New Site

Hey....I've moved...

Would love to have you follow me at my new location

Melody Madden

Almost done ....

Still busy at work on the new site but I'm so very happy with the way it is looking.  Finishing up some loose ends and then I will post the link here .....

Have a wonderful Tuesday ...

It's A Thursday

It's a beautiful start to another wintery type day in the village.

Yesterday we received more snow than was called for but you couldn't help but smile as it was picture postcard pretty.

P.S..... Here's what I'm working on in the studio this morning ... Day 4 and counting

Busy Times .....

I can't promise I'll be blogging much in the next little while but I will try to pop in and out if only to post a photo or a few words.   Lots of new website design "stuff" is taking priority right now.

Have a great day!

It's All Moving So Quickly

This week is moving oh so quickly and I'm having a hard time keeping up but having said that,  I nevertheless do feel great.  I imagine I feel this way because finally things seem to be falling into place and I see the progression of what I've been working towards.  I am in the flow so to speak...

Within the next few weeks I will be beginning a new blog over on WordPress.  The WordPress site will also house my website.  Nice and simple .... keep it simple!  This blog will stay as a more journaling type of blog  mostly for my friends and family but the new blog will represent the progression of my artwork and a few other fun things ... guess you'll just have to stop by and visit for yourself.

For those of you who have emailed asking me if I ever intend to sell my work online.  Hmmm... that may happen with the new site.  My vision all along has always been to sell the work in galleries as I think I'm just that type of artist and always will be but that being said, I may offer small 6"x6" or 5"x7" pieces online for anyone who is interested.  Perhaps a piece a week. Before I begin a new larger work I always, always, complete a smaller piece, a study you could say.  I never want to committ to work on a bigger scale if I haven't already worked out some of the logistics on a smaller format.  Those pieces would be the ones I would be considering offering.   I'm still playing around with the idea in my head.  We will just have to see where that goes .....

For the past year or so I've been following a gallery I would absolutely love to be a part of.  A few months ago I gathered up my courage and sent them an intro letter as well as a link to my website ( it seems most galleries are now interested in being approached this way rather than the formal package in the mail).  I heard back from them quite quickly and we've been corresponding ever since.  I will not name them because I'm not 100% sure of what will happen but I have a good feeling about the direction our conversations are taking.  They are not in Ontario which is a plus since I'm looking to find representation outside of my own province.  Fingers crossed....

It is a busy time....


A special "Happy Thanksgiving" to my friends and family in the United  States.  Eat lots of turkey and enjoy time spent with your family and friends.

Monday Morning

Monday morning = Studio time = Bliss

p.s.   watched Annie Leibovitz on Visionaries last night ..... mind blowing talent 

Change ... It's Inevitable

I haven't always been that great with change and perhaps I'm still not but I'm getting there.

But oh, I am so in love with the word Flow ... sometimes I say it softly to myself, a mantra of sorts.  To me it conjures up images of water gently skimming the surface of beach rocks or laundry hanging on the line on a breezy summer day under a cerlean sky.  When I look at my life and how Flow presents itself in that realm I realize it is all about me being open to whatever happens without resistance.  It is what my all time favourite spiritual book reminds me of everyday.  I've mentioned in previous posts how
Stephen Mitchell's translation of The Tao Te Ching resonates most with me.  I read a page everyday  ... it centers me, it balances me, it presents a slight shift that I can feel within me.

My art continues to evolve and change ... that change excites me!  Even though some of my earlier works still make me cringe, I feel it is important to revisit them now and again just to clearly see the big picture.  You can't move forward without acknowledging where you've been.

So the work moves forward as do I.  Which means shedding off the old and forging ahead with the new.  Come Monday I (along with help cause God knows I can't do it alone) will be creating a combined website and blog on WordPress ... it's time and I love the idea of having both of them together as well as creating a site which is representational of me, my art and my life.  I've also been getting a bit of help with marketing and other "art stuff" which I will discuss at some point in a future post.

The next few weeks will be busy ones but I'm up for the challenge (she says nervously biting her nails down to the quick)  Yeah, I'm slowly warming up to change because in life it is all you can really be certain of.

The Start of Something

What's getting started on the easel this a.m...... we'll see where it goes in the next few days....

Weekend Wrap Up

Friday morning we woke up to a blanket of white .....  I caught this shot just as the sun was coming up over our little part of the world.  Beautiful but snow?? Not quite ready yet.  By day's end it had all melted but left most of us running off to our nearest service station to get those dreaded snow tires on.

The weekend was lovely......sunny .....

We were invited to our friends for dinner ... a 100 mile dinner to boot...

Caesar's Sald

Turkey Parmesan, squash, vegetable medley

Our contribution was an apple/caramel pie with french vanilla ice cream ... can't vouch for the 100 miles there as I didn't make the pie although it did cross my mind but then driffed off to oblivion with so many of the other ideas I sometimes have.  

A feast was had by all ..........

Dimming Of The Day .....

Dimming Of The Day

8"x8"

Acrlic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

Daylight Saving Time .....seriously???

Hard to believe daylight savings time has come and gone.  Am I the only one still holding onto the last shred of autumn I can find?  I mean I totally understand that November has arrived, having had a birthday and all but the news of snow flurries come the end of the week is almost too devastating to wrap my head around.  I do live in Canada .... I am a Canadian ...this should not surprise me but for some crazy reason right around this time of year, every year, it does.

I'm loving waking up early in the morning and being greeted by a bright, beautiful  sky but do confess to feeling that SAD disorder kick in right about 4:30 every night.... too dark too soon.

Slowly but surely I will become accustomed to the shorter days and the cooler temps but for now I think I'll just keeping taking advantage of those nice long walks and enjoying the gifts that autumn is still so generously providing...and I will until the last leaf falls....

A Birthday Filled With Gratitude

Yesterday was my birthday ........

Isn't it funny how people always seem to ask if you feel any different on that day than you did the day before ... but surprisingly enough I did feel different this year..... I felt more gratitude than I had ever felt on any other birthday...could be age but I like to think of it as simply being totally present and open to whatever the day would bring...

The sun shone that morning which was a gift in itself.

My friend Dyanne came over in the a.m. with a cranberry birthday muffin complete with candle which she lit.   I made coffee and we sat outside with the sun shining on our faces.  Enjoying the day and enjoying our time together....both being present.

John and I took a walk late in the day .....

I heard from friends and family whose love and support I cherish everyday ....

I received a call from my friend Bianca whom I've known since grade four.  She and I just recently connected up via Facebook.  She said she wanted to call me in person to wish me a happy day .... (gulp) big lump in my throat over that.  We shared precious memories together of being young girls, teenagers and then finally adults but unfortunately we lost touch as human beings sometimes tend to do.  The important thing is we have reconnected and have new memories to make...

Say what you want about Facebook but I have met so many incredible people who share the same passion and joy about art that I do.  Some I've met some I haven't. So many of them wrote on my wall yesterday (if you don't know Facebook it  means they left me a message saying Happy Birthday) and I don't think I could ever tell them how much that meant to me.  Simple things such as that make me feel overwhelmed and thankful.  There really is so much kindness and generosity in the world but unfortunately is seems to somehow get overshadowed by all the bad news we constantly hear.

John made me an incredible dinner......he's special like that!

So on my birthday I can truly say "I felt the love" which may sound corny to some but it was the prevailing feeling of the day and I will always carry that with me.....but for now I'm going to go and try and "pass it on"........

"Be intent upon the perfection of the present day" -  William Law

Happy Hallowe'en

Happy Hallowe'en .......

Sierah was home last week so we decided to buy a pumpkin early as she enjoys the carving more than either John or I or Holly for that matter.  The best part as far as I'm concerned are the seeds ... with lots of salt and butter.  Not a heart smart choice by an means but delicious all the same.  This year I held off buying any candy until yesterday since I've been known in years past to plow through a box of 100 chocolate bars in record time.  What I really need to do is buy candy that I don't particularly like but since I can't think of any off the top of my head ... I must practice discipline.  Although I do despise rockets and that horrible brown sticky toffee wrapped in waxy wrappers wth a pumpkin face on it but even I wouldn't inflict that on anyone.  When I was a kid that's all we got along with this crazy old lady who threw apples at us as we were walking onto her porch.  Speaking of traumatizing childhood Hallowe'en experiences .... one of my favourite episodes of Modern Family aired last week......that show never fails to crack me up.  Watch a clip here

These three new pieces will probably head up to the Silverbridge Gallery this week......

Farewell To The Sun

8"x10"

Acrylic on Canvas

Illuminations

8"x10"

Acrylic on Canvas

Releasing Wonder

24"x36"

Acrylic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

A Walk Is Good For The Soul

I can't seem to get enough of this time of year although I've been disappointed with the lack of sunshine....Sunday turned out to be a day worth yelling "hallelujah" about.

Holly and I decided to take a walk... cause don't you know...walks are good for the soul

Saw a cool fort in the middle of the woods.........

On studio front I'm currently working on these............

Wherever you are today .... make it a good one....

Big Time Love

THIS looks Amazing.....

I'm a big sucker for a feel good flick

A Love Affair With Autumn

Thanksgiving weekend was as perfect a weather weekend as you could possibly dream of but everyday after that has quite frankly .... sucked.  More rain than my Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) can take....talk about dreary and depressing.  So on Sunday when the sun made itself known I was one happy girl.  It was still chilly as the clouds swirled about overhead but when the warmth hit my face .... bliss.

My sister was up from the city with her man so we all took a walk after breakfast......

And then of course there was the removal of all those gorgeous leaves.....