By BRENDA HIMELFARB Palisadian-Post Contributor After giving birth to her third son, Justin, Palisadian Annette Wright was vacationing with her family in Mexico, when she noticed that the locals would go out of their way to touch her baby’s red hair. ‘People would make a beeline to touch his hair,’ says Wright, mother of sons, Thad, Patrick, Justin and Jordan. ‘As they touched his hair, they would say ‘ojo, ojo’ and I soon found out they believed that just by touching his hair, they could ward off evil.’ Wright was just fascinated by all of this, and after doing some research learned that many cultures revere the ‘ojo.’ She learned that the ‘evil eye’ comes from a person who can harm you, your children, your livestock, or your fruit trees just by looking with envy and praising them. The earliest written references to the evil eye occur on Sumerian clay tablets dating to the third millennium BC. The French call it ‘Mauvais Oeil.’ The Germans, ‘B’se Blick.’ The English, the ‘Evil Eye Protector.’ ”Soon Wright began wearing a bracelet, a gift that featured an eye. ”’The bracelet was small and kept breaking. Yet, when I was wearing it, I felt very protected,’ Wright explains. ‘And everytime it broke, something bad would happen. So I was determined that I was going to make something that was going to be durable. Something unisex that people could wear anywhere on their body’the wrist, the ankle, the hair. Something they could wear at all times to protect them from evil.’ And so began Wright’s company, Divine Invention. For five years, it was trial and error. The beads, as well as the special elastic on which they would be strung had to be not only strong but a specific thickness as well. A particular bond that would fuse the ends together before they were crimped also had to be perfected. ‘All of this was intensely laborious,’ Wright says. ‘It was a labor of love.’ ”Eventually, using fine Italian Moretti glass, Wright introduced a bracelet she dubbed the LOOK”her unique version of the ‘eye’ concept. Each eye bead is designed by Wright and crafted by artisans. No two beads are the same. And Wright has incorporated such things as gold, silver, diamonds and various other stones into the designs. It wasn’t long before celebrities that include Steven Tyler, who before each concert had an ‘eye’ painted on each shoulder, discovered the ‘LOOK’ bracelet. Madonna, who practices Kabalah, a facet of Judaism that is loosely described as ‘a focus on Jewish mysticism,’ recently ordered the bracelet in gold. ”Also seen wearing the ‘LOOK’ are Brooke Shields, Christina Aguilera, Jackie Chan, Pamela Anderson and the entire Osbourne family, to name a few. ”Wright has also designed bracelets for specific charities, including the Golden Needle Award, which benefits the John Wayne Cancer Center and the American Cancer Society. A bracelet for a City of Hope event to benefit ovarian cancer research is currently being assembled. But it is the bracelet for the Expedition Inspiration Fund for Breast Cancer Research that is very meaningful to Wright, whose family has been struck many times by the disease. ”’My aunt died of breast cancer at 39,’ says Wright. ‘My mother had breast cancer, but died of ovarian cancer. My sister, Lynda is a 22-year breast cancer survivor and my niece, Tammi Jacob, who is 33, just completed treatment for the disease.’ The pink ‘Inspiration Bracelet,’ that Wright has designed for Expedition Inspiration benefits the fund’s Los Angeles Take-A-Hike, to be held on Saturday, October 2, at Paramount Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains. Proceeds will support research at the Revlon/UCLA and USC’s Norris Lee Breast Centers. The three-level hike event will be chaired by actress T’a Leoni, along with co-hosts Cindy Crawford, Debra Messing, Kim Raver, Kathy Smith and Richard Roundtree. ‘I’m doing everything I can to raise money to find a cure for this horrible disease,’ Wright says. ‘You can wear a beautiful talisman on your wrist. It’s pretty, has a wonderful meaning and pushes away all the bad stuff! This is just very special to me. It’s my way of reaching out. ”’In every language there’s a name for this. It’s a common denominator that almost every culture shares. How different are we all, anyway? We all worry. Cancer is all over the world. Just about every culture in the world believes in the protective cover of the eye and its help in warding off evil. ”’In this country, it’s more worn as a fashion piece. But many are beginning to understand the beautiful meaning behind this piece.’ ”To order the ‘Inspiration Bracelet or to register for Expedition Inspiration’s Take-A-Hike: www.eitakeahike.org. To order the ‘LOOK’ bracelet: www.divineinvention.com

For book artist Alice Simpson, telling a story integrates her lifelong passion for dance with her background in graphic design. ”Born and raised in New York City, Simpson attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York where she studied fashion illustration. For more than 30 years, she worked as a graphic designer and fashion illustrator for various high-end cosmetic companies, such as Revlon and Estee Lauder. Her creative work appeared in national beauty magazines, including ‘Cosmopolitan,’ ‘Glamour’ and ‘Vogue.’ ”In the1980s, Simpson made the cross-country move to California to work at Redken Laboratories in the Los Angeles area. While there, she worked on advertising campaigns, packaging displays and promotional materials for beauty moguls Max Factor and Vidal Sassoon. ”In 1992, after Simpson moved back to New York, a friend invited her to the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine. ‘That experience really changed my life,’ Simpson says. Since then, she has been accepted to the prestigious school every year. ”It was at Haystack where Simpson first began creating artist, or handmade, books. ‘It was the first time in a long time that I had finally done my own creative work,’ she says. ‘It was exciting to discover what I was capable of doing when it wasn’t for a client.’ ”After discovering her love and knack for creating artist books, Simpson opted to remain in New York and make the transition from graphic artist to artist book creator. ‘With graphics, everything has to be very pristine and perfect,’ she says. ‘Artist books can be imperfect. They’re also sculptural, as well as being books, so they have more of a dimension than graphics.’ ”Simpson’s artists books combine both creative illustrations with words (stories, poems or quotes). ‘As I became more comfortable with making the books, I began discovering that I could write.’ ”At one point, Simpson went through ‘a peach phase,’ where all her artist books were based on the fuzzy fruit. The vast majority of Simpson’s books, however, incorporate the theme of dance. She attributes her love of dance to her father, who was a vaudeville dancer. ‘There was always music and dancing in my house.’ ”Simpson, who targets her books for adults, writes about various types of dances, including tango, rumba and waltz. She has even created a book based on the hit movie, ‘Dirty Dancing.’ ‘I just love the way couples configure themselves in different contemporary dances,’ she says. ”Simpson says her favorite book is usually the one she’s just finished. She compares her work to her favorite author, Charles Dickens, since many of her books are caricatures like his books were. ”Artist books, Simpson explains, are very delicate. The problem is they can’t really be handled since the oils in people’s hands can soak into the handmade papers. ‘As a result, they have to be shown under glass or must be [handled] with cotton gloves,’ she says. ‘They must also be protected from light so they won’t fade.’ ”Many of Simpson’s books fall under a ‘unique’ or ‘one-of-a-kind’ category. These books are hand-painted and likely feature calligraphy-style writing. Her other category of books are ‘limited editions,’ printed on a letter press or a computer. ”To create her 12-page, handmade books’which can take anywhere from one day to several months’Simpson uses countless tools and supplies, including handmade paper, water color, ink, acrylic and paints. In an era where many designs and artwork are computer-produced, Simpson says she only turns to the computer to generate type or to print. ”One of Simpson’s most successful books is entitled ‘Tango Bar,’ which took nearly two years to produce. The tunnel, or accordion-style, book features a man and a woman in various tango dance positions and utilizes a vibrant array of colors on each page. In addition to designing, coloring and printing each book, Simpson created a handmade box for each one (which themselves have become collector’s items). ”To date, Simpson has crafted almost 40 handmade books, which range in price from $45 to $4,000, depending on the collection. She says her business background has played a vital role in helping her market her books. ‘I do see my work as a business.”’ ”Simpson’s artist book collections are featured in the renowned collections of the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts in New York City, Yale’s Art of the Book Collection, the Victoria and Albert National Art Library in London and many other private and public rare book collections. ”Talent seems to run in the family. Simpson’s son, Mike, of Pasadena, is a record producer for Dust Brothers. A three-time Grammy winner, he has worked with A-list musicians such as the Beastie Boys, Carlos Santana, The Rolling Stones and Beck. He also worked on the music for the movie, ‘The Fight Club.’ ”Currently, Simpson is visiting Pacific Palisades and will teach a two-day creative writing and book arts workshop on September 17-18. The workshop is for members of Journey Beyond Business, an organization comprised of highly successful business people. Participants will create one-of-a-kind artist books based on a photograph of someone special to them. ”Over the past two years, Simpson has explored her interest in working with clay. She’s even created a hip-hop series from clay and has just finished a hip-hop book. Her upcoming exhibition in New York, called ‘Urban Motion,’ will feature works from her hip-hop series. ”Simpson says she’s thankful to have such a special gift and be able to share it with others. ‘I feel very fortunate. It’s very special to do what you love.’ (Editor’s Note: Jolene Hull, a native of Iowa, is finishing her journalism degree at Iowa State University by performing a 12-week internship at the Palisadian-Post).

By Bonnie Graveline Worley (Editor’s Note: Bonnie Graveline Worley graduated from Palisades High School in the summer of 1964. Raised in Pacific Palisade, she attended Palisades Elementary and Paul Revere before entering Palisades High School as a 10th grader in 1961. Her class was the first graduating class to go all the way through Palisades High. Their 40th Reunion will be held at The Beach Club in Santa Monica on October 9. After high school, Bonnie married Carl Worley and was a stay-at-home mom while raising their two daughters. She and her husband live in San Juan Capistrano and are enjoying their four grandchildren.) Our graduating class of S’64 from Palisades High School started elementary school in the fall of 1951. Our classmates attended either Palisades, Marquez, Canyon, Kenter Canyon, Brentwood, or UCLA (UES) elementary schools. During the 6th grade many of us remember reading in the ‘Weekly Reader’ (a newspaper our schools received each week), that the Russians had launched Sputnik’the first satellite ever! We were all very afraid of the Russians and people were building bomb shelters. These shelters cost a few thousand dollars and were dug into the ground and packed with food and supplies so if necessary, you could survive for months. The top of the bomb shelters looked like manhole covers. There was a bomb shelter around the corner from my house on Chapala; I wonder if it’s still there after 45 years? ”” ”Back then, La Cruz between Swarthmore and Sunset was still a dirt road. The street ran past the side of Bay Pharmacy, past Ebsen Dance Studio (owned by Buddy Ebsen and his sister Velma), and no one could figure out why it was NEVER paved. You could drive to the back of Woodbury’s 5 & 10 Cent Store on Sunset and Dilly’s had the best ice cream ever. The Hot Dog Show on Sunset had a miniature train track up near the ceiling running around the room, and the Bay Theater (our one and only movie theater) was another hang-out for us kids. We had celebrities in our neighborhood: Groucho Marx’s daughter, James Arness’ kids, Betty Hutton’s daughter, Grace Kelly was renting a home on Alma Real, and Vivian Vance (Ethel on ‘I Love Lucy’) lived on Ocampo. Not to mention the future U.S. President (Ronald Reagan) was living on Amalfi. Also on Amalfi was Jerry Lewis. ”When we entered Paul Revere we met many new classmates from all the local elementary schools I mentioned earlier. We became a very close class in Paul Revere and remained close all the way through Pali High’520 students graduated from Revere in June 1961 and were basically the same students who made up the 487 seniors who graduated from Pali in June 1964. When we were in the 8th grade one of the most memorable mornings at Paul Revere was when John Glenn was launched into space. ”As 9th graders we knew our ‘brand new’ high school was nearing completion and we all voted on the school name, the school colors and the school mascot. We chose Palisades High for the name, royal blue, columbia blue and white for the colors and Dolphins for the mascot. Everyone was thrilled to be going to a school right in our hometown. If the new high school had not been built we would have gone to University, about a 20-minute drive from the Palisades. Palisades High School was built on the site originally called ‘All Hallows Farm,’ the first home of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. Reunion committee member Wendy Price Anderson recalls: ‘Before the high school was built, Temescal Canyon Road didn’t go through to PCH. At the end of the canyon there was a pier with a restaurant where people ordered clam chowder in china bowls and when they were finished eating they just threw the bowls out into the ocean. A man I met on a hike one day told me that people go diving for them today.’ ”On September 11, 1961, Pali opened with only 10th and 11th graders. The boys gym was complete, but not the girls gym. For one semester the girls all had P.E. in the multipurpose room (now Mercer Hall) where the P.E. teachers turned up the hi-fi and we all learned the ‘new’ dances, like the twist! ”We all loved the beautiful new school, it was modern, fresh and clean’and earthquake proof. We had more school spirit than anyone could imagine. We lost every football game the first year (we had no senior football players), but our ‘spirit’ was the envy of all the schools we played. We sophomores were not old enough to drive, so we all went on buses to the away football games. When our buses showed up at the other schools our rivals could hear us coming from a mile away. We were singing and cheering so loud! When Bob Sawyer finally scored our first touchdown (in the fifth game of the season at home against Fairfax) we cheered for at least 10 minutes! What a thrill!!! ”Our principal was Dr. Herbert Aigner, who was very fair and respected by most everyone. We had many excellent teachers who have stayed in contact with some of our classmates over the years. Our 40th reunion is coming up and thanks to the efforts of classmate Janie Redmond Mueller, nine of the original faculty members will be attending: Richard Farnham, Rose Gilbert, Ralph Hedges, Annette Herbst, Fred Johnson, Paul Jordan, Ray Normandin, Arthur Thomas and Thomas Weese. ”We had some very tragic times too. Our class lived through the Brentwood and Malibu fires, where many of our friends lost their homes. Many students had their homes burn to the ground, leaving them with nothing but the clothes on their back. The most tragic, but most memorable day was in the 11th grade when an announcement came over the P.A. system during 1st period that ‘President Kennedy has been shot.’ Later that day the sad news came over the P.A. system that our beloved President John F. Kennedy was dead. Teachers cried, students cried and the school was closed for three or four days. ”Our class produced many doctors, lawyers, and professionals. Among them is Dr. Barry Sears, the creator and author of ‘The Zone Diet,’ psychiatrist Kay Redfield Jamison, author of ‘An Unquiet Mind,’ and Joseph Gold, a world-famous violinist who has performed with the great Jascha Heifetz. We also had the late Rusty Hamer who played ‘Rusty’ on ‘The Danny Thomas Show.’ Sadly, we have lost 26 classmates out of a class of 487. The Vietnam War began and we sadly lost young men from our school, including two classmates, Todd Swanson and Pete Drusdeau. ”The favorite music groups of our high school days were Dick Dale and The Deltones, Johnny Mathis, Ricky Nelson, Elvis, the Beach Boys and the Beatles. We had a dress code that girls today would not believe. Girls always had to wear dresses or skirts to school and socks or nylons at all times…never slacks, jeans, or bermuda shorts. Your skirt had to be knee length and we all took pride in ourselves. The way students dress today is quite different. Y-Teen Club jackets were forbidden at PaliHi. Therefore, the two girls’ Y-Teen Clubs in our class, The Polynesians and The Shardanees, could only wear their club jackets off campus. Girls had beehive hairdos and used lots of hairspray. Girls would wear large plastic rollers to bed, to get that perfect bubble hairdo the next day. We did not have curling irons and blow dryers unless we went to a beauty salon. ”People felt we were the ‘Cream of the Crop’ and envied our school. The parking lot was full of new shiny cars and he would say ‘those kids’ cars are better than ours!’ It was true’this was a wealthy school. Our classmates’ parents were doctors, dentists, psychiatrists, business owners, and film industry people. The school was almost entirely Caucasian, we had one black student and two Asian students. There was no such thing as busing in those days. ”When we were in the 11th grade, we voted on our graduating classes’ name (the Spartans) and colors (brown and beige). We had our senior prom in the school’s multipurpose room and our Spartan Class Grad Night was held at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Ironically, that was the same hotel President Kennedy’s brother Robert, would be assassinated in exactly four years later in June 1968. ”Attending school from 1951-1964 and living in Pacific Palisades all those years was definitely living the ‘Happy Days.’ ”For reunion information, go to www.pali64.com or contact reunion committee members: Wendy Price Anderson, 459-8334, e-mail: Pricelesseaview@netzero.net; Janie Harris Hansen, 818-990-1630, e-mail: JanieHansen@juno.com; Bonnie Graveline Worley, 949-661-7661, e-mail: BWorley@cox.net; Ileen Cohen Eatherton, 714-960-4105, e-mail: Oileen@socal.rr.com.