Malcah Zeldis is a celebrated  folk artist with paintings in museums all
over the country.She has always used painting as means of self
expression, but severe hip pain left her unable to sit for long periods
of time. Malcah began to discover creative inspiration in the many
colorful pieces of clothing she had collected and found in thrift stores
over the years. Dressing became her new form of expression and healing.
Watch the video above to hear Malcah’s inspiring story in her own
words.(I am happy to say that Malcah is feeling much better now and has
returned to creating her amazing works of art.)

I ran into this woman in Chelsea and asked if I could take her photo. She told me, ” I am on my way to a 90th Birthday party and the Birthday boy will surely get a kick out of this!”

Last week I had the pleasure of photographing stylist turned beauty guru, Linda Rodin, outside her NYC apartment. Besides working full time on her skincare line, Rodin olio lusso, Linda has become a favorite among fashion bloggers, and is currently featured in the   J.Crew catalog. Linda believes that lots of sleep and a good diet are two of the keys to aging gracefully.

When it comes to looking older she says,”First of all it’s not easy getting older. It catches up on you all of a sudden. It’s definitely more interesting to let yourself go through the process than do a bunch of surgery and get addicted to a face that’s not even yours. You can’t chase youth. You’ll just look older with a face lift.”  Check out more of Linda’s story and her amazing  Rodin olio lusso products HERE.

( For those of you who asked about Linda’s lip color she is wearing Make Up Forever, #16 pencil, then Make Up Forever lipstick #36. Under both: Fran Wilson’s green mood matcher)

Ruth is turning 101 next month and she is looking forward to celebrating with all of her friends and family. She is a wonderful example for us all to take care of ourselves and to age gracefully. I was just looking through the September issue of Vogue and couldn’t spot one photograph that revealed a line, wrinkle, or even pores on any of the model’s faces. There is definitely a photoshop epidemic going on. Everyone is so concerned with aging and looking younger, but wouldn’t you rather see Ruth advertising a beauty brand  than a photo-shopped 20 year old with no character or expression?