What a great day...

Even though I am stuck inside a lot these days due to weather like my two pals in the painting here, it was by and large a great day. I had to go to the chiropractor because I screwed up my elbow at the gym. I guess it was good I went according to her so that I can accelerate the healing. it was also good because it is near my favorite chocolate place......

I painted this afternoon then had a group of women friends over because one of the women in my women's group had something she wanted us to chant to and I wanted to dance. We joined together in my large studio and did both. Great fun. An old friend surprised me by letting me know that she is in town for a couple of months so she came and then we went out to dinner afterwards. Sitting at the Little Bear Cafe by the stream and watching the snow fall was beautiful.

Until later, Melissa

The Making of a painting

I decided to put this photo up as a representation of what I would have preferred doing today instead of the mundane work that I DID do to scan slides in preparation for learning power point and taking my slide show on the road in that format as opposed to dragging an old fashioned slide projector and slides.

This image is about 5 or so years old. My friend Rhianna, owner of the Dreaming Goddess store in Poughkeepsie NY is the model. I am up on the table doing the painting so that I can get the perspective that I like.

And yes, that's a nice bottle of red wine there in the foreground........

I love red wine in the winter but hardly drink at all. It would however be lovely to have a glass now and take the evening off, but that is not going to happen. I am leaving soon for a couple of trips so I need to stay on top of things.

Hope you are not sliding around on the ice like we are here.....

Later, Melissa

Community

This is a painting that is part of my CREATRIX line of products. It is titled "A Call to Gather". I chose this image because I have been touched by the way that I see folks coming together in these challenging times. I have observed it "from afar" and in the past couple of weeks have been experiencing it personally in my own life.

Growing up my family seemed to always be on the outside. The way they saw it, folks in their community didn't accept them because they were not born and raised there, which is common in small towns and especially I think in souther small towns. They didn't socialize much and part of that was because my mom was very introverted. In early years I did see her sometimes join in with community undertakings but she became increasingly depressed and withdrawn. I could go deeper here but for the sake of some of my family member's privacy I'll leave it at that.

Perhaps because of that and due to the fact that I am mostly a hermit I have not been that involved with community either unless you look at my involvement with the New Age Community which is indeed great, but it is a large community. I have moved so much in my life that community has changed frequently and lately I travel so much that it is difficult to keep up with local happenings.

All that being said, I do love community for as much as I can be involved. And I so appreciate all of you that make up mine.

In community, Melissa

After the Funeral

Today I returned home from my aunt's funeral in New Jersey. I was close to her, pretty close I guess. She was my father's sister and there is all sorts of dysfunction in the family to say the least. But I loved her, and she loved me unconditionally. I can't say that she had a happy life. She was generous and a woman of simple needs. Renee I will miss you and I so appreciated having you in my life.

I represented the matriarchy of the family today wearing my deceased mother's winter coat and a ring that my aunt gave me last time I saw her.

I stayed with my brother last night in New Jersey so that I would be on time to the funeral and with no stress. It was a short service out in the cold winter day. After a meal at a local diner I drove back home the 2 hours north.

As it happens every time as soon as I see the mountains I begin to let down and feel myself open. I am always a little on edge driving in cities and particularly today after having dealt with family issues. Memories rose up in my mind, some pleasant, some not. I live in a beautiful part of the country and I appreciate it all the more when I visit city areas or really most areas. What I fell in love with initially the first time I came to Woodstock back in the 70's was the charm of the town. I don't live in Woodstock, but the entire area is well planned to maintain the integrity of the surrounding natural landscape. I feel an intensity about where I live and there is a feeling of the wild there that I miss when I am in more "civilized" urban environments. I any case I was blasting a CD a friend made me of 80's music as I drove into the mountains and finally let go into "the zone". I felt the familiar temperature drop as I headed north and it was OK this time.

The images I chose tonite represent the contemplative state I was in. The painting is one I did in about 1991 and the photo is on the way out to Cedar Key in Florida where my friend took me to visit a couple of years ago. My next trip is to Florida and I am looking forward to it.

Here's to living a full life.

Melissa

A New Beginning

It truly is the dawn of a new day. So very exciting....... A new president, new dreams, hopes, beginnings. The doorway image is called "Going Deeper" in honor of my own personal journey as well as that for our country. Let's do it.

the top photo is a "funny" from a recent photo shoot, There are more lines on my face than there really are due to all the pancake make-up the stylist put on me. but it's fun nonetheless.

There isn't Enough Time

You know that one, don't you? This is how I have felt lately. It's a Spirit Essence Portrait that I did for someone awhile back but I can so totally relate. In case you don't know what there are - it's where I do a psychic reading for someone and while they are sitting there I do a nararative watercolor containing the elements of what I saw when I was tuning in. A grand time is had by all. I select appropriate music for the session which becomes part of the experience. I am lately in themidst of setting up my travel schedule for spring whereby I show up at select new Age stores, centers, spas, yoga centers etc to do these.

It was a nice weekend tho really. saw a friend for dinner and a movie and a yummy glass of cabernet which is always so nice on these frigid nights. If you don't live in this kind of climate I can't describe how it is to go out on a below 0 night - run into wherever you may be going - peel all the layers off, put them back on, blah blah.. But the payoff is the beauty of the snow on the trees, the mountains in the distance, and the quiet of it all.

It seems in January many people decide to pass on. I went to a funeral today and heard of about 4 other people dying this week. I know a local florist who says that in January more people die than any other month. He knows because of the flower sales.

So, knowing that, let's celebrate life while we can.

In celebration, melissa

The thermometer says "0"

AT the time of this post the thermometer says " ) ". Normally I have been lucky enough to be outo f town during the worst of the cold snaps. Not this time.

The top photo is the view out of my father's window. It's the USS Wisconsin in Norfolk, VA. I just visited him there. Such a strange view to have out one's window. He enjoys it at his age.

The bottom photo is the new series I have been working on. The one on the far right is the latest one and not quite finished. I have enjoyed working on these. Not sure if I will continue on this theme yet or not. We shall see. I am not able to get into the studio again before the weekend at the soonest. Everything takes so much time. Now I need to sign off to prepare flyers for one of the stores on my Florida visit.

Maybe I will see you there?

Till then, Melissa

Re-entry

Re-entry is always painful. Today I was working hard, but had a rough time focusing. I put some time in on the 4th of a series of large oil paintings that I am temporairily calling the "contemplative series". All figures in landscape in contemplative poses. Which has n othing to do with the images I posted here. The top one is a watercolor I did toward the very end of fall that I like and the bottom one is , well, I know you are tired of these beach shots but I liked the light that day. And with the temperature at about 10 degrees here now I am really wishing I was back there.

I have to go and clean my brushes from the oil paint. If I do it before I am ready the leave the fumes bother me and I can't open the windows now to ventilate. After I wash them I put them outside because of the smell, but they still smell up the studio from washing them in the sink.

The trials and tribulations of a painter. No wonder I got heavy metals poisoning some years ago.

Auvoir, Melissa

getting used to grey

Here I am back in the northlands. The above are a couple of pics from my retreat time. There are many more I will share later. In any case, I knew I was "home" when I pulled in at a gas station and saw the sign above. So often when you go into a gas station down south they will have ham biscuits and /or fried chicken or BBQ. It just made me smile.

The sunset photo is cliche I know, but I thought I'd throw it in. I miss it already. It was hard flying into Newark today and landing in the grey and white. Grey of the natural landscape this time of year and white of the "you know what". Ah well, at least I got out for a week. Now back to stoking the new wood stove (new investment this year) and hustling as quickly as possible between my house and my office/studio. It's hard to make myself work after dinner this time of year after I am all nice and warm and then have to freeze my buns off going outside again.

Soon I will be putting more art up here. Like tomorrow. But now I am wallowing min my memories.

Back to the house to do an ionic footbath.

Till then, Melissa

Moon Madness

Another strange beach day. I was hopeless today in that it was warm and sunny and gorgeous here. I kept speaking to folks at home telling me about the ice and snow and my conclusion was that I need to make hay while the sun shines. or at least be out in the sun shine :-).

I didn't sleep well during the night -wild dreams- and woke up early. I remembered my idea of the previous morning where I thought it would be wonderful to watch the sun rise. In my half awake state (exagerated from the valerian I had taken) I stumbled into some clothes and rushed down to the beach while it was still dark. I watched the sun rise to my great satisfaction. I brought my binoculars in case of dolphins/whales which insured of course that I saw none. But it was sheer bliss anyhow. I decided to check and see out of curiosity if the local coffee house (which is in an old adorable house and also is a bookstore) was open at the un-goddessly hour of 7:20 AM. It was! As I do every now and then I tried drinking a cup of half decaf and half coffee, but discovered (as I do each time) that I can't do it. It just makes me too shaky.

Fast forward to the end of the day. Not much happened in between other than doing one psychic reading and hanging out on the bay looking at the water all afternoon. No kidding. I was glued. It was such a beautiful day - all day long. And remember I live in the tundra. Anyhow, I went down to the beach again for sunset and to check and see if the fisherman was there. He was not. I am now wondering if he was a "visitor" from Spirit. In any case I was walking on the beach as it got dark and a man ran up to me and said "Excuse me - was that the moon before?" I didn't know if I heard him right. So I said "WHAT ?" And he said - was that the moon, that big round shape - and then it went behind the clouds..." I said "Yes , that was indeed the moon." It was a huge full moon as many of you realize so I don't know why I became the authority on the moon. As soon as I answered "Yes" he ran quickly back off the beach. So very Strange.

So happy full moon to you all.

The moon goddess

Religion on the Beach

Day 2 1/2 here on retreat. I'm so frustrated that I cannot put up images for these days. anyhow, the purpose of this retreat is to get work done because there are no distractions like at home BUT this turns out not to be the case. I am continually seduced by the ocean. I went down yesterday TWICE. This must stop. I don't want it to rain, but if it did at least I could keep still here to work. I did get 2 Spirit Portraits done yesterday (congrats Shirley and Emily) in between the walks. It's just that for me it's so interesting and exciting to be able to experience how the light changes during the year and how it looks over the water, etc etc. This place is mostly a summer tourist destination and is really empty now. I think I saw a total of 5 people on the beach yesterday and I was surprised to see them.

One of them, a woman walked up to me and said "Honey, do you know where we are?" I didn't know at first if maybe she had dementia (as she was somewhat older) or really what she meant. Then she asked about the town line and I understood. We ended up speaking for about 20 minutes. In that time she taught me about some shells (the names of them and the history which was fascinating). Every other sentence she said "Bless your heart" which really is not all that strange as one moves down south. But in her case I knew it was something more. Later she shared how she believes in God because as our conversation progressed she let me know a stressful situation that she was involved in and how she had faith that she would be taken care of. I shared in the same way (about my own problem area). I became teary eyed and she gave me a hug. As we parted she turned to me and said "I love you" and I found myself returning the declaration.

Later that afternoon I rewarded myself for a good segment of work by returning to the beach with my binoculars. In the morning I had seen a pod of dolphins and my above friend said that the whales breach here in January and Feb and to be on the looklout for the spouts and sprays. There was only one man on the beach all huddled up in clothing and sitting on his bucket as he fished. It was almost sunset, my fav time to go there because of the light. I passed by him and then on my return stopped to say something. He had his can of beer and I wondered if he really wanted to be left alone to his privacy but I asked what he was catching this time of year and we had a nice conversation. He pointed out a nearby seagull, just about 10 -15 feet away and told me that for several months the same gull came very day and stood by him, shooing away the other gulls. He said that even when he left town for a week, 10 days, the gull would be there waiting when he returned. Really cool. He told me some about his life (too time consuming for here) and let me know that he found the Lord in 2002.

I thought it so strange yesterday that:

1. I never normally talk to anyone on the beach
2. Both people I spoke with had found the Lord

So I am just beginning my day here and need to get started work. More tomorrow......

Till then

Hello all. I was all excited about the image I was planning to use tonite but I am on retreat and forgot to bring the cable for my digital camera so anything I post this week will have no image. So sorry about that. I am on the Outer Banks in North Carolina and at the moment we are having heavy winds. It's kinda creepy. I love the wind but here it can get really intense. It's supposed to go up to 60 mph and there are warnings out. I just poked around for flashlights and fortunately I found a couple that still have a bit of juice in the batteries.

I came here to do work on my next deck, to hopefully finish it up but now that I am here I am having trouble settling in. This occasionally happens. I am at an old family house of ours and there are many deep memories and feelings here for me. It was the last place I really spent time with my mother before she passed away so it holds something special but also some melancholy. I visited with my aging father on the way here and that in itself brings up a lot. I'm hoping to be able to really sink in and get a good bit of work done tomorrow. I also will be doing a couple of remote Spirit essence portraits that have been waiting around for me to get time to do them. Gosh the wind is loud. I just went and found a screen door that was not locked that was flapping around and making me jump. OOhhh and I just felt the house shake (it's on stilts). Hmmnnnn. I'll be glad when it's tomorrow. I think I am going to sing off now and try and cozy up in bed and sleep before I can get any more jumpy.

Until tomorrow, M

Wishin and Hopin

I'm wishin' and hopin" for Spring. The above are photos of my yard at 2 different times of the year. I much prefer the beautiful field of blue forget me nots to the oh so white blanket of you know what.

It's almost time for me to leave for a few days retreat down south. I am looking forward to being in warmer temperatures even if they are not THAT much warmer. It's been a nice few days with some more dancing to that same blues band. The child prodigy continues to amaze me. (The one who plays 5 instruments at 13). I'm still working hard but have taken the last couple of evenings off and tonite met my friend Mary and we had a bite to eat then saw "Milk". A great film. Normally I work into the nights but I guess the holiday mood has continued. So just a few lines since it is so late . See you tomorrow......

Melissa

Dancing in the New Year

Happy New Year Friends! Most people I guess are going to take some down time today, but not this one. My bookeeper is coming in a few minutes to work for awhile and then I have made plans to go to a friend's house so she can show me how to use my new purple i-pod. I know, I know, I'm a little slow on the uptake with the gadgets, but better late than never... It will be so nice not to have to haul my cd cases around with me but now I have to figure out how to bring speakers if I need them for the spirit portrait sessions, workshops ans such. I'm sure it's not a big deal but as it is I have my art supplies, camera and other accutrements that go with the territory of working and traveling.

Last night I went to a local spot that had a great blues band (forgot their name already) and danced myself into a frenzy. Normally I just hole up with a movie or a dinner with friends, but this year decided to take up a friend's offer to go dancing. It was the righ choice for sure. I danced so hard that I created a shoulder spasm and had to come home and ice it. (The perks of getting old). It was SO WORTH IT.

I also usually paint in the New Year but I really need to get this technology tended to. BUT the new painting is calling me too. We will see, maybe I will postpone technology.

One of the images I have posted today is the citrine crystal I have been working with. It's a powerful stone, second chakra stone and I did a nice ceremony yesterday with it to release what I want from 08 and to invoke the new for 09. Good medicine.

The other image is called "Dance Your Dreams" from my Women and Dreams Series. So- Let's all do for 09. Let's dance our dreams. Are you with me?

Till then, Happy New Year, Melissa