I am writing to you sitting at my desk up in the studio with a yerba matte latte and a huuuuuuge bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. I love oatmeal. Good old fashioned steel cut oatmeal. I don’t know if you knew that, but if if you didn’t let’s just get it out of the way right now.

Since I am on a cleanse (sort of) this week I have my oatmeal sprinkled with flax seed, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries and plain yogurt. So no brown sugar, maple syrup or even agave nectar because sugar is simply not allowed this week (or wine for that matter, apparently) The photo above is for Eliza since she asked about yerba matte which is one of my favorite teas to drink and a fine coffee substitute as well. Today I added some green cardamon pods for a little extra ‘zooom’ in the infusion.

For the past few days I have had been deeply immersed in the new ‘fireflies’ daily mails, happily tweaking the ‘persisting soul’ e course and working on my book. I have been taking care of my children, my dog, my health, my home, the garden, the bills.
So today (my favorite day of the week) I have decided to immerse myself in some fine soul connection. Since Autumn has arrived in colors slinging away like liquid jazz I think I shall wear my matisse blue thrifted scarf and go on a long walk with my dog in the forest and inhale some of that piney goodness deep into my being to center my heart.

Later I am making some pumpkin spice walnut cookies and inviting my girlfriend over for tea. I have a tendency to ‘drop down’ into my work for days, weeks even and today I am thirsting for some heartfelt ‘live’ connection. It is so very easy to send an email but nothing is more enlivening and soul uplifting than spending time with friends catching up on one another’s hopes, dreams, and day to day lives. It is so nourishing to talk on the phone and hear the joy, the excitement or the tears of a good friend. So enveloping to wrap my arms around them, sharing a beautiful and intimate walk along the beach, curl up with a delightful movie and glass of wine. For some reason even writing a hand written letter is surprisingly connecting to me and i love to trace the curve of my friends penmanship when I read their letters. I swear you can FEEL their energy hovering over the pages. Unnervingly beautiful. Long live snail mail I say!

As things go, getting together with a friend is so easy to accomplish. Simply pick up the phone (imagine that!) and call your friend and say ‘hey ho! do you feel like popping over and keeping me company in my lovely, cozy, turquoise kitchen while I make pumpkin cookies? ~ if they are in a bit of a funk and not entirely sold then tell them they can be the ‘tester’ and I assure you, they will be on your doorstep before the kettle sings.

On Friday I am heading back to Seattle to see the Dukes of Haphazzard and my friend Ben play in the Diggers band at a cafe Friday evening ~ needless to say I going to wrap my arms around a few more friends then as well. Splendiferous!

Oh…and I am reading this book which came into my life in such a random, perfect, beautiful way just when I needed it (thank you Jillian!)…and I am completely addicted to Pandora (listening to Ray LaMontagne and Eddie Vedder this morning) ~ why oh why did it take me so long to find this website? I LOVE it!

and check this out ~ ‘reel time’ is pretty gosh darn magical!

happy Sunday to you dear souls!

xoxo

Maddie

ok one more thing

and it’s a grin cracking awesome thing and listening and fading….

my friend Amanda…just being…well, Amanda:)

Gooooood morningggggggg!

I am sitting here writing this very post, eating a bowl of peaches and greek yogurt with some homemade trail mix. The fact of the matter is I just had the BEST weekend! Remember my last post where I was tired and weepy and working so hard and quite out of sorts?

Well, I am here to tell you a drive to Seattle to spend time with friends is just the thing to make you swing.

I only went for one night but somehow I managed to pack a lot of delight into 24 hours.

~ Friday night I went to Vito’s with Wynia and Ben and a whole group of beautiful friends ~ and discovered a new favorite drink ‘the Negroni.’ It was a fabulous night, Vito’s is ridiculously perfect and I can’t wait to go back. It has a moody, timeless and sexy vibe, not to mention completely awesome music. (And Negroni’s.)

~ My friend Breckenridge gave me some swing dancing lessons. I was painfully bad but he was incredibly sweet about it and in the end I managed some delightful moves (I have been practicing all morning here which seems to be annoying my dog Roxy for some reason)

beautiful, effervescent Lily ~ a love supreme

~ On Saturday, Amanda and I went to Lily’s house. Amanda talked with her hands a lot and Lily made us her special drink perfectly named ‘The Institute of Arts, Letters and Eternal Optimism’s signature drink’

The Institute of Arts, Letters and Eternal Optimism’s signature drink

St Germain
Champange
fresh squeezed grape fruit juice.

This drink is good with anything breakfasty according to Lily and it certainly got me talking and then crying. Lily was very gracious and said happily “I love it when people cry.’ So I managed to oblige for almost two hours straight.

Did I mention that I love Lily? Well, I do.

here are the ingredients for that delicious concoction Lily made.

and

when you are completely contented from sipping champagne on her treehouse deck

she has a very luxurious day bed to have a little nap on

also

she has such beautiful prom dresses from the 60′s that take your breath away

this is a candid shot of the Ford Ladies, Lily and Amanda. They love each other so much and are balm for the soul to hang around with.

and I almost forgot to mention something very important

at Lily’s house you are always right. (I will going back there a LOT)

xoxo

Maddie

one more thing! Amanda will be a guest creative in my new “persisting soul’ photography course. Pretty wonderful I say!

and

my sunday soundtrack

I am having the dreamiest Sunday. Working. Listening to Jelly Roll Morton and Django too. (definitely in a gypsy jazz mood this morning) Wearing a cardigan. I might have said it before but I’ll say it again. I l o v e sweaters! They make me so happy, goodness knows why but they do so there you have it. Tomorrow I am going to a thrift shop to peruse the racks for some new cardigans. Hoping to find one in teal and fuschia and saffron.

Anyway, I forgot to mention I am am also drinking coffee and eating homemade buttermilk/cornmeal muffins with strawberry jam. The wind is rippling in gusts past my window beckoning me outside for a little cloud leaping while chestnuts and apples scatter from the treetops. The sky is so gorgeous ~ pearly grey mixed with lilac. Perhaps I will bring my polaroid sketchbook journal down to the beach and spill a little soulful ink onto the pages.

Speaking of soul…I finally chose ‘the’ image for my new photography course ‘Persisting Soul’ ~ I love this photo as it feels so on the cusp of new beginnings…perfect for a photography course that celebrates the essence of soul in life and art. Have a peek!…I am still working on the lettering…but in any case I am feeling quite happy with it.

I am in the midst of moving to a brand new website and hoping to debut ‘persisting soul’ in October ~ in the meantime registration is open for the original ‘persisting stars‘ photography course right here.

question!!!

I am so curious ~ what does living a soulFUL life mean to you ~ how do you bring a little ‘soul verve’ into your daily life?

Oh Django how I love you today ~ listen up ~ a song for you Sunday songbirds!

xoxo

~ Maddie ~

and woooooooot! thank you thank you thank YOU!! for all the sign ups for ‘Fireflies’ ~ get ready for a whole lot of joy in your inbox October 1st! I am genuinely thankful to all of you, so thankful:) muah!

This morning I received such a beautiful email from Eliza, one of the artist’s taking my ‘Photography and the Wonder of Seeing’ online course.

Morning!

Hope yours a lovely weekend. Being part of your course inspired me, last weekend, to make a small film…not at all grand, but rather lovely and shot with the 8mm movie camera app on my iPhone. I have set it to Bach’s Solo Cello Prelude , it’s just gorgeous.

Was shot last weekend down on the Tanzania coast near us, blissfull!!!!

Cheers, Eliza

Needless to say I was enchanted and I think I have watched it, oh a thousand times already. It’s just that perfect. You can visit her blog here….

Needless to say this made me feel so happy that she was inspired by my photography course
so

so

SO!!

In order to celebrate ~ simply by leaving a comment in today’s post you can win a space in my next ‘Photography and the Wonder of Seeing’ online course beginning in September. Wooooot! The comments will be closed Wednesday evening and the winner will be announced on Thursday.

I just love a giveaway!

and so…you can enter twice!!

here! over at my friend Susan Tuttle’s blog

xoxo

Maddie

this morning I cycled all the way up to the organic farm for vegetables and fruit

(and yes, as it turns out, strawberry~apple pie as well)

outside there were purple petunia’s for sale (2.99 a pot)

I didn’t buy them ~ I was too distracted trying to figure out how to get a whole
flat of strawberries home for a jam making fiesta tomorrow

When I got back home I thought

‘What on earth was I thinking?’ (the amazing insight of hindsight)

So, there’s a story here, but the main thing you need to know is

I went back! (this time in the car)

and bought the purple petunia’s

they are so very beautiful, I am positively smitten

I planted them in a terracotta planter and they are sitting outside my front door on the little wicker table

happiness:)

Oh! and guess what!

I made salad (when Kristen was visiting.)

Apparently it’s a talent I didn’t even know I possessed.

if I do say so myself:)

happiest of Sunday’s to you dear friends

xoxo

Maddie

ps ~ just popping by to say I am making these muffins tonight…will let you know how they turn out

‘I am flying. It is your fault if you are used as a stepping stone.’

~ yasumasa morimura ~

I am flying.

This morning the seabirds woke me up at 5:30 so I clamored out of bed, made coffee and sat up in my studio writing in my sketchbook journal. Glancing through my journal entries since February, I was captivated by the joy in my polaroid images taped with such devotion onto the pages ~ and all that happiness radiating off my words like supernova remnants. If I were to pick one word to describe this year thus far it would be ‘beatitude’ ~ meaning supreme happiness and blessedness.’

The surprising thing about all the abundance gifted to me this year however is I found myself oddly reluctant to step up and accept it ~ I think my orbit collapsed a bit and little pools of doubt formed within me nudging a bit of soul digging on my part. I love soul digging, leaning wholeheartedly into those sacred questions reflected in our own souls personal journey throughout the universe.

Anyway this is a bit difficult to put into words but I seemed to bump up against an immense question of my own inner worth. A strange paralysis emerged as all this abundance and opportunity sat on my front doorstep quite bewildered waiting to be claimed. I would open the door, have a peek at all my gifts piling up one by one, and then slam the door and run and hide. And come to think of it, I didn’t want to even TELL people of the wonderful things that were happening in my life for fear they would think me boastful or arrogant.

At first I questioned whether this was because I did not feel worthy of all this goodness appearing in my life, that somehow I really didn’t work hard enough for these opportunities, that I was not ‘beautiful’ enough for the serendipitous encounters. But that wasn’t it. I DID work hard enough, I WAS beautiful enough and in fact a lot of spiritual effort had gone into shaping my life on so many levels to attract these very blessings that were magnificently appearing.

And then. I found this quote….and all the bells rang in the tower of my personal church of sacred epiphanies.

“There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.”

~ Marianne Williamson ~

A very strong part of me always wants everyone else to have what I have, the good things I mean, and for many many years this affected the choice of my friendships. It took me quite a long time to realize that friends in my life did not truly want to see me grow, transform, become lovelier with each passing day. So I would hide my inner light, play it down so as not to make them feel left out or sorrowful. I would barter, bargain, and give pieces of myself away instead of claiming my emergence. As the years went along I came to understand this and now my friendships are vital and mature, energetic and deeply loving. The soul enlivening friends in my life celebrate my joys, my successes and encourage my growth ~ these rapturous life lovers challenge me and cheer me on with all of their heart and souls.

Yet clearly something left over was still stagnant within me from these earlier years. And it wasn’t beautiful and it did not honor the friendships in my life today. And it certainly didn’t honor the grace of the universe piling gifts up on my doorstep. So. I visited my friend Pixie’s shop and requested she make a ‘medicine bundle’ for me to ‘step into my light and power’ to accept all the infinite abundance and love showing up in my life. I sat on the beach one evening as the sun set and wrote in my journal celebrating and claiming the abundance in my life.

I said thank you. It really was that simple.

Thank you!!!

I am flying.

xoxo

Maddie

my new facebook page aaaaaaand….

It is Sunday dear hearts! Thank you so much ~ I received SEVENTY THREE emails to exchange music cd’s! That is a lot of music I have to look forward to. This week i will catch up with you and get your addresses to send out my new collection to… in the meantime here are some wonderful tunes to share with you…

first we kiss

rising appalachia

tanita tikaram

~sketchbook journal entry, Sunday April 24, 2011 ~

Maddie

shot for my collaboration with Darlene on Reel Time ~ you simply must pop by and see Darlene’s film ~ I LOVE it!!!

Isn’t this video so lovely? I went with Kristen down to Commerical drive (my favorite part of Vancouver) to get her tattoo at Katia’s Rainfire studio. You can hear Kristen chatting away with Katie on the voice track. Katia inked the most beautiful tattoo of an octopus with a sabre on Kristen’s hip to match her sister’s tattoo. I was deeply honored to witness this (painful!) experience listening to music, sipping tea in the company of such rare and lovely lighthearted company. I had been a bit mopey this week since I couldn’t make it to New York to attend the FOot opening (I have a few pieces in the show) at the Oo gallery but hanging out with Kristen and Katie lifted my spirits very much.

If you are in New York go see the exhibit! ~ Kevin Paulsen has a brilliant line up of artists contributing to this wonderful exhibit including one of my favorite’s Denise Orzo. You can see some of the work on the Oo facebook page here.

today…

reel time
words to shoot by

Happy EAster Monday lovelies! ♥ ♥ ♥

I’ve been writing a lot this week, feeling wonderfully mellow, fuller, brighter with a dash of lusty. Making lots of green smoothies (spinach, blackberry, banana), taking looonnnnng walks, going to the movies at my favorite theater, dreaming about a new dress.

Oh! and I found a Matisse~blue scarf at the thrift shop this week after my yoga class. Score!!!!!!!!! Aaaaaaaaand I bought a damascus red lipstick. I love it. It’s not really called damascus red, but it should be so I renamed it.

This afternoon I pulled out one of my favorite books ‘Three Wishes ~ an intimate look at Jazz greats.’ to enjoy with a cup of Egyptian licorice mint tea. I don’t know quite what it is about this book but the photo’s give me goosebumps, they are so profoundly intimate in a way that I am completely at a loss to explain. And the answers to the question “If you were given three wishes, to be instantly granted, what would they be?’ I find so heart moving and compellingly beautiful…

here…a sampling …

Dizzy Gillespie

” A world where you don’t need a passport.”

Calo Scott

“To realize myself.’

Charlie Mingus

“I have no wishes! No wishes at all. Well, I wouldn’t mind having enough money to pay my bills.
But that’s absolutely all.’

Ray Bryant

“I really don’t have any wishes. I’m happy. I might had had some, but they’ve all been fulfilled.’

Maththew Gee

“Someone to groove with.’

Someone to groove with. Me too. What would you wish for?

Well, I have some friends popping by this afternnon and I am off to make a platter of cheese, olives, avocado and grapefruit. A pot of tea for some added glee.

Happy Sunday starlings!

xoxo

Maddie

This morning there is a pot of ceylon tea and wakefulness whistling away in the golden church of my studio. I’m feeling green blooded and have an entire satchel of arrows to shoot into some spring poetry. I realize this video I filmed is ridiculously shaky but still, I love it for the bright, random mood listening to music and writing up there Sunday morning. And Roxy of course. Sleeping away contentedly under my desk after a completely glorious morning walk along the beach chasing eagles and herons in the sunshine. (as if:)

Later this afternoon I am hoping to visit the paint shop and peek in the mistint section to see what new and odd colors popped up over the weekend. Mistints are five dollars a gallon and I am hoping to find a summery tangerine or pistachio green to give my studio a little makeover. The little Queen of my artistic bones is thirsty for new chroma to inspire me. Off the side of my studio is a balcony and I have a have a whole collection of clay pots I scooped for FREE by the side of the road the other evening ~ I am thinking of potting herbs and succulents out there to compliment the red chili pepper lights I strung up along the railing. It really doesn’t take a lot to make me happy.

Oh! and if you watch this video you will notice that I am wearing one of my gypsy wraps my lovely friend Julie designed and sells in her etsy shop here. I am pleased to announce that when she sent me my order she included an extra gypsy wrap in a most delightful purple batik. Simply by leaving a comment I will draw a name out of the hat (also seen in the video) on Thursday and announce the lucky winner. I love giveaways!!! Julie has a beautiful blog here…lots of inspiring soul work going on with significant elegance and thrum.

Oh Monday is happiness I tell you ~ waterfalls and lions, vanilla icecream and a side of blood oranges…and the four!

xoxo

~ Maddie ~

This gorgeous Sunday morning I had Lee’s donuts with my coffee while writing in my journal. I picked up a lovely assortment at the Granville Island market after working on the next entry for ‘words to shoot by‘.( my new banner is actually a sneak preview of tomorrow’s offering.) Apparently I am gifted in the art of donut consumption as well as living cheerfully. I love them.

It is Sunday, my favorite day of the week and I am feeling so beautifully wonderful. Which is just one of the many tiny miracles in my life lately. Really, it is so hard to imagine that my year began with me feeling uncertain, deeply sad and looking in a completely new direction in my life. Delicate, tightly furled in my cocoon. The word ‘closed’ comes to my mind as I type these words and yet it doesn’t feel quite right to me ~ because throughout this time something in me remained open, hopeful, even graceFUL. And I love that about myself. There is a light that never goes out, a vital energy I draw strength from trusting my inner compass that insists on living an extraordinary life. Tugging at the best of me.

The immensity of this journey is a work of art in itself. I guess my life is a work of art and like a work of art is never truly finished but simply rests in remarkable places for a while. And this feels sacred to me, even the dark places as seeds metamorphosize into something astonishing over time. Because you have to have faith, faith in yourself, in your dreams, in your intuition, in the love which abides in you. And choose happiness, even while the snow falls softly all around. I am good at choosing happiness…there is poetry everywhere and I have a knack for finding it. I am also good at giving love and keeping on.

There is much movement in my life, I can barely contain my joy. I am feeling such verve! And some good news I would love to share with you. I have been invited to participate in the ‘fOot‘ exhibit at the Oo Gallery in New York in April!!! Two hundred exclamation points here needed. It’s important to mention I have never been invited to show in a gallery in New York so I have to go ‘Hey!’ proudly. I have been dancing around the house in fits and starts and then alternately flinging myself onto the couch, pen in hand contemplating images for the show. And yes, feeling completely jazzed asKevin Paulsen has such a strong line~up of artists contributing and I want to honor his leap of faith in me. There is a lovely article on the gallery here….

I am hoping you will pop by on Monday as I am giving away a spot in Jamie’s ‘Sparkles’ course of which I am so delighted to be included as one of the teachers. All you have to do is leave a comment on Monday’s post and I will draw and announce the winner on Thursday. And hey, I will also include one of my original polaroids as well:)

Happy Sunday! ( and a perfect Sunday song just for you)

xoxo

Maddie