nine {with Vivienne McMaster}

Nine is an interview series with creative folks that began in the Spring of 2009; the interviewees are asked to respond to the questions in photographs. You can scroll through all the interviews here.

Today's interview is with Vivienne McMaster. Her glorious photographs caught my eye this Spring. Her self-portraits are simply divine and a real source of inspiration for me right now.

Settle in and enjoy these pieces of Miss Vivienne's world...

*****

Question 1: Who are you?

Question 2: What do you love about where you live?

Question 3: What might your perfect afternoon look like?

Question 4: If you had an hour alone in your studio/creative space, what would you do?

Question 5: Right now, what are some of your favorite things?

Question 6: What foods nourish your soul?

Question 7: When you need to simply take a breath and reground yourself, what do you do?

Question 8: How do you nurture your creative dreams?

Question 9: Does your heart have a secret wish you want to share?

Vivienne McMaster is a Photographer and Postpartum Doula based in the beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia. She has a great love for lensflare, golden light, striped socks, vintage cameras, belly laughs, and her feline sidekicks. She's been blogging for many years now at http://www.ladyvivienne.blogspot.com/ but now has a brand new website which houses both her photography portfolio, blog, and much more at http://www.viviennemcmaster.com/.

(All photos copyright Vivienne McMaster)

thirty-three. freedom. fabric. (oh and a giveaway because why not)

pausing in kopachuck state park . june 7, 2009

the thirty-three candles have been blown out and i am happily wearing my wedding-day tiara this evening (because what other day can you wear it?) after have a really, really good day.

when the blue sky arrived in the early evening, i took jonny to my new favorite spot over in gig harbor where we walked through the woods and arrived at the water where we sat and watched the sun glisten off the sound. it was nice to just breathe and be for a few moments. we talked about the adventures we hope to take this summer. and i resisted the urge to just kick off my shoes and walk straight into the water and twirl. i knew that the dream of that moment was a bit more beautiful than the actual experience would be. still, it was fun to think about.

*****
i started off this morning enjoying a doughnut (or two) and watching "sunday morning." (oh how i love that show.) this morning, there was a segment about rosie*. one of the girls who participates in her broadway kids program said this, "performing just lets me express everything i've been shutting up all day. coming here. it's like freedom."

and as i nodded while listening, i suddenly had this thought: this is why i have a blog.

because coming here is like freedom.

and in this place and through the connections i have made, i have found my way back to myself.

this is a beautiful realization on this day.

and on this day, i want to say thank you to you reading these words. you have invited me, with your kindness and validation and nodding and extension of friendship, you have invited me to show up as me. you have enabled me to unearth this gift of freedom.

*****
yesterday, i spent the day in the little room. i haven't played with fabric in...sigh...months. and it was so much fun to begin to create a new group of natasha aprons. i sang and danced a bit as i cut fabric and chose pockets and pulled out some trims.

natasha aprons in progress . june 2009

one thing i have learned in the last year is that creating custom orders stresses me out more than i wish i did. (i really do feel so bad about that.) i think it is the deadlines. i really just have a hard time with deadlines for fabric items as i fit in my full-time job and working on the be present retreats and other things and, you know, living.

having said that though, i had this idea last evening: what if i did a giveaway every now and then for a custom fabric creation? i could let go of the very specific timeline this way while still experiencing the fun of focusing on someone while creating something for that person.

which leads me to this: i would love to giveaway a custom natasha (reversible) apron!

past natasha aprons

to enter this giveaway, please leave a comment that shares a link to a blog that is currently inspiring you and briefly explain why you find inspiration there. i would love to visit some new blogs and think it would be fun for anyone who stops by here to invite a bit more inspiration in this way...

and thanks again for just being you out there living in your lives.

big smooches to you,
liz

{update: comments are now closed as the giveaway has ended. thanks for playing alone!!}

*watching the tap dancing (aka time steps) during the segment about rosie made me totally want to start tapping again. i think i am going to find myself some tap shoes and maybe take a class this year. yes, i think i am going to dare myself to do this.

five (really) good things (in the last few hours)

endless pacific . manzanita . may 2009

1. cooler air has moved in (to this land of no air conditioning) and there is a breeze coming in through the windows. still feels like summer...but summer with a breeze.

2. walking by my studio and peeking in at the fabric i am determined to play with this weekend.

3. leaning my head against jonny's shoulder as we sat in the cool movie theater together this afternoon (and smiling in this moment thinking about how we are heading back there to watch this on sunday as that is one of the things i want to do on the day i turn three-three).

4. freshly brewed strawberry osmanthus iced tea (oh so very good).

5. finally feeling better...like really better...not perfect...but more like me.

what five really good things are part of your world right now?
share them.
i dare you.

one foot, then the other.

finding my way . olympic peninsula (april 2009)

To the questions of your life you are the answer, and to the problems of your life you are the solution.

Joe Cordare

(thank you for your kind words on my last post. thank you for getting it and listening and being out there. i am so blessed.)

a post that began one way...and turned into something else entirely.

saturday, jon got me out of the house for a bit. a short trip to point defiance park to get outside into the fresh air. even though we weren't there for very long, it was much needed. hopefully many a summer afternoon will be spent just like this...though maybe with a picnic and a stack of books and a journal or two and fresh markers and how the list goes on...

i am still sick. the weekend was filled with steam showers and lots of hot drinks and frequent use of the inhalers and making my way through season three of the west wing and reading my way through the harry potter series yet again...

and here is where is want to write something wise. i want to write about how i am finding answers in the all this quiet. about how my heart feels open as the sun shines in through the blinds and my mind is so full of ideas that i am dancing my favorite dance inside possibility. but, the truth is, my grandpa died two months ago and i am very sad about it. i am sad that i will never again visit the house where my grandparents lived. i am sad that they aren't going to show up and take me to the beach as the antidote to this illness as they did almost thirty years ago when i had a neverending bout of bronchitis. i am sad that i didn't get to my grandfather's side before he died. i am sad that there seems to be some kind of belief that a person shouldn't grieve deeply for grandparents...that a person should get "over" a death and "move on," especially when the person who died was "old." i would love to write something that might inspire but the truth is my head is throbbing as my brain seems to rattle each time i cough today and i just want to crawl back into bed. but i can't sleep because i keep coughing (not to mention i need to work).

i guess this is why i haven't been showing up here as much as i want to. i am trying so hard to push away the negative as i am on the cusp of a major pity party and i know it. even though there are also some really good things going on in my world that i look forward to sharing on another day, i am on the cusp of giving into the tears. but if i start crying, i won't be able to breathe. i know this is true. for a while now, when a thought comes up about my grandparents, i actually imagine pulling it out of my mind like dumbledore pulls out a memory in the world of harry potter...i imagine pulling it out and putting it into a box. i don't have the energy to grieve. does that make sense? i don't have the energy to give into the need for a good cry. i won't be able to breathe. and, these last two plus weeks have taught me that i really really need to be able to breathe.

(insert deep breath)

thanks for letting me ramble. it feels a bit like i just want someone to know where i am in this moment. so here i am, letting you know. and maybe i will come back tomorrow and let you know again. and the next day. because i think there is some comfort in knowing that someone knows a little piece of where i am.

i am okay. yes, i know this is true. i am okay. this is life. this is what it is. breathe in. breathe out. this is how we become.

(oh and i am behind on emails and returning phone calls and other good stuff. because of the coughing and asthma-like spells i am having, talking on the phone just isn't really possible right now. as much as i would so like to catch up with people on the phone, especially because i spend so much darn time alone, i am mostly trying to just be quiet. my etsy shop is open with a few happy summery necklaces, but i am not making any new soul mantra necklaces or any new fabric items at this time. hopefully soon i will be back in my studio sewing and hammering away. thanks for understanding.)

notes for the journey {5.27.09}

on the shores of lake max . culver, indiana . may 2009

day three of being back home in washington, and i am mending. still exhausted with a voice that isn't quite 100% and a cough that wants to hang around and a body insisting on east coast time, but i am mending.

i am leaning back toward me.

getting sick sometimes pushes moments of reflection in as the quiet of hours resting will do. my brain isn't racing as usual, so i am not being forced to keep up with myself i guess. and, as this slowing down forces more breathing (to, at times, literally relax enough to find my breath) and less doing/brainstorming/plotting/dreaming/creating, i have had several whispered reminders of what is important...whispered reminders of what i want to surround myself with in this life...of where i want to be when i look up from my path...here are a few:

be gentle: maya stein's "instructions upon waking" deeply spoke to me earlier this month. i read it again today for a much-needed breath of truth.

dare to wish: jen gray's whirlwish video has filled up my soul since yesterday evening when jonny and i sat together and watched it several times. so much goodness here.

create the happy: this peek into elsie's studio makes me grin.

surround yourself with lovely: this "floral lineup" photo on oh joy! made me inhale deeply. love the simple, intriguing white vases with the gorgeous summery blooms. (oh joy! is full of eye-candy inspiration daily...loving this blog).

do what you love: geek girl's clementines in the sun photo series (i want to reach through the screen and eat one); this girl is making it happen with her camera.

be present: karen's mindful day post. i didn't keep up with many blogs while i was dozing on a couch in indiana last week, but i read karen's daily. she simply gets it.

bring in the joy: dancing mermaid's make your life beautiful video has me thinking about simple acts of joy that can make a life more fully lived.

find the gratitude: ali's so very thankful post makes me think of possibility and love. such beauty here.

this morning, visiting all these sites again, i wish i could invite these women for tea today. we could all wear pajamas and eat strawberries and talk about what we know to be real and true. yes. i wish i could invite you, yes you, to come over for tea today. we could remind one another that we already know what we want to surround ourselves with in this life. we could remind each other that we just need to look up now and then and breathe it all in. we could remind each other that we already know; we just need to sometimes sit in the quiet to hear the answers that whisper within...

i wish you could come over for tea today...i wish for you that you will remember...

blessings,
liz

scenes from an indiana evening

an evening at dad's . may 2009

tell me something really good.

miss maggie may (my dad's cockapoo) . may 2009

i am still in indiana. i came to attend my high school reunion (i had the best time!) and after the reunion ended, my body seemed to give a sigh of relief that it could give into the illness that had been clearly hanging on for a bit.

asthmatic bronchitis. two inhalers. a big dose of antibiotics. trying to sleep in between what seem to be asthma-like attacks. (which, by the way, are more than a bit scary. those of you with asthma know. scary to wake up with no breath available.) this is the second time i have had something like this in six months. hmmm. i am not enjoying this one bit. (and wondering what is up with this second bout.)

was supposed to fly home yesterday but the doctor gave that a no go. hopefully friday. i am not doing all that great in this moment. i wish i was home in my own bed. i miss jonny and millie. but my dad and his girlfriend are being great, as is my mom. i feel loved, even though i feel like crapola. and even if i don't have my favorite sweater i wear when i am sick, i do have one of my dad's to wear, which is almost as good (insert very weak smile here). and even though i don't have millie curled up against my leg, i do have the companionship of the sweet, soft, and silly cockapoo pictured above. maggie. she is some kind of cute. and, in the way that dogs often do, she seems to get i am not feeling well and is staying pretty close to my side.

so, all this leads me to say this: tell me something good about your world. tell me a funny story. what made you happy today? last week? who/what is inspiring you? what are you reading? what flowers are blooming (or what color are the leaves outside your window)?

tell me something really good. i need to soak up the goodness...

(thank you)