Great Gatsby

22 May 2013 Leave a Comment

by Sharon Birke in Best Movies for Women, Glamour Portraits, Women's Empowerment Tags: , ,

I thank God everyday for my life

and you would, too.

Alexis Bellino, Real Housewife of Orange County

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Can’t wait to see The Great Gatsby movie as I love the high style and ebullience of the flapper era.  If I had a dedicated suitor who woos me with lavish parties and treats, my husband beware! ;)

As an observer of human nature like Nick Carraway, I am impressed to hear about a plain and plump mother of four (obviously not this Powerful Goddess here) who lives in a creaky old house with one bathroom.  I asked, “Is she happy?”– thinking that for all my optimism, I need certain comforts.  I was assured she glows from being adored by her affectionate children and husband, holding hands even when they watch TV and still spooning as they sleep after 30 years together.   I think of how some women with greater material wealth live with far less contentment and I’m reminded of what I call “The Great Leveler”–our tendency to compare and make ourselves miserable dwelling on what isn’t, what we don’t have, what can’t be.  And we’re not just comparing ourselves with next door neighbors these days.  Reality TV raises the bar each week, fueling our discontent with indulgent husbands and the fairytale lifestyles of “Real Housewives.”

Great Leveler or not, there is some comfort in knowing that we actually hold the key to our bliss.  In every moment, we have the power to choose gratitude and seek the gifts of what is, what we have, and what can be regardless of what life brings.

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share your greatest blessing.

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© Sharon Birke

201 697 1947

Email Me

www.PowerfulGoddess.com

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

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A Kiss for Rodin

15 May 2013 2 Comments

by Sharon Birke in Art and Architecture, Boudoir Photography, Paris Travel Tags: , ,

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Like the great sculpture Auguste Rodin, dance and movement inspire me.   Throughout his career, Rodin produced several interpretations full of sensuality or eroticism, seeking to express emotion through muscular movement and saying, “The sculptor must learn to reproduce the surface, which means all that vibrates on the surface: soul, love, passion, life.”   

The passionate love of Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta portrayed in Dante’s Divine Comedy was the theme behind Rodin’s The Kiss, a blend of eroticism and idealism in the form of two lovers emerging from the highlights and shadows.  Because he adored nature, Rodin turned to women as his main subject of observation. Depending on the young women who posed for him, he chose postures likely to give her body the most expression.  I love that Rodin’s approach to sculpting women was a tribute to bodies, not just submissive to men but as full partners in ardor.  My photography pays homage to his quote:

 I do not create.  I see.  

And it is because I see that I am capable of making.

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My favorite piece in the Musee Rodin in Paris is this small but eloquent La Valse (The Waltz) by Camille Claudel, Rodin’s much younger student, muse and then mistress.  When he left her, she destroyed many of her works and eventually died alone in a psychiatric hospital.

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share one good reason why a (talented) woman should lose her head over a man?  Sigh!

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© Sharon Birke

201 697 1947

Email Me

www.PowerfulGoddess.com

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

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 xoxox

Secret Garden

08 May 2013 2 Comments

by Sharon Birke in Best Books for Women, Glamour Portraits, Unique and Personalized Gift Ideas Tags: , ,

My mother buried three husbands,

and two of them were only napping.

Rita Rudner

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I love Spring!  Each bloom and bud a reminder that I, too, know instinctively how to grow, that there is wisdom in being patient with my own seasons, that I can choose to move towards the light with no time to waste worrying whether my petals are too big or if I’m the best bloom in the garden.

From Deepak Chopra’s classic The Book of Secrets:

It is very freeing to know that on some dimension or other, every event in life can be causing only one of two things:  Either it is good for you, or it is bringing up what you need to look at in order to create good for you.  There is no right or wrong, only a series of possibilities.

Evolution is win-win.  Cause and effect aren’t just linked, they are linked in the most efficient way possible.  Many good things come from bad decisions while many bad ones are tangled up in our good decisions.  Life is self-correcting in just this way.  As the choice-maker you can act on a whim; you can follow arbitrary or irrational paths.  But the underlying machinery of consciousness doesn’t alter.  It keeps following the same principles, which are:

To adapt to your desires

To make you aware of what you are doing

To show you the consequences of your action

To keep everything in balance and harmony

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share how you’ll bring yourself flowers on Mother’s Day!  xoxox

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© Sharon Birke

201 697 1947

Email Me

www.PowerfulGoddess.com

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

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xoxox

Lucky Guy

01 May 2013 2 Comments

by Sharon Birke in Boudoir Photography, NYC Nightlife, Unique and Personalized Gift Ideas Tags: , ,

Sometimes I’ve believed 

as many as six impossible things

before breakfast.

Lewis Carroll

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Two decades ago, my husband confidently announced the wedding date he had chosen guarantees that he will always remember our anniversary.  Lately, giving him frank reminders 2 weeks prior and 2 days prior only made me feel like an iPhone alert to no effect.   So the night before D-day, I finally asked, “Do you want to go out tomorrow?”  He was still sweetly oblivious to the occasion and asks, “Why?  We’re going out with friends this weekend anyway.”  Grrrr!  I finally confronted my laptop to make dinner reservations and grab the last 2 seats to Nora Ephron’s latest (and last) Broadway play, Lucky Guy starring Tom Hanks–which my Prince Charming had summarily dismissed as unlikely at the last minute.

My daughter woke me up too early the next morning with a three course breakfast on a rolling cart, complete with flower candles, hot tea, and a printed menu.  She couldn’t convince her dad, the early bird, to get over his aversion to breakfast (and lounging) in bed, so she and I fed each other the meal she has lovingly prepared.  She lay her head on my tummy and asked if I remember how a decade ago she was floating around in it.   I meant it when I told her “You are my best anniversary present!” expecting her usual “I know.”  Instead, she said, “I’m your gift for putting up with Dada!”  And so very well worth it!

Lucky I don’t heed my mom’s advice to “marry him first and change him later.”

Lucky the qualities I married him for are still the same qualities I love about him today, despite seeing the other side of the coin.

Lucky I’ve learned to keep eyes open to the beauty of the one I wake up to everyday–because wouldn’t you know, being married to Mr. Early Bird means I usually wake up to me!

Click on “Leave a Comment” to share how you’ve been so lucky.

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© Sharon Birke

201 697 1947

Email Me

www.PowerfulGoddess.com

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

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xoxox

The Origin of Shoes

25 Apr 2013 Leave a Comment

by Sharon Birke in Best Books for Women, Boudoir Photography, Glamour Portraits Tags: , ,

My shoes are so high that when I step out of them

people ask “Where did she go?”

and I have to say, “I’m down here.”

Marian Keyes

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Before Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin, or Jimmy Choo, here is an ancient story of how shoes came to be invented from Coming to Our Senses by Jon Kabat Zinn:

Once upon a time, a princess took a walk and stubbed her toe on a root sticking out in her path.  Vexed, she went to the prime minister and insisted that he draw up an edict declaring that the entire kingdom should be paved in leather so no one would ever have to suffer her pain.  Now the prime minister knew that the king always wanted to please his daughter in any and every way, so there was a good chance he would actually want to fulfill his daughter’s wishes.  Covering the kingdom in leather might save everybody from the indignity of stubbed toes and make the princess happy, but this could also be problematic in many ways, to say nothing of expensive.

Thinking quickly (I won’t say “on his feet”), the prime ministers responded:  ”I have it!  Instead of covering the whole kingdom in leather, Your Highness, why don’t we craft pieces of leather shaped to your feet and attach them in some suitable way?  Then, we will still enjoy the sweetness of the earth, yet wherever you go, your feet will be protected when it touches the ground.”  The princess was well pleased so shoes came into the world and much folly was averted.

Click on “Leave a Comment” above left to share how shoes and possibility thinking have saved you.

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© Sharon Birke

201 697 1947

Contact Me

www.PowerfulGoddess.com

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

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xoxox

Song of the Flower

17 Apr 2013 Leave a Comment

by Sharon Birke in Boudoir Photography, Glamour Portraits, Women's Empowerment Tags: , ,

I am a kind word uttered and repeated

By the voice of Nature;

I am a star fallen from the 

Blue tent upon the green carpet.

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I am the daughter of the elements

With whom Winter conceived;

To whom Spring gave birth; I was

Reared in the lap of Summer and I

Slept in the bed of Autumn.

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The plains are decorated with

My beautiful colours, and the air

Is scented with my fragrance.

As I embrace Slumber the eyes of 

Night watch over me, and as I

Awaken I stare at the sun, which is

The only eye of the day.

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I am the lover’s gift; I am the wedding wreath;

I am the memory of a moment of happiness;

I am the last gift of the living to the dead;

I am a part of joy and a part of sorrow.

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But I look up high to see only the light,

And never look down to see my shadow.

This is the wisdom which man must learn.

Kahlil Gibran

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© Sharon Birke

201 697 1947

PowerfulGoddess@me.com

www.PowerfulGoddess.com

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

xoxox

Thank you, Wendy Boiardi, for fabulous makeup!

Fresh From the French Press

31 Mar 2013 4 Comments

by Sharon Birke in Boudoir Photography, Glamour Portraits, Women's Empowerment Tags: , , ,

The best thing about London

is Paris.

Diana Vreeland

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Who says your closet is the only place to find something to wear for glamour portraits?  This Powerful Goddess looked in her mailbox instead!  The day’s headline happened to be perfect for this charming British native who has been a hip Parisienne in the past decade.  I huffed and puffed struggling to keep up with her boundless energy as she zipped nonstop through venues that were meaningful to her.  Then she headed off to pick up the kids from school and assume the mommy hat (beret?) the rest of the day.  How does she do it?  All I know is that I needed a giant nap afterwards!

With her cheerful optimism, there’s no guessing that this brave woman is in the middle of a life transition that would throw others into a tizzy.   I am in awe of the courage and strength packed in her petite frame, her ability to graciously welcome another stage of growth, exploring career possibilities while juggling her roles as woman and mother.   One of the great blessings of my work is meeting inspiring women like her and being appreciated for the love I put into what I do.   She told me she adores photos with the 70′s finish so I gave her portraits that faded polaroid look.  A very special hug and merci beaucoup to this Powerful Goddess for showing me the true meaning of “Avec plaisir!”
xoxox
Click on “Leave a comment” (above left) to share who/what gives you pleasure.
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xoxox
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xoxox
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© Sharon Birke

201 697 1947

PowerfulGoddess@me.com

www.PowerfulGoddess.com

Glamour Portraits for the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

Old Polaroid Portrait by Sharon Birke www.PowerfulGoddess.com
xoxox

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