"You can't erase the past, but you can create a beautiful future."                   ~Michal Madison

Wisdom from an 8 Year Old   I love Paije. She walked into my booth last Memorial Day weekend, when I was displaying my paintings at Art in the Park. Her mom and little bother were with her. I watched as she moved slowly from painting to painting, taking them all, as if she were memorizing each face, each brush stroke, deep inside her. She’s just eight, but the past two years have brought pain that is overwhelming. She doesn’t have a dad. She used to have a dad… but things changed. She's learned early that bad things happen and life goes on. Sometime we feel as if left us in the wake, trying to stay afloat.  Soon after we met, I started teaching her art lessons. She wanted to learn how to draw eyes and faces. (I couldn’t say “No” to that!”) She soak everything up like a dry thirsty sponge. Our plan is that she draws me one of the things that we are working on together at class,  and the rest of the week, she can draw whatever she wants, whatever her soul desires. This past week she brought this drawing to me titled “Tears of Time”. If you look closely you can see words, emotions, filling the iris. She’s also started writing something that goes with her art as well. She liked that I did that on my website and Facebook. (She’s one of my most avid fans via her mum’s account.)  Here are her words:      The tears of time keep falling and falling from looking in the past.      All of the sad memories that have found her heart and eyes and soul.      The tears will fall until she falls asleep.      Then she will forget for the night.      And the tears of time will come back and it won’t stop.      But she can stop it.      She knows with God and her family, she can get through this.                                                                          ~Paije, age 8, September 2014 Art heals. Art helps us deal with the chaos that is going on inside, the stuff that doesn't make sense. I love being part of that process in a child’s life. Paije’s favorite painting of mine is “Shadow’s of the Past” (at top). I understand why. She has a print to remind her that, while we can’t make the bad stuff that has happened to us disappear, we can focus on the good stuff, on the light, on what is going right in our lives today. That is where we find hope to carry on, hope to get through the pain, the loss, the heartache. Paije realizes the gift of being surrounded by people who truly love her. The strength that comes from having Creator in her life. Today, I hope you find the joy and beauty that are around you, the gifts that are in your life, the strength that carries you forward. Surrounding yourself with art helps. Here’s where you can purchase mine: www.MichalMadisonArt.com. Ten percent of every sale is donated to Childhelp so that children who have been through extremely hard times can find hope. Thank you for buying my art and being a part of making Hope Happen! Exquisite Blessings, ~Michal Madison

Elephant Inspirations

"Art can touch emotions in someone's life and reignite a dream, even a dream that has been through devastating circumstances. So look around. Be blessed by the amazing wonder, the artistic elegance of creation. Let your heart and soul be captured. Dream Big! Expect Miracles!" 

Elephant Inspiration 

I love elephants. But Lindsay love loves elephants. 

Well, let me start back at the beginning of this elephant story. I painted this elephant picture for my girlfriend (at the time, now my best friend who really loves elephants), so tons of love went into every brush stroke. We both decided, recently, that it would make great prints and cards. 
A couple of weeks ago I was showing at The Art Festival. I met a lot of really intriguing people, among them this interesting guy, Josh. He liked all of my art, all of it! I know, what’s not to like about him, right? But that’s not the reason... He bought one of my elephant cards, among other things. A few hours later, after lunch, he returned to buy another elephant card. 
Josh and I have kept in touch since the show and He shared an inspiring story with me. This is where Lindsay fits in. Josh went to lunch with his good friends Lindsay and Eric the day he bought the elephant card. Remember Lindsay really loves elephants! (Eric loves them also). When Lindsay opened the card, tears filled her eyes. They’ve been married for a while and were excited about starting a family. But several months ago they experienced a miscarriage. It shattered their world. Together they decided to stop trying to have a baby (for a while). While it’s hard to stop chasing your dream, sometimes it’s too painful to go on. The moment Lindsay saw the elephant card, a seed of hope was planted for them. Art can touch emotions in someone’s life and reignite a dream, even a dream that has been through devastating circumstances. 
Recently, Lindsay told Josh they are trying again. They are ready to embrace their baby and begin a magical journey! So, now I have a new dream! (When we follow our dreams, we inspire dreams in others.) I want to hold that baby! I want to look into that child’s eyes and know that s/he is here because hope is still alive in this world! I feel honored, humbled and so very blessed to have painted a picture that inspired hope and the expectation of new life! One of my mantras in life is: Dream Big! Expect Miracles! 
I knew you’d like this story, because some of you may have set your dream aside for a while. It’s my hope that a story, a piece of art or anything from Creator’s miraculous repertoire of unequaled beauty will inspire you to follow your dream once again. I also know that you will join me in asking Creator to exquisitely bless Lindsay and Eric with a beautiful healthy baby! I’m 100% behind parents who are going to love, adore, protect and cherish their children! So please send them all the happy thoughts, good energy and prayers in whatever way you ask your Creator and Higher Power to pour out goodness on others. They deserve a baby I will for sure let you know when this miraculous, inspirational baby is on the way and of course when innocence arrives to grace our world! 
Oh, and one more thing… if it’s a girl, they’re going to name her Michal!!! (How cool is that!)