Celebrating Pia Harden
By Cat Wayland
e have taken time to highlight some of our writers for you over these past months, Brooke Allen, Elizabeth Griffin, Tess Almendarez-Lojacono, and Cheryl Paley. I find that each of the writers at IF mag and their stories are the living organisms of the mission statement here at International Family Magazine. Their voices bear witness to the seeking of family and shelter and their brave journeys make us laugh, cry and embrace the way home. I met Pia in New York City when we were new mothers having our 2 children each quickly and blessedly back to back - her girls, my boys. We sat on a picnic bench watching our children play, and telling one another stories. Pia’s story is magnificent to me. She braved the world at a young age to seek freedom and adventure for herself from her family of origin and her native Sweden. She has so many travel stories, and people stories that her life is a rich tale. But Pia also completes the circle of life in her constant return to her Sweden and her family of origin to make sense of 
the family she now nurtures and raises in America. Pia is an international citizen, an international mother and not just from her willingness for a physical territorial exploration. But Pia is constantly taking in information from all these different places for her emotional and spiritual quilting if you will. I am always ready for another Pia story. Why? Mostly because she refuses to hide her truths and I admire that quality that I am still working hard at. I tend to tell my own stories like a news-anchor, factually and composed. But Pia grabs us up into her story and emotes and weeps, and laughs out loud, and hugs you and squeezes you until you think you are breathless. And most of all, you never know where she will take you because she is open to all the possibilities of the answers of family and life. Pia is a wonderful surprise. Please enjoy her as I have. This month her story is the Monk-ess with the Begging Bowl. In July, her family was the cover painted by artist Gwyneth Leech. Brava.PIA - Passion In Art
Pia Camilla Harden
is a full-time mother of two daughters age 2 and 4, and has been writing her whole life. Pia squeezes in time here and there to work on her writing and acting career after first being Mom.Originally from Sweden, Pia was always very attracted to both business and art. After working as an account executive for an art gallery, she left her home country at nineteen years of age. Pia lived in Switzerland, Lausanne, for two years where she for a worked and lived with children that had been through very traumatic life experiences. After that she traveled around the world, i.e. Australia, Tasmania, Thailand, Antarctica Spain, United Kingdom and most of Europe.
Finally Pia settled in the United States and had a good artist career, got married and had two daughters with singer Bobby Harden. Pia worked as a make-up artist for nearly 20 years and did faces like Dr.Bill Cosby, Lee Iacocca, Richard Branson, and Heidi Klum, worked for Chanel, Bobby Brown, Laura Mercier, and Frederic Fekkai. She attended NY clown school and studied with talented clowns like Dick Monday, Tiffany, Riley and Grand-ma from Big Apple Circus. Pia has also taken 10 years of acting training in NYC.
She has a Scientific education from her home country Sweden, Pia’s hobbies include Bonsai's, languages, skiing, horseback riding, martial arts, scrapbooking, and anything water.
