“The object we call a book is not the real book, but its potential, like a musical score or seed. It exists fully only in the act of being read; and its real home is inside the head of the reader, where the symphony resounds, the seed germinates. A book is a heart that only beats in the chest of another.”
— Rebecca Solnit
Writers present the purest form of creation. They take a simple, clean, crisp white sheet of paper and fill it with intricate shapes and sizes, all of which translate into marks . . . that combined in unison . . . tell stories.
So too is the making of a magazine. It begins with a word . . . an idea . . . a concept . . . a theme . . . and then begins the complexity of organizing the magazine content in a way that keeps a reader interested throughout approximately two hundred pages. If successful, the creator must simultaneously parlay the visual with the written word, with tremendous agility, almost like a dance to unheard music.
Just like “paper never refuses ink”, innovation is dependent on the curious mind and those brave souls who dare to take the road less traveled. Invention is much like hearing a song that no one else can recognize, or even understand. I often think about Virginia Woolf, who commented on the complexity of the creative mind and the isolative nature of listening to the quiet voices within. “Literature is strewn with the wreckage of those who have minded beyond reason the opinion of others,” she wrote.
“Blanc,” the French word for white, is coincidentally defined as the absence of color in the strictest sense. The complex use of white as seen in both interior design and art recognizes an open-mindedness of true creation. How does one generate interest with no color, one might ask? Just look to Dana Harel, who crafted wedding gowns like none other . . . or Van Gogh’s illustrious White Roses.
In keeping with our theme, Shakespeare himself asked,“What is in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell so sweet.” In these pages, the life of the enigmatic icon Betty White is brought to light. Strong, authentic, beautiful and brilliant, her life story encourages and inspires others.
Fundamental to ELYSIAN is a core belief that every woman has a story to share, even the storytellers. To compliment the blanc theme, talented and multidimensional authors Annabel Monaghan and Deborah Goodrich Royce were clad in white and joined me in the foyer of my home as we filmed The Women Who Inspire Us interviews. Capturing facets of their inspiring life’s journey, each of these enigmatic women galvanize the reader with their authentic, in-depth, and unique experiences.
We dedicate the “Blanc” issue to the innovative spirit. Creative women like ELYSIAN’s former Graceful Living Editor, Rhonda Wilkins Fischer, manifest their talents in a sundry of unique ways. We are privileged to share Rhonda’s captivating and elegant wedding with our readers. Not only did Fischer imagine and conceptualize the wedding of a lifetime on the magnificent Greek island of Santorini, but she executed a weekend of memories for friends and family. The forever experience set the highest of bars for other destination white weddings.
Finally, one-of-a-kind experiences are often the results of those imaginators who simply dare to be different. Whether milk baths, known to ease skin conditions and lauded for manifesting a universal calm, or culinary delights and the scrumptious gastronomic experience of Cheval Blanc in Basel Switzerland, the originality and unusual risk-taking of the creator sets them apart.
As with every issue, ELYSIAN Impact (our charitable focus) recognizes Fond Blanc, a home to 54 orphaned children from Haiti. In 2010 an orphanage in Port au Prince was demolished by earthquake, leaving the children homeless. Pastor Jean Claude coalesced those who aided in fulfilling his vision to develop a community for orphaned and homeless children on land he owned in the mountain area of Fond Blanc.
What begins with a white sheet of paper, the gift of creating . . . lands in a heart that only beats in the chest of another.
Thank you for taking the journey with us.
With love,
Karen Floyd
Publisher
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