This week’s lesson coming up for my e~course is ‘creative space’ so I shot this little film this afternoon ~ I had my dog and two boys and was suddenly infused with the idea of making a gallery down by the sea…the boys held the string (fishing tackle) the dog chased the seagulls..and I believe I shot this video (on my little point and shoot camera) ohhhh…5 times because the boys kept laughing and messing up my natural soundtrack. It was a very misty evening but I quite like the moodiness of this little film. I just love the idea of an outdoors gallery, or an organic clothing shop in the forest (with clothes hanging on branches) ~ I am so completely at home in the wild expanse of nature.

Oh! Oh! Oh! and speaking of creative ~ pop by here and see what these two beautiful women are up to:)

i picked you, as an apple is picked by the little peasants for their girls
~ee cummings ~

Today was extraordinary for one bright daylight hour as I lived with the earth.  The autumn sun struck through  branches, patches of clamoring moss , rosy crabapples. Which I swear, I was so pleased with, you would think I grew them myself as I gathered them up, beaming, in a basket. To make crab apple jelly I am thinking now. I set up my little portable record player and spun around to Jelly Roll Morton which is how I claimed the idea of crab apple jelly in the first place.

A poem.  This garden hour was  a poem. And I am completely, madly, deeply in love with yellow. Stay tuned:) Tomorrow I will return to a home I have loved….pick up a computer….a box of books and say farewell to the lilac tree.

Persisting Stars ~ ‘Yes’ course update: This course which began on Sunday is officially oversold! However, you are welcome to register for my January classes here:)

Have a most beautiful week:)

I am fully in the midst of a move ~ which, well, is not the loveliest way to spend hours upon hours I must say. There are several silver linings however as this morning I am shopping for paint ~ beautiful rich painterly yellow’s, deep indian blues and even a gorgeous green somehow insisted on sneaking in there. I am not above asking if anyone out there would like to come by and pitch in as I am having a painting party ~ I will be supplying autumn soups, rustic bread, salads, music and guinness beer:)

The weather is so beautiful and this afternoon I am going to take my bicycle out for a little spin down to the beach to take some photo’s with my new Holga ~ and some pictures of my front porch. I think I am going to miss my front porch most of all in the house I am about to leave. So many soft evenings of star gazing twined with mornings sipping coffee, a beautiful book.

Yesterday I drove past my very own ‘unphotographable’ ~ (this is a picture I did not take) ~ a woman dancing happily to the music on her ipod at the bus stop ~ all the while staring at herself in the reflection of the bus stop stand mirror, completely unconcerned with the surprised (and delighted) stares of passerby’s. Made me smile:)

Oh! and I have a giveaway today over at Soulemama ~ so pop by and say hi:) Have a most wonderful Saturday:)

I bought these cloud rainboots on Saturday at the thrift shop ~ trust me, as soon as I spotted them it was love. Even though it was a very hot sunny day I simply had to wear them ~ along with my lime green stockings. There is an art to living cheerfully ~ who needs the rain anyway? I think they are ‘seaboots.
Speaking of clouds have you ever seen the image called ‘cloudcatcher’ by Shana and Robert ParkeHarrison? I adore the series they created entitle ‘the architect’s brother’ ~ so imaginative and compelling, you must have a peek.

The other evening I went down to the beach to make a little film (which is really lovely but the wind was making a terrible noise throughout almost drowning out the sound of the waves rolling in so I have to put some music on the track instead) and it was such a gorgeous evening ~ a perfect Indian summer with the sun setting in a soft blushed pink glow. Anyway I met some friends for a drink and we were sitting on a terrace discussing ‘DESTINY’ which is sure to be a tangled discussion with everyone clamoring to say something they are SURE of. And as I listened it occurred  to me that I have lived with one eye to fate and another to chance. Which is by no means a rarefied idea but I think is quite observant of me. I will say this ~ there is nothing lovelier than sitting on a terrace with the sun setting cheerfully in front of you listening to your friends chatter away sharing a bottle red wine.

It has been a beautiful week of writing as well. I wrote an upcoming article for Wishstudio’s ‘wishmama’ column ~ lots of terrible poetry (that made me feel quite happy nonetheless) and a segment for my new ‘Bones of a Poet Yes!” course starting in October. Soon I will introducing my third e~course “The art of living cheerfully’ which is also the title of my book so this one has me bursting with happiness:)

reading
listening to...(I am just loving Mr Nat King Cole lately ~ he surely is ‘Mr Cheerful)
and if you love clocks (I prefer to ignore them whenever possible but these are rather sweet)
moleskine love

aaaaaaand the return of the four!

photo of Maddie in her most beautiful seaboots by Tess Herzog

‘I imagine that yes is the only living thing.’~ ee cummings ~

Today I said yes! to singing along to my  vinyl records, pumpkin spice cookies, a walk on the beach collecting sea glass and heart shaped stones, reading on the front porch barefoot in the sunshine, fresh new journals for tumbling thoughts inked out in jewel toned markers, exploring the limitless expanse of the human heart, and philosophical chattiness with my girlfriend on the phone…I said yes! to this extraordinary life that is mine and mine alone, and the intimate journey of being true to myself…I said yes! to a boiled egg in a vintage eggcup with buttered toast and tea, and I said yes! to my brand new ‘Bones of poet e~course’ which you can read all about here:)

what have you said yes to?

~ or what would you like to say yes to?

This morning I awoke to a soft breezy sea~scented day, hopped on my bicycle and peddled up to a local cafe for coffee and almond croissants to do a little writing. Fall is tiptoeing into the year wearing a crimson beret and scarf with gold~struck leaves so I celebrated by wearing my favorite scarf ~ a raw silk handspun beauty from India with lovely little ‘mirrors’ sewn into the fabric throughout. What is it about slipping into a corner table by the window of a machiatto infused cafe to scribble in my notebook with uptempo jazz and chatter in the background? Perhaps it was so beautifully expressed by Natalie Goldberg when she wrote ‘the deepest secret in our heart of hearts is that we are writing because we love the world, and why not carry that secret out with us?’ Yes!!!!!

I do love the world:) This year I will be teaching a personal expression through photography course at a Fine Arts Elementary school to grade sevens which has me so tickled and impatient to begin. It is a wonderful school where the curriculum balances the academics with the arts teaching drama, music, art and dance. I am bursting at the seams with ideas for my classes and am planning an exhibit in the school with the children’s photographs which will also have a ‘photo booth’ (with a ‘live’ ‘fuji instax mini’ photographer ready to take your portrait) and a writing booth where you can purchase a free verse poem written just for you as you wait:) Oh my ideas are flowing! The school is incredibly beautiful with views of the ocean, a theatre, a gallery and dance studio. Such a wonderful place to grow and learn.  As this project draws to a close, I will using my notes and experiences to begin an e~course for children based around it.

In the next day or so I am also unveiling my new e~course, ‘Bones of a Poet ~ Yes!’ which is a wonderful blend of writing and photography. This course in particular is so personal to me as it is the path of self expression through writing and images that called so much beauty and possibility into my world. Pop by here for course registration information in the next day or so:)

Today I am making pumpkin cookies ( a yearly tradition with the children) taking photo’s down at the beach of a wonderful little red typewriter I found at a thrift shop, looking forward to my trip to new york to see van morrison with my love, and pondering the question posed in this podcast ~ I am so curious ~ do you need an audience for your art?

Have a simply perfect Sunday…and oh oh oh! i love this so! and i would dearly love to own this… and this girl cracks me up

Today it is Sunday. A blustery, most windswept day with a streak of wild rainy madness to it. Which somehow makes my coffee, this soft green cashmere shawl I am wearing and the Van Morrison record playing soulfully in the background an archipelago of utmost coziness for this morning. I am remembering a day last summer when we bought a tent for an Island adventure and I am longing to pack up sweaters and books, little lanterns and hiking boots to head off into the woods, pitch that very same tent and slip in between the rhythm of nature’s measured and overgrown heartbeat, falling asleep to the wind’s lullaby and his arm encircled about my waist.

My very first e~course class launched last night at midnight and I was up nervously checking to see that it all went well. I am so grateful for my class ~ it is igniting me in such a joyous way. It’s incredibly absurd how impatient I am to see the photo’s from my class’s assignment this week. I have opened registration for the next Bones of a Poet class in October which you can sign up for here:)

Today I am working on a series of photography workshops I will be teaching this year in a local Fine Arts School to grade sevens. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this ~ the amazing thing is I am the one who learns so much when I teach children ~ the way they see is so spontaneous and pure. Was it Picasso who said it took him his whole life to paint like a child? Oh and today! I am having afternoon tea with my best friend. What could be better? I love Sunday’s.

would you like to try making a paper camera?
and i am so drawn to ‘hand’ images ~ this one is particularly beautiful

photo ‘deeper than all roses’ above taken by Tess Herzog, art direction Madelyn Mulvaney

I am getting myself all ready for my very first bones of a poet e~course class which starts on Sunday. Which means a little bit of nervous and a whole lot of happy. Hence the chocolate face mask. It’s my way of celebrating:)

have a most surprisingly perfect weekend!

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