Goodbye 2009! Hello New Decade!

The last day of 2009. A year and a decade finish tonight at midnight! And tonight is special in other ways--there's a blue moon (another full moon in the same month) and a partial lunar eclipse. Wow! That's a lot of responsibility for one day! ;o)

I am happy that 2009 is ending. It has been a challenging year for us: 2 deaths, 2 apartment moves, 2 people (Michel and me) thinking they had gone through some portal into an alternate reality. Things we thought worked a certain way (belief system things) simply didn't this year. A life-lesson year!

In honor of this last day of 2009, I am posting the mandala* I used for my holiday card and also a quote that brings balance to the whole resolution frenzy that happens every year at this auspicious time.


“We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives...not looking for flaws, but for potential.” ~Ellen Goodman

May 2010 be a year where you discover your amazing potential and fulfill your greatest dreams.

Happy New Year!

--Vicky Lynn :o)

*I created this mandala using Photoshop. The original photo depicts a region where infant stars are born in a nearby galaxy. This image was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2007. You can see the original photo here: http://www.space.com/imageoftheday/image_of_day_070110.html

Happy Christmas! Merry New Year!

Today, as my Christmas gift to my readers, I offer a mandala and a poem. I created the mandala from a fern photo I found on the Internet here. I wrote the poem as my Christmas gift to Michel.

Happy Christmas to all and to all a Merry New Year!

--Vicky Lynn ;o)

Christmas isn’t …
rushing about
wearing ourselves out
or expensive gifts under the tree.

Christmas isn’t …
over drinking
over thinking
or overeating until we can’t see
(our toes, that is).

Christmas isn’t ...
carols & lights
snow & cold nights
or special programs on TV.

No, Christmas is not these things for me.

What Christmas is …
is a silent glance
from eyes you know
from one whose love
to you each day shows.

What Christmas is …
is a passing touch,
a gentle kiss, a soft caress,
a listening heart,
a tender word spoken to bless.

What Christmas is …
is Life that’s shared
with someone who cares
who knows and believes
in all you can be.

What Christmas is …
is You and Me.

Copyright © 2009 by Vicky Lynn Macchione

My 100th Post :o)

Yes, it's true. Today is my 100th post! What a milestone! ;o)

In honor of this event, I have included a mandala of sorts. It is a photo that I have put through a Kaleidoscope filter in Photoshop. (You can get the plug-in at this web site: http://www.mehdiplugins.com/.)

You can see the original photo on my blog here. Yes, it's true. The beautiful mandala above came from my "angel" cyclamen photo!

I have been thinking long and hard about what I should write about for this momentous post. I thought of quotes by famous poets or some interesting fact about what you give your spouse on your 100th wedding anniversary.

(As an aside, the list of traditional/modern wedding anniversary gifts that I looked at only went to the 80th anniversary and the traditional gift was oak. There was no modern gift listed--not too surprising given the lack of longevity in marriages nowadays. Realistically, though, if you and your spouse actually made it to your 80th anniversary, I am not sure either one of you would be able to lift anything made out of oak. ;o))

I also thought about writing about my thoughts about good and evil, which has been on my mind of late. But I finally decided that with that beautiful kaleidoscope mandala, I should include something to contemplate and meditate on. And what popped in my head was a poem by Rumi that I recently put in my journal.

I have decided to give just a few lines that seem particularly meditative and perhaps reflective of the changing facets of a kaleidoscope as well. The poem's title is "Music Master" and can be found in The Essential Rumi (translation by Coleman Barks).

We are the mirror as well as the face in it.
We are tasting the taste this minute of eternity.
We are pain and what cures pain, both.
We are the sweet cold water and the jar that pours.
--Rumi

Thank you, dear readers, for being my mirror and letting me be yours--(I hope that my posts have a touch of "reflection" in them!) May we be that for each other for another 100 posts or 100 years--whichever comes first!

--Vicky Lynn :o)

Cyclamen Kaleidoscope
Digital mandala created in Photoshop
Copyright © 2009 by Vicky Lynn Macchione

Law of Attraction or the Universe's Web Crawler

The other day while checking my email a thought occurred to me. What triggered the thought was a video advertised in a daily newsletter from Gimundo. The video was about a software product that was being used by an ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) patient that allowed him to create graffiti art using only his eye movements. Pretty amazing!

Now, what caught my attention was the fact that the young man had ALS. Just a day or so before that email arrived, I had been talking with Michel about my ex-husband's grandfather who had ALS and actually died from the disease. So that was two instances about the subject of ALS in a very short span of time. That occurrence fueled the train of thought that left the station of my mind and proceeded along the "thinking" tracks something like this:

Hmmm. ALS again. That reminds me of when I am searching in Google or writing emails in Yahoo about particular subjects. Somehow I notice more instances of what I was searching for or writing about appearing in my Yahoo Spam email folder after those searches or emails. (Yes, I check my Spam folder!)

Is it possible that somehow Yahoo and Google know what I am searching for or writing about and then directs related topics to my Spam email box? Is it possible that the web crawlers checking the Web all the time are responsible for the influx of certain types of Spam and even Inbox advertisements?

Is that how the Law of Attraction works? We pull on a strand of the Web of the Universal Consciousness by thinking a certain thought or talking about a certain subject and then the the Universe's web crawler (aka the Law of Attraction) notices our tug and sends more information or more feelings or more whatever back to us? So the Universe is like a giant Google complete with web crawlers?

(Or as Michel later pointed out--Google is structured like The Universe!) ;o)

So ends my train of thought with one final note. That evening, after this experience occurred, I was reading a library book and can you believe it? One of the characters in the book had...ALS! Amazing!

In honor of my "webby train of thought," I have posted a mandala (called "Playing with the Web") that I created from a photo that I found on posted on the Studio Nemo web site. The photo is a spider web decorated with water droplets. Click here to see the original photo.

--Vicky Lynn :o)

"Playing with the Web"
Digital mandala created in Photoshop
Copyright © 2009 by Vicky Lynn Macchione

Happy Thanksgiving!

Giving thanks for the images and words with which the Universe has delivered to my Soul and for those who have encouraged and supported me in doing my artwork and wordwork. This mandala is for YOU.

Thank you!

--Vicky Lynn :o)

"Angel of Fire & Ice"
Digital mandala created in Photoshop
Copyright © 2009 by Vicky Lynn Macchione

What's in a post?

I haven't posted in a while. I have been making art--some mandalas in Photoshop and some doodles and mandalas by hand. And I have opened my blog several times to post. But each time, I just couldn't find something to say that might be meaningful or amazing. ;o)

Today is no exception except that I thought why not write about not having anything to write about. Or, at least, nothing I feel that is noteworthy or full of depth or insight. One reason I decided to post about "nothing" is that I am reading a book by someone who said writing is about sharing the life we live and not passing judgment on what is acceptable about that life. Interesting idea especially for someone like me whose inner critic is always ready to "help" with editing and judging!

So what's in a post? Perhaps a post is just a moment in time when I share my life with whomever decides to read my blog. And perhaps that timely moment doesn't have to be something amazing or supernatural. Maybe it can be mundane sharing about trying to write a blog post and struggling in the process.

On a "lighter" note, the mandala I have posted above is called "Angel Energy Essence." Here is the photo from which I created the mandala. The plant is a white cyclamen and has a bit of a story.


I purchased this plant because someone was sending angels (the ethereal kind) to stay at our apartment for 4 days. One of the items I needed to get in preparation was a white flower or plant. I thought of cyclamens almost immediately. As Michel says, cyclamen blooms look like angels flying.

After the angels visited, I got the idea of taking a photo of my cyclamen and using the photo with an angel message that my friend Karen (an Angel Therapy Practitioner) created. She loved the photo and is selling cards using the photo and message on her web site.

So there is lots of "angel energy" in this mandala. I hope you feel it, too.

--Vicky Lynn :o)

"Angel Energy Essence"
Digital mandala created in Photoshop
Copyright © 2009 by Vicky Lynn Macchione

Transformation on my mind...

The idea of transformation has been in my thoughts lately, which may be why today's digital mandala comes from the "poster insect" for transformation--the butterfly. ;o) What I love about this mandala is the beautiful six-pointed star that appears in the center. The colors and its appearance reminds me of the art of India. I also find that the melange of colors in this mandala is quite stunning and unique.

I took the original photo (seen below) last year while visiting the Butterflies Go Free exhibition at the Montréal Botannical Garden.

--Vicky Lynn :o)

Butterfly Star Mandala
Digital mandala created using Photoshop
Copyright © 2009 by Vicky Lynn Macchione

In Time, Being

Here is a new digital mandala and a poem I wrote for a friend who is celebrating a birthday in a few days. In this mandala, I see transformation, unity, light and shadow, all operating within the realms of time that we experience while on this earth. This idea is one the poem points to as well.

In Time, Being

Rotating and revolving,
Re-pulsing and refracting,
Reflecting and revealing—
Our paths as orbits spin
Spotted on Source’s One Light.

Each step is a union
With others in Life’s sky—
Conjunctions of Souls.
Lights connecting, blending, merging;
Each moment here, we are,
In Time,
Being.

Here is the photo from which I created the mandala. I took it the other day before most of the leaves had fallen from these bushes, leaving only twigs and branches where a sea of color once existed.

How is it possible that green leaves can turn into such glorious and vibrant shades of red and pink? Absolutely amazing! Fabulous fall...

--Vicky Lynn :o)

Autumn Transformation Mandala
Digital mandala created in Photoshop
"In Time, Being" poem
Copyright © 2009 by Vicky Lynn Macchione

One of those days!

Yes, today was one of those days.

The freezer wasn't freezing ice cubes.

The refrigerator temperature is not cold enough and is running all the time, so I am going to have to throw out some food.

I have hurt my right elbow somehow, and in certain positions, it is very painful. No ice cubes makes it difficult to ice the elbow. ;o)

The birthday card I was making had to be remade, and once finished, it still was not "perfect."

Basically, it has been a day of redoing and figuring out how to resolve the challenges that kept surfacing.

Finally, I decided I needed to create something "just because," so I made the two mandalas I have posted here.

I titled the first mandala, "Hearts & Flowers" for obvious reasons. ;o) The picture I used was taken on a lovely September day just about the time the sun was setting, which gave the flower a very vibrant appearance.

The second mandala is called "Morning Glorious" and was taken on the same September afternoon.

I do love the wide open loveliness of morning glories. This perky blossom was surrounded by a sea of green leaves and other buds here and there. She seemed to be saying--"Hey! Look at me! I'm happy here, blooming in my little corner of the world!"

Making these mandalas was a challenge because of my elbow, but I loved the surprise they brought me when I finished them. Perhaps the message for me is that "one of those days" is like a slice of a digital mandala. You never know what the final result will be just by looking at the first slice.

Any today is just a slice of Life. When it is pieced together with all the other slices, then I will be surprised with the amazing results and with what hidden pictures I can see.

So the next time one of those days comes my way, I'll do my best to accept it just as it is and realize that a new "today" is just a sunrise away. ;o)

--Vicky Lynn :o)

"Hearts & Flowers" Mandala
"Morning Glorious" Mandala
Digital mandalas created using Photoshop
Copyright © 2009 by Vicky Lynn Macchione

Mushroom Star

I am posting a new digital mandala along with the source image I used. I took this picture in September while taking a walk near our apartment. The day was lovely and I actually remembered to bring my camera with me. ;o)

What I love about the process of creating these mandalas is the unknown factor. When I pick the slice I will use, I am only seeing 1/5 or 1/8 of the final result. In the case of the Mushroom Star, I didn't know there was going to be a star until I had made 3/5 of the mandala.

The other interesting occurrence is how my perception of what I am seeing changes. For example, in this mandala, I kept feeling like I was looking shells from the ocean, which made me wonder if mushrooms are the shells of a grass sea or a dirt sea. Just a different way of "seeing."

--Vicky Lynn :o)

Mushroom Star of the Sea Mandala
Digital mandala created with Photoshop
Copyright © 2009 by Vicky Lynn Macchione

Walking in the Forest of Mystery

The mandala posted here is my first attempt at a digital mandala. It was so exciting to make since I pieced it together section by section. The final result stunned me--the geometric designs, the hidden pictures I see, the flower design made by a tree branch. All so amazing and such a feast for the eyes. What do you see hidden in the greenery of this mandala? What message do you hear when looking at it?

--Vicky Lynn :o)

Forest of Mystery Mandala
Digital mandala created with Photoshop
Copyright © 2009 by Vicky Lynn Macchione

A Few Words about The Artist: Me! ;o)

I brought my greeting cards to sell on consignment in an angel store here in Montréal. The name of the store is Ange Neige. Along with the cards, I brought an artist card that shares a bit about me. I have posted it here for readers of my blog, so they can learn a little more about me and my art. :o)



I have also created my own set of marketing bookmarks. You can see the 5 designs I made below. I had great fun making these bookmarks. I took parts of different collages, doodles, and Life Stamps to make the individual designs. And, of course, there is one that is more traditional, featuring the logo of Blue Heron Visions and Two Chairs and A Window Greeting Cards.



--Vicky Lynn :o)

Artist Card, Bookmarks
Copyright © 2009 by Vicky Lynn Macchione

All About Seeking

Here is an interesting video about "seeking" that someone I follow on Twitter mentioned. I really love what the narrator has to say about the idea of seeking much more than I like the actual video--with one exception: when the words "This Is It" show up on the screen. That phrase really caught my attention. And the phrase showed up again in my life a few days after viewing the video when I noticed that the title of Michael Jackson's posthumous new single: "This Is It."

This video inspired me to make the mandala seen in this post. I call it "Eternal Seeker" and it shows the struggle and entanglement that happens to me when I get caught in the idea of seeking and searching and striving to find the Answers.

--Vicky Lynn :o)

"Eternal Seeker" Mandala
Ink, felt pens on paper
Copyright © 2009 by Vicky Lynn Macchione

Final Versions: Angel Message Bookmarks

Here are the final versions of the bookmarks (in English and French) that I made for my friend Karen, the Angel Therapy Practitioner. I created the collage part and she wrote the words. Karen is selling these bookmarks.

You can read more about Karen and get more information on her web site: http://www.angelsconnecttospirit.com/

--Vicky Lynn :o)

Autumn, Falls, and Balances

Happy Autumn! Happy Fall! In one way, it's funny to think of wishing someone a "happy fall"! Falling usually isn't something we want to do. I know because I fell on Sunday while waiting for a light to change. I was on my bike and had to stop for the light. For some unknown reason, I reached for the ground with my left foot instead of my right foot (which is the foot I use almost ALL of the time). I didn't plant my foot well and even though I almost managed to keep my balance, I didn't. And down I went! I have a series of evenly spaced scrapes on my right leg, where my pedal branded me and a bit of a sore left arm and wrist. Just a reminder of how important it is to maintain my balance.

And as I think about my fall, I am also thinking about the autumnal equinox, the second day of the year when a perfect balance is reached between night and day. That happening occurs tomorrow in Montréal where I live.

Isn't it amazing that out of the 365 days that we live each year, there are only 2 days in which night and day find a perfect balance? Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned from this natural cycle--equality, more light, equality, more darkness. I don't think I have ever tried applying that cycle to my own life.

As do most people, I try to hold on to what I want in my life and avoid or try to change that which I don't want. But the fact is that everything changes and everything eventually passes away.

The doodle posted shows dawn on the first day of Autumn. I used hues that are mostly red, pink, orange--the colors of Fall. The sunlight of this season is warm and golden yellow, making Life feel rich, full, and abundant. For me, Autumn sunlight is fairy-like, hovering and lingering as it caresses the trees and flowers, coaxing their beautiful colors to emerge before the darkness of winter takes over.

I wish you a Happy Fall. May today bring the balance of the equinox to your life. And may your time of falling leaves, falling rain, and, very soon, falling snow be a glorious one!

--Vicky Lynn :o)

"Dawn on the First Day of Autumn"
Ink on card stock, felt pens
Copyright © 2009 by Vicky Lynn Macchione

An Angel with Attitude ;o)

Here is the Angel of Coins & Feathers. I almost decided that I needed to recreate her but then several people told me they loved her exactly as she was. I was going to introduce her, but she would rather do that herself...

"I am the Angel in charge of Coins & Feathers. Are you surprised? After all, some Angel has to be responsible for making sure coins and feathers cross your paths!

I love shaking coins from my shield and sprinkling them on streets and fields, in métros and on staircases, wherever you may “happen” to see them.

I blow the feathers from my sleeve, one by one, so they gently float to the Earth. I want to make sure you get the message that all of us Angels are watching out for you.

The laces on my sleeve reveal my secret passion: I love playing jacks!

You will certainly notice my Whimsical Nature. My face is heart-shaped and radiates my Love for you. My wings are not necessarily positioned in the best place for flying. But because I am a Being of Lightness, I get around quickly and quite nicely, thank you very much!

Remember to keep your eyes open as you walk your journey each day. Receive the messages that we Angels send your way. Rejoice and give thanks each time you find a coin or a feather. Realize that you, too, are a Being of Lightness, which is my special message to you!"

--Vicky Lynn :o)

Angel of Coins & Feathers Mandala
Ink on paper, felt pens
Copyright © 2009 by Vicky Lynn Macchione

Angel of Waves comes sailing in

I made a new doodle last night and it became the Angel of Waves that you see here.

She's the angel that does all sorts of things with "waves." Not only does she make sure the ocean does its wave thing (with the help of the moon, of course) but she also makes waves in our lives when we get too settled or too stuck or need a boost of creative energy.

Sometimes her waves are calm and gentle and at other times, she produces large, massive, tsunami-type waves to get our attention, to overflow us with goodness, new ideas, and fresh perspectives.

Her shield combines Her Eye that is always watching and waiting for our call and the Web of Water--a reminder of field of unlimited possibilities where all Life begins, whether human, animal, or plant life or the life of new thoughts and new ways of seeing.

Shells and sea flowers decorate her robe and her wings carry the waves of the ocean. She is quite a Free Spirit, and she is waiting to hear from you!

--Vicky Lynn :o)

Angel of Waves doodle
Ink on paper, felt pens, "Web of water" color added in Photoshop
Copyright © 2009 by Vicky Lynn Macchione

Angels on My Mind and Under My Pen

Last night I created the doodle posted here.

I had two criteria:

1) Use paper that had been bled through on because I hate to waste paper; and

2) Don't put the doodle in a circle.

About half way through the process, I realized that there were some places in the doodle that were wing-shaped. That idea did affect what doodling designs I decided to use--feathers anyone? ;o)

And in the end, when I had finished doodling all the nooks and crannies, I realized the entire doodle was wing. I titled it "Angel Wing Doodle."

I am still wondering if I want to add color. There is something interesting about having the bleed-through marks be just where they are in the black and white drawing. (You can see the marks more clearly if you click on the picture.)

I wonder why I don't see my life that way. Why aren't the "bleed-through dots"--those effects of previous choices and decisions that still remain as part of the picture of my life--why don't they seem like an interesting addition instead of something I want to evict and erase?

Something for me to think about.

--Vicky Lynn :o)

"Angel Wing Doodle"
Ink on paper
Copyright © 2009 by Vicky Lynn Macchione

Autumn Leaves and Leaf Doodles

Today, I looked at a blog that was recommended by someone in the mandala egroup. It's called The Doodle Daily. Today's post had a picture of a "doodled" leaf that brought a smile to my face.

Leaves are special to me. Here's why. Almost 9 years ago when I still lived in California, Michel (my boyfriend) sent me a picture of an Autumn leaf from Montréal on which he had inscribed a poem he had written. He sent this to me before we had met in person and only knew each other through our correspondence and chatting on the Internet and by phone. Every year when the leaves start falling here in Québec, I think back to that emailed leaf and what has transpired since I was touched by Michel's gentle and romantic gift.

Here is that most memorable leaf.


--Vicky Lynn :o)

Black & White or Color: Obeying or Breaking Rules

The mandala egroup I belong to has been talking about breaking rules that we, or others, set for ourselves--in art or in Life.

For me, obeying the rules is like seeing in black and white. And I have always been a very strict "rule-follower"! Taking the risk and challenging or breaking a longstanding rule is like seeing in color. All of a sudden the scenery changes. There are nuances that you didn't notice before. There are possibilities that emerge, hidden behind the rules that you obeyed blindly because you were supposed to, because that's what good girls do.

The two mandalas posted here illustrate for me what happens when I can find the inner strength to challenge a rule that some authority figure in the past (sometimes the long-distant past!) decided was good and proper and you better do it or else! I start in the black and white world of shoulds and should nots and open up to the living color world of wonder, magic, mystery, and possibility.

What rules do you long to challenge and break? Maybe today's the day!

--Vicky :o)

"Seeing in Black & White" Mandala

Ink on paper

"Seeing in Color" Mandala

Ink on paper, felt pens
Copyright © 2009 by Vicky Lynn Macchione