ELYSIAN Women Inspiring Women
DISPLAY UNTIL MARCH 1, 2023
Back Study Gray Oil on Canvas 40h x 30w in By Catherine Woskow
764 MIAMI CIRCLE, SUITE 132 ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30324 (404) 352-8775
www.pryorfineart.com
Torso Frontal Mixed Media on Museum Board, 2020 39h x 20w in By Catherine Woskow
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A large cotton crochet «blanket» capeline over a «Romanian» dress with a belt in silk and ecru cotton on a ruffled tulle petticoat. ©AMAURYVOSLION-FRANCKSORBIER / FRANCKSORBIER.FR
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La Servante, Le Passeur etLa Relique The Servant, the Ferryman and the Relic by Franck Sorbier is a haunting reflection of excellence and refined craftsmanship. BY SAMANTHA PAIGE
ELYSIAN VOLUME 8 • ISSUE 4 • THE THOUGHT & LEADERSHIP ISSUE / HIVER 2022/23 • L’ÉDITION PENSÉE ET LEADERSHIP
Once upon a time, not that long ago, there really was a beautiful princess . . . and her name was
DIANA
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BY LAURIE BOGART WILES
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Christmas Markets & Rural Splendor in Germany
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Christmas Markets & Rural Splendor in Germany. BY DAINA SAVAGE
Ray Eames
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BY VERITY GALSWORTHY
Inspiring Women The National Foundation of Women Legislators
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architecture&interiors Gothic grandeur. BY CHRISTY NIELSON
holiday traditions
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Thru the holiday looking glass. BY WINIFRED TOWNSEND
travel&wellness
76mind&body A tale of timber & Ice. BY MARCY DUBROFF
shopping
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The light of luxury. BY SINDIE FITZGERALD-RANKIN
From philosophy to thought. BY SONIA HENRY
176 philanthropy
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If you want something done, ask a woman. BY CORA WLADEN
back story
ELYSIAN celebrates the launch of its 2022 Summer “GREEN” issue at Mountain Sky Ranch in Emigrant, Montana.
on the cover
American lawyer and television host, Eboni K. Williams, photographed by Michael Paniccia at the iconic Russian Tea Room in New York City, New York.
34 entertaining The high art of afternoon tea. BY PEARL LUSTRE
E publisher
Karen Floyd c r e at o r - i n - c h i e f
Ryan Stalvey
executive editor
media
&
production director
Rob Springer
d i g i ta l d i r e c t o r
Celia Wise Cooksey comptroller
Anna Christian special projects director
Joey Iannetta
director of philanthropy
Kimberli Scott
d e s i g n a s s o c i at e
Amber Edwards
managing editor
Jason Spencer
director of web design
&
development
Elliot Derhay
web3
Gabe Willen, Jackie Dutton, Myca Miralles special events director
Sarah Smith
editorial director
Rita Allison
c o m m u n i t y a f fa i r s
Ann Bible
d i r e c t o r o f d i g i ta l p r o d u c t i o n
Caleb Chilcutt
lead photographer
Michael Paniccia
post-production supervisor
Elise Rimmer
post-production editor
Ty Yachaina
d i g i ta l a d d i r e c t o r
Christiana Purves
s o c i a l m e d i a c o o r d i n at o r
Stephanie Duclos
e x e c u t i v e a s s i s ta n t
Charlotte Jones
contributing writers
Marcy Dubroff, Sindie Fitzgerald-Rankin, Verity Galsworthy, Sonia Henry, Pearl Lustre, Christy Nielson, Samantha Paige, Daina Savage, Winifred Townsend, Cora Walden copy editors
Nancy Brady, Monya Havekost, Diane High, Hadley Inabinet
c o o r d i n at i n g p r o d u c e r
Paula Fender
c i r c u l at i o n s p e c i a l i s t
Greg Wolfe
e-mail distribution
Mark Trombetta
contributing photographer
Dalton Rook Barber
ELYSIAN Magazine is published four times per year by Palladian Publications LLC., 113 W. Main St., Spartanburg, SC 29306. For subscription information, call 864-342-6500. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.
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In September, ELYSIAN celebrated three national awards for publishing excellence. Third from top: Creator-in-Chief Ryan Stalvey was named Designer of the Year at the 2022 Folio: Eddie & Ozzie Awards. This prestigious recognition program acknowledges excellence in editorial content and design across print and digital media. More than 1,300 entries were received across nearly 170 categories this year, and finalists represent the highest-scoring entries per category as judged by qualified editorial and design professionals. Executive Editor Laurie Bogart Wiles won an Eddie in Range of Work by a Single Author for the magazine’s Spring 2022 issue. And, Ryan Stalvey also won an Ozzie Award for Best Overall Art Direction for the magazine’s Winter 2021/22, Spring 2022, and Summer 2022 issues. Fourth from top: The ELYSIAN team was on hand for the evening’s honors and festivities. Bottom: Creator-in-Chief Ryan Stalvey with his wife Nicole.
Laurie Bogart Wiles
As
IF YOU LIKE LAWS AND SAUSAGES, YOU SHOULD NEVER WATCH EITHER ONE BEING MADE.”
a former prosecutor and judge, I understand firsthand, sausage is both more predictable and controlled than making laws, publishing magazines . . . and life itself. In a sausage factory there is a common culinary goal, specific recipe to follow, and a defined production process, all of which is precise and measured.
NOT SO WITH THE LAW, MAGAZINES OR LIFE.
THE PROVERBIAL “MAGAZINE SAUSAGE” WAS MADE. This issue, ELYSIAN’s pages are dedicated to telling unique stories and sharing experiences through both our words and photography. We believe that dreams are limitless. With holiday travel knocking at the door, whether real or imaginary, our pages will take you to France, as you turn your eyes heavenward to the soaring towers and vaulted ceilings of the Gothic cathedrals. Visualize dressing up, perhaps wearing white gloves for a high tea, an English custom embraced for centuries. From nibbling on finger sandwiches and scones, to learning the proper way to pour and select tea, let your mind marvel at what your eyes might not see. Delight in the reverie of exploring Christmas markets, which began in Germany almost one thousand years ago. Imagine music filling the air, wandering the alleyways looking for the perfect handmade “something” . . . a toy or decoration for your tree. Envision selecting the perfect garland, fir tree or star. The market would be scented with traditional Christmas aromas of spices, marzipan and cookies—and of course sausage—which brings us back to the introductory quote from eighteenth century German Otto von Bismarck, who likened the messiness of making laws to making sausage. It is my hope that through these pages you will find answers to unknown questions and experience limitless wonders. Your imagination has no boundaries, so while you read, forget the “sausage making” of law, magazines and life. For just a moment, try to be present in the pages and experience the fantasy of words you read. Take them in, dream and explore. In this season of gratitude, ELYSIAN is determined to make a difference and focus on content that will be heard above the din. ELYSIAN thinks differently. We believe love lights up the darkness and storytelling expands and nourishes the curious mind. Wishing you and your families a safe and wonderful Holiday season. Thank you for sharing the journey.
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With love,
Karen Floyd Publisher
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PHOTOGRAPH BY ELISE RIMMER
Last year at our annual ELYSIAN editorial retreat (where quarterly content is decided), I pitched the idea of a “Winter, Thought Leader Issue.” With the November elections perhaps there was an opportunity to spotlight women legislators? Sufficed to say many of my colleagues did not immediately concur. “What about the holidays?” our Creator-in-Chief quipped . . . knowing full well our Q4 Holiday issue is one of the ELYSIAN readerships and also my favorites. It has always been “a given” that with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hannukah, our Q4 issue focus would be themed around the Holidays . . . The idea for an issue focused on “women thought leaders” began four years ago, when I had the privilege of interviewing the executive director of the National Foundation for Women Legislators (NFLW) for part of the ELYSIAN Inspiring Woman series. I was intrigued when Jody Thomas explained that her nonpartisan organization NFWL provides resources and development to all elected women. “NFLW is a national organization where there is never an R or a D on anyone’s nametag,” she said. The organization’s goal is to exchange diverse legislative ideas and foster effective governance amongst elected women from across the country and across the aisle. NFLW is a bright light shining in a time of dim grey. Women coalescing around ideas and generating change . . . setting aside their political differences for common good. The ELYSIAN reader can see from the interviews of the women legislators a shared transcendence of purpose. Finally, little did we know at the time of our editorial content retreat the previous year, that ELYSIAN would engage in the Web3 space and the timeliness of our second NFT launch would just so happen to fall simultaneously with the Thought Leader and Holiday issue. And what more perfect a cover for the thought leader issue than the beautiful, brilliant and enigmatic Ebony K. Williams, who is also the keynote speaker for the annual NFLW meeting in Charleston, South Carolina.
The Russian Tea Room is open daily. 150 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019 For reservations, please call 212-581-7100 • www.russiantearoomnyc.com
architecture&interiors
Gothic Grandeur
BY CHRISTY NIELSON
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Snow falls on the Milan Cathedral, or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary. As Gothic architecture gained popularity outside of France, other cultures took certain Gothic elements and translated them through their own cultural lens. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALEXANDRE ROTENBERG / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
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if
EROTICISM, HALLUCINOGENIC DRUGS, NUCLEAR SCIENCE, GAUDI’S GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE, MY LOVE OF GOLD - THERE IS A COMMON DENOMINATOR IN ALL OF IT: GOD IS PRESENT IN EVERYTHING. THE SAME MAGIC IS AT THE HEART OF ALL THINGS, AND ALL ROADS LEAD TO THE SAME REVELATION: WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD, AND THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE TENDS TOWARDS THE PERFECTION OF MANKIND.” — SALVADOR DALI
you have ever watched a royal wedding or visited an ornate cathedral in Europe, you have witnessed the grandeur and gracefulness of Gothic architecture. The majestic architectural aesthetic, prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th centuries, was invented by the French. Gothic is sandwiched between the Romanesque style—with its focus on sturdy, thick walls and small windows—and Renaissance architecture, which enlists precise ratios of height and width to create a sense of proportion and harmony. Gothic architecture is characterized by soaring spires, vaulted ceilings, ornate decorations, massive and elaborate window tracery, stained glass, ribbed vaults and flying buttresses. The vaults and buttresses are key—creating an “exoskeleton” that offers structural support from the outside of the building, freeing up wall space for windows that create a light-filled, cavernous interior. Glass was very expensive in the Middle Ages, even for kings, so most people did not have windows, to say nothing of windows as large as those constructed in Gothic cathedrals. “Walking into these spaces with these huge fields of brilliantly colored glass was like entering another world,” says Lisa Reilly, Commonwealth Professor of Architectural History at the University of Virginia. “It was like no place on earth that people had ever been to, so it’s an incredible transformational, other-worldly, heavenly space.” She adds that these buildings were also absolutely enormous compared to other structures of the time. The Gothic style was first conceived for the reconstruction of the choir portion of the Basilica Cathedral of Saint-Denis near Paris, which was originally an abbey church that was designated a cathedral in 1966. Saint-Denis was designed by Gothic godfather Abbot Suger,
Germany’s Cologne Cathedral is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe and was constructed to resemble France’s Amiens Cathedral. PHOTOGRAPHY BY WONDERVISUALS / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
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The royal Hohenschwangau castle in Schwangau, Bavaria, Germany, was reconstructed in the 1830s in the Gothic Revival style. Gothic Revival came about in the 1700s by architects who wanted to bring back Medieval Gothic architecture. PHOTOGRAPHY BY DROZDIN VLADIMIR / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
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ARCHITECTURE IS THE LEARNED GAME, CORRECT AND MAGNIFICENT, OF FORMS ASSEMBLED IN THE LIGHT.” —LE CORBUSIER
EVELINE PERROUD, LE CORBUSIER (2007). “OPUS 1, LE CORBUSIER”
a close associate of King Louis VII. Suger introduced Gothic architecture to the sanctuary by using considerable amounts of open space and natural light—a symbol of divinity. The church is the final resting place for the kings and queens of France and contains graves for all but three of the French monarchs. The soaring Gothic style caught on in France, and many other notable Gothic cathedrals were constructed in and around Paris during this period. The Notre-Dame de Reims Cathedral (not to be confused with Notre-Dame Paris) is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. Larger and about 50 years younger than Notre-Dame, the Reims is also larger and more ornate than its Paris counterpart with more than 2,300 statues adorning its facades. The Amiens Cathedral, located in the Piccadilly region, is the tallest Gothic cathedral in France. It radiates the aesthetic with stained glass art, Gothic sculptures and slender spires. Certain aspects of the Gothic style also spread across Europe. But rather than copying the vocabulary of French Gothic precisely, these other cultures took certain Gothic elements and translated them into massive and elaborate buildings that reflected their local culture and needs. In some cases, the ornate decorations were adapted, while in others it was the scale of the structures that was reflective of the French Gothic style. Sometimes, the buildings were constructed with the characteristic flying buttresses, but not always. Despite these Opposite: The sculpture of an angel adorns the famous Gothic Cathedral of Amiens, France. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JORISVO / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM LEFT: PHOTOGRAPH BY DYNAMIC WANG / UNSPLASH
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Gothic spires and white marble statues pierce the sky above the roof of the Milan Cathedral, or Duomo di Milano, in Milan, Italy. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JULIA ZAVALISHINA / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
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Architectural details of the gothic interior of the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Amiens, also caleed Cathédrale Notre-Dame d’Amiens, in Amiens France. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ISOGOOD_PATRICK / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM • Opposite: St. Peter’s Church, Rome. PHOTOGRAPHY BY URBAN JYDEN / UNSPLASH
variances, Reilly says the style undoubtedly had an impact across the continent. Examples include the Salisbury Cathedral in England, which houses one of the best-preserved original copies of the Magna Carta and boasts the tallest spire in Britain since 1561, at over 404 feet. The iconic London landmark, Westminster Abbey, features the highest Gothic vault in England at over 100 feet and displays other Gothic features such as ribbed vaulting and flying buttresses. More examples of Gothic architecture can be found throughout the whole of Europe. Italy’s Duomo di Orvieto took almost three centuries to construct, and its style displays an evolution from Romanesque to Gothic as construction progressed. St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Austria is the most important religious building in Vienna and a symbol of the city. Leuven Town Hall in Belgium is one of the world’s most famous secular Gothic buildings. Germany’s Cologne Cathedral is the largest Gothic church in northern Europe and was constructed to closely resemble France’s Amiens Cathedral. Reilly says eventually the Gothic style ran out of steam for a number of reasons. “Once these huge churches are constructed, they are not being replaced,” she explains. “Also, with the advent of Protestantism in certain parts of Europe, this type of church is no longer being built.” She adds that in other parts of Europe such as Italy, the style simply shifts away from Gothic as the country embraced its classical roots.
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Rose window detail inside the Orvieto Cathedral in Umbria, Italy. Construction of the cathedral took approximately 300 years, and the style evolved from Romanesque to Gothic as the construction progressed. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBERTO MUSSI / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
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Bronze sculpture of a gargoyle. PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE ESTVANIK / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Opposite: Piazza del Duomo, or Cathedral Square, is the primary city square in Milan, Italy. It is named after, and dominated by, the Milan Cathedral.
in PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKITA YO / UNSPLASH.COM
the early 1900s, Gothic architecture and modern building collided in the United States in the form of Gothic skyscrapers. Reilly notes that both skyscrapers and Gothic buildings rely on skeletal support structures, and skyscrapers are tall like Gothic churches, so the vocabulary of the Gothic style is seen as appropriate. “People evoked Gothic into skyscrapers for all kinds of reasons, and of course not all skyscrapers look like Gothic cathedrals, but a whole bunch of them do in the early 20th century,” Reilly describes. The Woolworth Building in New York, dubbed the “Cathedral of Commerce,” is one of the earliest and tallest examples, which became a model for Gothic skyscrapers around the world. Reilly says that while some people associated Gothic skyscrapers with churches, that isn’t necessarily what architects of the time were thinking. “In the case of the Woolworth Building, for example, the architect Cass Gilbert was looking for the roots of capitalism, so he actually copies cloth hall buildings from Belgium and France that he sees as representing the beginnings of capitalism.” The Tribune Tower in Chicago is another famous example of a Gothic skyscraper. In this case, there was a huge competition for the design of the newspaper building, and the Gothic style was selected in part because it was believed that Gothic was a “morally correct” aesthetic. In the South, the Atlanta City Hall was designed to look like a New York City Gothic skyscraper, in part, because Atlanta was marketing itself as the “New York of the South” and wanted to have an association with New York in copying this design. ■ Editor’s note: To learn more about the influence of European Gothic architecture on skyscrapers in the United States, check out the book Skyscraper Gothic, to which Reilly contributed. In addition, many of the world’s finest Gothic structures are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites and can be seen here: whc.unesco.org.
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The Hungarian Parliament Building, which is also known as the Parliament of Budapest, was built in Neo-Gothic style and opened in 1902. PHOTOGRAPHY BY IMAGES72 / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
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