Q: What are some preventative measures you would urge all women to take to reduce their cancer risk?
EL: Stay slender because fat cells produce estrogen. Get off hormone replacement therapy because a recent study showed that is not only bad for breast health, but also is bad for your heart. I would also tell them not to drink too much—two to three glasses of wine a week is about right. Do not smoke because smoking not only increases lung cancer risk, but also increases breast cancer risk. Exercise is good not only for [your] figure, but also for brain and general health. In terms of diet, stay on a low fat diet; eat plenty of fruits and cruciferous vegetables. Diet and exercise take a disciplined lifestyle, but they can be done. I have a cookbook out called In Great Taste, which incorporates recipes that are healthy, easy, low-fat and delicious. And all of my royalties are going to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
Q: What are your major inspirations for your photography?
EL: I love nature and I have taken a lot of inspiration from nature. Recently, I started to do these portraits of the head vases for myself because I thought they were so wonderful. I got excellent response from people in the art world who said this is the best photography I have done thus far. Basically, I keep my eyes open and am inspired by things I see all the time.
Q: Many of your photographs are of doll-like women. How do these relate to your ideals of beauty?
EL: These girls are doll like, but I do not have one specific view of beauty. I just look at every woman differently and I think every woman can be beautiful. Every woman should take her best feature and emphasize it. What is on the inside of you is what’s important—it can be the sparkle in your eyes, the expression on your face, or your personality. That, to me, is what makes a woman beautiful. I do not think any woman is ugly and I think every woman has something she can enhance. That is what I encourage every woman to do, to enhance her best feature, like getting a good haircut.
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