Sexual Wellness & How to Increase Oxytocin
Have you ever wondered how to increase oxytocin in your body? Oxytocin, less formally known as the love hormone, is responsible for multiple functions in a woman’s body, including her ability to recognize and trust fellow human beings. In this article, Dr. Katherine Birchenough, board-certified physician and sexual wellness expert, explains how to increase oxytocin, […]
Jiha Moon
Jiha Moon always knew she was going to be an artist. She also knew there was a bigger world for her to discover outside of South Korea. At twenty-five, she became the only family member to travel to the United States, where she earned her second M.F.A. in studio art. Green cards were halted following […]
Tuliza Fleming
Museum curator Tuliza Fleming’s earliest memories take place at the Smithsonian Institution with her parents, which ignited in her a lifelong fascination with history. Her father was a ground-breaking museum director who led the development of the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberforce, Ohio. He left big shoes for her to fill, but […]
Marie Benedict
Raised in a traditional family, Marie Benedict followed the socially acceptable path and entered law school at the young age of twenty-one. She excelled as a successful litigator for over ten years at two of the country’s premier law firms–but, Marie knew this was not her true calling. The skills she learned on this path […]
The Unsettling Mask Art of Damselfrau
Magnhild Kennedy creates elaborate mask art that is deeply unsettling yet exhilarating: wholly unusual, wildly imaginative, and vividly colored. They seem to combine elements of high fashion (with its joyous embrace of extremes), burka- or veil-like head coverings (with their power to efface women), or tribal masks (with their spiritual force). And, yet, Kennedy says, […]
Listening Skills & Relationships: Breaking the Golden Rule
The expression ‘treat others as you want to be treated’ is one of those old sayings of kindness used as a North Star for listening skills in relationships everywhere. You probably heard it on the playground when you were small, you probably hear it now from friends and co- workers, and there is good reason […]
Mary Alice Monroe
Mary Alice Monroe lives by the guiding principle, “If they care, they take care.” For her, this exemplifies her mission as an author: to help readers become aware of the issues facing endangered species. Mary Alice has felt an inherent bond with animals and a passion for nature since childhood, which she uses to craft […]
Restoring the Heart of Female Painters
Nearly everyone knows who Michelangelo and da Vinci are. But you’ve probably never heard of Irene Parenti Duclos, Elisabeth Chaplin or Violante Siries Cerroti—female painters who lived and worked in Florence just as the guys famous enough to go by one name did. Advancing Women Artists (AWA), an American nonprofit based in Florence, Italy, is […]
And She Was Loved: On the Power of Toni Morrison
My first encounter with Toni Morrison’s words was as a bright-eyed, hopeful sophomore at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. Her first novel, The Bluest Eye, was required summer reading. Toni Morrison books cracked me open, and 20 years later I am still examining parts of myself that this fiction writer […]
Ballet Photography: After the Curtain Call
When we admire ballet photography, we are usually met with images of ethereal beauty and elegance—graceful bird-like creatures with legs high in the air, elaborate tailor-made tulle dresses, and muscles so toned they make you swear off ice-cream—images that whisk us into the dreamlike world that is a ballet performance. Darian Volkova takes it one […]
Online Luxury Shopping: A Well Traveled Closet
Online luxury shopping is here to stay. Before the beginning of 2020, online shopping was already a trillion dollar industry, and since COVID-19 emerged, retailers have raked in an extra 107 billion in sales. But if you find yourself struggling to determine which online luxury shopping site is right for you, it’s time to try […]
Letter from the Publisher: Summer 2020
It is our hope that the pages of ELYSIAN offer women of all ages a place to connect and find reprieve during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Our issue’s focus, Arts and Culture, allows you to be encouraged by inspiring interviews, captivated by beautiful images and bold stories and motivated by time-sensitive philanthropy. Our daily routines […]
