Powerful Goddess Portraits

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

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Valley of Amazement

08 May 2014 2 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Best Books for Women, Glamour Portraits, Mother Daughter Relationship Tags: Amy Tan books, bookclub, funny mother quotes, kimono nude, Mother's Day, motherhood quotes, Valley of Amazement

If evolution really worked,

how come mothers only have two hands?

Milton Berle

For Mother’s Day, this Powerful Goddess honors her mother’s Asian heritage. With features that take more after her father’s, something about her eyes suggests barely a whisper of her Eastern roots. We found an ancient screen and ceramic stool as a simple backdrop for her robe and chopstick. I adore photographs that look like old paintings! I also imagine Vivien, the heroine of mixed heritage in Amy Tan’s latest novel, Valley of Amazement, must have been as beautiful as this.

Valley of Amazement has mixed reviews for being long-winded and predictable. With its countless peaks and valleys, how many mother daughter relationships can really be told succinctly? Fewer still are those relationships that don’t defy prediction. For who among us can see beyond the wisdom of our years, no matter whatever age?

This Mother’s day, because I’m in the valley of feeling grossly outnumbered by three teens–each flexing his/her own wings of wanna-be-adult independence minus the responsibilities that come with it–I vow to laugh more knowing that every year that passes is one year closer to being amazed and possibly hearing them say, “OMG, mom was right after all!” A few other funnies on motherhood I wish I wrote:

My mother’s menu consisted of two choices: Take it or leave it. –Buddy Hackett

Sweater, n. Garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly. –Ambrose Bierce

A suburban mother’s role is to deliver children obstetrically once, and by car forever after. -Peter De Vries

Living with a teen is like living with the Taliban: a mom is not allowed to laugh, sing, dance or wear short skirts. –Kathy Lette

The best way to keep children home is to make the home atmosphere pleasant—and let the air out of the tires. -Dorothy Parker

I want my children to have all the things I couldn’t afford. Then I want to move in with them. –Phyllis Diller

Neurotics build castles in the air, psychotics live in them. My mother cleans them. –Rita Rudner

The phrase “working mother” is redundant. -Jane Sellman

When your mother asks, “Do you want a piece of advice?” it is a mere formality. It doesn’t matter if you answer yes or no. You’re going to get it anyway. -Erma Bombeck

I was dating a transvestite, and my mother said, ‘Marry him. You’ll double your wardrobe. –Joan Rivers

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share what’s amazing (or at least what makes you laugh) about motherhood.

xoxox

201 697 1947

Sharon@PowerfulGoddess.com

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

Thank you for your response. ✨

Beautiful Promise

30 Apr 2014 1 Comment

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Charitable Giving, Glamour Portraits, Unique and Personalized Gift Ideas Tags: auction fundraiser, Badgley Mischka, Beautiful Promise Project, Carolina Herrera, Charity Buzz, designer fashion, Mother's Day, Nicole Miller, travel, Unique & personalized gifts

Like charity,

I believe glamour

should begin at home.

Loretta Young

Two house seats and a backstage tour of Beautiful-The Carole King Musical

Though my teens may disagree and take the opportunity for granted, I value education as the path to a better future. For the less privileged, giving children a chance at such a future eases the lives of the women who raise them. So for Mother’s Day this year, let’s make it easy to surprise ourselves and our mom by bidding on the array of unique gift ideas on auction to support The Promise Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping underserved children with learning disabilities.

A glamour portrait party for you, your mom, and/or girlfriends are among the fabulous gifts you can choose from on Charity Buzz’s online auction to benefit the Promise Project. Below are a few other exciting offers.

A live silent auction happens on May 6th, 2014 at the Metropolitan Pavilion in NYC, but don’t be shy about bidding online until May 13th. Thank you so much for empowering women, making children feel loved, and do tweet, share, pin, instagram your favorite picks!

Lunch with Nicole Miller and take home a look from her new collection

Two Tickets to the Spring 2015 Fashion Shows of Carolina Herrera or Badgley Mischka at New York Mercedez Benz Fashion Week this September

Two nights in a Club Level King Suite at The Prescott Hotel in San Francisco plus dinner at Postrio Restaurant

Two round trip Jet Blue tickets to fly anywhere in the US

xoxox

Sharon Birke

201 697 1947

Sharon@PowerfulGoddess.com

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

Thank you for your response. ✨

Water Is Life

23 Apr 2014 2 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Boudoir Photography, Charitable Giving, Glamour Portraits, Women's Empowerment Tags: Earth Day, green dress, NYC Central Park Lake, save the planet, Water Is Life

There are only three things

women need in life:

food, water and compliments.

Chris Rock

On Earth Day, this Powerful Goddess dances with gratitude for Mother Earth’s generosity, paying homage to the source of all life: Water.

FIT’s Niki Lars turned me on to the youtube video First World Problems Read by Third World People for the charity organization WaterIsLife.com. Haitian adults and children mouth the minor gripes and irritations that first world citizens post on Twitter–a witty role reversal calling our attention to the blessings we take for granted while many parts of world do without the most basic yet very critical comfort like clean drinking water.

Having been to places where running water is not 24/7, I still cringe when my husband runs the tap while shaving or brushing teeth, when my teen stands under the shower full blast for a half hour, when I hear about an entire reservoir being emptied of millions of gallons because a surveillance video spied a kid peeing into it. A few decades back, who would have bet money that tap water might become captive to bottled commerce? Maybe this is how we can begin to value what nature intended for all her creatures to freely enjoy.

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share how you’re a guardian of Mother Nature’s abundance.

Ask me for a portrait session with your loved ones when you donate to WaterIsLife.com

Niki Lars is a founding father of the Morning Salon, a sustainability forum open to the NYC community hosted by the Fashion Institute of Technology for companies who seek earth friendly solutions to their products and processes.

xoxox

201 697 1947

PowerfulGoddess@me.com

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Woman

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Glamour Portraits, International Travel, Women's Empowerment, Womon's Health and Wellness Tags: All-Clad pots and pans, Cordon Bleu, Japan What to See and Do, Molly O'Neill cookbook, New York Magazine Food Column

Thank you for your response. ✨

Warm Memories in Dishes

16 Apr 2014 3 Comments

If it’s so beautifully arranged on the plate,

you know someone’s fingers have been all over it.

Julia Child

Today I’m thinking of a dear friend whom I have not seen in a long while. We met almost two decades ago as wives of expats in Tokyo. She was the dedicated mother of two young children with a Cordon Bleu degree tucked under her apron. I was a new bride who was a virgin in the kitchen. Motherhood has since led me to settle in suburbia, to give my children the roots I never had. She continues to live the free life of a very stylish gypsy, moving to a new country every couple of years when she and her husband feel like it.

Like sunbeams in cupboards and closets, gifts and mementos around my home bring warm memories of our friendship. When I cook, I’m grateful she tipped me off on All Clad stainless steel cookware, they last forever and have spared me the clueless journey through aisles of the cheap and the non-stick. Pretty dishes remind me of our foray into Kappabashi Dori, Tokyo’s restaurant supply district, where she helped me bring home heavy blue and white ceramics up and down the subway stairs. When it came time for my family to move on from Japan, she hosted a sayonara lunch with the international group of ladies we had gotten to know in our brief time together.

In my closet is a bouquet of colorful pashmina shawls from her stint in Singapore. In my memory are recipes she taught me like the sweet sticky rice dessert when I visited her in Florida. Her favorite classic A Well-Seasoned Appetite by New York Magazine‘s Molly O’Neill is the only photo-less cookbook allowed on my bookshelf. She would casually toss quick recipes into our conversation then I’d report with dismay that my results turned out far from hers. She immediately knew to ask “Did you add salt and pepper?” because sure enough, the newbie needed every little ingredient specified.

Her invitation to visit them in Monaco was what opened my eyes to the joys of solo travel, a more life affirming version of gambling and living dangerously I say! It gave me the “Aha! I can do this every year…” revelation, and since then maybe twice a year and why not more?!

Countless more adventures to us, Powerful Goddess Ana! And count me among those who have been very blessed by your loving kindness and generosity. Anyone who can soothe her nerves by whipping up a multi-course gourmet meal for the person who annoys her is worthy of a custom pedestal at every city she lives in. Domo Aregato for the many happy and delicious memories, the wisdom of adding salt and pepper to my life no matter what–without having to be told.

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

xoxox

201 697 1947

Sharon@PowerfulGoddess.com

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Best Books for Women, Glamour Portraits, Relationships, Women's Empowerment Tags: Divorce and Remarriage, Story of a Happy Marriage Ann Patchett, Unique and Personalized Wedding Anniversary Gift

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The Story of a Happy Marriage

10 Apr 2014 2 Comments

I love being married.

It’s so great to find that one special person

you want to annoy for the rest of your life.

Rita Rudner

“Five decades and five children ago…” is how my parent’s love story would begin to be told. Today, as they celebrate their almost half a century together, I wonder what requires greater strength and courage: keeping it together or walking away?

Novelist Ann Patchett was a child of divorce and suffered through an early divorce of her own. In the midst of the turmoil of her first marriage, she recounts (in her collection of essays This is The Story of a Happy Marriage):

Standing waist deep in the swimming pool, I received a gift–it was the first decent piece of instruction about marriage I had ever been given in my 25 years of life. “Does your husband make you a better person?” Edra asked.

There I was in that sky-blue pool beneath a bright blue sky, my fingers breaking apart the light on the water, and I had no idea what she was talking about.

“Are you a smarter, kinder, more generous, more compassionate, a better writer?” she said, running down her list. “Does he make you better?”

“That’s not the question,” I said. “It’s so much more complicated than that.”

“It’s not more complicated than that,” she said. “That’s all there is: Does he make you better and do you make him better?”

This conversation cleared Ann’s resolve to leave her husband. She vowed never to remarry to save herself from any more pain, not even after she met a wonderful man whom she dated for 11 years. Until the day he suddenly fell terminally ill and she realized her logic could not save her from losing him in other ways:

The fact that we came so close to missing out, missing out because of my own fear of failing, makes me think I avoided a mortal accident by the thickness of a coat of paint. We are, on this earth, so incredibly small, in the history of time, in the crowd of the world, we are practically invisible, not even a dot, and yet we have each other to hold on to. When we do things differently, and very often we do, I remind myself that it is early a matter of right and wrong. We are simply two adults who grew up in different houses.

I continue to think back to Edra, standing in that swimming pool on a bright day in summer. “Does he make you a better person?” was what she asked me, and I want to tell her, Yes, with the full force of his life, with the example of his kindness and vigilance, his good sense and equanimity, he makes me a better person. And that is what I aspire to be, better, and no, it really isn’t any more complicated than that.

Ann’s reply is exactly how this lucky Powerful Goddess describes her own gem of a husband. And he’s tall and handsome, too!

Click on “Leave a comment” (above left) to describe what you love best about yours.

xoxox

201 697 1947

Sharon@PowerfulGoddess.com

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Glamour Portraits, Women's Empowerment, Womon's Health and Wellness Tags: Body Image Heroes, Huffington Post, Lily Myers Shrinking Women, plus size glamour portraits, Shailene Woodley Divergent, Sheila Pree Bright Plastic Bodies, yoga and weight loss

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Shrinking Women

02 Apr 2014 2 Comments

I have great faith in fools–

self-confidence, my friends call it.

Edgar Allan Poe

“Shrinking Women” by Lily Myers

Happy April Fools, Everyone! These Huffington Post beauty image heroes remind us there are other ways of getting a good laugh without making fools of ourselves–even when it’s not April:

Shailene Woodley, star of the movie “Divergent.” refuses to wear makeup at events after seeing how her photographs published in magazines show bigger boobs, flawless skin, a flatter stomach that she doesn’t have. “I realized that, growing up and looking at magazines, I was comparing myself to images like that — and most of it isn’t real.”

Artist Nikolay Lamm used CDC measurements of an average 19-year-old woman to create a 3-D model which he then Photoshopped to look like a Barbie doll. There is quite a gap between a “normal” Barbie next to the doll sold in stores. (Never mind that my neighbor’s brunette daughter asked for a blonde doll, firmly believing she will grow up to be just as blonde one day.)

Plus size model Jennie Runk says, “I remember often feeling like I should be unhappy with my body, but it was confusing, because I never thought there was anything wrong with it until people started talking about it.” H&M won raves for featuring her in their May 2013 swimwear campaign. In a piece for the BBC, Runk wrote of her newfound media attention: “This is exactly the kind of thing I’ve always wanted to accomplish, showing women that it’s ok to be confident even if you’re not the popular notion of ‘perfect.’… There’s no need to glamorise one body type and slam another.”

Trina Hall, a Dallas-based yoga instructor, abandoned all diets last year to see how her body changed and how people in her life reacted. The results of her project were not what she expected. She gained 40 pounds but, “The people who didn’t know, who were just with me in my life — there was no difference in the way that they treated me. The difference came in my own perceptions of myself. I became very judgmental. Instead of looking at the whole of my body, I would look at different parts and analyze what’s wrong with them. My most shocking discovery through the process is that I’m afraid of not being loved. I noticed the self-talk was that my beauty is only on the surface.”

Sheila Pree Bright’s photo series “Plastic Bodies” examines how beauty ideals affect women, especially women of color. Her striking images combine doll parts with segments of human bodies, and the discord between the two is startling. She told HuffPost in an email:

American concepts of the “perfect female body” are clearly exemplified through commercialism, portraying “image as everything” and introducing trends that many spend hundreds of dollars to imitate. It is more common than ever that women are enlarging breasts with silicone, making short hair longer with synthetic hair weaves, covering natural nails with acrylic fill-ins, or perhaps replacing natural eyes with contacts.

Even on magazine covers, graphic artists are airbrushing and manipulating photographs in software programs, making the image of a small waist and clear skin flawless. As a result, the female body becomes a replica of a doll, and the essence of natural beauty in popular American culture is replaced by fantasy.

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share a foolish fantasy.

xoxox

Sharon Birke

201 697 1947

PowerfulGoddess@me.com

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

Thank you for your response. ✨

Gloria Steinem and The Better Woman

26 Mar 2014 2 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Empowerment, Glamour Portraits, Women's Empowerment Tags: feminist icon HBO documentary, feminist quotes, Gloria Steinem 80th birthday

We are becoming

the men we wanted to marry.

Gloria Steinem

Yale Joel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

The poster goddess of feminism, Gloria Steinem, is 80! She, who popularized Australian Irina Dunn’s quip “Women need men like fish need bicycles,” married for the first time at the age of 66 claiming, “I hope this proves what feminists have always said — that feminism is about the ability to choose what’s right at each time of our lives.”

Other nuggets of wisdom from this icon who has inspired many to expand their world view:

A liberated woman is one who has sex before marriage and a job after.

If women could sleep their way to the top, there’d be a lot more women at the top.

Women are not going to be equal outside the home until men are equal in it.

A pedestal is as much a prison as any small, confined space.

For women… bras, panties, bathing suits, and other stereotypical gear are visual reminders of a commercial, idealized feminine image that our real and diverse female bodies can’t possibly fit. Without these visual references, each individual woman’s body demands to be accepted on its own terms. We stop being comparatives. We begin to be unique.

The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.

Power can be taken, but not given. The process of the taking is empowerment in itself.

Once we give up searching for approval we often find it easier to earn respect.

If the shoe doesn’t fit, must we change the foot?

Whatever you want to do, just do it…Making a damn fool of yourself is absolutely essential.

A new documentary Gloria: In Her Own Words airs this month on HBO, celebrating the life and work of this feminist icon. Click on “Leave a comment” (above left) to share what feminism means to you.

xoxox

Undercover research as Playboy bunny

A writer never sits too far from her typewriter

Marianne Barcellona—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image

Aging gracefully with none of that botox stuff

xoxox

Thanks to Getty and Google archive for these images!

Sharon Birke

201 697 1947

Email me

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

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Spring Bloom

20 Mar 2014 4 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Boudoir Photography, Glamour Portraits, Womon's Health and Wellness Tags: first day of spring, flower theme portratis, international day of happiness

The earth laughs

in flowers.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy first day of Spring, my darlings! And what a thrill to celebrate the day that has just been declared the first International Day of Happiness! For who doesn’t get happy knowing the long slumber of winter is over and flower season is near? This Powerful Goddess does not have to wait for anyone to bring her flowers, she blooms like no other any day of the year!

What took us so long to think of this annual happiness celebration anyway? Goddess knows! What did take me most of my life to realize is that happiness has many faces. Many insist on a smile and a happy face as important indicators–we all know they aren’t that dependable. Some people require silence and a solitary existence, others can’t live without constant noise and the next emergency. There are those who look forward to retirement heaven, while a few see it as certain death. Contrary to popular belief, misery and suffering bring some a certain comfort, so it’s wise to bite the tongue and curb our habit of giving advice. Whatever our personal definition, the world’s happiness at large may depend on our letting go of the need to convert others to our chosen “religion,” especially those whom we live with every day.

Since one whole year is a very long time to wait for the next happiness celebration, click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to add to this list of little nothings that add joy to your every day.

flowers out my window, birds in the backyard

no snow to shovel

old photographs

funnies and a good belly laugh

a clean kitchen sink

scheming with friends

finding street parking in NYC

kindness, thoughtful gifts, happy surprises

curls, swirls, and beauty in style and design

high ceilings and glorious chandeliers

arches, curves, and unexpected angles

dressing up

yellow, orange, red and sunshiny hues

reading, dancing, and learning something new

a husband who helps around the house on weekends

the smile on my daughter’s face

seeing my sons cook dinner–sometimes cajoled, sometimes nagged, always reassured that no woman can resist a man who cooks and brings her flowers for no occasion, in any season.

xoxox

201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Best Books for Women, Europe Travel, Glamour Portraits, Women's Empowerment Tags: 50th birthday celebration, Fear of Fifty Erica Jong book, International Women's Day, Venice Carnival Period Costume

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Fearless at Fifty

12 Mar 2014 2 Comments

You don’t stop laughing when you grow old.

You grow old when you stop laughing.

George Bernard Shaw

Before Fifty Shades of Grey and Sex and the City, there was Fear of Flying (1973) by Erica Jong. I have yet to read this novel that introduced a notorious phrase to the English language through the heroine’s honest and exuberant retelling of her sexual (mis)adventures. What I’ve read is Erica’s midlife memoir Fear of Fifty (first released in 1994 when she turned 50) that continued to provoke, inspire, and stand as an icon of self-discovery, liberation, and womanhood.

This classic came to mind because last Saturday was International Women’s Day and I remember reading Erica’s chapter on her writing sabbatical in a Venetian palazzo. I thought, “Every woman should have such freedom!” I also recall sharing her impression of Venice as a dead and dying city–but that was obviously before I heard about Carnival!

Fear of Fifty looks back and ahead, assessing the costs, rewards, the meaning of one woman’s journey. Erica’s memoir “goes right to the jugular of woman who lived wildly and vicariously through Fear of Flying” with entertaining stories and provocative insights on a woman’s identity, love and loss, sex, marriage, aging, feminism, and motherhood.

And how far have women really come since the golden age of petticoats? We gave up the corset and dutifully bind ourselves to the gym and diets. We join the workforce to make our own money and the right to be eternally exhausted, never quite sure where the end of the rainbow is in doing and having it all. After all, we must look forever young and fabulous while still running the home and feeling guilty about our (neglected) relationships. We boldly proclaim women can do what men do while our daughters are lulled by the same fairytales of the one ideal man, the notion of that elusive union of money, sex, love, romance and fidelity leaving many in a state of dubious singlehood or perpetual marital discontent. Will the day ever come when we’d drop the farce of calling unpaid housework “mother’s love”? Will we live to see the pegs of hierarchy buried and affirm the disparate choices every woman makes to be the best for herself?

As fifty beckons in my own horizon, I am honored to witness tired and wilted women transform into radiant blooms when they decide to give themselves the appreciation and sense of purpose they’ve been waiting to be given. To see the great power in surrendering the fight of “I’m every woman” and letting the chips fall where they may. To perceive our wrinkles as trophies of a life full of laughs and tame serious adult business with more fun, play, and dress up. To allow disappointments to clarify who matters and the possibilities that lie beyond the pain. To see the beauty aging offers with the wisdom and courage to say “To hell with it!” If the Social Indicators Research (2010) is right about women being happiest at age 74, how different would the rest of our lives be if we laughed in the face of fear much, much sooner?

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share old fears that make you chuckle today.

xoxox

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xoxox

201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

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Venice Carnival 2014

26 Feb 2014 6 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Boudoir Photography, Glamour Portraits, Italy Travel Tags: 18th century period costume, Best Family Vacation Europe, fantasy costume, masquerade ball, Venice Carnival

What happens in fantasy

can be more involving than what happens in life–

and thank goodness for that.

Roger Ebert

Among my favorites in posing, Nhaelle de France

If you can visit Venice only once in your entire lifetime, time it for Carnival and bring the kids! This annual winter festival of masquerade and fantastic costumes can be traced back to the beginning of the 14th Century when months before Lent, everyone in town wore masks to break down social barriers and playfully defy differentiation between nobility and the common people.

Today, an international crowd of 3 million revelers congregate and make time to dress up in their original and fantastic creations or an elegant wardrobe of authentic period pieces. Those in full regalia are so very kind and accommodating in holding a pose for your camera. Can you imagine the time and effort each costume takes to create and transport, never mind wearing them all day in heat or cold for the two weeks of the fabulous Venice Carevale. I’ll let the photographs speak eloquently for themselves. You bet it wasn’t easy choosing which creations to exclude here.

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share what your fantasy costume might be.

Christine et Eric Plas

followed the yellow brick road from France

Almost a kiss by Pierre and Dominique

If you were wondered “Where’s the party?”

Should we tell?

Anabella from Estonia checks her makeup

I just love how the background complements this ensemble

I’m a night owl who didn’t know

catching the rising sun could be such fun

with Jeanne of France

A rose and a serenade for mi amore

on Burano Island

Love the shadows matching the pointy hats on

Monika and Peter Gowitzke from Germany

The opulence of this flamingo theme

is one of my Carnival favorites

A most adorable party peeper

xoxox

201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

Thank you for your response. ✨

xoxox

Best Movies Set in Venice

19 Feb 2014 4 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Best Movies for Women, Glamour Portraits, International Travel Tags: Angelina Jolie movie, Ashley Judd movie, Best Movies in Venice, Venice Carnivale 2014, Venice Courtesans

Is it worthwhile to observe that

there are no Venetian blinds in Venice?

William Dean Howels

Bongiorno! Today I transport myself to what may be the closest thing to time travel. I’m headed for the Carnivale in Venice where they celebrate the centuries old festivity of wearing masks and elaborate costumes from the 18th century. I promise I’ll take you along with me so my next few blog posts will feature everything Venetian. We begin with a few movies I’ve enjoyed featuring eye candy from her iconic sights.

Dangerous Beauty

The glamour of 16th century Renaissance featuring the life of legendary courtesan, Veronica Franco, with Jacqueline Bisset playing the role of aging mother.

De-Lovely

Flashbacks on the glamourous Hollywood life of Cole Porter with his wife, Linda Lee, whom he met in Paris in the 1920’s where Americans were inventing new lives of freedom. Kevin Kline plays the elegant Cole, always witty on stage, charming in front of society, writing the pain into the soundtrack of his life. My favorite Ashley Judd plays the nuanced role of Linda who nurtures his talent and indulges his preference for men. Why, oh, why is the woman always the one who has to re-arrange her life to suit the man (even when he’s gay)?

Wings of the Dove

Two lovers plot to gain the inheritance of a sickly, rich American (“the richest orphan in the world”) by stealing her affections. A film based on Henry James’ famous novel.

Casino Royale

James Bond’s world tour of casinos ends with the fantastic sinking of an abandoned palazzo on a Venetian canal.

The Tourist

Johnny Depp plays the unlikely mystery lover of Angelina Jolie. Watch out for my dream necklace in the final scenes.

xoxox

Sharon Birke

201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

Thank you for your response. ✨

Return to Me

12 Feb 2014 2 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Boudoir Photography, Glamour Portraits, Poems for Women Tags: Erotic Poem, Frog Prince, King of Hearts, Marilyn Monroe Look, unique & personalized Valentine gifts, Valentine's Day

Who is king of your heart?

A Valentine poem in case your Prince Charming doubts…

Return often and take me,

beloved sensation, return and take me —

when the memory of the body awakens,

and old desire again runs through the blood;

when the lips and skin remember,

and the hands feel as if they touch again.

Return often and take me at night,

when the lips and the skin remember.

Return by CP Cavafy (translated by Rae Dalven)

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share your favorite erotic poem

or best Valentine gift ever.

xoxox

201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Glamour Portraits, NYC Nightlife, Unique Gift Ideas Tags: Best Broadway Musicals, Best Valentine Date Ideas, Birthday and Anniversary Celebration, Valentines Day Celebration

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Gentleman’s Guide to Love

05 Feb 2014 2 Comments

Men should think twice

before making widowhood women’s only path to power.

Gloria Steinem

Lisa O’Hare and Bryce Pinkham (Photo by Sara Krulwich/The New York Times)

How low would you go to better your circumstances? What if bumping off a few inconvenient relatives could secure your fortune?

In Broadway’s new musical comedy, the Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Bryce Pinkham plays the part of penniless Monty Navarro, who is desperate to keep his socially ambitious love from being snagged by a more well-heeled suitor. He sings and frolics on stage while hacking his way up the family tree to be the next Earl of Highhurst.

This musical score delivers chuckles rich with witty lines and turns of phrase. I was completely riveted by the virtuoso, Jefferson Mays, who plays the parts of all the eight D’Ysquith family members Monty sets out to eliminate.

A Gentlemen’s Guide To Love And Murder
At the Walter Kerr Theatre
219 W 48th St.
New York, NY 10036
212-239-6200
agentlemansguidebroadway.com
Run Time: Two hours 20 minutes

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) if you’ll dare take your Valentine on this date. And if you want to impress with seats in the two front rows, bring an umbrella to keep yourself dry from the performers’ passionate oratorical “showers.” 😉

Photo by Joan Marcus

Lauren Worsham (Photo by Caitlin McNaney for Broadway.com)

One of the characters played by the incredible Jefferson Mays (Photo by Joan Marcus)

Joanna Glushak, Lauren Worsham, Bryce Pinkham, Lisa O’Hare, and Jefferson Mays (Photo from TonyAwards.com)

xoxox

Sharon Birke

201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Boudoir Photography, Glamour Portraits, Unique and Personalized Gift Ideas Tags: #BodyArt for #Women, #Horse #Tattoo for #Women, Alphonse Mucha #ArtDeco, Chinese New Year of the Horse

Thank you for your response. ✨

Year of the Horse

29 Jan 2014 2 Comments

The one thing I do not want to be called is First Lady.

It sounds like a saddle horse.

Jackie Kennedy

By Ukrainian artist Dmitriy Samohin (Photo from Rattatoo.com)

As tribute to feminine creativity and courage celebrating the Chinese New Year of the Horse, here are a few Asian inspired tattoos and excerpt from Margot Mifflin’s Bodies of Subversion (another delightful addition to my library thanks to a favorite blog fan):

In a culture where surfaces matter, skin, the largest organ is the scrim on which we project our greatest fantasies and deepest fears about our bodies. For women, skin is a work in progress through which we celebrate–and denigrate–ourselves.

In The Decorated Body, anthropologist Robert Brain calls body modification “an attempt to put on a new skin, a cultural as opposed to a natural skin.” His observation is especially resonant for women, whose ties to nature have historically been used to justify their exclusion from culture. Whether they see tattooing as an embellishment of or an intrusion on the “natural body; whether they build their collections on a bedrock of sexual politics; and whether or not they call themselves feminists, tattooed woman constitute a subculture whose political implications are indisputable. Life female body builders, who contest the idea that a “built” woman isn’t a real woman, or feminist pornographers, who puncture the myth that objectified sex is necessarily exploitative or degrading, they’re rewriting the ground rules for female self-presentation.

In the never-ending project of women’s self-transformation, tattoos are both an end and a beginning, a problem and a solution. Written on the skin–the very membrane that separates the self from the world–they’re diary entries and public announcements, conversation pieces and countercultural tomes, valentines to lovers, memorials to the dead, reminders to the self. They’re scars and symptoms, mistakes and corrections. Collectively, they form a secret history of women grappling with body politics from the Gilded Age to the present–women whose intensely personal yet provocatively public art poses a complicated challenge to the meaning of female beauty.

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share what having tough skin means to you. Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Japanese Samurai by Jill Bonny, the first Western woman to be awarded the title Horiyuki by Japanese tattoo master Horiyoshi III

An Alphonse Mucha art deco reproduction by Thea Duskin on a fan that reminds me of the Korean traditional

Geisha by Jo Harrison

Koi by Kari Barba

xoxox

Sharon Birke

201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Glamour Portraits, Motherhood, Unique and Personalized Gift Ideas Tags: 50th and 60th Birthday Portraits, Losing my mother, Mothers and Daughters, NYC Central Park Glamour Portraits

Thank you for your response. ✨

In The Woods

22 Jan 2014 7 Comments

Now it is up to me to take the first step myself–

to listen to the child in me.

Alice Miller

This Powerful Goddess celebrates her first birthday as mother to herself, recently having lost the woman whose love has been a refuge since giving birth to her. It is a dark and tender time nursing her grief, remembering her mother’s comforting free spirit, so far ahead of her generation in providing a literal haven for women whose life choices defied the simplistic black and white.

She feels bereft in the woods without the familiar guiding hand that had always held hers. The hand that had given her a firm, gentle push through the rough brambles, the muddy patches, through the forks in the road. Now it’s a strain to hear her mother’s voice when she wonders “Where do I go? How do I go on?”

Yet she does.

She ventures forth with small, hesitant steps at first, her spine eventually straightens, finding the strength to keep on. She is her mother’s daughter after all. Her mother’s courage lives within her forever, making sure she continues to keep her sights always true to her own North.

What is a woman’s life after all if not to serve as map and compass for other women to find and understand themselves?

To complete the Alice Miller quote from the top of this page:

…and this meant exposing myself

to all the pain once inflicted on her,

which she had had to bear all alone,

without witnesses, without words,

without hope of ever being understood.

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share who has lent you strength to keep going when you couldn’t.

xoxox

201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

Thank you for your response. ✨

Stole N Moments

15 Jan 2014 5 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Boudoir Photography, Glamour Portraits, Women's Empowerment Tags: black thigh high stockings, Dolce & Gabbana look, flower dress, Fur Stole

A garden to walk in and

immensity to dream in–

what more could a woman ask?

A few flowers at her feet and above her the stars.

Victor Hugo

This Powerful Goddess tells me she’s been catching her forehead wrinkled too often lately: short tempered and tired from keeping up with the never ending shoulds of work and home, nagging kids who turn deaf when plugged into their computers, unseen by a husband happy in his cocoon of all work and no play. Her oft repeated stories of discontent have finally bored her–never mind her friends and family. She declared, “Enough of the blues!”

“But wait!” I asked, “What if we let the blues help tell your whole story?” Aren’t our joys made greater by the distance we rise from our depths? The fire inside her refuses to be dulled by the gray of routine and obligation. So there! A passionate pop of orange with a warm furry stole thrown in.

“Do I really look this good?” she wanted to know. Only if you take a moment to remember all the parts of who you are!

It is always humbling to witness the Goddess in a woman come out to play and shine through a life affirming lens. Oh, how she blooms with praise, how she looks infinitely younger as she enjoys herself fully in the moment! I feel so blessed to give a woman a glimpse of the fabulousness she takes for granted in her day to day.

No matter how gray the winter, this gardener of her own soul digs deep and blooms in her own garden of delight.

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share what helps you through your winters of discontent.

xoxox

Sharon Birke

201 697 1947

PowerfulGoddess@me.com

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Woman

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Best Books for Women, Glamour Portraits, International Travel Tags: Kindle Fire HD, Kiss of the Concubine by Judith Arnopp, Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich, Reign of Madness by Lynn Cullen, Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Thank you for your response. ✨

Judging Books By Their Cover

08 Jan 2014 2 Comments

Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend.

Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.

Groucho Marx

I lost 20 lbs over the holidays! No, not in body weight–in books that usually weigh down my suitcase like bricks. Big thanks to my sister Santa who dropped a Kindle Fire HD into my stocking right before our family trip! Here are the best of the bunch from the 11 books I read in 11 days, a virtual world tour highlighting the universal thread of joys and pain that binds all women through generations and cultures. And as for that adage “Never judge a book by it’s cover?” I never say never. Enjoy!

The comfort of sisterhood in China through reversals of fortune,

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

To get me in the mood for Carnival next month,

The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich

If Anne Boleyn could have written her story herself,

The Kiss of the Concubine by Judith Arnopp

Because women are often misunderstood and conveniently dismissed as crazy, The Reign of Madness by Lynn Cullen tells the tale of a Spanish (spare) princess who is packed off to marry a self-absorbed duke in cold Austria. Did she once dream of living happily ever after?

This one made me cry a few times as I followed the trail of Italian immigrants from a tiny hilltop town to their American dream and the glitz of NYC. How true it is that an orphan finds many parents, that love for work, friends and family can sustain you through the worst of times, that life is not only about what you make of it, but more so the strength to survive what is taken away from you.

The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani

Click on “Leave a Comment” (top left) to add your book recommendation here.

I wish you the Happiest of New Possibilities in 2014!

xoxox

Sharon Birke

201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

Thank you for your response. ✨

How To Kiss Proof Lips

18 Dec 2013 4 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Beauty and Fashion, Boudoir Photography, Glamour Portraits Tags: Best Red Lipstick, Curvy Boudoir, kiss proof lipstick, The Marilyn Monroe Look

Beauty to me is about being comfortable in your own skin.

That or a kick-ass red lipstick.

Gwyneth Paltrow

This is a good season as any to trade your Little Black Dress for red like this Powerful Goddess wearing her favorite! If you insist on black, add chic confidence to your smile with a shade of scarlet. The better to be ready for the many hugs and kisses you’re giving and getting through the holidays!

See which of these crimsons suit you: Christian Dior’s 999, MAC’s Lady Danger, Obsessive Compulsive’s Stalker, NARS’ Cruella, Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Luminous Matte No. 38, YSL’s Rouge Pur Couture Mats No. 201. And here’s how to kiss-proof those pouty red lips:

Start by gently exfoliating your lips with a wet cotton ball and applying olive oil (blot out excess) for a smooth, flakeless canvas. Shade lips with a soft pencil that matches the natural color of your mouth or preferred lipstick. Outline the rim or your lips to create a bumper that helps minimize color bleeding. Apply a coat of lipstick from the center of your mouth outward (use a brush, your finger, or apply straight from the tube). Use a cotton ball to dab face powder and seal in color. Reapply a second coat of lipstick plus powder and voila!

Ready or not–here I come with my own mistletoe! Ho-ho-ho!

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share your favorite red.

201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Boudoir Photography, Family Celebration, Glamour Portraits Tags: Easy Thanksgiving parties, Holiday entertaining or not, Martha Stewart lifestyle, Staub Cast Iron Pumpkin Pot

Thank you for your response. ✨

xoxox

A Thanksgiving Dish

27 Nov 2013 3 Comments

The essence of all beautiful art,

all great art,

is gratitude.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Aahh, the happy holidays are here and my heart goes out to all ye who have to cook but don’t want to. The caterer’s order form keeps winking at me each time I walk past the kitchen counter, but no, I shall not succumb to temptation. My kids need every available bait to lure them away from their singular preoccupation–the computer–and if this means overseeing the mess as they make the one dish each is supposed to contribute to the Thanksgiving table, I shall prevail!

I must call Martha and find out how she keeps her apron spotless, her smile calm and fresh after preparing a feast for twenty. From scratch. Where does she find guests who sit politely around the dinner table without anyone ever checking their smartphone, the men never staring at the TV, the kids eating daintily without fighting? More importantly, where does she hide her army of assistants who lead us to believe one smiling woman did it all? How do domestically challenged women cope with this popular myth of the perfect mother? Oy vey!

I am thankful I’ve learned to be gentle with myself. My pumpkin pots look better as props for posing, yes?

I am thankful for the Powerful Goddesses who bless this blog with their infinite wisdom, beauty and inspiration.

I am thankful for the love of family and friends who understand happiness is gratitude for what is–perfection not necessary.

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share what you’re thankful for. A very Happy Gobble Gobble!

xoxox

_S5A8908NYC-NJ-Thanksgiving-Glamour-Portraits-Powerful-Goddess

201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother