Powerful Goddess Portraits

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, Women's Empowerment Tags: How to help Haiyan survivors, Pema Chodron When Things Fall Apart, Typhoon Haiyan disaster in Philippines

Thank you for your response. ✨

xoxox

When Things Fall Apart

12 Nov 2013 6 Comments

There are two tragedies in life.

One is to lose your heart’s desire. The other is to gain it.

George Bernard Shaw

Photo by Philippe Lopez, Getty-AFP, Nov. 11, 2013

Many thanks to the survivors and heroes of the families in the wake of typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. Because no one is exempt from personal disasters in our lifetime, Pema Chodron shares her insights on dealing with tragedy in When Things Fall Apart. Far from a quick fix, life-is-a-bowl-of-cherries self-help manual, this book is an experience laced with sadness, relief, and a kind of temperate joy. What to do when the rug, the roof, and the walls are all swept off you at once?

How do you embrace fear, sorrow, groundlessness? Why sit through pain, confusion, disorder? How do we keep one foot moving in front of the other until we get to a place where the pain does not seem so big or so deep, where we can see beyond to its good purpose? Tough times keep us fully present to who and what is in front of us, sharing loving kindness, generosity and compassion, a mandatory break from our compulsion to zone out in front of the TV/computer, the constant busy-ness of getting and spending. Dark times sift through the fluff and clarify what and who matter in the joy of living.

Things falling apart requires us to change, take action that we would otherwise delay or not consider an option. The familiar is no longer there and it is only by surrendering our resistance to change despite the fear that we allow an opening to solutions and a new way. We suffer more when we cling to what we know and insist on, giving us the illusion of control in a world where impermanence is the inevitable human experience.

We owe much to survivors and heroes. They remind us that the human spirit is invincible, that difficulty is eased by helping hands–our own and that of others. As Pema puts it, “To stay with that shakiness — to stay wth a broken heart, with a rumbling stomach, with the feeling of hopelessness and wanting to get revenge– that is the path of true awakening. Sticking with that uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic– that is the spiritual path.”

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share what you once considered a personal tragedy that has turned out to be a great blessing in your life.

How can I help Haiyan survivors?

To donate to Philippine-based organizations who know the local needs and how best to respond, contact the Community and Family Services International and the Philippine Red Cross as recommended by Jessica Alexander, the author of Chasing Chaos: My Decade In and Out of Humanitarian Aid. She is an adjunct professor at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health and NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service. This is the link to her article:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2013/11/how_to_help_typhoon_haiyan_survivors_in_the_philippines_the_only_donation.html

Photo by Ted Aljibe, Getty-AFP , Nov. 11, 2013

Photo by Francis R. Malasig, EPA, Nov. 9, 2013

Photo from BBC UK

Photo from CNN

xoxox

Inside The Harem

06 Nov 2013 3 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Boudoir Photography, Glamour Portraits, International Travel Tags: Harem women, Odalisque paintings, The Seraglio in Istanbul

If the sun had not been female,

even she would never have been allowed

to enter the harem.

Dursun Bey

Grand Odalisque by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

on the cover of The Harem: The World Behind the Veil by Alev Lytle Croutier

“For your blog… Happy Saturday!” wrote a beloved blog fan who shares my enthusiasm for reading, travel, art and the language of gifts. When a thoughtful note comes with a surprise like this book of gorgeous illustrations, how can any day be less than happy?!

It transported me to my week in Istanbul, breathing in the musk of the Turkish Straits on a rooftop with a 360 degree view, speculating on the lives of the local women in traditional dress below. I toured the Topkapi Palace’s Grand Seraglio and imagined those cloistered in the Sultan’s harem from 1500s to 1900s. Walking through the empty boudoirs, marble baths, and latticed hallways, I wondered–despite my love of fancy costume and interior decor–how did it feel to live in a cocoon of physical and spiritual isolation? What secrets, what drama, what boredom had these stairways and alleys witnessed?

Renditions of European women in various states of elaborate undress was a major theme in Western art and may not have anything to do with the reality of the sultan’s harem, but why forbid imagination and creativity? I adore women relaxed in the sensuality of their bodies, some with a frank stare, others heedlessly enjoying an unselfconscious moment. And, oh, the beauty of intricate mosaics, rich silks and velvets, and the pleasing curves of skin like ivory!

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to tell us what you wish were not forbidden.

Odalisque With a Slave by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

The Bath by Jean-Leon Gerome

The White Slave by Jean-Jules-Antoine Lecomte de Nouy

The Daughters of a Sheik by Conrad Kiesel

Leila by Sir Frank Dicksee

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, Boudoir Photography, Glamour Portraits Tags: Gail Evans Play Like a Man Win Like a Woman, Halloween Butterfly Mask, Huffington Post Women Success

Thank you for your response. ✨

xoxox

The Impostor

31 Oct 2013 2 Comments

Guilt:

the gift that keeps on giving.

Erma Bombeck

Boo–Happy Halloween to you! In the Women’s section of Huffington Post, an article about men, women and success claims that the Millenial woman is the first generation to describe herself ambitious. Yet, does self-doubt plague men as it does women in their striving for success? A few tricks and treats from Gail Evans’ Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman:

The impostor syndrome causes us to lie in constant fear that we will be discovered, that our inadequacies will be exposed, and that we will be humiliated, demoted, dismissed. Women who suffer from the impostor syndrome frequently expend as much energy trying to figure out how to survive their presumed unmasking as they expend doing the actual job.

The truth is, we are all impostors. Each and every one of us, men and women alike. None of us has a grasp on all the facts. Think about it. Does any one of us truly know everything there is to know about raising kids? No. But that doesn’t stop us from doing it, or from doing it very well.

There isn’t one of us who can honestly say that (s)he knows everything there is to know about the job, or who can’t be caught off guard, or who couldn’t be replaced one day by someone more talented. And believe me, the same is true of all of your bosses.

Men fake it whenever and wherever they have to. They wear their game face and go from one place to the next, gathering as much information as they can. Even when the odds are against them, they still try to look as if they’re going to win. The closer they move to the top in business, the more they rely on improvisation, self-confidence, and the generalized ability to draw on past experience rather than book knowledge.

When you are doing something new, there is no safety net. That is nerve wracking. That is also how creative ideas are advanced. You can admit, “I’m in new territory, but I wouldn’t be here if I weren’t competent. Instead of focusing on what I don’t know, I’ll focus on what I know and learn the rest as I go along.” Confidence is half of the game.

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share how a mask frees you (or not.)

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xoxox

201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

Thank you for your response. ✨

The Fountain of Age

23 Oct 2013 5 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Best Books for Women, Boudoir Photography, Glamour Portraits Tags: Betty Friedman Fountain of Age, Marilyn Monroe Look, NYC Central Park Glamour

Age is an issue of mind over matter.

If you don’t mind, it does’t matter.

Mark Twain

From Betty Friedan’s classic “The Fountain of Age”:

The insistence on seeing themselves as young, the denial of age, is the crux of psychological troubles in older men and women. The changes that age brings are so basic and so numerous that sometimes old defenses and solutions no longer silence the new kinds of anxieties that come with them.

However, even in tasks that demand the muscular strength easier to come by in youth, qualities that may emerge with age–wisdom born of experience, freedom from youthful competitive compassion, cooperation, empathy–can more than compensate for whatever losses that come with age. The real liberation of age is the amazing lightness and solidity of no longer feeling the need to prove oneself to be the best, to outdo the others, to compete–and of being able to fail.

Powerful Goddess Gina Bonati shares, “I am so pleased with what my body is doing in your pictures. It is a good, lithe, and strong dancer’s body I thought i had lost! I am discovering dance again and identify with what I see–the truth that I see and the truth that I sometimes do not see. Sometimes it is buried, sometimes invisible, sometimes it has seemingly died. But as these photographs show me, not yet, and maybe, just maybe, not ever.”

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to tell us how you’ve gotten better with age.

201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

Thank you for your response. ✨

xoxox

TEDx at the Met

15 Oct 2013 2 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Glamour Portraits, NYC Events, Women's Empowerment Tags: Negin Farsad, NYC Metropolitan Museum, TED

I am my own experiment.

I am my own work of art.

Madonna

I’m a nerd who loves a good laugh. I keep post-its and color markers handy as I inch my way through mostly non-fiction books while my teens deride my library, rolling their eyes with “Oh, Mom!” When it comes to videos, I love TED’s archive of overachievers who share what they know with a sprinkling of humor to cushion a serious message. This Saturday, October 19, 2013, I’ll be watching the live stream of TEDx at the Metropolitan Museum, the first art museum to get a TED license.

Because laughter and creative expression are among my big loves, I’ll be looking out for these divinely inspiring speakers:

Photo from ColorLines.com

Negin Farsad, named one of the 50 Funniest Women by the Hufﬁngton Post and a 2013 TED Fellow, has been a comedienne and producer for over ten years. Her off-Broadway run of The Dirty Immigrant Collective led to her nomination at the Emerging Comics of New York Awards. She wrote and performed the solo show, Bootleg Islam, and the short film Hot Bread Kitchen which won the Lifetime Women Filmmaker Award.

A video by Farsad was one of a series commissioned by Queen Rania of Jordan to combat Middle Eastern stereotypes–this series later won the ﬁrst-ever YouTube Visionary Award. Her latest ﬁlm, The Muslims are Coming!, opened in September.

Lorna Simpson is known for her large-scale photograph-and-text works that confront and challenge conventional views of gender, identity, culture, history, and memory. Her most recent project is an archive of photographs from the 1950s that she has been creating replicas, posing herself to mimic the originals.

Maira Kalman is an author and illustrator for adults and children. Her work tells of her travels and personal observations. She contributes to publications like the New Yorker and The New York Times. Kalman’s children’s books include Next Stop, Grand Central; What Pete Ate; and Looking at Lincoln. She has also created an illustrated edition of Strunk and White’s Elements of Style and Michael Pollan’s Food Rules.

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to add your favorites from the featured speakers of TEDxMet: Icons.

xoxox

Sharon Birke

201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

Thank you for your response. ✨

Almost Famous Like Pippin

10 Oct 2013 3 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Boudoir Photography, Glamour Portraits, NYC Nightlife Tags: Best Broadway Shows, birthday gift idea, NYC What to see and do, Pippin on Broadway

Don’t confuse fame with success.

Madonna is one, Helen Keller is the other.

Erma Bombeck

“I’d love to watch Pippin!” my husband said and I pretend not to hear–quietly thrilled to get a birthday gift idea straight from the horse’s mouth. His parents used to take him to watch all the original Broadway productions in his teens. It was like coming full circle dragging our own teens–wondering “Who/What is Pippin?”–to watch this revival of a young man’s search for fulfillment and happiness. For who wants to be famous? Apparently every human with the urge to eat and procreate.

My favorite characters in the show include the grandmother who drops her old crone cape for a trapeze act with a muscle man, the stepmother who artfully insists that even a queen is just another housewife and mother “Just like all you housewives and mothers out there!”, and the not so young widow who lets herself be bullied by the narrator, aware she’s getting old and can easily lose the part.

Ah, the yearnings of youth… the hankering for excitement and success that always remains a distant mirage! As we grow older yet continue to feel the occasional pangs of such longing, what do we tell those who miss the point of a grand finale stripped off fancy glitter and spectacular fireworks?

And what’s great about being less than famous?

1. You can be yourself–or explore your many selves–without worry if your choices fit the persona you’re supposed to be selling.

2. You’re not a commodity that’s hostage to arbitrary social rules and trends.

3. Your friends still like you even if you don’t tweet, post, comment, share, like,… at all.

Click on “Leave a comment” (above left) to add you take.

xoxox

201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

Thank you for your response. ✨

The Flirt and The Fan

03 Oct 2013 2 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Best Books for Women, Best Movies for Women, Boudoir Photography, Glamour Portraits Tags: Best Movies for Women, Oscar Wilde books, Secret Language of the Fan

There are times not to flirt.

When you’re sick. When you’re with children.

When you’re on the witness stand.
Joyce Jillson

Is the art of flirting only for the young and single? What if you’ve been married too long and it’s too late to consult the Victorian guidelines for finding the perfect mate, e.g., “avoid a person with the same eye color as yourself, marry someone who is your opposite in physical and mental characteristics, choose a man with straight or thicker hair if your hair was curly or thin”?

A worldly older woman explains to a young husband the secret language of the fan in the 2004 movie “A Good Woman” (based on the 1892 play Lady Windermere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde.) How fun is it to communicate with your darling even when you’re at opposite corners of a party room? Handy, too, when you don’t want the kids to understand what’s being said across the dinner table.

A closed fan touched to the right eye: “When may I see you?”
Letting the fan rest on the right cheek: “Yes.”
Letting the fan rest on the left cheek:  “No.”
Fan held over left ear: “I wish to get rid of you.”
Covering the left ear with an open fan: “Do not betray our secret.”
Fan opened wide: “Wait for me.”
Touching the finger to the tip of the fan:  “I wish to speak with you.”
Half-opened fan pressed to the lips: “You may kiss me.”
Putting the fan handle to the lips: “Kiss me.”
Resting the fan on her lips: “I don’t trust you.”
Opening and closing the fan rapidly: “You are cruel”
Quickly and impetuously closing the fan: “I’m jealous.”
Drawing the fan through the hand: “I hate you!”
Hands clasped together holding an open fan: “Forgive me.”
Hiding the eyes behind an open fan:  “I love you.”
Hitting the palm of your hand: “Love me.”
Hitting any object: “I’m impatient.”
Dropping the fan: “I belong to you.”
Twirling the fan in the left hand: “We are being watched.”
Passing the fan from hand to hand: “I see that you are looking at another woman.”

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share a language you speak only with your man.

xoxox

your man.

xoxox

201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

Thank you for your response. ✨

xoxox

The Mermaid

09 Sep 2013 4 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Boudoir Photography, Fantasy, Glamour Portraits Tags: Mermaid Goddess Glamour, Myths and Fairytales, The Little Mermaid Fantasy

I must be a mermaid.

I have no fear of depths and

a great fear of shallow living.

Anais Nin

As we schemed on concepts for her portraits, Powerful Goddess Cora Poage said, “My husband loves to play on the beach.” Visions of her fair skin on blue captured my imagination, her body graceful as she “swims” while I keep my camera dry. For what man can resist a mermaid who beckons like this?!

I asked if she could stay out of the sun until her portrait session–quite a challenge through the summer, no? Marvel of marvels, she did!

Cora walked onto the set I created with the biggest smile, thrilled to find her favorite shade of blue as the fabric of our pretend ocean. Having heard she loves her chest and shoulders, I draped the fabric on her to reveal these favorite features while accentuating her delicious curves. Giant conch shells must double as nautical telephones where cellular service can’t reach. And when she confessed that “The Little Mermaid” was her favorite story as a young girl, I had to hand her a mirror and give her hair that Disney swirl, too.

Gee, Mom, your “Little Mermaid” is all woman now!

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share your siren’s call.

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201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

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Goodbye, Summer!

02 Sep 2013 1 Comment

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Best Books for Women, Boudoir Photography, Glamour Portraits Tags: Bikini Season, I Feel Bad About My Neck book, Nora Ephron Humor

In the depth of winter,

I learned that there was in me

an invincible summer.

Albert Camus

Another summer ends and those of us who have been holding in our tummies throughout bikini season can finally exhale with relief–not only because the kids will be back in school soon! 😉

The late humorist Nora Ephron griped about aging in I Feel Bad About My Neck:

There are all sorts of books written for older women. They are uniformly upbeat and full of bromides and homilies about how pleasant life can be once one is free from all the nagging obligations of children, monthly periods, and in some cases, full-time jobs. I find these books utterly useless, just as I found all the books I once read about menopause utterly useless. Why do people write books that say it’s better to be older than to be younger? It’s not better. Plus, you can’t wear a bikini. Oh, how I regret not having worn a bikini for the entire year I was twenty-six. If anyone young is reading this, go, right this minute, put on a bikini, and don’t take it off until you’re thirty-four.

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share what you may regret (twenty years from now) not appreciating today.

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201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

Thank you for your response. ✨

xoxox

Kinky Boots

19 Aug 2013 2 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Boudoir Photography, Glamour Portraits, NYC Nightlife Tags: Boradway Kinky Boots, Corset Boots, Joseph Campbell shoes

It’s a good thing I was born a girl,

otherwise I’d be a drag queen.

Dolly Parton

What’s not to love about a Broadway show saved by the glamour of drag? Especially since drag queens live and breathe the power of fighting for one’s passion, overcoming prejudice and transcending stereotypes.

Based on a little seen movie from 2005, with music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper, Kinky Boots is about a bloke named Charlie who inherits his father’s outdated shoe factory. He finds inspiration in Lola, a drag queen, who loves to dress up but could never find heels to hold her manly weight. Their collaboration to develop fetishwear that captures this market niche saves his factory from the depths of red–in finances and frumpy style.

Harvey Feirstein who writes the book version says his interest in Kinky Boots is the question “What is a man?” Swishy Lola and seriously straight Charlie may be the unlikeliest of friends, yet life dealt them similar cards, parental expectations inflicting shared wounds. Is it any less difficult to forgive others as ourselves? Feirstein recommends drag as the best mask for all: “When I take it off, nobody knows who I am. When I put it on, I can be anyone I want.”

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share how you stand up for what you believe in.

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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, Boudoir Photography, Glamour Portraits Tags: Self-care and Intimacy, Too Good For Her Own Good Claudia Bepko & Jo-Ann Krestan, Women's Empowerment Book

Thank you for your response. ✨

xoxox

Too Good for Her Own Good

05 Aug 2013 4 Comments

Between two evils,

I always choose the one I haven’t tried before.

Mae West

An excerpt from Too Good for Her Own Good by Claudia Bepko and Jo-ann Krestan:

Our fantasies are guides to our real selves. And unless we’re acting on the basis of those fantasies, chances are we’re not taking appropriate responsibility for ourselves. Unless we allow our dreams and passions to emerge, shaped by the realistic limits of our lives, we numb ourselves by being too responsible, too much a serious adult. In this state we usually become focused on acting in a parental way toward everyone else. Instead of following our dreams, we take responsibility for theirs. We feel frustrated and stuck as a result.

Many women avoid making changes or decisions because they feel they can’t bring themselves to hurt someone else. Hurting others is a reality of real relationships. We can’t be wholly involved and engaged with another person without sometimes hurting them because inevitably two people’s needs and impulses are different and conflict.

The bottom line is that unless we feel that the decisions we make are based on values that we’ve defined for ourselves, unless we feel we’re truly being responsive to our own needs and wants, our relationships are likely to suffer anyway. They’ll suffer from the underlying anger and resentment that we feel because we’re not pursuing our own goals. We can’t be genuinely responsive to others unless we’re responsible to ourselves first.

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share how you’ve been good to yourself. Happy August!

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201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Family Celebration, Glamour Portraits, Unique and Personalized Gift Ideas Tags: Birthday Glamour Portraits, Judy Garland Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Unique & personalized birthday gift

Thank you for your response. ✨

A Birthday Duet

24 Jul 2013 4 Comments

There are far, far better things ahead

than any we leave behind.

C.S. Lewis

What could be more fun than celebrating your birthday with your BFF?

This Powerful Goddess was radiant the night she and her lifelong friend made their dream come true of stepping onto the red carpet in style. Loving family and friends traveled near and far to reminisce and honor these two stars who shine brightly in their worlds, bringing laughter and fun to the lives they touch. It was a night to remember with a surprise Mamma Mia number that got the crowd dancing! The gratitude of each guest was palpable, a testament to the Goddesses’ loving warmth, generosity, and inspiration in their strength to prevail no matter what.

As they continue their journey through life’s twists and turns, hopeful hearts hum her favorite tune, Judy Garland’s Somewhere Over The Rainbow:

Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high
There’s a land that I’ve heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
Really do come true.

Someday I’ll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
High above the chimney tops,
That’s where you’ll find me.

Somewhere over the rainbow, blue birds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can’t I?
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can’t I?

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share what you want to find over your rainbow? xoxox

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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, Boudoir Photography, Glamour Portraits Tags: Kiss Me First by Lottie Mogach, The Affairs of Others by Amy Grace Lloyd, The Color Master by Amy Bender

Thank you for your response. ✨

Summer Reads

17 Jul 2013 3 Comments

When I read about the evils of drinking,

I gave up reading.

Henry Youngman

I’m curious to see what book’s in your beach bag! Click on “Leave a Comment” (left) to add to this reading list for long days and hot summer nights, preferably in an air-conditioned haven for me. Happy Summer! xoxox

Kiss Me First

by Lottie Mogach.

A web of sex and identity theft entangles a solitary young woman online.

The Affairs of Others

by Amy Grace Lloyd.

A widow rediscovers passion and possibility in the knotty/naughty lives of her building tenants.

Necessary Errors

by Caleb Crain

Imagine living in Prague and starting anew.

The People in the Trees

by Hanya Yanigahara.

Set in Micronesia, a doctor discovers the Fountain of Youth and other dangerous ideas when cultures collide.

Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations

with Peter Evans.

Conversations so real they could only be published way after her death.

Thank you for your response. ✨

xoxox

On The Piano

10 Jul 2013 2 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Boudoir Photography, Glamour Portraits, Women's Empowerment Tags: Grand Piano, NYC NJ Piano Lessons

When you play,

never mind who listens to you.

Robert Schumann

“Why don’t you take piano lessons?” a friend inquired. I had confessed I’ve been wanting to step up my self-taught oido repertoire but shudder at the dreary chore of classical training. While I enjoy listening to the elegant classics, I’m more Ella Fitzgerald than Mozart with piano playing. And would my kids let me get away with “illiterate” lessons when they have been required to read flats and sharps? I’m not telling them.

I texted their piano teacher, “Would you like a summer student who wants to play like a pro without reading sheet music?” She’s the hippie improv type despite her classical education so I knew she’d be up for the challenge. Still, I held my breath waiting for her response the next day. “That would be fun!” she said. Whew!

Last week, I sat on her bench and we began, “Show me what you know…” She taught me how to run my fingers so they don’t stumble all over each other as they discovered nooks among the black and white keys they’ve never been before. She tells me to strengthen the little used pinkie and 4th fingers, as well as my ear, by doing the tedious scales. I told her the direction I want to take and she tells me to practice, practice, practice–way before the morning of our next lesson if possible. I notice days slipping by with no time to touch the keys. There’s always one more thing on my To Do list, there’s someone sleeping so “Ssshhh!,” and I can already see the men in the house signing a petition to ban my clunky repetitious tune.

No matter, I’ll persist and be my #1 fan. I could even give procrastinating a break today. I’ll finish this blog and head straight to the keys (not Florida.) And guess what’s my beginner piece? “Summertime,” naturally.

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share what new tricks you’re never too old to start learning.

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201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

Midsummer Night Swing at Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park

Thank you for your response. ✨

xoxox

Got Summer (Birthday) Plans?

04 Jul 2013 2 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Family Adventures, Glamour Portraits, NYC Events Tags: Central Park Gondola Ride, Lincoln Center Midsummer Night Swing, MOMA Rain Room, NYC The Ride, NYC What to see and do

When you come to a fork in the road,

take it.

Yogi Berra

My birthday coincides with the 4th of July weekend and here are a few ideas I have in mind to celebrate. Photos from Google Images:

Open air dance party with different live orchestras performing the first three weeks of summer. No heat, no rain, no storm stops this party! Even if you don’t dance, you’ll catch yourself smiling seeing everyone having a great time under the stars. Polish your disco shoes and see you on the dance floor for Hustle on July 11th!

A Gondola Ride in Central Park

Pair dinner at the Boathouse with a reservation for the one and only gondola outside of Venice (and Vegas, of course). You’ll feel like the Queen of the World as you glide across the quiet lake banked by foliage you can’t find in Venice. Let the gondolier serenade you with his repertoire of Italian arias as you wonder if he ever asks his wife, “Honey, do these stripes make me look fat?”

The Ride in NYC

I’m dragging the family to pretend we’re tourists in NYC on this combination sightseeing bus and street theater–not your usual city tour.

Rain Room at the MOMA

Sing in the rain without getting soaked at this genius installation by the British design studio rAndom International. Artificial rain pours down constantly while a dry spot follows you around. 3D sensors detect your presence creating a haven whichever way you go. Shouldn’t we always feel this lucky?

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to add to this list of fun summer possibilities. xoxox

Thank you for your response. ✨

The Tryst

26 Jun 2013 2 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Boudoir Photography, Glamour Portraits, Luxury Hotels Tags: Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, Twitter search

Be kind to your mother in law,

but pay for her board at some good hotel.

Josh Billings

Now that the kids are home for the summer, I find myself imagining the thrill of a tryst with my man or, at least, being someplace quiet by myself. A hotel room can be a sanctuary to get away from it all, a cocoon for a private adventure where you can disappear and pretend to be unfindable. The bed is a blank canvas where a new story awaits to be written. And at the very least, the simple pleasures of 24/7 room service and clean, crisp sheets we don’t have to launder are extremely sexy–even if the kids must come along!

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to add your tips for snagging a fabulous deal at your favorite destination:

1. Loyalty pays. Avail of perks and benefits of hotel membership which usually costs nothing to join. Even if you don’t have elite status, it never hurts to ask. Club Floor rates may be higher but they can offer real value.

2. Bundles. Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity could save you up to 20% when you bundle hotel and flight bookings. If like me, you like variety in hotel brands, Expedia has its own loyalty program where you earn points for airfare, hotel, and car rentals through their site.

3. Social Media. Use Twitter to search ongoing deals (enter the hotel name and “deal”). Introduce yourself with a “Like” or announce your enthusiasm for your upcoming visit on the hotel’s Facebook page.

xoxox

201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

Thank you for your response. ✨

xoxox

Mask of Perfection

19 Jun 2013 2 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Beauty and Fashion, Glamour Portraits, Women's Empowerment Tags: black and white protraits, Leica cameras, plastic surgery

A serious Leica collector I love forwarded an article from their blog that makes you think. It features these beautiful black and white portraits of young gorgeous women with pre-operative marks on their faces before procedures they’ve undergone in the pursuit of “perfection.” They are subjects of a photo exhibit Mask of Perfection by Marc Erwin Babej, with Maria M. LoTempio, MD. From the Artist’s Statement:

Mask of Perfection focuses on the complex and ambivalent relationship between the beauty we perceive subjectively on the one hand, and the plastic surgeon’s scientific, geometry- based standard of beauty on the other.

The currently emerging ideal of beauty is unprecedented in that it is actionable, and that conformity to it has become widely available. Lips like Angelina Jolie; breasts like Scarlett Johansson; a butt like Kim Kardashian; less slanted eyes like a white woman; a wrinkle-free complexion like a cosmetics model? Available at a plastic surgeon near you. In other words, the emerging beauty ideal not only reflects changing taste, but represents a radical shift in the understanding of beauty itself. Conformity to an ideal of beauty used to be a daydream; now, it has become a line item on a shopping list. Whether this development is liberating or cheapens the concept of human beauty (or both at the same time) is a matter of individual judgment.

Click on “Leave a Comment” to share who decides what’s perfect for you.

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xoxox

Thank you for your response. ✨

For the Love of Luxury

12 Jun 2013 2 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Best Books for Women, Glamour Portraits, Money and Abundance Tags: Luxury Cars, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, Women and Money

Men like cars,

women like clothes.

I like cars because they take me to clothes.

Rita Rudner

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Father’s Day is a good day as any to pick up a lesson or two from men and their more relaxed attitude towards luxury and money. Following is an excerpt from Julia Cameron’s book “The Artist’s Way” on the importance of pampering–and when she speaks of art and creativity, I think of life itself.

For those of us who yearn to be creative and refuse to feed that hunger in ourselves so that we become more and more focused on our deprivation–a little authentic luxury can go a long way. The key word here is authentic. Because art is born in expansion, in a belief in sufficient supply, it is critical that we pamper ourselves for the sense of abundance it brings to us.

Luxury is very often a shift in consciousness more than flow–although as we acknowledge and invite what feels luxurious to us, we may indeed trigger an increased flow. Creative living requires the luxury of time and space for ourselves and pampering can take many forms. For Gillian, a pair of new-to-her tweed trousers from the vintage store conjured images of Carole Lombard laughter and racy roadsters. For Jean, a single sprightly Gerber daisy perched on her night table told her life was abloom with possibility. Constance found luxury in allowing herself the indulgence of a magazine subscription. For Kathy, it is a deluxe Crayola set, “the kind my mother would never get me.” For Berenice, the answer is fresh raspberries. (And there’s fun, too, in taking luxury literally like this Powerful Goddess here!)

All too often, we become blocked and blame it on our lack of money. This is never an authentic block. The actual block is our feeling of constriction, our sense of powerlessness. Art requires us to empower ourselves with choice. At the most basic level, this means choosing to do self-care… Forget high minded aspirations. What sounds like fun?

Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to share your favorite indulgence. Have many luxurious days long after Father’s Day!

xoxox

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xoxox

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xoxox

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xoxox

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201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother

Thank you for your response. ✨

xoxox

What Would Grace Do?

05 Jun 2013 4 Comments

by Powerful Goddess Portraits by Sharon Birke of DoubleSmart LLC in Best Movies for Women, Glamour Portraits, Iconic Portraits Tags: Grace Kelly book, Grace Kelly look, Grace Kelly Movie Classics

I have to be seen to be believed.

Queen Elizabeth ll

Vogue’s April issue featured a tribute to the movie The Rear Window. Nicole Kidman angles for an Oscar with the movie Grace of Monaco this December. That Hermes bag is still highly coveted over half a century after Grace Kelly was first seen with it. Starting out as a model before charming Hollywood and capturing the heart of a Prince, Grace Kelly’s signature style of neatly pinned hair and pale tailored outfits endures.

Her Royal Highness inspired the timeless portraits of this Powerful Goddess here. Even Grace would kiss the ground this woman walks on for being a down to earth inspiration of generosity and joy. If you were lucky to be blessed by her friendship, you’d be even more impressed to know that this lovely queen of her domain does not delegate the care of her own hearth and home.

For those who want to behave, flirt and live like Her Highness, What Would Grace Do? is in bookstores now (Gotham Books, $26). Click on “Leave a Comment” (above left) to add to this list of Her Grace’s movie classics:

High Society. Her musical comedy starring Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra.
High Noon. Kelly does a Western with the conflicted Gary Cooper.
To Catch a Thief. As Alfred Hitchcock’s favorite muse in her Hollywood days, Grace stars in these 3 classics.
Dial M For Murder. Another Hitchcock film.
Rear Window. Arguably one of Hitchcock’s best, Grace stars with Jimmy Stewart.

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201 697 1947

Glamour Portraits of the Goddess in Every Wife & Mother