The Granny Club

 My good friend Karen recently bought my Beauty and Wisdom book for her granddaughter for Christmas and I was so touched I wanted to share her story.  Here is the email she sent me.

Karen and Mini

I want to give one to my granddaughter.  We have a thing about what we call "The Granny Club."  It's kind of like a beauty and wisdom joke in its own way. 

Granny KB:  "You have to brush your hair because you haven't since you went swimming and if you go out to dinner looking like that I could get kicked out of "The Granny Club." 

For years, Micol thought there really was a Granny Club and cried when she heard the truth.  I felt awful but we have made a big joke out of it as the years have passed.   

 

Micol is the only person who cuts my hair for some years now so, in a sense, she is my stylist!  I thought it would empower her to think she could do something so important and using scissors too.  But in fact it is a tender and empowering thing for me too--like going to the salon.  She says my hair is beautiful and she loves the "silver parts"!  She's messed up a couple of times but with my hair it doesn't really matter.  She loves to do it.  Funny, huh?  I think she will like your book very much.  

Thank you Karen, I am so honored to have my book given to your sweet granddaughter...  Micol obviously already possesses so much beauty and wisdom!

I am accountable for deleting my post on accountability!

Yep, I just deleted my somewhat lengthy post on accountability.  I opened it up to edit it, so that I could add a very crucial part that I left out.

I guess that this post will make sense to whomever read the last post.... so.....

Between the time Luna ran out of Janin Acres and the other day, when I saw the woman whose dog scared Luna, Luna had major knee surgery and was out of commission for 4 months healing.  Her let was already hurting (as I mentioned in the ghost post), so after bolting out of the walking area, that put her over the top and after, healing, physical therapy and  many dollars later, she is doing very well.  If fact, the first time I let her off the lead to play with another dog was the day I met the woman who provided for me, an opportunity to take responsibility for what happened.

And there you have it...  hope this makes sense and next time, I will not edit the way I just did and lost the entire post!   This accountability sure is humbling....

Til next time!

Photo:  Beautiful tree in the mist at Janin Acres, the day I finally met my could be imagined nemesis!

Beauty and Wisdom in Santa Barbara News-Press

Beauty and Wisdom : Santa Ynez photographer explores weekly ritual of aging generation of women

By BRETT LEIGH DICKS NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT Above, Mrs. Milner, John Peri Salon, Marina Del Rey, CA ROBBIE KAYE PHOTO Santa Ynez photographer Robbie Kaye spent four years photographing beauty salons across the county and the elderly clients who frequent them for her new book, "Beauty and Wisdom." Here she is at Melba's Beauty Salon in Solvang. BRETT LEIGH DICKS / NEWS-PRESS Southern Ladies, Sheila's Beauty Salon, Brantley, AL ROBBIE KAYE PHOTO Jenny, The Cut Salon, Santa Monica. ROBBIE KAYE PHOTO December 9, 2013 6:08 AM In Robbie Kaye's new photography book, "Beauty and Wisdom," there is an image she took of an empty chair at a Santa Monica beauty salon. Embedded within the arm of the chair is an ashtray with its lid sprung open, waiting for the falling ash from a burning cigarette. The photograph is a poignant symbol of a bygone era, an era where beauty salons were the social center of every community around the country to which local housewives would make a weekly pilgrimage so they could be spoiled and pampered. As stylists sculpted curls into gravity-defying creative statements and turned nails into works of art, their clients would converse about the weekly happenings over coffee, pastries and, yes, even cigarettes. Ms. Kaye, a Santa Ynez photographer, remembers those times well from growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y. A visit to the local beauty salon was a weekly ritual for both her mother and grandmother. But as firmly planted as the tradition was in American culture, by the time Ms. Kaye and her generation stepped out into the world, it had started to slowly fade away. "A visit to the beauty salon used to be something on every woman's weekly to-do list," Ms. Kaye, 53, told the News-Press. "Just like shopping for groceries or dropping clothes off at the cleaners. But times changed and people started doing their own hair at home." In her recently released self-published book, Ms. Kaye features photographs from 20 salons across the country. There are also portraits of 52 elderly ladies who still regularly frequent the parlors. The 162-page "Beauty and Wisdom" (All Night Long Publishing/Amazon.com, $29.95) is the culmination of four years of work that began in 2009 when Ms. Kaye stepped through the door of a Santa Monica beauty parlor. "I was working on a series called "A Day At" where I documented different places to capture what happened there across the course of any given day," Ms. Kaye explained. "I photographed an antique mall and a junkyard and I then went to a beauty parlor in Santa Monica. During the day of photographing, I realized there was a much larger story there, and for the next four years, I took photographs of women 70 years and older in beauty salons all over the country." A photographic study of older women in beauty salons appealed to Ms. Kaye on several levels. Not only did she want to see for herself what remained of the ritual that was such an intricate part of the lives of her mother and grandmother, she wanted to see how the tradition had endured in the hearts and minds of women who are now in the twilight of their lives. So she packed her camera and took to the road. Desiring a wide demographic, Ms. Kaye not only covered both coasts by visiting California and New York, she photographed in the South, including Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee, along with states like New Mexico. She visited establishments with iconic names like Sheila's Beauty Shop, D's Hair Styling Salon and Cindy's Vanity Faire. Prior to arriving in any given location, she would research local salons and then contact them to inquire about their clientele. "Once I found a salon that had clients who were 70 years or older, I would ask the owners if I could come and if they would ask their clients if I could take their photographs," Ms. Kaye said. "I kept it general because I didn't want anyone to know when I was coming. And the majority of women were fine with that." What she found at the salons was a communal and social atmosphere that encompassed both the clients and the stylists. In a salon in Alabama, there were five women trading opinions on everything from the town's new pastor to recipes, while in Santa Monica, clients reminisced about the marriages and births and deaths they have collectively experienced. One of the project's greatest revelations was how open and accommodating Ms. Kaye's subjects were to being photographed. She was dealing with women in varying states of make-up, not always flattering, but she found them all to be supportive of her requests to photograph them. "These women were so wonderful in allowing me to be a voyeur during this time when they're pampering themselves," Ms. Kaye said. "They were so stoic and so open to what I was doing. They were sitting there with curlers in their hair or under a dryer, but they weren't self-conscious at all. It was interesting to see how vanity has changed over the generations." Despite her talent, photography has only recently entered Ms. Kaye's life. A trained classical musician who has worked as a recording artist and staff songwriter for the likes of Warner/Chappell Music and both Walt Disney Pictures and Disney Music, Ms. Kaye was first exposed to the creative potential of the medium through a musician who took photos of one of the bands she was in while they were on tour. After living in Manhattan and working on music for a number of years, Ms. Kaye relocated in the mid-1990s to Oregon and then to California to continue her craft as a professional musician. In 2003, she studied photography at USC, and though she never earned her degree, the subject has remained a burning passion. "Photography is very much like music," Ms. Kaye said. "It is like a visual symphony where you put different elements together. Composing is an important part of both mediums and so is beauty. And I really like to take photographs of unsuspecting beauty. I feel like in this world of craziness, one of the things I can do is just inject some beauty into it." Much like the music she still writes and performs, the photographs that Ms. Kaye takes stem from deeply personal beginnings. "When I started this project, I was approaching 50," she said. "I think most art is born from something within ourselves and I think this was somewhat of an exploration of how I was aging. "I wanted to do something that would help change the perception of aging," she said. "In other cultures, these women are revered and looked to for counsel. But here in our culture, this is a generation that is overlooked a lot of the time. "I really think they have so much to contribute and I wanted to celebrate them." email: life@newspress.com FYI "Beauty and Wisdom" (All Night Long Publishing, $29.95) is available at Amazon.com, Chaucer's Books, 3321 State St., in Santa Barbara and Outpost Trading Co., 3547 Sagunto St., in Santa Ynez. For more information, go to www.robbiekaye.com.

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The art of BE-ing

From the Animal series

"The wise know that too much doing and a thing won't get done. The secret to manifesting on the highest level is to find the perfect amount of doing and non-doing to allow the doing to be done. Sometimes much more can be accomplished simply by letting go and trusting."

- Jackson Kiddard

Aside from publishing Beauty and Wisdom, I have been co-working on a project that I am very happy to share with you. I have partnered with an amazingly gifted woman, Kei Milner right here in Santa Ynez and together we have created Be Notes. Our mission? To create functional, inspirational art and share it with the world and to create reminders what beautiful people we all are... no matter how much we do, we are be-ings. So BE you... fiercely, lovingly and honestly.  You ARE beautiful.

We decided to do a small holiday promotional run and we produced our first product, Be Note pads, which have 10 images and text (50 pages) reminding us that we are be-ings during our very very busy lives. They are also magnetic.  We are delighted that they are being carried in several stores now in Santa Barbara County and Ventura, CA

There are 4 themes (that were printed, of course we have many more!) Animals, Roads, Gardens, and Santa Ynez Valley.  We do have a website, www.be-notes.com, however, we are not yet selling any pads from there as we are gearing up for large production in 2014 when we will have the inventory to offer them online and everywhere. 

We invite you to visit our website anyway... there is a short video and there are photos of all the themes that we are offering for this holiday.  Again, we only printed 50 of each and we don't have a lot left but we wanted to offer what we did have since the holidays will be here and we believe that these are great gifts to share.  

From the Animal Series

 The cost of each pad is 13.95 + shipping/handling $3.95 (will be nicely wrapped)
 Get 2 or more for 12.50 each.
(Additional shipping will apply if purchasing more than 4 pads per order.)

From the Garden Series

If you are interested in ordering pads for yourself or for a holiday gift, please email me at robbiekaye@aol.com and put "Be Note Pads" in the subject line and let me know which pad(s) you would like to order.  We will send it priority so you get it in time for the holidays.

Below is a little sample of some of the sheets in the pads. Visit the Be Note website to see all the themes and images.

From the Roads Series

From the Santa Ynez Valley Series

From the Santa Ynez Valley Series

From the Garden Series

EnJOY!

Robbie and Kei

 

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© Robs & Kei

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© Robbie Kaye Photography

  

The Journey Continues

Thanksgiving comes at a perfect time for me this year. Though there have been challenges and losses, which are part of life too, there have been many amazing miracles that I have experienced.  So much growth, connection and love and for that, I am eternally grateful.

It's so easy to get caught up in the "Doingness" of life and even though I absolutely love what I do, I also allow it to consume me sometimes and I forget about other important aspects in my life.  I wake up early and jump on my computer instead of meditating or taking a walk. I roll over and pick up my iPhone to see if I need to tend to anything right away.  I worry that I don't have a beautiful photograph to put on Instagram for that day... or a good quote.  If I'm not diligent in my daily practices, I will allow the technological neurosis of the times to set in and eat me up.  So Thanksgiving and Hanukkah come at a great time....   I get to stop for a little bit and give my energy and love to reconnecting with people and I get to be social.  I emerge from the bubble I've been in and I find myself really wanting to listen to others... hear about their stories, their lives.... as I have been so engulfed in my own.

It's a balance... one that I am sure I will always struggle with... but I am learning that that too, is a part of life.... not the struggle, but the quest for balance... and I am grateful that at some point, I can feel the need for realignment and as I sit here writing this from my office, listening to the much needed rain, I am reminded that blogging and writing in my journal, are also a part of my daily balance practice.

Wishing you all a day of internal peace and joy.

The Beauty and Wisdom Book has been released today!

After 4 years in the making, Beauty and Wisdom, the book has been released today on Amazon.com and Goodreads.  If it's something you would like to own or give as a gift, I would be happy to share this book and project with you.  If you do purchase a book and would like it signed, I am still offering that option. Just send me a note.

Meanwhile, thank you for sharing this journey with me thus far.  It has been very exciting and fulfilling living here in the country (Santa Ynez) where I continue to feel grateful every day.  The book launch at The Outpost Trading Company was wonderful, great people, delicious food and wine and a warm reception for me and the book.  Below are a few photos and a video of the reading I did of Diana Martha Clark's essay in the book.

Beauty and Wisdom will be featured in a magazine in January (Salon PS) and we'll be preparing for The Griffin Museum of Photography in Boston for March.  So lots to do and I am so grateful for that.

Sending you all wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving, if you celebrate, and if you don't, I am sending wishes anyway for love and light on your journey.

Shine on!
Robbie

Book Launch Party and Artist Reception for Beauty and Wisdom - November 16th

I am so delighted to be having the book launch and art exhibit for Beauty and Wisdom right here in my new home town.  I am humbled by the welcoming I have experienced since moving here only four months ago.

The books will be available on Amazon.com starting November 20th and I am still taking pre-orders until then for signed books at Pre-order Book. 

It's been a wild and beautiful ride so far.... out here in the country... the irony is, I've never been so busy in my life!

I have so many people to thank for helping me along the way.  My friend and book designer Charles Guice, for one, gave the book  style and class.... and Marta Moran who walked me through the process of self-publishing, is truly an angel.... and Sarah Wilkinson who came with me to Barnes and Noble to research other photo books and who also came to my house to teach me InDesign after I told her I could never do it.... She was right.... I could.

As I consider this whole project a collaboration, so do I consider the production of this book a collaboration... I certainly did not do this all by myself and I know that without the help of my generous and caring friends.... I would be crying somewhere, very frustrated and despondent!  So.... thank you.... thank you, thank you, thank you , thank you.

And if you happen to be in the country this weekend... please!  come by and have a drink of wine, soda, and say hello!