I have been feeling entirely overwhelmed ~ but in an entirely good way of course. Since my website popped ‘live’ I have been incredibly moved by the e~mails from everyone regarding my new space for ‘Persisting Stars.” Your heartfelt and generous well wishes came from such an unbidden and generous kindness, it meant more to me than you can imagine. In particular it made me feel so happy for Kerstin as her creative energies have produced such a perfectly perfect ’space’ for my little stars to persist as I settle in with delighted contentment.

Today I wanted to chatter about my new photography e~course I am offering ‘Bones of a Poet ~ and the wonder of seeing.’ This course is a series of five classes specifically designed to help shift your way of seeing the world around you. I designed this course from several years of photography workshops at Emily Carr, and reading countless books of the long list of photographers I admire. It is an odd course in that for the first few lessons you will be engaging in assignments that break photographic rules so that you can ‘closes your eyes in order to see’ so to speak. Every now and then I fall into a bit of a funk and I return time and time again to a variety of these challenges to refresh my eye and remind myself that in order to ’see’ I truly have to get out of my own way. In this course for the most part you will not be capturing beautiful pictures in the usual sense of the word, yet you will dramatically alter your way of seeing and through this experience….stumble upon some happy accidents. I have taught these classes to children in a Fine Arts Program as well as adults in community programs and the course works wonders in a very playful, and at the same time informative way.

Following “Bones of a Poet and the wonder of seeing in Photography’ i will be following up with an e~course very close to my heart “bones of a poet ~ yes!” In my last post I touched on the potent life of art in all it’s forms whether it be photography, writing, music, drama.

Art in all it’s forms of self expression is constant…it is movement…and is, in itself, a living thing ~ and therein lies the possibility.

The image you see in this layout for Life Images Magazine is a photo I actually shot for my private journal. In my journals I quickly discovered the magic of illustrating my thoughts with images from my own imagination. Somehow it seemed to make them burst into life and carry an extra gust of possibility into my words. When the editor of Life Images magazine asked me to write something to go along with this image for their publication I simply sent them along a very similar piece that was in my journal.

Through my illustrative journaling I have learned that you can say ‘yes!’ in your art that quickly turns into a surprising magic to manifest your dreams in your everyday life. And in the the classes ‘bones of a poet ~ yes!’ we will be exploring just that ~ our deepest ‘imaginings’ and finding ways to create images that reflect them. I am very excited about this course as it is a course that encourages you to ’stage’ powerful images that carry beautiful metaphors as seeds for your dreams.

So ~ I am more excited about my new adventure than you can possibly imagine and I promise for the very brave souls who sign up for my ‘first’ course ~ a lot of joy and shared inspiration:)
And if that wasn’t enough I have another surprise up my sleeve but you will have to wait until the weekend for that one:)

have a most beautiful day:)

oh oh oh! One more thing…almost everyone who wrote to me asked that my comments be re~opened pointing out that they loved having the option of sharing thoughts on my posts …so I will very shortly I promise:)

and ... a simply beautiful film

“Akeru’  (Japanese) ~ meaning to end, begin, to expire, to start, to unwrap, to pierce… to turn over.

Akeru. How beautiful ‘akeru’s’ gust and so true to my life this year. And ‘yes’. Oh that word ‘yes’ that sounds steadfastly simple and stands so valiant with those three little letters. It certainly isn’t  as  easy as it sounds however as someone once observed~ ‘Madelyn with her big ‘yes’ and hundreds of quiet little ‘no’s’ whispering away in the background.’ There are times when I have been so afraid to say ‘yes’ and that is where my writing, my photography have been my greatest lover. It is through my writing and my images that I have shouted ‘yes’ allowing my intentions, my yearnings, my dreams to guide me ever forward. Here lies the magic of self expression, whether it be in writing, in art, in music…in daydreaming. It is so present, so potent…so seeded. When I think back to when I began writing on my blog three years ago I had no idea of the l i f e of self expression. I could not even begin to imagine that it would take me on a trip to India with my son, to having my writing published, my photo’s represented by Getty images. I did not know it would encourage me one word at a time (before I was even ready to take the actual steps in my real life) to map out my dreams for how I wanted my life to look. And I certainly did not know that life could be difficult, messy, painful at times even when allowing my small dreams a stage to say ‘yes’ on. And yet. Art in all it’s forms of self expression is constant…it is movement…and is, in itself, a living thing ~ and therein lies the possibility.

So ~ here in this beautiful new home for Madelyn’s Persisting Stars ~ I pierce…unwrap…begin….and say ‘yes!’ Yes to beautiful new adventures…to wide open windows…to kissing. Because every story should begin with kissing:)

I have so much to say…so much to share as I have two beautiful projects I want to tell you about. But for today I thought I would take a moment to say a huge thank you!!!! to Kerstin who designed this entire website in just a few days ….working countless hours bringing it to life all the while dealing with my thousands of daily e~mails ‘just wondering…if ‘this’ could be done or ‘that’ added…’ She was always enthusiastic, patient and generous with me and I am more grateful than she will ever know. That she worked long midnight hours on persisting stars even in the face of a move in her own life is such an indication of the heart in that dear girl:)

It is my very first post in my brand new space and I wished to celebrate with a giveaway. Now, I have turned off my comments on this website for many reasons. I want visitors to come here and enjoy my little world that I share without feeling they have to comment. I am simply honored that people show up and that in itself makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. As well….I want to be true to myself in every way without wondering how people are reacting to my thoughts ~ freeing myself up to be even more honest in my self explorations. That said, I love e~mails and would love to hear from you anytime you care to write me ~ And on that note! If you would like to win 2 photo’s of your choice from my etsy shop please send me a little e~mail in the next week (at persistingstars2@yahoo.ca) ~ the ‘draw’ will be on Sunday. ( which is my favorite day of the week in case you didn’t know.)

Yes!