Eileen Kramer – A Dancer’s Life

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Aussie Dancer/Choreographer was 110-Years Young

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

They say, “age is just a number.” For Australian dancer/choreographer Eileen Kramer (November 8, 1914 – November 15, 2024) age was just “a dance number” – a dazzling 110 years.

With the New Year upon us SurfWriter Girls Sunny and Patti would like to honor this amazing talent, who seized each new day. Providing enjoyment for others through her dance, she watched her own life evolve through each movement. “There is a continuous shifting, like a cloud that keeps changing shape. I can dance in the mirror for hours.”

Born in Mossman Bay, Australia, Kramer joined the acclaimed Bodenwieser Ballet company in 1940 and danced her way throughout Australia and around the world in an incredible 84-year career.

Touring with the ballet company – which combined classical ballet with the emerging modern dance form – until 1953, she performed in France after WWII and traveled throughout Europe, Africa, India and other locales.

Kramer later worked as an artist’s model for French cubist painter Andre Lhote and had a long-running professional and personal collaboration with filmmaker Baruch Shadmi that lasted until his death in 1987 when she resumed her dance and choreography career.

In 2008, Kramer, who was living in the United States at the time, published her autobiography, Walkabout Dancer.

Then in 2014 she returned to Australia. And to celebrate her 100th birthday, staged, choreographed and performed an original ballet, The Early Ones. She also began collaborating with award-winning dance filmmaker Sue Healey and appearing in other filmmakers’ dance films and video productions.

The winner of many awards and prizes, Kramer was featured in films and books and lauded for her contributions to dance, film and the arts. She even did a TED Talk.

A self-described “child of the bush and the harbour,” she embraced the world, meeting people from all walks of life, including jazz great Louis Armstrong, who had a few dance moves of his own – teaching Kramer the twist in the1960s.

Kramer saw over a century’s worth of history unfold and was right in the middle of it, interpreting social and world events in artistic terms and communicating through dance.

For Eileen Kramer, dancing was an extension of herself, as much a part of her daily activities as eating and breathing. The title of her recent memoir tells it all: Life Keeps Me Dancing.

And it kept her enjoying each day…and using her talents to bring enjoyment to others.

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The Gift of Fun!

Posted on by under Creative Energy, Lifestyle

Treat Yourself to Happiness in New Year

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

Remember when you were little and your parents said at dinner, “Don’t play with your food”? Children have a natural sense of fun whatever they’re doing. Good manners are important, but so is having fun and celebrating life’s moments.

Life is serious stuff. But finding the funny side can make us happier, especially when dealing with difficult situations. So, this holiday season give yourself the gift of fun in the New Year.

Award-winning science journalist Catherine Price, author of the recent book The Power of Fun, says we need to “prioritize having fun.” Fun not only makes us feel better, but “brings people together. You’re embracing your shared humanity.”

She hopes that people will stage “funterventions” where we look for opportunities to have fun. Even work, family responsibilities, health matters, and other concerns can be made less stressful.

SurfWriter Girls Sunny and Patti agree that adding fun into our daily activities energizes us and keeps us in a good mood. Singing along to our favorite songs, doing yoga, taking selfies, cooking new recipes, wearing fun T-shirts, watching rom-com movies, turning a cup of tea into a tea party!

We came across Barbara Ann Kipfer’s book The Happiness Diary: Practice Living Joyfully, a bestseller that explains that happiness doesn’t come from obtaining stuff or being perfect. It comes from “savoring and ingraining the good things you experience.”

The book provides exercises, reflections and journal prompts that help you to grow an emotional garden of flowers to pick when you have challenges to get through.

To increase your level of happiness, Kipfer says spend time in nature, do something positive, feed your mind through reading, learning and being creative, try something new, travel.

Even lounging – doing nothing (without feeling guilty) – is a skill we all need to learn. Just look at cats lying contentedly in the sun.

Yes, life can be demanding, but adding in a measure of fun and laughter can help to make things better.

Let’s keep the Ho, Ho, Hos happening in the New Year. Happy New Year to all.

Greg, Patti and Sunny

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Rumi Spins Wisdom for the Ages

Posted on by under Creative Energy

Persian Poet and Philosopher for All Time

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

As the year comes to an end and we give thanks for all that we have, we can learn a lot about the beauty of life from the 13th Century Persian poet Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī.

Known more simply as Rumi, this learned individual was a man of many talents – a poet, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic (whirling dervish) – who left the world a beautiful legacy of poetry and wisdom for the ages.

Revered for both his insights and humility, Rumi thought that it was important to look inward before we can hope to change things around us. He said, “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to save the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

Rumi also believed that intellectual matters of the mind often stemmed from questions and feelings of the heart. He observed, “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

The underlying theme of most of his poems and writings is the need for love and its ability to transform us and our relationships…if we will only let it.

Hoping to bring people together in harmony, Rumi was opposed to violence and discord.

One of the most translated, quoted and enjoyed writers of all time, Rumi’s books sell millions of copies each year.

He spent most of his life in the Sultanate of Rum, the center of Persian Society, in what is now Turkey.

Rumi, who became a whirling dervish, believed that poetry, music, and dance could be combined as a path for reaching God. In Rumi’s honor, the Malevi Order of Whirling Dervishes was founded in 1273 after his death to perform the rhythmic, spinning dance called the Sufi.

Dazzling to see, dervishes can often spin for several minutes at speeds up to one revolution per second.

Whether writing, teaching, or spinning Rumi never forgot the importance of love, noting that it is there “in the silence of love you will find the spark of life.”

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Coral Reefs in November Spotlight

Posted on by under Environment

Thankful for Colors of the Reefs!

 Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

November is Coral Bleaching Awareness Month, drawing attention to the need to protect the world’s coral reefs from losing their vivid colors and sustainability.

During this time of Thanksgiving when autumn’s red and gold leaves are taking center stage, it’s easy to overlook the dazzling colors hidden from sight below the sea in the ocean’s coral reefs.

Exotic and mysterious, coral reefs around the world, from Hawaii and the Caribbean to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef exist in an endless variety of color – color that is at risk of fading to white as reefs lose their nutrients due to environmental factors and can potentially die.

More than just objects of beauty, coral reefs are underwater living ecosystems that provide food and shelter to more than 25% of the ocean’s sea life. Coral reefs have been called the “rainforests of the sea.”

And like trees protecting the land from the elements, coral reefs protect the world’s shorelines from storms and erosion and help to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air.

The different colors of the reefs – red, orange, yellow, blue, pink, and more – come from the mix of algae in their tissues and varying light conditions and water temperatures. The brighter and bolder the colors, the healthier the reefs.

Marine scientists are working to keep the vivid colors in the reefs – no easy task given the threats from climate change, pollution, habitat destruction and overfishing.

In her children’s book The Great Barrier Thief author Dr. Sue Pillans (AKA “Suzie Starfish”), a marine scientist and visual artist, tackles the problem of coral bleaching and the reasons that many coral reefs are losing their colors.

With the help of her protagonist, a pink fish named Anthia, Pillans hopes to ensure that the Great Barrier Reef doesn’t lose its dazzling colors.

SurfWriter Girls are excited about the world of beautiful colors under the sea and are thankful for the coral reefs.

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The Hope of Audrey Hepburn

Posted on by under Creative Energy

A Life Filled with Possibilities

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

 

The holiday season – which is officially here now – is always a time for hope. Film star Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) personified hope in all the things she did…and film lovers around the world continue to fall in love with her.

She was an incredible actress and humanitarian, who served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, traveling to Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Turkey, Guatemala, Venezuela and Ecuador.

 

Listed by the American Film Institute as one of the top three actresses of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Hepburn’s beauty and charm left an indelible mark on countless films, including Breakfast at Tiffany’s, My Fair Lady, Wait Until Dark, Sabrina, and Charade.

Working with the top directors and leading men of her day, Hepburn held her own alongside Carey Grant, Gregory Peck, William Holden, Humphrey Bogart, Peter O’Toole, Fred Astaire, George Peppard, Sean Connery, and more.

Rising to stardom after her breakout performance in Roman Holiday (1953), Hepburn was the first actress to win three awards for a single performance – the Academy Award, Golden Globe, and British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award.

SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel are among Hepburn’s legion of fans both for her magical presence on the screen and her indomitable spirit that rose against adversity, while helping others to do the same.

Even though she had a privileged upbringing, Hepburn, who was born in Belgium to the Baroness Ella van Heemstra, lived in Holland during the German occupation of WWII and barely survived the Dutch famine – an experience that made her want to help those in need.

Always maintaining a positive outlook on life, Audrey Hepburn was more than a star; she was a survivor.

Her movies have left indelible memories. When this book, Always Audrey, came out with never-before-seen photos by renowned photographers, there were even more beautiful images to enjoy.

A woman to admire, Audrey Hepburn never stopped doing the impossible.

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Henri Matisse in Vivid Color

Posted on by under Creative Energy

French Painter’s Wild Side

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

Henri Matisse passed away November 3rd, 70 years ago. The acclaimed French painter (1869-1954) was a leader of the Fauve (“wild beasts”) art movement in the early 1900s that embraced intense, vivid colors, often unrelated to the subjects’ actual colors.

A style of painting an art critic of the day described as “an orgy of pure tones,“ Fauvism encouraged painters to think outside the lines of formality to follow their own visions.

Inspired by nature, especially the brightly colored blooms of spring and summer, Matisse said, “There are always flowers for those who want to see them.”

This trio of paintings, La Japonaise, Landscape at Collioure, and The Open Window (all created in 1905), captured the scenery on a family trip to Collioure, France, on the Mediterranean Sea.

Colorful boats bobbing in the ocean or nestled in the harbor were also favorite subjects of his.

Over the years Matisse painted in many different styles, including Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Expressionist, as did many of his contemporaries, including Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and Henri Rousseau.

Always looking for new ways to express himself, Matisse experimented with making artistic cut-outs – large panels of different shaped painted paper that he arranged into 3-dimensional murals; an art form he considered a cross between painting and sculpture.

One of his best-known works is the cut-out series he did to illustrate Igor Stravinsky’s opera Le Chant du Rossignol in 1919.

In 1946 he returned to this technique to create an artist’s limited edition folio book entitled Jazz, a collection of his writings illustrated with whimsical theater and circus images.  

Surprising his fans and critics alike, Matisse continued to push artistic boundaries, saying, “An artist must never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of a style, prisoner of a reputation, prisoner of success.”Still producing innovative artworks into his eighties, Matisse had a youthful outlook on life, saying, “Look at life with the eyes of a child.”

One of the most active painters of the 20th Century, Matisse’s strong work ethic contrasted with people’s stereotypical view of “temperamental” artists. His advice to aspiring artists: “Don’t wait for inspiration. It comes while one is working.”

As an artist, Henri Matisse may have been “wild,” but he wasn’t wasteful…of his time or his talent.

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Positive Thinking Powered the 20th Century

Posted on by under Lifestyle

Carnegie, Hill & Peale Motivated Millions

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

Navigating the twists and turns of life to achieve success can be like trying to stay on top of a fast-moving wave.

From the 1930s through the 1960s and beyond, people seeking fortune and fame have turned to three renowned authors and motivational speakers to show them the way – Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill, and Norman Vincent Peale.

From the Great Depression to post-WWII affluence, these motivators’ signature books focusing on positive thinking inspired millions around the world to turn their ideas, hard work, and dreams into personal and professional success.

Dale Carnegie’s core advice in How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936) is simple. The key to positive interactions with others is to show a genuine interest in them. “Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain.” Before pointing out someone’s mistakes, draw attention to your own. He said, “The only way to influence people is to talk about what they want and show them how to get it.”

Born on a Missouri farm in 1888, Carnegie had little money growing up but turned his public speaking and sales skills into a training empire – The Dale Carnegie Institute – teaching interpersonal and sales skills to people eager to climb the corporate ladder or start businesses.

Carnegie’s approach was in stark contrast to many other business people and leaders of his day – rather than focusing on being tough, he emphasized being kind. Encouraging, rather than belittling others. He said politeness was essential, noting that “all anyone wants is to be appreciated.”

Napoleon Hill’s main advice in Think and Grow Rich (1937) is: “Do it now.” Rather than waiting for the perfect idea or the perfect time, he said, “Start now with what you have and find better tools along the way.” He felt that the main obstacle to success was us, saying, “The only limitations are those we set up in our own minds.”

Born in a cabin in Virginia in 1883, Hill was from humble beginnings, writing his book at the height of the Great Depression. Identifying thirteen principles to achieve success, the book draws on Hills’ interviews with successful people, including Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Andrew Carnegie, to determine what behaviors lead to success.

Hill thought that having a “definiteness of purpose” in life was critical to staying on the right track. He also recommended forming a “mastermind alliance” with like-minded people to cooperatively work toward achieving mutual goals.

Norman Vincent Peale’s key advice in The Power of Positive Thinking (1952)  is “Believe in yourself.”  He taught a “Three C’s” approach to positive thinking: Change, Commitment and Consistency. To change your life for the better, be committed and consistent. “Keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Live simply, expect little, give much. Fill your life with love.”

A Protestant clergyman born in Ohio in 1898, Peale’s teachings mix theology and psychology, emphasizing the power that comes from a higher being and one’s own efforts. He encouraged people to be creative, saying, “Imagination is the true magic carpet.” Peale wrote 46 books and was on radio and TV for decades, hosting The Art of Living and What’s Your Trouble?

Peale believed there is a rhythm in life that we need to tune into to reduce stress and renew energy. He saw it in: “the roaring of the surf upon the sand…the rhythm of our own heart beats…the rhythmic and harmonious flow of nature itself…and the energy of Almighty God.” By aligning ourselves with this rhythm, we can find the right “tempo” to achieve our goals.

Carnegie…Hill…Peale. These three 20th Century thinkers, writers and motivators have left lasting marks on the concept of what it takes to succeed, still inspiring people today…and reminding us of the tidal wave of positive power contained in our own thoughts and dreams.

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Beach Bags Keep Summer Vibe Going Year Round!

Posted on by under Lifestyle

Summer Totes Always in Fashion

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel 

With all the end of summer sales going on now, it’s the perfect time to get another beach bag or two to keep the summer vibe going when the autumn leaves start to fall.

A classic summer beach bag or tote is essential year round when you’re out and about, making a run to the store, spending a day at the beach, or traveling on an adventure.

When we’re on the go SurfWriter Girls Sunny and Patti love all the styles there are to keep our supplies, purchases, and finds close at hand.

Whether it’s a simple canvas or straw carryall, a reusable bag from the grocery store…

or a fashionista tote. Something big enough for a beach towel or with lots of pockets.

It can be colorful and fun, support a cause, or make a statement.

Using a Surfrider Foundation bag helps protect our beaches.

Proceeds from FEED Projects bags feed hungry children.

Whatever you’re up to, there’s a bag that’s just right for you – to stash your stuff, store a camera, travel guides and souvenirs, carry groceries or even a French baguette.

For a day in the sun or errands to run,

when you head to the beach keep a tote bag in reach!

It can be fun and kitschy or glam and ritzy.

Bright and breezy, it makes things easy.

Perfect for snacks and fruit, sunglasses and loot.

Seashells you find on the shore, things you buy at the store.

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Hawaiian Shirts’ Aloha Spirit

Posted on by under Lifestyle

Chill Out in Style!

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

When the summer days get hot, what better shirt is there to chill out in than a cool, colorful Hawaiian shirt?

Also known as an Aloha shirt, the colorful, short-sleeve shirts originated in Hawaii in the 1920s and became popular on the mainland after WW II when soldiers stationed on the islands brought them home.

Movies like Rodgers and Hammerstein’s blockbuster musical South Pacific (1958)

and Elvis Presley’s Blue Hawaii (1962) jump-started the island-themed fashion trend even more.

President John F. Kennedy added to the Hawaiian shirt mystique, too, wearing them while sailing or relaxing at his family’s Cape Cod home in Hyannis Port, MA.

So did Tom Selleck in the hit TV show Magnum P.I. and singer Jimmy Buffett while “wasting away” in Margaritaville.

And now, fashion brands from Tommy Bahama to Ralph Lauren and Prada feature the carefree shirts in their lineups.

Originally embellished with traditional Hawaiian quilt and flower designs, the shirts have taken on a wilder life of their own with palm trees, birds, sunsets, cocktail glasses, and more showing up.

If you’re looking for an authentic Hawaiian shirt made by descendants of the original Polynesians, SurfWriter Girls friend Jeffrey Sakamoto, who’s become an expert on island lore, recommends the shirts from Pili Pacific, which utilizes the Tahitian-inspired designs of co-founders Sue Pearson and Herman Pi’ikea Clark.

A must-have for anyone spending time in the islands, whatever you choose, the fun-to-wear Hawaiian shirts bring a taste of the tropics wherever they go…and bring out the party animal in us.

A shirt you can wear tucked in or out – no necktie required! – a Hawaiian shirt takes you anywhere in style…even if it’s just inside your own home.

Mahalo to SurfWriter Greg for taking the photo of us…and all the other photos he always takes! He’s our production crew working behind the scenes.

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Hilbert Museum Mary Blair Art

Posted on by under Creative Energy

Bibbity Bobbity Blair Disney Magic in O.C.

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

The Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University in Orange, CA – near Disneyland’s Magic Kingdom – showcases a century of art by renowned California Scene artists, Hollywood studio artists and animators, and the iconic Disney concept artist Mary Blair.

One of Walt Disney’s favorite artists, Blair (1911 – 1978) achieved legendary status at the House of the Mouse and was the one he chose to give vision to the concepts for Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and other unforgettable Disney animated movies.

Using her paintbrush like a fairy godmother’s magic wand, Blair turned Disney’s ideas into concept paintings that would guide and inspire his teams of animators to create magical movies out of Lewis Carroll’s Alice, J.M. Barrie’s Peter, and the beloved 17th Century fairy tale about a young maiden who wins the heart of a prince.

SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel were eager to see the treasure trove of California art at the remodeled and expanded Hilbert Museum that founders Mark and Janet Hilbert have on display.

Caught up in the powerful works of the California Scene artists and muralists depicting the state’s landscapes and people in the 20th Century, we were still marveling at the dramatic images when…

we turned a corner and museum docent Dennis Brant beckoned us into the magical realm of Mary Blair’s Disney concept paintings.

A pumpkin coach racing through the night, a glass slipper, a boy who won’t grow up, a topsy-turvy world with a Mad Hatter and a White Rabbit.

Scene-after-scene of movie magic-in-the-making paintings covered the walls of the museum’s homage to the gifted artist.

Brant, a docent with many years at Disney, told us how Blair, a Chouinard Art Institute grad, joined Disney’s animation department in 1940 and the important role she played, conceiving the scenes animators used as artistic blueprints for Disney’s movie masterpieces.

Brant explained how Blair used the gouache painting technique (using natural pigments, water and a binding agent) that gives more control than traditional watercolors, enabling her to layer the paint, creating fine details and atmospheric effects. Capturing each scene in vivid color, Blair’s concept paintings spring into life on the paper.

In addition to the many Disney films she worked on, Blair oversaw Disney’s design of Pepsi-Cola’s memorable “It’s a Small World” pavilion for UNICEF at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. A salute to the children of the world, the exhibit was later moved to Disneyland and replicated at other Disney theme parks.

With her endless talent and energy, Blair was also in demand in the advertising and publishing worlds, putting her painting and illustration skills to use for popular brands, fashion retailers, and Simon & Schuster’s Little Golden Books series.

A woman working in a man’s world, Mary Blair reached the pinnacle of artistic success. And – with paintbrush in hand – she helped put the Disney magic into generations of childhood memories!

To see Mary Blair’s magic on display and make more memories of your own, stop by the Hilbert Museum.

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