I love this photo of my favorite cabinet in my home. The cabinet is painted a lovely carmine red and I am constantly happily shifting things around on it. Presently there are shells and Japanese fishing floats, nests, feathers and a vintage mercury glass bird as well. Beside the cabinet is a comfy couch and i love to curl up here with my morning coffee and write in my journal or read a book.

For the past few days there have been ‘blue drops of salt water falling’ in various comments in the ‘persisting soul‘ photography course. In her creative offering for the course this week, Jen Gray was speaking of ‘soul’ and wrote ‘I believe your Soul won’t ever bail on you, and forever roots for your life.’ Holy doodles!! This simple yet powerful statement clearly touched a nerve and I couldn’t help but feel as if the artists in the course were gathering in a circle returning from a long exile to a truth they knew in their bones but hadn’t had illuminated for them in words.

Jen’s words of wisdom were little silver keys springing open all the doors and windows in a dusty old castle with a whistling gasp of fresh air whooshing in. Yet again in this course I was moved with the realization that I am not the ‘teacher’ of this class…for some alchemic reason we have ‘all become muses to one another’ as my friend Amanda said so beautifully.

When I turn these words over in my heart, “I believe Soul won’t ever bail on you, and forever roots for your life’ I am so affected by the realization that while I know this delicate yet profound truth in my very spirit, my mind alas has at times forgotten this. It is so good to be reminded of something so powerful, constant and true. A potent nudge to trust the soul, it’s intuitions and the neverending and mysterious journey of love.  We can never be desouled!

‘It has been partly such play with scale that has drawn my attention to the intervals between events, to what is happening when ‘nothing’ is happening. The meaning of two hands clapped is fixed in the soundless interval between the claps. Just so, the meaning of our experience is held in the infinitely short intervals between our sensory perceptions.’

~ Anne Truitt (the journal of an artist) ~

 Perhaps the most sacred gift of Jen’s words is the illumination that we are never alone, abandoned or truly lost.  In between the intervals of events in our lives, the soul is deep at work cheering us on and navigating our paths with a true compass if we only pay attention and trust it’s ringing voice ‘intuition.’  Alleluia!  

This day is so gorgeous, the sun is shining ever so brightly and a persistent owl has been following me around in my garden in broad daylight!. I am not quite sure what to make of this!

This afternoon I am taking my camera, a thermos of ginger green tea, and my book for an hour of vermillion solitude on the hill by the curve of the crackling sea.  Later I am cleaning the house getting ready for a dear friend who is visiting from San Francisco.  I would love to leave you with this little film of wonder to delight your soulbones as well as a little gallery of  beauty from the persisting soul class.

sending so much love your way,

xoxo

maddie

~ my beet, apple, carrot and fresh ginger juice resting outside the Sunflower cafe ~ usually I make my own at home but I was out of beets ~

I’d much rather have the poetry of daily life, the most ordinary of days where everything just flows, a palette of small and perfect moments.

Consider this weekend for example. My friend Lily and I drove along the ocean to a beautiful, cheery Irish Pub for Guinness and chips and live music. I was wearing feather earrings which went rather well with the black cherry henna I put in my hair recently and vintage Frye boots. I felt terrific and laughed so much my eyes spooled over with happy tears and violet mascara. Later I kicked off the boots and danced in my stockings to the band.

Or the lunch I ‘created’ the other day ~ avocado, green salsa, spelt tortillas with feta, black beans and jalapenos ~ made my tastebuds do the tango. Needless to say I felt rather triumphant about that, especially since it was also verrrry healthy.

And then there was the wedding I stumbled upon down at the beach ~ the bride held a purple bouquet of flowers and there were glasses of champagne on the old chippy bench. I took a picture of the couple as the sun was setting and it turned out so incredibly beautiful ~ lucky I had my polaroid camera along with me. Not so lucky my dog Roxy came along for the walk as well and tried to kick sand all over the bride’s dress which she laughed off rather graciously I must say.

Oh, and this film. I have seen it a zillion times and I have to say it is a near perfect gem of a script.

So much is stirring within, an immense gravity draws my soul up to the light as I fall under the spell of Springtime. Better gravity than gravitas:) Yet again, I have changed my mind about the tattoo ~ my heart leans towards a firefly with a line from a poem. Denise suggested I wait until I come to New York for the O+festival to have her artistic friend design it there. That would be really nice come to think of it.

Later today I will announce the new dates for my ‘art of living cheerfully’ course after the drive to Seattle. I have to say, I am so looking forward to meeting all the new students next week!

One more thing! ~ this studio by the sea is stunning. I love it madly. And this…so good ~ Namaste!!!

Happy Sunday lovely friends,

xoxo

~ Maddie ~

yesterday after dropping the boys off for snowboarding in the mountains I stumbled upon a wonderful park of coastal reverie ~ it had the sweetest little cafe that was alas closed for the season but I snapped a few shots as I snooped about peering in the windows

All those delicate feelings that were a small swirl of seasonal blues, creative lulls and missingtudes have evaporated into thin air ~ or his vast presence now rather as we relish the slowness of our days in the bright and beautiful edge of a magical new year about to burst upon us. Really, I am so filled with such a ridiculous and cheerful joy I wish you could pop over for breakfast and share a cup of coffee with me by the roaring woodsy fire crackling away in my seaside home. Beautiful, BEAUTIFUL!!!

Following whims and ignoring clocks we stumbled upon a stunning and wild expanse of beach and rock, climbing to the topmost lookouts. On a clear day you see forever:)

I have so much to say, so much to share with you ~ but I don’t want to miss anything, so I will take my time and can only promise to write after a little more of this present ‘living’. Dwelling in the present of everything that is before me now in all it’s beauty, aliveness and wonder. Responding with complete wakefulness with all of the joy of my senses. Wintertime of year is truly magical on the West coast and my heart is fairly filled to bursting as I explore a contented heart, a house bustling with merry teenagers and the comfort of peace and serenity and an abundance of delight.

I love this photo of me ~ looking forward with such joy to 2011 ~ spellbound with the melodic and romantic beauty right before my very eyes.

Oh! I am reading such a philosophical and poetic manifesto to a life beautifully embraced ~ I IMPLORE you to run out and scoop up Daniel Lanois lilting and soaring new biography “Soul Mining” which is so graceful in it’s beauty ~ this man has such a soul pulsing with the poetry of the everyday I am completely mesmerized, he wears his heart on his sleeve, and yet it is a quiet, subtle, and elusive ‘wearing’ he shares with you ~ glimmering like a mirage which suddenly evaporates when you try to reach out and touch it.

Here is a little taste to tantalize you….

‘Keeping track of arrangements and ideas on paper has always been part of my work process. Remembering is just another word for choosing. The world turns the same way for everybody but different people choose to see different things. I decided to remember the little pieces that matter to me. This is the same way that I see God, as little pieces flying by. Some people see them , some people don’t. A godly moment may be sparkling in only a tiny way ~ too small to make a difference in its singular form ~ but stacked up with others the sparkle begins to build shapes. The shapes are the instigators of sound, soul, and dreams. Dreams allow you to then see more possibilities, and in my case, my dreams become realities. Not quickly, maybe only one piece at a time over, say, three years, before it all falls together.’

I suppose all this is to say…I am happy, oh so peaceful and wishing you an abundance of love and joy for your new year ~ as well, a deep and grateful thank you for all the people that signed up for my next class of ‘the art of living cheerfully’ beginning next week. I am so moved as truly I thought January would be a slow time ~ clearly many of us are calling in an abundance of joy for 2011.

wishing you so much sacred love, peace and everlasting joy this year.
oh and one more thing!!! did i tell you? I am going to make my own beer this year
with my son Noah ~ yes I am:)

maddie

My photo of the teacups awash in a sea of waves is on the cover of Sarah Rayner’s best selling book ‘One Moment, One morning’ and how this book (and the cover) came to be is truly a magical story.

And perhaps even more magical is the blossoming friendship between this kindred spirit and I ~ Sarah and I email, we have chatted on the phone, and we are meeting in London in the springtime. London in the springtime! Just imagine!

This week I finished reading Sarah’s book ‘One moment, One Morning’ and I am still deeply under the spell of her gorgeous and contemplative story of the friendship between three women whose lives are mysteriously changed forever with a devastating loss. Whilst reading this book I felt such a tenderness peering into the unflinching window of these woman’s heart’s and was struck profoundly how her writing pulses with the ache of that beautiful intangible quality so resonant of the everyday ~ soul.

Sarah’s writing is so true and organic and aches with the universal desire to be loved in all of us. It’s strange really, ~ the magic of her story and the magic of my teacups being on the cover of her book entwined ~ I am simply honored beyond belief to be a part of this graceful and beautiful story.

Such a happy ending! What? Oh!!! you want to know if the book has a happy ending? You will have to read it yourself:)

my vintage bottlebrush tree collection is delighting me beyond measure and tickling my fancy

and yes, I have stacks of books all over my house so now I am perching little trees on them everywhere for that extra dash of festivity. They climb up the wall, here and there and most everywhere. I seriously need to buy some bookshelves.

wishing for you a platter of star shaped butter cookies (with sprinkles naturally)

xoxo

Maddie

The other day I found a beautiful film of utterly surreal enchanted forest living. I imagined these woods might be filled with waltzing persimmon light, spiraling fireflies, scraps of poems i could collect here…even wrecked ships and scattered fig seeds ~ so oddly beautiful and indescribably magnificent. I felt completely moved to gather up a group of artists and embark on a journey with massive canvases for painting (can you imagine using a tree as your easel with hand nailed ladders marching exuberantly up the trunk?) a collection of camera’s and a crate of costumes to use in small films we would shoot.

But in the end, ohhhhhhh I know I would most probably just sit in meditative wonder and watch the cobbled light change minute after minute, a threepenny opera deep in the woods with unwounded sparrows trilling their arias in Holy scratches of gold (bowing to standing ovations from every tumbling leaf for miles around.)

I am very good at sitting around feeling the light change and ‘watching the wheels go round and round’ to borrow a line from John Lennon.

This morning I am feeling very much like that polaroid of the nest I shot on Sunday. I found this nest in a roadside thrift shop while we were driving to Olympia National Park ~ it was sitting on the floor in a box and I bought it for five dollars, cradling it so triumphantly (the best ‘find’ ever) as I walked back to the car.

I feel a bit like those quail eggs reposing in that nest lately in terms of my art. In many ways I sense I have to slow down and stop ‘STOP’!!! creating and incubate for a while and then re~emerge to claim my title as an ‘artist’ once again.

My work has lost a bit of it’s luster and thrust and while I am spilling over with ideas that are really lovely I am hungry to push myself to produce stronger work. I have had some bold unflinching conversations lately and through these talks I came out thinking that perhaps if I ‘sit’ on something a little longer it will shift into a more powerful expression of my innermost being.

I wonder if a lot of this has to do with the fecund blogging world and all the beauty out there which winds me up and out with my camera to shoot and join in this parade of talent when really I should be curling up in a fetal position to access my own inner gusts more accurately without all this outside influence. Does this make any sense at all?

One thing I do notice is that my words are strong and true lately but my images are not so much so ~ perhaps the left brain, right brain are naturally tiding their different ways. It is good to question, to probe deper, to not allow myself complacency ~ to recommit once again and earn back that word ‘ARTIST’ and honor the edge.

Film ~ I want to see this

and this!

and read this…. and pop on over to the Tate as well since we are speaking about Art

oh! and words to shoot by is awesome this week and there is a call for entries so go see!

Wishing you…space to peer over the edge into unflinching truth for yourself today:)

hurrah for sneaking into neighbors yards and making films of myself on a trampoline looking like a total geek

This weekend…well this weekend has been so perfect ~ not in the way that you might imagine a marching band strutting past with much pomp and fanfare but in it’s own way quite spectacular. I wore a pretty vintage summer dress and went for a bicycle ride down at English Bay, picked wildflowers and admired the lovely summer blue sky, had a glass of wine on a rooftop terrace (and wine always tastes better on a rooftop terrace) went to yoga classes everyday (and pleased to say I am far more graceful in a yoga class than on a trampoline), delved into an insightful discussion which illuminated the recognition that my heart is always willing to explore unknown territory and places the ego doesn’t want to go (yes) and I am so thankful for this, tasted the warm summer rain on my lips and felt so infused with all the peaceful, passionate, momentum of life bubbling inside of me.

This afternoon I spent a few hours in my studio conjuring up new conceptions and pondering the idea that I will never truly understand the magic which brings new creative endeavors to life…there is always some mystery and an element of discovery mixed into this wondrous alchemy. Lately I have abandoned giving ‘titles’ to my photo’s ~ I guess I am hoping that all I wish to say is in them and I want to leave a window open for personal interpretation (if this makes any sense.)

Tonight I am making a DElicious wrap for supper …

Goddess wrap

roasted seaweed ‘nori’ wrap sheets
brown rice (cooked)
avocado
broccoli sprouts
lightly steamed collard greens
a mix of sauteed red onion, peppers, or anything you have available in the fridge (purplecabbage is particularly lovely)
goddess dressing

spread layer of avocado on nori seaweed sheet
add rice, sprouts, vegetables, collard greens, goddess dressing, feta cheese if you like and fold into a ‘cone’ and enjoy with a glass of coconut/mango juice

soooooooooooo delicous! and the nori wrap is so light and flavorful (sometime’s I find tortillas a bit heavy especially after a yoga class)

The beach is a mere 3 minutes from my home and I love to wander down with a book as the sun is setting to read ~ and OHHHH! I am reading such SUCH brilliant books ~ “Grandmother’s secrets (the ancient rituals and healing power of belly dancing ~ which I will discuss further in another post as it is a stunning philosophy and poetic ode to life) and ‘the art of racing in the rain’ which is sooo beautiful in the purest sense of the word.

ohhhhhhhhhhhhh! one more thing!

the winner(s) of my giveaway are…..Valeria and Shona ~ Please contact me with your address so I can send out the original polaroids to you!~ I took three similar shots of these lovely balloons (one with a spectra camera and two with my sx70) and i am feeling so appreciative of all of you so I thought I ought to giveaway two this week:)

aaaaaaaaand…a little Sunday happy music for you this week ~ have a good one!

this beautiful photo of me wandering and wondering taken by my lovely friend darlene kreutzer

This photo Darlene took of me when I was in Edmonton makes me so happy ~ wandering and wondering with friends and my poaroid camera picking spring blossoms, a book of poetry tucked under my arm, and ignoring clocks which I think is most important every now and then. Somehow this image makes me long for a roadtrip ~ with the wind and the sea in my soul as my compass.

This morning I awoke to the sound of rain which I completely adore, made a wonderful aromatic cinnamon coffee in my moka pot and stepped out onto my porch to inhale the ordinary, extraordinary scent of the sea infused air and peer up into the pearly grey sky. At this time of the year with all the wildfowers in bloom the aroma is completely intoxicating. Such a soft gentle morning and it’s so strange, even the birds are gentler with their tune on a rainy day. On such a day I could so easily burrow deeply into my studio, spending every minute making art and poking through books I am reading.

I completely forgot I promised another giveaway of one of these original polaroids I created for words to shoot by ~ I even snapped one with my spectra polaroid camera and they really are incredibly lovely ~ so please leave a comment and I will enter you in the draw for the polaroid ~ the original polaroid no less! ~ winner will be announced on Sunday (my favorite day of the week just in case you didn’t know this)

I am in love with this necklace, these stunning glass chimes (I already have a set from Ilaria) and these captivating journal pages. Oh! and my talented friend Celeste is accepting commissions for her gorgeous portrait work here.

What are you in love with this week?

‘a soft morning rain…’

This morning I awoke to the sound of soft pattering rain which I love as it infuses the air with the scent of white lilacs (in my garden) and seaweed. I have a little porch off my studio that nestles right into the topmost branches of the apple tree, and so I made myself a cup of green tea and sat in a quite meditation lulled with the sound of this gentle spring rain.

I have been thinking about putting up a shelf in my studio to place small flotsam and jetsam I collect on the beach, (seaglass, shells, driftwood, feathers) the tiny perfume bottle you see pictured above with a wildflower and perhaps a favorite polaroid ~ but have not been at all inspired with shelving I see in the shops. In my heart of hearts I imagine a piece of flat driftwood, tumbled by the sea and bleached by the sun would be exactly perfect.

‘looking…..’

So, on my morning beach walk my dog and I kept an eye out for that very special piece of driftwood that would become a shelf in my studio, in my house by the sea. We did not find it on this walk but we found many other things…an eagles feather, a starfish stranded on the beach after the tide withdrew (so we carefully put it back in the water) an abandoned blue plastic shovel for scooping sand and a little red baby crab.

‘waiting….’

when I returned home I curled up with tea and toast and read from a book I just purchased recently and love to bits. ‘Absence and Presence’ is a beautiful book filled with writings, poetry and remembrances of Pablo Neruda as well as a treasure trove of incredible black and white photo’s taken in his home at Isla Negra. If I haven’t mentioned it a least a zillion times I have quite the crush on this man with his vivid intellect, passion and deep love of his country and humanity. This book is rich with intimacy and these photo’s of his home he shared with Matilde are wonderfully revealing to me.

But I digress:)

As I was glancing through images of his home (oh my! he loved little ships in glass bottles just like me!) I stumbled upon a small remembrance by Mario Toral and it read….

‘In Isla Negra, just when his new workroom had been built, he said to Matilde, “I need a desk, a special desk….I don’t know what, but it has to be special.”
Matilde made various suggestions ~ windows, old doors ~ which he waved aside. One day, looking out to sea from the almost finished room, he saw something that caught his attention.
“Matilde! Matilde! My desk! My desk!”
They both went down to the beach and sat on the sand, waiting for a wave to wash up the wood that was to be Neruda’s desk.

and so….

I shall wait too.