Jana Carrey Photography Blog

I recently submitted this photo and text to Pictory, an online magazine that publishes personalized mini- photo essays.

This picture was taken of my Nana,  on our shared birthday, June 20th, 2009.  She was turning 95- years-young and I was turning 28.  We were celebrating it together over peach mojitos in a funky restaurant called Dada (named after the art movement) in West Palm Beach, Florida.

My Nana has always encouraged me to follow my heart and to be an individual, no matter how crazy my actions may seem to others.  Her strength astounds me and her wisdom inspires me.  She came over to the USA from East Prussia during WWI amongst a family of nearly 20 children (many who died) and has fought to make her way in the world.  When my grandfather died, she decided to take a break from motherhood and at 50 opened a successful boutique all on her own, which had her traveling to fashion shows in Paris and Milan.

She has followed her dreams, traveled the world, been an interior decorator and a sculptor, had two husbands and one long-term life partner, and has raised 4 talented children, who have given her 11 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.  At 95, she still drives, swims, wallpapers her own apartment, goes to the theater, cooks, laughs, gardens, writes, does yoga and is writing a “memoir” on beauty and aging.

She feels age is simply a mindset and has decided not to let anyone tell her what she can and can’t do. She is my mentor and my source of strength about how to be a strong, beautiful, passionate woman who is true to herself above all else.