She`s So Skirt!

In her mixed media work, Charleston artist Olan Quattro explores memory and myth. Her collages are constructed from the forgotten pieces of our lives. Each piece is first layered with old letters, photographs and notes and then painted. The layers represent the passing of time, the erosion of memory.

The pieces shown here are from her project, “September Fashion Issue,” in which she challenged herself to create a collage from every consecutive page of Vogue’s 2009 September issue.

Moira Vetter was raised in the family business, running the cash register at her father’s pharmacy when she was just 7 years old. It’s no surprise that today she is the founder and CEO of Modo Modo Agency, an award-winning, business-to-business marketing agency that won the #2 spot in the Atlanta Business Chronicle's 2010 Fastest Growing Women-Owned Firms in Atlanta.  

“Work and work ethic were always at the core of our family,” says Moira.  “They are at the core of who I am, too.”  

Award-winning interior designer, author and environment evangelist, Lori Dennis, sat down with skirt! recently to shed some (green) light on decorating your digs with dignity.

Lori is New York born, but L.A. bred all the way. Having been raised by a single mother, and a grandmother that grew up during the Great Depression, Lori was green way before it was the “it” thing to be.

Because she’s not afraid to speak her mind. Because she’s a fierce entrepreneur. Because she shows women what confidence looks and sounds like.

Tabatha rarely passes through the world unnoticed these days. Ever since her stand out turn on BravoTV’s Sheer Genius earned the Aussie firebrand her own spin-off show, Tabatha’s Salon Takeover, she’s become a highly recognized reality show figure.

“I am a feminist because…”

“As editors of UAB's awarding-winning, all women's journal PMS poemmemoirstory, we have no fear of the F-word--after all, words are our bread and butter, or better yet, our chocolate, our wine. Our feminism drives us to provide a forum to celebrate and promote women writers who wield words with a fierce grace.”

A former surgeon who ‘retired’ to a second career as one of the Southeast’s top triathlon coaches, Sherry helps people find themselves through sport. From elite Paralympic swimmers to youth triathletes, many will think of her as they cross the finish line.

Laura Kate Whitney has only been a Magic City resident for a little over two months, but she is quite certain it won’t be long before she uncovers her own magic here. A new place a laptop and a spirit of adventure are the only requirements for this woman with a mission to learn Birmingham back to front. Her blog, entitled ‘Magic City Manifesto,’ documents her story, as she explores and comments on the history, happenings and future of what has quickly become home.

When did you move here? 
We landed first of December and have seen only three sunny days since our arrival.

What were you doing in Charleston before you moved here? 
Enjoying all the beautiful views.  I worked in the special events industry, producing corporate galas/meetings, weddings, social events, etc…Now I stay at home with my toddler son.  It’s been a bit of a culture shock, to say the least.

Where did the idea for your blog come from?

“I don’t regret opening my new business in a challenging year.” Teresa Davis isn’t referring just to the challenges of this year’s economic climate. On January 31 of last year, she endured what she calls two life changing “events.” The youngest of her three children ventured off to college that morning, leaving her to cope with the proverbial empty nest, when she received a phone call with much more unexpected, grave news. Her husband of 25 years, a very skilled and experienced pilot, had died in a private plane crash. “I would have never guessed that's the way he would die. He was a pilot since he was 13 years old, he was a military pilot and he had logged tons of hours. It was a huge shock. I knew from that point I would be forever changed. I refocused, redirected and reminded myself there was a reason God left me here.”

Most people don’t regret leaving. “I don’t regret coming home,” says Lawren. After bouncing between Los Angeles and New York City, pursuing dreams of filmmaking and production, Lawren returned to Winston-Salem. She graduated with her MBA from Wake Forest in 2004 and she started a family. Now she’s bringing a bit of the big city to Winston-Salem with the independent theatre, a/perture. “A friend told me it’s the perfect marriage of my interests,” she says. The cinema is located downtown and houses two, 80-seat theaters. The film genres range from independent, foreign, and art-house. “They’ll be award-winning films that aren’t already being screened here,” she says. Though Lawren thought she would never move back, it seems she’s found her place. “I’m exactly where I want to be now,” she says.

a/perture plans to draw back the curtain Friday, January 8. Visit aperturecinema.com for more info.
 

“I don’t regret leaving my full-time job and benefits to follow my dreams,” says Christien. The beauty guru is leaving her job in the spring to attend makeup school in Orlando. The light at the end of her tunnel? A full-time makeup business, and her bliss—special-effects makeup. “I still can’t sit through a TV show or a movie without wondering how the makeup was done or how I would do it differently.” Her life isn’t all buffed to a shine—the makeup maven juggles a day job at the Disabilities Board of Charleston County, night shifts waitressing and working out her website’s kinks, and weekends making brides beautiful. Not to mention networking, networking and more networking. “I always tell myself, ‘Okay, let’s get to this next step and see what happens. If this works, keep going. If not, reevaluate.’ Inevitably, the next steps just keep coming and keep making themselves more and more obvious.”

“I don’t regret running for office,” says Ginger, even though the District 10 city council seat was whisked out from under her by only 44 votes in a run-off. The first-time campaigner and top vote-getter in the initial election first considered her run in early 2009. “I felt my corporate background, non-profit career, volunteer work and knowledge of the Charleston community had all come together at a point that coincided with a realistic opportunity. If I didn’t run, I would regret it for the rest of my life.” Luckily, Ginger handles marketing and program development for the Center for Women and had “accidentally” attended campaign training workshops as a sideline staffer, so she was prepared for the basics. She was unprepared, she jokes, for seeing her name in print: “You have to get used to viewing yourself as a product with features and benefits.” Considering putting your name on the ballot? She quotes Eleanor Roosevelt, “You have to do that which you think you cannot do.”

“I don’t regret my mastectomy,” Abby says. She lost her grandmother, father, and beloved sister Alicia Sanderlin to cancer, and tested positive for the breast cancer gene, giving her an 84% chance of developing breast cancer herself. But Abby took action, giving up her healthy breasts at 29 years old with a double mastectomy, hoping to beat the disease before it appeared.

“The cancer gene that my family has is just so aggressive,” she says. “I couldn’t sit back and wait on it to get me.” Now Abby is confident she’ll be around to watch her two-year-old daughter grow up.

“I saved my life,” she says. “I won’t say that I have not endured a lot of pain, because I have. I will not say I have not shed a lot of tears, because I have. But I will say I will soon be as good as new without the worry of having breast cancer and would do it all over again if I had to.”

-Aleigh Acerni

“I don’t regret donating a kidney,” says Jordan Hadden. Although she’s related to Christine Michelle Roy only by marriage, Jordan’s kidney was a perfect match—an even better match than Christine Michelle’s own family.

“I just knew that I was supposed to get tested,” says Jordan. “Everyone thought I was a little loopy…since we weren’t blood relatives. I just listened to my heart and did what I was supposed to do.”

The experience bound the two women forever; they call each other “sister,” and will celebrate the one-year anniversary of the surgery this month.

“If it weren’t for [Jordan], I don’t think I would be here today. She’ll be part of our lives forever,” says Christine Michelle.

“She is one of the most incredible people I’ve met in my whole entire life,” says Jordan. “She lives every day to the fullest and she’s taught me to do the same. I just feel like I have a new set of eyes now.”

-Aleigh Acerni