Send In The Clown
11 Apr 2012 Leave a Comment
in Empowerment, Glamour, Women Photography Tags: biographies, comediennes, comedy, humor, Joan Rivers, laughter, Phyllis Diller, Standup
Housework can’t kill you,
but why take a chance?
Phyllis Diller
Joan Rivers’ live standup show was packed to overflowing last week. It was my very first time to witness her firecracker mouth other than the few times I’ve seen her blast the hapless who walk down the Oscar’s red carpet on her watch. I laughed in hysterical disbelief– How does she get away saying what she does?!
Having grown up in Asia and having given up TV since my kids started rolling in, I’ve only been recently “introduced” to two trailblazing comediennes through their film biographies: Joan Rivers in “A Piece of Work” and Phyllis Diller in “Goodnight, We Love You.” Their humanity and vulnerability impress me beyond their courage to say it like it is, holding no one and nothing sacred. Like Phyllis, I want a life full of laughs and I want to be remembered for my kindness. At the very least, I’ll settle for their high energy on high heels when I’m 80.
This series is dedicated to the clowns who dare say and do what we don’t. May we always laugh out loud and be so bold!
© Sharon Birke
Book your glamour playdate with me!
201 697 1947
Photography for the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother
xoxox
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Flamenco Passion Fuels Courage
02 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in Culture and Arts, Glamour, NYC Nightlife, Women Photography Tags: dance, fitness, Flamenco, Glamour, gypsy, Le Poisson Rouge, NYC Nightlife
I have everything I had 20 years ago, only it’s all a little lower.
Gypsy Rose Lee
She was only 12 years old when her little heart was swept away by a flamenco performance. Since then, Marina Elana has dedicated her life to a dance that requires grace and the disciplined precision of the “compas” (rhythmic pattern.)
El baile flamenco is known for its emotional intensity, proud stance, expressive use of the arms and rhythmic stamping of the feet. In traditional flamenco, emotional maturity is required to adequately convey the “duende” (soul) of the genre. Thus, unlike other dance forms where dancers must turn professional early to take advantage of youth, many flamenco dancers hit their peak in their thirties and continue to perform well beyond their fifties–much like the way a woman owns more and more of her power with age.
“Classical flamenco,” the style used by dance companies, is characterized by a proud, upright carriage that makes every woman look like the Powerful Goddess that she is. At its most authentic, flamenco is danced informally at gitano (Gypsy) weddings and celebrations in Spain. “Flamenco puro,” the form closest to its gitano origins, is always performed as a solo improvisation.
And in the tradition of the courageous gypsies who originated this dance, Marina now makes New York her new home, designing her destiny with a production “Simplemente Flamenco” at Le Poisson Rouge this Friday, Feb. 3, 2012. Ole!
© Sharon Birke
201 697 1947
Photography for the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother
Powerful Goddess is a trademark of DoubleSmart LLC
xoxox
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Her Grandmother’s Corset
23 Sep 2011 2 Comments
in Beauty and Fashion, Boudoir Photography, Empowerment, Family, Glamour, Women Photography Tags: Beauty, Body Image, Boudoir, Corset, Digital, empowerment, Family, Freedom, Glamour, health, mind & body, Photography, Portraits, Self love, Women
Happiness is the sublime moment when
you get out of your corset at night.
Joyce Grenfell
Juska’s grandmother
would have been proud
to see these photographs of
her granddaughter fitting her corset–
a remnant of a forgotten time
when she was once a young woman
with her own uncertain hopes
and unlived dreams.
Did her grandmother know
what a beautiful woman she was?
Or did she think her thighs were too big?
Her butt too lumpy?
What were her fears?
How was she fierce?
How much did she like herself?
How much did she give to herself?
What were her dreams, fantasies
and unforgivable sins?
Would she have recognized
her strength and courage
in Juska’s playfulness?
Her sensuality?
Would she have chosen a life
without children
to spare her belly and breasts
from stretch marks,
her heart from disappointments,
her contribution
as the glue of society unrecognized?
Did she want to wear her hair short
but couldn’t?
What freedoms did she long for?
Strive for? And win?
And what about
the woman in the corset today?
How much more free
does Juska believe herself to be
in our culture of optional corsets?
Does she fret about
not filling her grandmother’s bra size?
Are her answers
to the questions above
any different?
The story of
her grandmother’s corset lives on–
an heirloom less valuable than jewelry,
invaluable as a silent witness
to a woman’s story.
This is how photography honors
the sacred ties that bind us.
This is the power of creative portraiture.
Juska Duval so loved my narrative for her photos that
sarebbe stata orgogliosa
di vedere queste fotografie della
nipote dove indossa il suo corsetto,
un residuo di un tempo dimenticato
quando era una volta una giovane donna
con le sue speranze incerte
e i suoi sogni di una vita non vissuta.
Sua nonna sapeva che bella donna fosse?
Oppure pensava le sue cosce fossero troppo grandi?
pensava che il suo sedere fosse troppo formoso?
Quali erano le sue paure?
Quanto si piaceva?
E quanto dedicava a se stessa?
Avrebbe riconosciuto, la sua forza e il coraggio
nella giocosità Juska ?
La sua sensualità?
Avrebbe scelto una vita senza figli?
Per risparmiare il suo ventre e il seno
dalle smagliature,
il suo cuore da delusioni ?
Forse voleva portare i capelli corti
ma non poteva?
Che libertà le ha dato il tempo?
Lottare per? E vincere per?
E che dire della donna in corsetto di oggi?
Quanto più libera?
Juska ci fa credere di esserlo nella nostra cultura di corsetti opzionali.
Si preoccupa di non riempire la taglia del reggiseno della nonna.
Cosa è cambiato da allora
cosa è diverso?
La storia di una donna vive con un cimelio di famiglia
Questo è il modo in cui la fotografia onora il legame sacro che ci lega.
Questo è il potere della ritrattistica creativa.
© 2011 Sharon Birke
PowerfulGoddess@me.com
Photography for the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother
Powerful Goddess is a trademark of DoubleSmart LLC
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