Ramblings and Tears.....The Good Kind

> Sunlit

Acrylic on Canvas

I've noticed in the last few years how little it takes to make me cry. I think I became more aware of this as I entered into my fourth decade on this planet. My tears are not generally related to current events and the downward spiral of the world, God knows there would be enough to cry about there.....no my waterworks are usually reserved for genuine acts of kindness....you know, the good tears.


Saturday night we watched "Remember The Titans" My eyes must have filled up with tears at least five times. I love Denzel Washington and this movie, being based on a true story, never fails to inspire me. If you haven't seen it, your in for a treat. Watch the trailer here.

Ellen's newest post on her blog Creative Laundry is just so beautifully written. She is not only a fabulous artist but an extremely talented writer. "Billions of Stories" truly resonated with me.

Check out Dumb Little Man, Create a Richer Life in 24 Hours or Less. Each point that was made in this post forced me to contemplate the million and one ways in which I am rich. Perhaps not monetarily but in all the ways that are important.........friends and family.......and in the end baby, that's all that's really gonna count.

I watched Oprah on Monday as Craig Keilburger was a guest. I have written about him before as he is the founder of "Free The Children" an organization that I have chosen to support and have for the last few years. He has also written one of my favourite books "Me To We". His organization and Oprah's Angel Network have teamed up for a program that focuses on sending high school kids to third world countries to help build schools for much needed communities. I believe I ran out of kleenex during that show. Ironically enough I found out last week that my oldest daughter will be meeting Craig Keilburger tomorrow in Toronto. As part of her Careers class at school, she and four of her classmates had to choose a charity to support. They then had to present their case to, first the class and then the school, explaining why this particular charity was worthy of a $5,000.00 donation. They chose a woman's shelter in our community which is so very deserving. Well, they won and $5,000.00 has been awarded to the women's shelter. She is now a part of the Youth and Philanthropy Iniative and along with students from all over Ontario will be attending an awards ceremony at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto. Craig Kielburger will be the guest speaker and I know it will be a powerful experience for her.

See ya, I've got to go and see if we've got any Visine in the house.

A Much Needed Massage and The Purple Hills Studio Tour

Yesterday I bit the bullet and decided to get a massage. My style of working with my head down all the time has definetely taken it's toll on my neck and shoulders. So even though I didn't really have the extra cash laying around I knew I needed to do it anyway. I work at a table that is raised to just below waist level, this way I can move easily between painting and sewing. Not many people know this but I sew standing up......I know weird. I don't remember how that got started but that is the way I'm the most comfortable working.

Val (the massage therapist) was great and had extremely strong hands. When I think of massage I think of gentle hands fluttering over your skin and relaxation but this was none of those things. She really got down to work. She said I had knots in my neck as well as my shoulders and upper back which she happily started kneading out for me. Ow! So it was an hour of discomfort but boy, when she was done I felt so loose and relaxed. Surely worth it!

I also heard from David Johnson the other day letting me know that I was accepted into the Purple Hills Artist Studio Tour this September. I'm quite excited about that as David and I did the Images Studio Tour a couple of years ago and had a great time together. His work being such a hard medium and mine being a soft were the perfect compliment.

By the way, does anyone know why the title for my blog won't show up. This just started happening a few days ago and I have no idea, being technically challenged, how to fix it. It shows up on my sidebar and also when I preview my blog. If anyone knows what's going on, please let me know. It would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Well I'm off as a I have a bunch of errands to run in town today.
Have a great weekend

My One Small Moment of Fame

Yesterday ended up being much more fun than I had originally thought it would be. The idea of being interviewed on television - one on one- was unnerving to say the least. I say that as someone who doesn't even like having her picture taken. Ten minutes after I arrived at the gallery three of the folks from Rogers Television arrived for the shoot (that's tv talk). The stunningly beautiful, tall, blonde, Trish who was to interview me, Karen, I'm not sure what Karen did I just noticed she carried around a clipboard and wore very dark sunglasses and finally, the cameraman who seemed to know exactly what was going on and who kept calling me Mel.

I was very conscious of how dry my mouth was which always happens to me when I'm nervous. I was also laughing at other's jokes too loud and too often which is another lovely quirk I possess when the nerves hit. The Rogers people were so very kind and generous that once things got rolling (more tv lingo) I was feeling much more relaxed. Carol and Stu hung up four of my pieces and I stood in front of them as Trish interviewed me. I truthfully don't remember much of what I said.......I hoped if I was babbling too incoherently they would just pack up and go home. In the end it all worked itself out in the wash, as my mother would say.

Because they were actually filming a show that dealt with the arts community in Simcoe County and not a news interview, they informed me they had to shoot an intro which was to take place outside. It went something like this:

Trish is walking down Midland Avenue talking into the camera about the Carriage House Gallery etc. etc.

I come walking out to the street and say "Hi Trish"

Trish says, "It's Melody Madden who has a new show coming up at the Carriage Hill Gallery". We do this little acting spiel about the show and she says "Let's head on over to the Gallery to take a look at your work"

We both run across the street and disappear into the gallery. A nice wide shot of my butt running and I'm sure jiggling as well. This was the major "cheese" factor of the whole day. Trish's acting was great.......I looked like a deer in the headlights as I couldn't stop looking at the camera. It was that damn light.....it was like a magnet.

So I guess that was my Andy Warhol "15 minutes of fame". When I got home I found that the cat had puked on the floor in three different spots........back to reality.

Television Interview

Just a short post as I am on my way to The Carriage House Gallery in Midland for a television interview. I'll be sure not to eat anything beforehand just in case I have food stuck in my teeth. How embarrassing would that be??

See ya

Taking a Mini Vacation

Benched 11"x14"

Work in Paint & Thread

I'm off to Toronto today to spend some much needed time with my Mom and my sister. We won't do a whole lot but right about now that sounds perfect to me. Probably rent a movie tonight, order some yummy chinese food, sit around and laugh and be silly. When the girls headed off to school today they wore rather confused looks on their faces as to why I wouldn't be coming back home tonight. They are so used to having me around.......who else knows where their green socks are or where they put page 4 of that math project that is due tomorrow? John is an amazing father but he too seems a bit confused when I'm gone as to where everything in the house is located. One day when I was driving my oldest to work at 6 a.m. (yikes) in fog that was as thick as pea soup...... I was almost in tears as I am terribly frightened of driving in bad weather........yes, Kelly I said it. When we finally arrived my daughter took my face in her hands, stared at me in all seriousness and said "Please drive home carefully, if anything happens to you our whole house would fall apart". Oh..........to feel needed.

Spring Morning

John and I were up early on Mother's Day and seeing that it was such a gorgeous morning we headed out for a walk. Here are a few photos................

I've got a full day in the studio today ........ need to get to work on creating some of the smaller pieces I'm going to include in the show.
If you have time check out Hollis Chatelain.......amazing artist. She works on cotton with fiber reactive dyes and thread.

Gearing Up

Yesterday I headed off to Midland to see Carol and Stu at the Carriage House Gallery to drop off some of my new work as well as pick up some postcards. We spent some time going over most of my work for the show (I still have three pieces that I haven't finished yet). Carol made great lemon/ginger tea and we sat around in the kitchen talking about the "business of art". They are both tremendously talented and have such wonderful insight and exciting ideas that I couldn't wait to get home and start working again. Some people are just like that aren't they? When you come away from your time with them you feel not only motivated but more of yourself than when you got there. Rather hard to explain except to say, it is just this great energy some people exude.....feels good to be in their company. Once again I am digressing. The gallery is stunningly beautiful. They have really outdone themselves this time. They were both very excited about my work which of course is music to an artist's ears. They also loved the small pieces I just started double matting and selling here. They would like to know if I could have ten for opening night..... Yikes. Looks like my butt is going to be in the studio night and day until June the 5th.

Dumb Little Man

One of my new favourite blogs is Dumb Little Man. I check in every day to see what's been written and what I can learn from it. It is described as follows........."Each week we provide a handful of tips that will save you money, increase your productivity or simply keep you sane". A couple days ago I read the post "Open Your Eyes To Blind Giving". It was so beautifully written and so resonated with me that I had to read it a couple of times. If you get a chance, check it out..........kindness is such a small gift to give but is returned to the giver time and time again.

Hope your well.............

Getting Ready for The In Laws

This little guy is a neighbour of my in laws who live on Lake Superior. He makes his home just beneath a rock in their front yard. He is oh so very tame and allows you to come quite close before he makes a dash for his hole.........I call it a condo since from looking at him he seems to be living in the lap of luxury.

Speaking of my in laws, they arrive tomorrow at noon which makes me quite anxious as my house is a complete mess. This is the day in which I freak out and turn into Molly Maid. When I look around, I try not to, I truthfully don't know where to start. Should I wash the kitchen floor, how about vaccumming the cat hair off the couch, the bathrooms need to be cleaned and I still have groceries to pick up.

Having other people stay with you forces you to clean out those drawers that continue to get everything stuffed into them. You know the ones with the old flyers, empty gum wrappers, tops of old tupperware that have no bottoms.... that junk. Now I may not notice it all that often because I'm used to seeing it but when guests arrive it is a whole other ball game. They will be opening all those lovely cupboards and drawers where I hide my lack of organization. I have this cupboard beneath my stove top where I stash all my pots and pans. It is very disorganized but to my credit, I have children. Everytime you pull out one pot, about three others, that someone (teenagers) has stacked on top, fall on the floor in a loud clank. Rather embarrasing when your having a dinner party. Did I say I had teenagers? Don't get me wrong, my in laws are the easiest people in the world. They would never expect me to do anything at all in preparation for their visit. This is just all of my "crazy stuff".

I wish I were more like my father in law, he is the ultimate in organized. The last time he was here he cleaned out my entire car complete with vaccuming. It looked like the day I bought it. Won't he be in for a pleasant surprise when he arrives only to see it has reverted back to it's old self. Both girls are out this morning so I can't saddle them with any of the chores. Weren't they smart to make other plans for today?

Back to that chipmunk.... I bet his condo is spotless. All those peanuts lined up nice and neat in a row but then again I bet he doesn't share his home with teenagers.

A Painting A Day

GoldenSOLD

Image Size 4"x3"
Double Matted 8"x10"
$100.00>