic, but I also have amazing facets to my life that I remember to appreciate equally.

How do you pay it forward?

A great question for where I am in my life right now. The book that I just wrote is a story about legacy, what you leave behind and how you lift other people up. We are in this moment of our lives when we are just working, working, working. Covid-19 forced us to step back and ask, “What are we doing this for?

And what do we want to leave behind?” My husband and I both went to UNC Chapel Hill and would like to be able to do something for the school that we feel like gave us this incredible opportunity. We love our church and church family. Finally, putting everything that we can into our child and just giving him the opportunity to be the person he wants to be is very important. I ask myself, “What do we need to do to be the best parents and to give Will the best possible opportunity to live the life that he wants to?”

You pay it forward in the areas of education, faith and family?

Yes. I love that. Thank you for putting that together.

If you could give the world a gift, what would that be?

To write the next great American novel? Doesn’t every writer want to write that story? I do not know if at my age I am in a place or stage of life to be prepared to do that. But I do strive, even if it’s not the next great American novel, to write books that are enjoyed 20 years from now. To create novels that a 20-year old might read, that impacts their journey and maybe places them on a different path. It is a magical feeling to think that something you created could live on, even in the smallest way, and have the potential to shape another generation. ■

Kristy and her son Will in Beaufort, NC, a pre-revolutionary town where Kristy and her husband renovated one of the town’s historic homes and now reside full-time.

PHOTOGRAPH BY GRACE BELL

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Tanya Interview Date: April 20, 2021

At the young age of 16, when TANYA BLOUNT made her debut in the film “Sister Act 2,” two magical things happened at once: the world discovered the power of her voice and her soulmate discovered his future wife. Intertwined by their passion for music, love for God and a tragically similar experience with suicide, husband and wife Tanya Blount and Michael Trotter Jr. took their trauma and transformed it into healing, soulful songs as the duo known as “The War and Treaty.” Wildly talented in her own right, Tanya’s single “Through the Rain” reached number 28 on the Billboard charts at the age of 19 and she was nominated as the “Best New Artist” at the Soul Train Awards in 1995. Together, Tanya and Michael were the first African American duet to appear on the Academy of Country Music Awards. Having accomplished all that she has set her mind to, Tanya is ready to continue ascending under God’s wings, saying, “you can’t put limitations on the sky.”

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PHOTOGRAPH BY RYAN COLEMAN

As a young woman, who influenced you the most?

I would have to say my mother, who was from Panama. She and my dad met when he was in the army. They met on the canal.

She was just an amazing person. She loved classical music. She loved family. She loved fashion. She was just a beautiful person, and she loved God. She is no longer with us, but she is always watching over us. She left an incredible legacy of love for my brother and my sister and me. I learned love from her.

You are the second born?

Yes, I am the crazy middle child. There is always something going on with the middle child. I thank my siblings every day for dealing with my craziness.

Do you think that your father being in the military spawned your attraction to a military man?

No, because I didn’t know Michael was in the military when I met him. I didn’t find out he served until we were married for three years.

So, you were both solo singers in the Maryland-DC area. What was the first time you saw him?

The first time I saw Michael was at a festival. As cheesy as it sounds, it was called The Love Festival, and he was incredible. He was so very honest on stage, and I loved his lyrics. It was 100 degrees outside, and he had on a sweater, first of all. He was just into the music. There were not a lot of people in the audience, but he was performing as though there were thousands of people. I was listening to the lyrics from the stage. I said, “Who is this guy?” I just had to meet him. I had to.

Love at first sight at The Love Festival. Was it a visceral attraction or an artistto-an-artist appreciation?

It definitely was love because I tracked him down. I usually don’t give anyone my phone number right off the bat. I said, “Call me. You have to give me a call.” I think it was subconscious. I was coming out of a bad relationship at that time, and he just looked like somebody I had to know as a human being.

At a very young age, 16, you broke through in “Sister Act 2” singing “His Eye Is on the Sparrow.” Ascending so quickly, you learned about the “takers” of the world. Is that why you were reserved in giving your telephone number?

Yes, I would say that. I would also say my mother was a very private person. She came from a Hispanic culture, which is inward and very family-oriented. So, if someone was around, they were from your family, or you knew where they came from. My dad and his family are still in New Bern, North Carolina. I grew up around my family, and friends were extensions of my family members.

You were raised in a sheltered environment.

Now that I am older, I recognize that I was sheltered. I have 30 first cousins, and they were all my best friends. I have had the same friend since I was in the fourth grade, up through college. It was beautiful because my friends are all different cultures, creeds and races.

Do you trust easily?

Not as much as I want. I am learning and evolving into a person that leads with love. When you lead with love, it opens you up to being able to receive the kind of energy that you really need. Trust is something that people say you earn, but I think love leads you to trust.

Before being discovered at 16 years old, did you know that your voice was a gift from God? I was 8 years old. My brother was singing on the pulpit at a Black Baptist church. While he was singing “Be Grateful,” people were all over the place, crying and jumping up and down. I remember riding in the back of the car and telling my mom and my brother, who were in the front seat, “Whatever you did in church, I want to be able to do that.” I wanted to be able to make people happy and have that excitement that happened in church, feel that sense of joy and burst. When we got home, my brother said, “We need to practice and get your voice together, so you can do it.” I would say at 8 years old, that was it. I was smitten with music.

You were smitten with performing, but when did you know that you were different? That you had a vocal capacity that was unparalleled?

I was smitten by the idea of being able to change the way people felt.

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As a kid, I was very observant. I would see people come into church with a somber feeling, emotional and sad. By the time the church service was over, they were hugging each other, happy and joyous. I wondered, “What is this? What is the connection between music and how people feel?” When I saw that connection, I wanted to do it for that reason.

Gospel, R&B, Christian, country. What is your genre, and what do you prefer to perform?

All of them.

Can you describe the feeling of the first time you gave a solo in church?

The song was “Move Mountain,” a good old gospel song. I was about 11 years old, and my choir director, Raymond Brown, said, “You are going to sing this song. You need to go home and practice.” I would go home and grab the mop and practice in front of the mirror and visualize what was going to happen in my choir robe. The same thing happened for me the way it happened for my brother every Sunday. I was transformed at that moment.

Is your brother still in the music business?

Yes, his name is Willie Blount and is a gospel singer in Washington, DC. He is still around making people happy.

Did you have women mentors?

Genobia Jeter was in my church choir. She went on to do R&B and gospel music. She was the first person that I could touch and talk to in person instead of seeing on television. I wanted to do secular music, which she did after leaving our church.

In terms of icons or celebrities, were there people you wanted to emulate?

Yes. There were people in my community, like Stacy Lattisaw, who toured with Michael Jackson. She was the first person. She and my brother were friends. I love cosmetology and doing hair and remember being 13 years old when she came over to our house. She asked me if I wanted to do cosmetology and let me braid her hair. I was 13 years old braiding Stacey Lattisaw’s hair in my apartment. “Oh my God, this is crazy,” I thought.

The funny thing is two days later, her braids fell out. I realized cosmetology was not my path. Patti LaBelle, Jennifer Holliday, Dolly Parton, Leontyne Price. The list just started to grow because my mother was also a classical singer in Panama. I would hear Celia Cruz around the house. These were all flamboyant women that had their own flair. They were making their own types of music and using their voices in their own way. I grew up listening to all different styles of music and watching all these women trailblazers’ success in whatever genre of music they were interested in.

Singing “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” on screen in “Sister Act 2” was how you were discovered? How did that come about?

That was fun. I had never done any acting on that level before. I was with a company at the time that wanted me to audition for a film that was the sequel to “Sister Act 1.” I went back and forth to New York and L.A. I could sing the song, but I could not act. Lauryn Hill and I spent time together in L.A. We would be lying on a mattress together saying to each other, “You’re going to get the part. No, you’re going to get the part. No, you’re going to get the part.” I ended up getting the part as her best friend in the movie because I was not quite good enough to get the acting lead, but I was the lead in the song. Lauryn is another trailblazer in the art of music, a woman who was standing out there on that ledge alone. I taught her the song, which incidentally wasn’t supposed to be in the film. We actually went over to Whoopi Goldberg’s house because Whoopi took a liking to me. She asked me to teach Lauryn the song and wanted us to do it together. They literally wrote that scene at her house just so I could have a singing feature in the movie.

When did you first sign with a production company?

I was 16 and still in high school. The production company signed to a major label, which was Polydor, when I turned 17.

How was that experience?

It was so exciting. I was in high school. I had just done a show called “Big Break” with Natalie Cole. God rest her soul. She was the host for the show. I didn’t win this competition, but someone saw me perform and called my school. I remember my principal, Dr. Sterling, called me out of the classroom and said that “someone saw you on TV, some big Hollywood person.” He didn’t know who

Tanya Trotter, of the duo “The War and Treaty,” interviewed

by ELYSIAN Publisher, Karen Floyd, in her home, during the Inspiring Woman interview.

PHOTOGRAPH BY RYAN COLEMAN

Q

YOU MENTIONED THAT EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN STRUGGLE. HOW DO YOU TAKE PAIN AND MAKE IT SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL, SOMETHING POSITIVE?

.

a

.

. . . EVERYBODY HAS GONE THROUGH SOMETHING. THEY ARE FACING THEIR OWN DEMONS, THEIR OWN LEVEL OF TRAUMA AND PAIN. THEN YOU CAN LOVE. EMPATHY AND COMPASSION ARE COUSINS TO LOVE. LOVE LEADS YOU FROM THE INSIDE. WHEN YOU LOOK AT PEOPLE, YOU DON’T JUST SEE THEM, BUT YOU WANT TO KNOW THE BACKSTORY BEHIND THEM BECAUSE THAT HELPS YOU LOVE THEM. Leotis Clyburn was. “They are calling, and they want to sign you.”

I told my principal to have him call my parents. That was how I was discovered. They called my high school after seeing me on “Big Break.” From there, I went on to sign my first record deal.

You then reached 28 on the Billboard chart with what song, and what was the inspiration?

Everything just happened, and nothing was planned. Stacy Lattisaw, who I’ve mentioned, was dating a guy named Kevin Jackson, a budding producer. He had never done any production before. He had a song that I thought would be really cool called “Through the Rain.” As a 19- or 20-year-old, it resonated: being in love, going through a breakup and wanting to keep it together.

Both the song and lyrics spoke to my heart at the time. We went to his mother’s house, and we recorded it inside of a closet. I let the record company hear it, and that song ended up being the song that went to number 28 on the charts.

Your musical influences are a complex mixture.

Yes, because I was raised as a Black Latina. My mother was Hispanic and had an accent, so I would get teased in school.

My dad was from the country in the South. In the middle, there was church, which is even more complicated because I went to a Catholic school during the week and attended a Baptist church on Sundays. I remember the first time singing in the Catholic choir, and I wanted my Baptist influence to show. The nun came over and said, “No, no, no, no. We don’t do that here.” I said, “Sundays, this is what we do. I just did that yesterday.” My whole life has been a play. It has been theater. I was raised and grew up very differently, with white American or Hispanic American neighbors and all the cultural differences from the South. I was influenced by it all, and it was beautiful. I think that is what makes America what it is.

How old were you when your parents got divorced, and where are they today?

When I was 8, they divorced. My mother passed five years ago, and my father is still well.

Can you tell me about that?

It was extremely traumatic because she was my life and all that I knew. To have that rug pulled up from under you was very traumatic. I have always found music as my one escape; the thing I would do, even

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Tanya poses with celebrated “Soul Train” host Don Cornelius during her first appearance on his long-standing show.

Tanya with the legendary R&B artist, Patti LaBelle, backstage after a concert honoring Diana Ross.

as a child when my parents divorced. I would climb up in the big oak tree in our backyard with my little pad, and I would write. Sadness has helped me become a better artist. It helped me to perform with a deeper understanding of suffering. Everyone’s pain is different. It may not be your parents’ divorce . . . it may be . . . whatever. Everyone’s trauma is different. It is how you can take that traumatic experience, get the kind of therapy that you need and find God that is important. I don’t do anything without Him because He helped to shape me into the person that I was supposed to be. Hindsight being 20/20 and looking back, I believe that their divorce predestined me to become the person that I am now.

You mentioned that everyone has their own struggle. How do you take pain and make it something beautiful, something positive?

You first have to acknowledge that you are in pain. I think as a culture, we brush over hurt and pain. But it will show up eventually and catch you at the most inconvenient time. Even if it’s something as simple as you become upset at the red light or a person running into your lane, you have to acknowledge that there is something inside of you that makes you want to respond in a negative way. Once you acknowledge that pain is there, you have to then process it alone or find people to help you process it. Whether it is you, your faith or a therapist, that is the first step. Once you’re able to process it, there is empathy and compassion that come into play. You can look at people differently and understand that everybody has gone through something. They are facing their own demons, their own level of trauma and pain. Then you can love.

Empathy and compassion are cousins to love. Love leads you from the inside. When you look at people, you don’t just see them, but you want to know the backstory behind them because that helps you love them.

What was the largest struggle you faced as a young woman?

It would be having my son when I was 19 and having to make the decision on whether to tour: to spend time with him or to go after a career. I wanted to shelter him, so the last time he was on the road with me was when he was 4 months old. He is in his 20s now, and touring is not a life that he knows.

You had a “village” of support. Who were the “villagers”?

My mother, his grandmother, his father. I had an incredible team of people who saw “me,” even when I didn’t see me. They encouraged me to go for it and told me I could do it. I would not have been able to build the foundation and earlier part of my career without their support.

Your eldest son is almost 26. Where is he today?

He has a degree in finance and is heavy into his profession. He is also drawn to fitness and the wellness lifestyle. He is vegan, and he teaches other people how to do that. That is his world.

You and Michael also have a son?

Yes. For 16 years, the doctors told me that I could not have any more children. When I met Michael, I told him, “I’m going to give you a son.” Six months into it, we were pregnant.

You always knew it would be a son, which is interesting because in the other Inspiring Women’s interview, Kristy Woodson Harvey instinctively knew as well.

Your sons are both 9. Now, what is one difference between raising your sons …

I am more present with my second son.

Your 9 year old is in the creative world, specifically into music?

Yes, and he is our biggest critic. He travels with us. He watches other acts perform. He comes to us and tells us what we need to do better.

How? He will straight out tell us what songs “suck” and what songs are good. He will definitely be involved in music.

Can he sing?

Yes, he can.

Does he have your husband’s voice, your voice, your husband’s lyrics, your lyrics. Is he a complete combination of both?

He’s a complete combination of both.

What is his musical instrument of choice?

He likes the guitar. He really loves film. He wants to do sci-fi films, and he loves horror films. I was petrified when at 5 he was watching “Friday the 13th” dissecting the movie. I said to myself, “I am a terrible parent, and oh God, what are we raising?” But he saw it with different eyes, and he would put music to the art of filmmaking. He would ask, “Why are they using that music? That is not music you use when you’re going to kill someone.” We would ask, “Okay, then what kind of music do you use when you are going to kill someone?” He loves that kind of stuff.

He is very creative Yes, very creative.

Twenty-six versus a 9 year old . . . what piece of advice would you give your eldest? Would it be different?

Yes, definitely. It would be because my first son is more like me in a lot of ways. He is very ambitious and a go-getter. I would tell him to take time to enjoy life and not chase after it so hard. He’s such a hard worker. It would be to enjoy right where you are every moment and to be present.

You have taught your sons that there is no “enough”?

I tell my son that he’s more. Enough? What does that mean? I tell them whatever you feel that you can do, go for it . . . whatever your more is, go for it.

Dream big. Did you get that from your mother and your father or both?

Both of my parents and my belief in God. When I look around, I don’t see limitations. There are no limitations in the sky when you are in a plane and you are looking around. If we come from God, when this is all over, we go back into whatever it is. There is no limitation to life because we are ever-evolving.

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Did your mother ever remarry?

Never.

Is that a sadness for you?

Yes. Do you think that the world broke her?

Definitely.

What is teachable from her experience?

To never stop. To never put a period on anything. Love comes in different forms and different people, and you can always find love if you’re open to it. It never ends. My mother had vascular dementia. She struggled many years with her blood pressure. It was just one of those things. She had it, and three weeks later she was gone. She was not sick or anything.

Is that something that affects you daily?

It used to. I was traumatized when she died. But now, I am in a place spiritually where I know she is always around; whether a cardinal or a bluebird appearing.

You have experienced tremendous professional success as well as life hardships; having a child when you were under the age of 20 and the loss of your mother. What was your darkest moment professionally?

When I realized that I did not want to do a deal and I walked away from it. We had just recorded about 50 to 60 songs at Arista Records with Sean Combs. Everyone knows him as Diddy or LOVE now. I remember going to the studio and telling my manager, “I don’t want to do this. I want a different style of music and legacy. Why can’t we blend all these styles of music that I grew up listening to? Why do I have to do this in order to make it? I want to record something completely different.” It was the hardest decision because that was how I was able to provide and take care of my family at the time. It was so hard. It broke me. It really did. I went into therapy with suicidal thoughts and even attempted suicide. But, it shaped me at the same time.

How close were you to suicide?

I was there. I was in a Dallas hospital on a 72-hour watch. I had taken pills. I decided this is it. My son was fine. He would have people to take care of him. I just gave up.

How old were you?

I was 25 or 26 . . . that tender age where you feel like giving up because nothing else is going to work. I have a deep level of compassion for people that go through that.

Depression is evil because of hopelessness. What pulled you out?

God. I am teary-eyed when I think about it. There is a power that is so vast and beyond us. I remember the moment like it was yesterday. I was in front of a beauty supply store in Florida. I prayed in my car, “God, if you’re real, show up.”

I was going inside of the store next door to get some water, and this lady walked outside. She saw me and said, “What are you doing sitting in the car?” I said, “Well, I’m just about to go in there and get some water.” And she said, “No, you were not. Are you new in town?” I was there all by myself in Miami, Florida. She told me her name was Dr. Brown and invited me over to her house for a prayer meeting. She said, “I’m looking at you, and you need to be surrounded by love.”

I realized that she was an angel at that time. I didn’t know her, and I did not easily trust others. I went over to her house anyway. The love that I felt from her, all these women, this community, transformed me. I felt God! I felt his presence for the real first time. It was powerful, and it was beautiful. I knew in that moment, that I wanted to stay in that space for the rest of my life, and it is what I did. It brings me a level of joy, satisfaction and gratitude that I can’t put into words. It was such a great moment, and she is still my friend, in her 80s now. She is just a beautiful person.

What resulted from your epiphany?

I started to know God for myself because we can grow up with mama’s idea of God and daddy’s idea of God. But who is God is to you? He is different to all of us. We can sit under the same roof and learn the same Bible verses and learn the same scriptures, but they come to life to all of us differently. I started to see the pages and words live out in practical ways.

When did Michael know you would be his wife?

When he was 9 years old, he saw “Sister Act 2” and says he fell in love with my legs. He told his mother and his dad that I was going to be his wife. When I met them, I learned they sang “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” together to bring happiness into their home. Michael went through his own trauma with his dad at the time.

Can you tell me about the trauma with his father?

His father is wonderful now. And his parents have been married for 30 years, but they had a really rough patch. His dad was an addict, and they ended up going to the House of Ruth to live. He and his siblings were about 12, 13 years of age at that time.

At 19 years old, Michael was in the military and learned to play the piano on one of Saddam Hussein’s palatial pianos. Is his strength his vocals, his music or his lyrics?

His strength is his heart. He leads with his heart with everything. He has taught me to listen to everything. I may not hear from where lyrics and music come, but I hear where the spirit comes. We have a unique way of connecting to one another because everything he does is with his heart. He has one of the biggest hearts ever.

In 2017, he faced the darkness that you faced in Miami. Did he tell you that he was thinking of taking his own life?

He did not. We are so close and were going through therapy together at the VA. I would watch him every day. He is my best friend. I know when he is having a good day or a bad day, and this day was different. He had been struggling for years with really heavy depression. This depression looked different. I just walked up to him and I said, “Look, I know that today is your day. You want to end it today.”

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Michael Trotter (L) and Tanya Trotter of the duo “The War and Treaty” perform onstage at This Tent during day three of the 2018 Bonnaroo Arts And Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee.

MICKSPHOTOS / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

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How did you know that? What were the signs?

I’m no expert, but when a person has PTSD, especially a combat veteran, there are levels to it; the stare and the quietness. He is a very joyful guy. He can have really, really dark moments. This was darker than the normal moments where I could help shift the focus, talk to him and say, “Hey, let’s go get some ice cream or watch a movie.” This was different. No movie, ice cream or anything was going to do it. I had to acknowledge that he was in pain, and I saw it. It was deeper than the pain we had dealt with before.

You reached out to the police?

I first called his therapist because I had a relationship with her.

She instructed me to call the police. I was going to try to do my thing, which is to talk him through it. The police showed up and said, “We need you here. Just to give yourself five more minutes to process this, to let us talk you through this.” And he did.

Did he tell you how he intended to take his life?

No, I don’t think, from my own experience, when you decide that “this is it,” you have a plan.

Is it a moment that comes over you and is outside of your control?

It is that moment. I don’t think anyone intentionally tries to kill themselves. You don’t wake up thinking this is the day it’s going to happen. Things just happen that flood your brain, and you just can’t control it and ends up with you taking your life.

How are things today?

We are in lightness now. Depression, PTSD is an ongoing journey.

You have to acknowledge that it is always there. It is the little pink elephant in the room for us. We watch each other, our team watches for it; we all know that it’s there. That is what love does; love acknowledges their pain. We protect, and we support. There are things that happened that he doesn’t share. If any combat veteran is watching, they don’t share because they don’t want to go that deep and relive what they experienced. Yet, those things are in his mind. And I’m not privileged to the scenes that are replaying from whatever he saw in the war.

The War and Treaty. How did that come about?

My brother and I were working on a duo project, and my brother couldn’t make it to a rehearsal one day. Michael added his vocal, and a friend heard us and said, “You guys are great together.” She invited us to a church service, and Michael wrote this song called “I Am Love,” but it wasn’t a Christian song; the word sexy was in the song.

How are we going to get up in front of a church and say the word sexy in front of the pastor? We sang the song.

Did you move the parishioners?

It was unbelievable! We got a standing ovation for our first time singing this kind of song together with our harmonies. We decided that was going to be it. On that particular Sunday morning in a church singing a song with sexy in it, we decided that was it.

How did you come about performing as the first African American duet on the ACM awards show with Dierks Bentley?

We met Dierks at the Country Music Hall of Fame. We were inducting Dottie West, and he was inducting Ricky Skaggs. We exchanged numbers and became friends. He invited us out to his festival, which is called Seven Peaks out in Colorado. Michael, being the person that he is, is always checking up on friends and making sure everyone’s okay. I’m the same way. We would check up on each other during the pandemic. Covid-19 hit artists of all statures, both emotionally and psychologically, and we’re all going through this together. When we can’t do what we were put here to do, it is very hard. We became really, really close friends, just checking up on each other’s families and things. Dierks sent us a text message one day, I guess, about three weeks ago and asked us if we would do the ACM awards show, and we freaked out!

How did that work in a three-week time span?

We had a small rehearsal, probably about an hour. We were all together in Nashville, and we went through the song a couple of times, and that was it.

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Were you pleased with your performance?

There’s nothing more magical than being able to sing on stage with your best friend. Whenever I get an opportunity to do that, it is amazing, and being with my husband is at the forefront of my mind. Everything we have gone through together and the barriers God has allowed us to break together, every moment is special. Knowing that we are the first African American couple to do this show, I felt the spirit of all the ancestors, not just people that look like me, but all the people who fought for this moment to happen. I felt it, and it was wonderful.

So what’s next for The War and Treaty and you?

I don’t know because again, you can’t put a limitation on the sky.

You can create vision boards, but everything I have ever put on my vision board has happened. Goals that I wanted to reach; I have reached them. Now I take the lid off, I’m here to be used in any way, and anything God wants us to do, let’s do it.

How many songs are in the pipeline?

Michael is a prolific writer with probably 10 songs a day.

Songwriting is part of his therapy with PTSD. I don’t write as much, but since we started the writing process, I’ve collaborated with him on maybe four or five songs. We have the vision for the band, and now we are being more intentional with certain songs.

Why do you perform so much?

There is the healing aspect to performing. People need it, we need it. The pandemic taught me I would do this in my kitchen if two people were there that needed to be healed. If it meant us coming back out (which I think a lot of artists are going to have to do) and playing smaller venues, that is fine. You have to know you were put here to do music to heal. If that’s one person, that’s great. That’s why we do it; that’s why we do it all the time.

Do you ever get tired of it?

No, never.

How do you pick which songs to record?

That’s always tricky because music speaks to people in different ways. You can’t tell until you’re in front of an audience, and you have to watch what’s happening in the world.

Is that one of the reasons performing is so important?

Yes, because that’s the feedback. Every song we’ve ever recorded, we performed it live for like a year, and the audience will tell you if they like it. If they’re quiet, you know. They’re the best test. We have about 25 songs for a new record that we’re working on and will start performing. Once we decide what the audience likes, we’ll go to the record label and see how they respond. We co-produced and produced our last record on our own.

What do you want to be remembered for?

Being authentic. Not being in a box and being triumphant through it all.

Are you ever afraid?

Oh yeah. I’m afraid of heights. The thing that I was most afraid of happening in my life happened when my mom died.

My biggest fear was to go through that.

Once you faced that?

I can do anything now . . . Besides losing my Michael and my sons.

What piece of advice would you give a younger woman, a younger you?

Learn all that you can about whatever it is that you want to master. Be the best at it because you’re going to face challenges as a woman in the world that we live in. At the same time, know how to have relationships with men because you’re going to have to work with both.

Do you believe that you can create your future through your thought process?

Yes. The mind is so powerful, and we are all energy. Whatever you think energetically, it will attract itself to you. If you think something every day, something happens where the universe will open up the door, and it just happens. Now you have to do the work. You have to rehearse and practice and do all the things you can physically do in your body. There are two elements of life that are working for you; the physical self and the spiritual self. And when they come together . . . oh, is it a good thing. ■ PHOTOGRAPH BY RYAN COLEMAN

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my U-turn

A "best ever" kind of journey

BY SUZANNE JOHNSON

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inding a gratifying career can feel (almost) too good to be true.

But taking a fresh perspective and some risk can bring unexpected inspiration—it can open doors you didn’t know existed.

Just ask Rhonda Atkins Leonard, creator of “Annabelle’s Best Ever” children’s books starring an adventurous giraffe named Annabelle.

Rhonda will tell you, with a resounding “yes,” that her career as a painter and writer feels as unexpected as it does too good to be true.

As another great painter, Pablo Picasso, said, “Inspiration exists, it just has to find you working.” After years of working on paintings inspired by trips Rhonda had taken with her husband, Brian, it was actually from someone else’s trip that Rhonda found her greatest inspiration. Looking through the photographs of a friend’s South African safari, something clicked, like a key to a door she never knew was locked.

Despite the many adventures Rhonda and Brian had, inspiration came to Rhonda from a place she had never been and from an animal she had never seen outside of the zoo, a giraffe. Fueled by her love of animals and this unexpected pang of inspiration, Rhonda followed her heart and this beautiful giraffe to an unexpected new career in children’s literature.

“Following your heart” may sound cliché, but if you have a dream of making children smile, as Rhonda did, and you find your paintings years later displayed at a children’s hospital, as Rhonda has, there must be something to it. While some people attend seminars, hire life coaches and do strategic self-mapping (whatever that is) to find their dream job, Rhonda took an art class.

Yet life is seldom that simple, and such was the case for Rhonda.

Giving ourselves permission to explore our interests in pursuit of purpose or that dream job is one thing, but it takes time, commitment and personal investment. To achieve this, Rhonda has followed the advice of her late father, James Harell Atkins. “As my father used to say, you’ve got to get involved,” Rhonda says.

“You don’t know what’s right around the corner. The next door you open just could be a fabulous journey.”

Rhonda knows a thing or two about getting involved and the unexpected doors that can open. Rhonda sees herself as a painter,

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not so much a writer. Rhonda, however, is currently writing “Annabelle’s Best Fall Ever,” her fourth children’s book. It rounds out a collection of books based on seasons, including “Annabelle’s Best Winter Ever,” “Annabelle’s Best Spring Ever,” and “Annabelle’s Best Summer Ever.”

Rhonda’s journey is proof that we can uncover skills we may not have known we had and discover our purpose, no matter how long it takes. With four books soon in her portfolio, Rhonda has proven she is very much the writer, no matter how humble she may be.

When Rhonda decided to take her first watercolor class 20 years ago, she had no idea she would one day create a children’s book series; that was not her goal. She took the class to learn how to paint as a hobby and as something to enjoy with her mother Barbara. In fact, Rhonda had wanted to start painting as early as 1981 after she walked into Bärbel H. Amos’ framing and art studio in Greer, South Carolina, outside of Rhonda’s hometown of Greenville.

Rhonda used to shop in Bärbel’s gallery from time to time with her mother, and she was always taken by Bärbel’s beautiful watercolor paintings. Always drawn to the arts, Rhonda recalls, “I said to myself, when I get the chance, I’d love to take art lessons here.” Little did she know that would be 20 years later.

Bärbel H. Amos was born and educated in Berlin, Germany, and she is a skilled visual artist whose work has been enjoyed the world over. Before she began painting Annabelle in 2005, Rhonda painted landscapes, flowers, birds, even her pet cats, “but since Annabelle and her friends, I’ve pretty much just focused on them.”

Rhonda and Bärbel’s relationship as student and teacher may not have begun until 2001, but during the last 20 years they have become good friends and colleagues and Bärbel is even a contributing artist to the “Annabelle’s Best Ever” books. Rhonda feels her achievements in publishing are shared with Bärbel, along with her devoted husband Brian, her supportive friends and family, and her business and development team*—without whom, Rhonda says, launching the brand would never have been possible.

Rhonda doesn’t mind talking about her work before Annabelle, though Annabelle is her preferred subject. Rhonda recalls a customer service job she had for many years during and after college—a job she described as “not fulfilling.” “You would never find Annabelle

Following your heart” may sound cliché, but if you have a dream . . .

While some people attend seminars, hire life coaches and do strategic self-mapping (whatever that is) to find their dream job, Rhonda took an art class.

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After several less-than-fulfilling jobs, Rhonda Atkins Leonard realized that what she was looking for in a career was rooted in her natural love of animals. The owner of 11 cats and one dog, an art class prompted Rhonda to take a U-turn. Today she is the painter and author of the “Annabelle’s Best Ever” children’s book series.

sitting behind a desk,” she said, drawing a stark contrast between herself and Annabelle, a contrast that’s all the more curious given Rhonda’s courageous U-turn.

After college, Rhonda married her high school sweetheart, Brian, who is still her biggest supporter and source of encouragement. She left her corporate job, worked for a brief time at the local post office and even made pickles and strawberry jam. Life was full for Rhonda between managing their new home, traveling with Brian, and adopting animals who needed love and care. The owner of 11 cats and one dog, Rhonda would come to find her path to career fulfillment would be based in what comes natural to her—her love of animals.

No one stumbles upon their passion in one day, but sometimes your passion may stumble upon you. As Rhonda tells it, “The minute I painted Annabelle, I knew she had a story to tell.” While Rhonda marveled at the elephants, lions, cheetahs, zebras, and gazelles in the safari photographs she borrowed from her friend, it was the giraffes that captivated her the most. Their spots, long necks, and wide curious eyes spoke to Rhonda. “Annabelle was the most fun to paint.

With her splotches—her colors—she just painted her own picture.”

Rhonda’s watercolor paintings of Annabelle are elegant and beautiful. Unlike other children’s books, “I did not want Annabelle to be a cartoon. I painted Annabelle as elegantly as I saw her,” she says. Rhonda painted Annabelle based on the safari photographs she saw in 2005 and has continued to use these photographs to ensure accuracy in form and proportion.

It was important to Rhonda that Annabelle and her friends— Mingo Rose the Elephant, Leonard the Lion, Rico the Cheetah, Glory the Zebra, and Gazzie the Gazelle—be painted elegantly, colorfully, and accurately. Rhonda says she saw Annabelle as “sophisticated” and her artistic choice of vibrancy in color and elegance in style has made her books enjoyable to children of all ages. This makes it hard to pinpoint a specific age range for the books. Children as young as 2 years old have laughed with

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glee seeing Annabelle and her colorful friends, while 8-yearolds have been captivated by the paintings and inspired by the positive lessons Annabelle’s adventures teach. Making children and their parents smile gives Rhonda a smile, too.

Annabelle lives for adventures and has unlimited talents, like being able to gracefully ice skate and run long distances with her kite—the advantages of having four legs, no doubt. Annabelle can even pilot a plane. Many of her adventures are based in or near New York City’s Central Park.

When asked if she is living vicariously through Annabelle, Rhonda just laughs and says, “Maybe?” Turns out, Rhonda and Brian, who can also pilot a plane, love New York City as much as Annabelle does. Spending time in New York is one of many adventures Rhonda and Brian have shared through the years— making it unclear who is vicariously living through who.

Annabelle’s many adventures, like dancing in a ballet performance or roller skating to the ice cream stand, include her colorful friends and activities that Rhonda hopes will engage and inspire children.

“Annabelle and her friends are preparing for a lifetime of adventures with lessons to teach along the way, like how it’s normal to be scared,” according to the books’ description. Rhonda, like many of us, may find roller skating scary or performing in a ballet, even on two legs, frightening, but Rhonda can fearlessly write about these talents and through Annabelle help teach children one of the most important lessons—the value of friendship.

Of all the gifts Annabelle receives, it is the gift of friendship that Annabelle cherishes the most. Funny how art can imitate life and life, art. “She felt so loved and special to have such great friends,” Rhonda writes about Annabelle in one of her stories. Rhonda says her U-turn experience has helped her discover how creative, talented and supportive her friends and colleagues are. From Brian to all her friends, old and new, Rhonda appreciates how each person has colored her world and enabled her to color Annabelle’s.

Rhonda’s U-turn may seem “too good to be true.”

But seeing how Rhonda followed her heart and realized her dream to make children smile, it is perhaps more fitting to describe Rhonda’s U-turn as Annabelle would—the best ever. ■ *Rhonda is an Signature Partner of ELYSIAN, giving her access to its industry-leading, end-to-end agency resources in brand development, marketing strategy, creative, messaging, and more. For more information on the ELYSIAN Signature Partner platform, contact info@readelysian.com.

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change creator

Piano Virtuoso, Joyce Yang

BY EMMA MCCRACKEN

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usic, no doubt, has the power to affect the mood of an individual in the moment, but on a broader scale, it has an undeniable influence on the society and culture of an era. For example, the top two most-played songs of the past decade include Pharrell Williams’ hit “Happy” at number one, followed by Adele’s anguished anthem “Rolling in the Deep.” The dichotomy between the two emotionally charged songs reveals a wider truth: music is not something to only be heard but also felt. In fact, listens of Williams’ 2014 “Happy” spiked significantly in 2020, a direct reflection of the need for positivity during the pandemic.

With this in mind, musicians around the world cannot deny that their work plays a significant role in the way society feels, reacts, and functions. With great power comes great responsibility, and while many up-and-coming artists may succumb to the pressures of creating music with only the goal of producing the next popular hit, others take a more headstrong approach. Classical piano virtuoso Joyce Yang is acutely aware of such responsibility and has made it her life’s work to pave the way for other young artists to follow their hearts.

The South Korean prodigy received her first piano as a gift at age 4, taking lessons from her aunt. She then began studying music under Yoheved Kaplinsky, head of the Pre-College department at Juilliard, at just 9 years old, from which Yang developed her technique and discovered her own musical voice. Throughout her early teen years, she started giving concerts and later entered as the youngest contestant in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at age 19. When she took home the silver medal, the world very suddenly took a profound interest in what Yang had to say through her music, and she was at once exhilarated and overwhelmed. “I had to quickly find myself,” Yang reveals, “and ask myself questions like, ‘What do I have to offer to the world?’”

Such questions carry great weight, yet Yang faces them with fervor, resilience, and tenacity.

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As a young artist propelled into a rigorous, demanding schedule, Yang not only had to learn quickly to adapt and grow with the role, but also to accept the crucial necessity of staying true to herself, performing only the music that truly resonates with her. Early in her career, Yang showcased what she could do—the precision of fingerwork at astonishing speed left audiences in awe of her talent—but those pieces often were not the ones by which she was most impassioned. This led her to become weary or indifferent before performances.

Yang shares, “It was impossible for me to deliver my best when I didn’t believe in my own product. What the world needed from me was something true, something honest and heartfelt, not just something for show or fun.”

By presenting to the world the music with which she feels a powerful bond, Yang can reach her audience on a much deeper level.

Yang welcomes the responsibility of sharing the works of classical artists, such as Bach, Brahms, Schumann, and Rachmaninoff, with the modern world. “I have always considered myself as the messenger between the composers and the listeners,” she shares, considering it her joyful duty to bring these pieces to life—to revive timeless works of art and introduce them to the contemporary audience.

So, what messages will listeners receive by tuning into the classical genre? Just as the two most popular hits of the past decade provoke an emotional response, so too do the works of classical artists.

Yang was 14 years old the first time she was moved to tears by music while listening to a live performance of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 played by the National Symphony Orchestra. “I was overcome by its beauty, grandeur, and emotion. I remember feeling grateful for the ability to hear this music,” she recalls.

Ever since that evening, Yang has been “obsessed and mystified” by the music that makes her feel invigorated and at one with her emotions and is compelled to share that experience with as many people as possible. By inviting the modern audience into the realm of classical music through her performances, Yang is leading the

movement toward a cultural revolution.

The classical genre to some, is misperceived as obtuse or anachronistic. However, the opposite is true. When we think of classics within literature, for example, timeless works such as Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” or Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre” are read time and time again, by generation after generation. These books are classics because they offer myriad ways for the reader to connect with and interpret the text. There is something new to be discovered within their pages, endlessly. The same can be said for classical music.

“Different time periods and different composers vary greatly from one another, and there is a huge spectrum of music within the genre,” Yang states.

Given its expressive nature and complex intricacies, classical music opens the door to infinite exploration. Through her recordings, live concerts and events, teaching her students, and her blog “Joyce’s World,” Yang holds that door wide open for us. She invites us to explore alongside her and make discoveries of our own.

Serving as the artistic director of the 2019 Laguna Beach Music Festival, Yang curated a series of events under the concept “art inspires art,” which explored the way music influences other art forms, such as dance and painting. “My desire was to create a space where different art forms can mingle, influence, illuminate, and empower one another,” she shares. Classical music does not have to be limited as some obscure, solitary niche. To Yang, it is something much greater, limited only to the listener’s imagination—a firm belief she aims to effectively communicate to the world through her performances and teachings.

She goes into each concert intending to help someone feel a bit better, a little more connected, enacting change through one listener at a time. She goes into each lesson with the purpose of teaching students to tell a story with their music and connect their emotions, inspiring young musicians to express themselves.

For Yang, the most rewarding aspect of her career thus far is the knowledge that the joy she gains from classical music is being spread to others, so they may experience that joy for themselves.

So, what does Joyce Yang have to offer the world? She performs the works of classic composers to perfection and with poetic grace and elements of imagination. She courts the contemporary audience into falling in love with a style of music that brings both positivity and poignancy. Her work reflects upon the past while inspiring the future.

At this rate, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 could be the next “Happy.” Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 could be the next “Rolling in the Deep.” As with all music and its ability to influence moods, ideas, and culture, classical music can surprise us, captivate us and enrich our lives. The possibilities are endless. ■

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philanthropy

That house that love has built

BY DAINA SAVAGE

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e Cathleen Trigg-Jones founded Trigg House, a philanthropic organization designed to provide a positive and supportive enviroment to families in crisis, foster and adopted children, including those recently emancipated from the foster care system.

ntrepreneur Cathleen Trigg-Jones finds serendipity in the struggle.

She embodies the pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps American dream that has fueled many an aspirational movie script. Indeed, the moments of tragedy and grace in her own life story have spawned documentaries and inspired talk shows. Which is why she feels called to lift others along with her.

“There’s something inside of me that calls me to help,” she says in her rich, sonorous voice. “Nothing happened to me by chance; I just happened to be blessed by God.” Her personal mantra, “To whom much is given, much is required,” (Luke 12:48) serves as her perpetual guidepost.

The glamorous Emmy Award-winning journalist made a name for herself as a news anchor and reporter for UPN 9 and Fox 5 News broadcasts in New York City. Her on-air broadcast career spans more than two decades, with roles in more than a dozen TV shows and films, including “Power,” “Madam Secretary,” “House of Cards,” “Homeland,” and the Tupac Shakur biopic, “All Eyez On Me.” But for her, the more important roles are those where she can serve as a role model and show others what’s possible. She is the executive producer and host of the talk show “Chic Chat” on iOne Digital. She is also the creator and co-star of the docu-series “We are the Joneses,” which airs on Discovery Life. Her hustle is a force of will, forged by a need to survive.

Her fans know her story, how she was given up as a baby to an orphanage in Dayton, Ohio, because she was mixed-race and not accepted by her mother’s family. How her incarcerated father likely never knew of her existence. How she was shifted from foster home to foster home, neglected and confused. How she was thankfully adopted before she was 2 by a military couple who offered her a stable home life.

“Having that stability allowed me to dream,” she says. “I didn’t have to fight for food or a bed.”

Her fans also know her difficulties as an awkward teenager with low self-confidence and how she was a single mom trying to juggle a baby and college.

“I know what it’s like to struggle,” she says. Which is why she

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points out the power of will and determination when she inspires others. Often, in speeches, on her television shows, in personal conversations, she references her own roadblocks. “I see you, I know you, I care about your success,” she says.

That authentic recognition, rather than empty platitudes, is what makes Trigg-Jones such an effective motivator.

The founder of the not-for-profit Trigg House, she works to support disadvantaged women as well as children aging out of foster care with inspiring programming that points to what’s possible. As a New York State court-appointed special advocate (CASA) and certified as a foster parent, she is determined to serve as an example to show a way out of their circumstances.

“I believe that I made it out so that I could show others. I bring foster kids to my own house and tell them to enjoy my world,” she says. “You can’t dream about something you’ve never seen.”

The

philanthropist designed Trigg House as a safe space to encourage and support families in crisis. With a special focus on foster and adopted children, especially those who are now too old to benefit from the structure of the foster care system, the mission of Trigg House is to “empower women and children by creating opportunities for dynamic education, financial proficiency, job readiness, physical and mental health and general wellness.”

Her dream? To create an empowerment academy to forge pathways in the film and television industry for those about to age out of the foster care system.

“The outlook for those aging out is not great,” she says. “I want to show through example by creating more than a mentorship, but to take a class of young, talented, ambitious, bright minds and give them an opportunity by teaching them jobs in production.”

She says this would also “close the gender gap” in television and film production jobs and create a better representation of all stories.

“I see the ability to interview and tell people’s stories as a gift.”

Trigg-Jones is deeply concerned about the visibility and equity of women worldwide. “Women are the largest economic power in the world,” she says. “They hold the economic power for three generations: themselves, their children, and their parents. But the system was never designed for women to get ahead. That’s a travesty.”

She is doing her part to change that by also getting on the other side of the camera to create and produce television and film projects with her own multimedia production, advertising and marketing company, Catscape Productions. She founded Catscape in 2006 as a collective and incubator for women in film and television “focused

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on producing content that is responsible, entertaining, and socially charged in hopes of changing the landscape of how women are portrayed in the media, in front of and behind the camera.”

“I want us to tell our stories, from a woman’s point of view,” she says.

“If women were the only writers—how would men be portrayed?”

As part of her quest to empower women globally, she is launching iWoman TV network, which will stream woman-produced content to change the narrative in portraying women and girls.

Also, she has produced a documentary tracing her own origin story, tracing the search for her birth parents, the series of foster homes, and her eventual adoption. It was this personal journey that has reinvigorated plans for expanding her philanthropic efforts.

She’s planning a second New York location for Trigg House along the Hudson River in Rockland County, where the healing energy of the natural environment will offer a powerful respite. She is envisioning yoga retreats and ceremonies by the water. “I’ve been blessed by so much,” she says. “I felt called to do something to help the world I see.”

A

ccording to the National Foster Youth Institute, more than 23,000 children will age out of the U.S. foster care system every year. Of those, after reaching the age of 18, 20 percent of the children who were in foster care will become instantly homeless. And only half of the foster kids who age out of the system will have gainful employment by the age of 24.

This is why Trigg House focuses on self-sufficiency and leadership, encouraging meaningful skills to help young people find a way forward after leaving the foster care system.

“What I want to encourage in others is for them to go out on a limb and pull someone up,” she says. “You have to do something.”

During the pandemic, this drive to “do something” prompted TriggJones to be part of the CauseWeCareNow Harlem Emergency Aid Response Team (HEART)—Covid-19 Relief to provide meals and aid to ER staff as well as help keep local community restaurants in business.

Her outreach has also extended around the world to children at the Bukoba Orphanage in Tanzania and to victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. By documenting these efforts, she hopes to inspire and move others to action, extending the mission of Trigg House to a global scale in terms of activism and philanthropy. She says that her deepest passion is in helping underserved women and children wherever they live.

Outreach and philanthropy have become a family mission. The mother of four is married to plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Jones, who is one of the nation’s top keloid specialists. Through their non-profit Operation Keloid, Trigg-Jones works with her husband to educate physicians around the world on the latest advances in medicine to help treat keloids and to create mobile medical treatment units to provide alternative options to patients affected by keloids.

As these scar-tissue overgrowths disproportionately affect brown and black people, and their removal is not recognized as a medical necessity, the Joneses work to raise money to fund removal operations.

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It is no surprise that Trigg-Jones is in demand as a dynamic motivational speaker and emcee for events and fundraising galas around the world. Her own inspirational story has won her honors and recognition, including Black Women In Media, BMW—Women of Excellence; The Women’s Image Network as well as the Girlz Talk: Lift As We Climb Award; The BOSS Network: Influencers Award; and CASA Child’s Hero Award.

But it is a little-known story about her biography that has garnered media attention now. As she writes, “A chance encounter with a United States senator coming off an Amtrak train from Washington to Delaware would forever change this little broken girl’s perspective on life and the possibility of success.”

As a 24-year-old mom struggling to get off the train with her daughter in a stroller and “arms full of bags,” a “kind gentleman offered to help me.

Noticing my struggle, he quickly swooped up the stroller and carried my daughter off the train, handing her back to me on the platform.

When I looked up to say thank you, to my surprise, it was Joe Biden.”

As a reporter, Trigg-Jones had interviewed him for a news story.

This train platform reintroduction prompted Biden to invite TriggJones to come work for him in his press office.

“He didn’t know my personal history or call references. He didn’t know that I, like so many women, had been struggling with the mental demons carried over from my childhood. None of it mattered, because, for the first time in my life, I felt like someone of significance truly saw me. At that time, I did not know that he made an almost daily Amtrak commute to be home with his family after losing his first wife and daughter in a tragic car accident.

“For the next year, I worked in his Delaware office, occasionally traveling to Washington, learning and growing in a way that would set me up for my future successes. He took me under his wing and gave me the guidance, leadership skills, confidence, and the personal example I needed to soar in life. Most importantly, he believed in me.”

The way that Trigg-Jones’s life intersected with the nation’s 46th president reflects just a minute in her life, but a minute that rippled forward with a powerful impact.

“He didn’t know anything about me, but he made a point to be kind to me,” she says. “He had a passion to help women at all levels who were struggling and hurting. He helped me soar, and now I have an obligation to pay it forward.”

She relates this story as a lesson to us all: “You never know how your kindness will impact someone.” ■

Cathleen Trigg-Jones is an Emmy Awardwinning journalist, talk show host, producer and actress who has co-starred in more than a dozen TV shows and films, including: “Power,” “Madam Secretary,” “House of Cards,” “Homeland,” and the Tupac Shakur biopic, “All Eyez On Me.” She is the Executive Producer and Host of the talk show “Chic Chat” on iOne Digital and creator and co-star of the hit docu-series “We are the Joneses,” which airs on Discovery Life.

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