Putting the GRAND in Grandmother

This is my super sassy Granny and her sister Sally in their early twenties.
Tomorrow I am flying back home for Granny's birthday, and a celebration of ninety years of magnificent living.

I want to hold in my heart all the ways my Gran has touched my life.

My friend Shan allocates a special type of description to the women she respects: she says they have "guts, balls, determination and integrity."
My Gran is that kind of woman. She also has a smile that she embraces the whole town with. She has a way of making people feel good and safe with her. She knows things intuitively before anyone else does.

On the phone not so long ago, she said to me
"I think your sister is interested in a suitor, Leonie."
"Really Gran? Why's that?"
"She's been taking to dressing herself nice of late, and she has a little glow around her... I think she might be interested in a young man."
Sure enough, Gran was right. As she always is.


She looks like she has wings here...

And she has SASS.
That woman looks good every day of the week. I took these photos of her in April, and she was wearing spunky pink stillettos, white pedal pushers, a striped pink flowing top and huge white framed "winkers" (otherwise known as sunglasses, for those who do not speak Gran-language.)

I'd just picked her up from the op-shop where she still works a few days a week.
She said to me:
"Leonie, do you know I sold hundreds of dollars of clothes today?"
"Really? That's awesome Gran!"
"Do you want to know why I am so successful at it?"
"Why?"
"Because I model all of the clothes!"

And with that, she placed her hands on her hips, and waggled.

My Gran has SASS.


My mum and grandmother, doing their dance of love for 55 years...

The morning before we took these photos, I was driving with Mum, and said to her:
"Mum, I've always felt different. Odd. Unique. A bit zany. Just a bit out of skew with everyone else. I wonder if it's genetic, and where I get it from."
And she sighed this tiny whisper of a sigh, and replied:
"I feel like that too sometimes. Maybe you get it from me. I don't know where I get it from."
And then we looked out over the yellow eucalypts rushing by.

Later that day, I told Granny I wanted to take some photos of her.
And she giggled like a schoolgirl, and said dramatically
"I don't know how to pose though... I'm camera shy... I've never been a model before..."
"Sure thing Gran, we'll just go with the flow."

I turned on my camera, and took some test shots.
"I know! Let's play on the swings!" she says, and she is off with a trot.
My Mum sits on the opposite end to even out the weight.

It must have been quite a sight really.

Three blonde women in hysterics of laughter. The two oldest playing on the swings. The youngest with camera full of smiles.

And there in her little pink stillettos, my camera-shy Gran with her little white bob, bouncing up and down on the swings, yahooing like a rodeo cowgirl.



It was at that point I turned to Mum and said
"I think we just found our genetic zany-ness."

This woman must have had ninety years of practice because she sure is good at LIVING.

So this weekend is a gathering of all my family and relatives, and ninety of my Gran's closest friends to celebrate this Woman.

This woman of huge strength, a lion's heart, a mother's courage, a shining smile and crazy diamond spirit. My grandmother has grieved two husbands, two sons and a grandson. But every time I ask her how she is, she replies with a thousand-megawatted smile:
"I woke up this morning. I was still breathing. So, I thought: it's a GOOD day!"

I have so much to learn from this woman. The whole world does, I think.

Happy, happy birthday my beautiful grandmother.
For all the good days that have come before and all the good days to come,
I celebrate and love you with all my heart, and am so honoured to have come from you.

Big love,
Leonie


P.S. If there was any way to get ninety birthday wish comments... that would be oh-so-freaking glorious... I could show her them on Sunday all the wishes from around the world!
All good either way... but just putting it out there ;)


~
Back next week! :)

Air Self

All the ways
to see the sky
in myself:

the long vast days of turquoise summer
the soft greys of replenishing rain
the dark umbre of night emblazoned by Venus and her sisters...

and always,
the vibrancy, the possibility, the sheer expansiveness.

This is what the sky teaches me:
The world is infinite.
Everything is possible.

I relish how the sky is always a part of my paintings too...
always spreading her lovely silken azure wings around my canvas.


Magic falls from her hair,
prints on Goddess of Leonie etsy store

with love and wind,
Leonie


~ More elemental self portraits at SPC
~ More Turquoise Journey here

tweet song

I've been a (chinese silk dragon embroidered) fan of Magpie Girl since I found her online patch of grass & roosting palace a few moons ago. Her sharings about interfaith, sacred and communal gatherings and soulful living make little red flames in my heart.

Not only is she a priestess of Monkfish Abbey, an urban mama goddess, a vintage cloths connossieur, and a sacred jewels maker ~ she is a writer:artist:photographer who alchemises this trinity of talents into the gold of Zine.



Her newest zine is a delicious mini book ~ 36 sumptuous pages of colour to dive into and soak up for a while. "Tweet" is an honouring of the summer months: all the ways to sparkle and shine in the sun. Precisely what I need really, considering over this side of the planet, we are in winter.

And in winter tradition of the alpine country, I've managed to pick up a flu named Pharyngitis, which sounds like some kind of exotic spanish dance. I like to make up little songs in my head about fa-fa-farangitis, imagining it to be cocoa-skinned, wearing a dress with many fru-frus. I've been spending inordinate amounts of time lying on a beanbag watching my dog as he falls asleep, then letting him watch me fall asleep. If there was ever a way to get me to stop doing everything at a thousand miles an hour, fa-fa-farangitis is the way.

Needless to say, I've been reading Tweet while soaking up all the droplets of sunshine that fall on my bed. A perfect balmy sunkissed fruit concoction for my wintertouched spirit.



Stories, prayers, saint goddess collecting cards, recipes and sweet surprises:
I think Tweet (and zines in general) might just be playbooks for us adult children.
Maybe they should hand them out on airplanes as adult activity packs!

You can get yourself some Tweet-a-lage at Magpie Girl's etsy store!

In the meantime, I am off to make myself another cup of steaming healing fruit tea (inspired by my healing herbal wise woman friend Sone)...

For you in winter, and you in summer ~
dream this baby up!

Healing Magical Unicorns Fruit Soother

* Three quarters a glass of orange, passionfruit or apple juice (or combination of all three... combo is extra ju-ju magical)
* Tablespoon of honey
* Three whole cloves
* Six cardomom
* Splash of water

Warm, savour, enjoy and melt all resistance away...

Blessings to you, from me,
with gifts of warmth and joy,
Leonie

Inspire Me Thursday Featured Artist

I've been interviewed over at the lovely and inspirational Inspire Me Thursday... check it out!

Surrounded by Love

Surrounded by Love
original painting available on Etsy

Sometimes
she felt a little bit achy,
a little bit like a tiny soul boat
lost at sea.

But then...
if she remembered...
she would close her eyes
and find herself
in the embrace of the Mama Goddess.

Mama Goddess would hold her,
deep and gentle in her star~jewelled bosom,
stroking her hair,
whispering silent words into her ear.

You are surrounded by love.

You are surrounded by love.

You are surrounded by love.

Like a fish in the ocean,
you are surrounded by love.

Like a woman in the sweetness of air,
you are surrounded by love.

Fire the Grid

winged woman, pastels on paper


At 9:11pm Australian EST
there is a worldwide meditation called Fire the Grid
for us all to vision healing and oneness for humanity and our beautiful Mama Earth.

Connect in with the grid ~
even if you miss the time,
do it anyway with the intention of connecting in with the grid of light.

See in your mind's eye and feel in your heart
streaming ribbons of light from every star in the sky
reaching down to touch us, heal us, and embrace the earth.
Imagine inhaling this light,
taking it into your heart,
and offering it a home there.

Imagine a world of hope, peace, beauty and miracles.
Imagine a planet of community, of people connecting deeply with themselves, each other, our animals and plants, our beautiful Earth home.

Imagine a world of possibility,
of radiant dreams come true.

Imagine opening your eyes and seeing the world
as though you have just arrived.

Imagine knowing who you are.
Imagine remembering you are Great Spirit.

I will meet you in the ethers,
dancing in the light.
I believe in you.

Take a moment to imagine the possible.

Remember your beauty,
Leonie

Moonlight songs

"The moonlight sang sweet tunes to her heart"
Original available on Etsy


And every now and again,
she stood with her bare feet on the earth,
caught in a shard of moonlight.

If she listened closely enough,
she could hear the moon singing
sweet tunes to her heart.

Fire Stories

1.
Once upon a time,
driving to work in the morning,
the light caught my hair,
and a wildfire burned there.

Behind me, Paris said:
"Miss Leonie,
your hair is glowing
like a nimbus."

2.
My name, Leonie, means lioness.
I have a blonde mane framing a face of proud cheeks,
falling to nestle on a lion's heart.
A Lioness is a Woman of Flaming Manes.

3.
I am alight from a weekend
with a dear friend,
a sister, a woman
who is my astrological polar opposite.

I am alight from two sparks igniting each other,
a white wolf standing between us,
awakening from a drumming journey
to see her gazing at me,
both of us crumpled, embryonic, on the floor,
blazed through by the drum and the didge.

I am awake with our fierce journeying,
our thirst for knowing,
our dreamings and possibilities.

I am awake with the fire of sisterhood.



4.
When I was a child,
I fought bushfires.
Our farmhouse came close to being razed a time or two.

The drill was
heavy summer days
the scent of burning grass in the air
the sight of flames
the call of neighbours
the gathering of machinery.

We would wet down great bags of hessian,
ladle large plastic tubs of water into the car.

My father and his father
would be at the forefront of the fire
and the licking fingers of flame,
playing an elaborate game of rugby with
their dozers and tractors.

The womenfolk and children
would be at the sides and rear of the fire,
putting out spot fires,
bedding down the heat.

It was something I feared and relished, all at once.
Somedays I still think I want to be a firefighter:
for the community, the tangible challenge,
the smell, the sheer physicality of spirit, body and water against earth and fire.



5.
Fire is the kundalini,
my passion, energy, actions.
Fire is the bushfire,
my transformation, alchemy, release and rebirth.
Fire is the inspiration,
my burning possibility of all that wishes to come ablaze in this world.

6.
All our lives are waiting to teach us.

Bright, Burning Blessings,
Leonie

* More Self Portraits on the elements here
* More Turquoise Journey here

magical acts

Moon dancer (available on Etsy)

This lovely goddess came through me to visit my life last spring.
I remember rolling around in the grass,
breathless with joy as my hands, arms, face, torso, chest
danced in the paint and sang hues onto the canvas.
Her form and the story written behind her came once the paint dried.
She emerged just as she needed to, and has been hanging above my computer ever since.

She has been a little hidden in my alcove here, but lately has been frequenting more open walls in the house to be SEEN. (My house is a revolving art gallery)

She has emerged from her incubation period with a magical power:

She makes women dance before her.

Countlessly, my women friends walk through my house,
stop infront of her, raise their arms, and shake-a shake-a their glorious hips.

Last week two gorgeous sisters were gyrating divinely before her,
all three of them smiling the same little wild smile.

I am so grateful that so much magic is in my life...
and keeps spilling in...
from all directions, all possibilities,
seeping through my hands.

Often, I get down on my knees and give the most heartful thanks
that I am blessed with the creations that I am.
They have saved, healed and made light my life in so many ways.

I am off to catch a star from the sky...
one of my dearest friends is arriving for the weekend.

Let me play a little Nostradamus and prophecy this:
It is to be a weekend of souls connecting, nourishing foods, the beating drum, magical corn cakes, laughter, sharing in pyjamas.

I wish for you...
just this blissful moment.
some shake~a shake~a.
gratitude that takes you down on your knees to kiss the earth.
friendship adventures.

rainbow clumps of balloons,
Leonie

Gypsy Heart

Gypsy Heart Goddess
(prints on Goddess of Leonie etsy store)

In her heart, she longs to explore all the joys and possibilities of this splendid Earth ~

she dreams of garlanding herself in a sari in India
of the breeze floating by as she explores the back roads of Tuscany by bicycle
she longs to travel by canoe in Indonesia
to sing romantic songs in Morocco
she yearns to arrive, panting, at the peak of Macchu Piccu
and to dance a desert dance in Africa.

She longs to experience and explore this world,
to devour it whole,
to savour its beauty in her soul,
to be a part of this wondrous rainbow of life.

Her whole life, through and through,
she will be a discoverer of this world,
a lover, a documenter, a celebrator of its beauty and aliveness.

She is Goddess with a Gypsy Heart.

May she always remind of you the rapture of exploration ~ the delight of discovery ~ the Heart that loves this whole wide world.


With love,
with joy,
with five months until I experience INDIA ~ oh land of my aching dreams!
blissfully,
Leonie

My Wild Bushman Dad

This is my Dad.
My wild bushman dad.
The Blackbearded Pirate of Dadsville.

For years, we tried to convince my Dad that wearing a helmet while he rode his motorbike hellbent all over the farm chasing cattle was kinda, umm, a NECESSITY. It only took him one broken collarbone, numerous stitches, two severe concussions and a broken nose over the span of twenty years for him to start wearing one.
It was the broken nose that did it, I think.
I suspect that he's an appearance man underneath it all.

Anyways, me and my four siblings never did specify what sort of helmet he should wear.
Perhaps we should have.
This is my beautiful daddy, with his great big heart and furry face, sporting his 1970s helmet he found at the back of the shed somewhere, probably under a thick coating of dust and a petrified possum.

Coz us bushies, that's how we swing it.

If you'd like to vote on this piccie to go in JPG Mag's issue of Family ~ click here.

Big furry dad love, from me to you,
Leonie

Water Fairie

can you see the fairies?


I'm a water fairie, born under the sign of the Deep~Waters Scorpio.

I have mermaid hair, and a merman lover. I have mermaid friends ~ when I meet them, I know them by heart: curling masses of hair inhabited by seahorses, shining eyes that speak of the sea, wide smiles that light a mermaid's cottage...

*
On our first date,
my merman and I sat by the sea at night,
holding hands, and he said:

When I see the ocean through my eyes, it makes my spirit happy.

*

Water is the Mother of healing,
Water teaches the Way of the Flow,
Water is the embrace of Great Spirit.


with light blessings of the sea,
Leonie


~You can read more about the soul purpose of mermaids and other earth angels in Doreen Virtue's divine "Earth Angels" handbook.

~More elemental fairies at SPC

earth

grateful offering

Every afternoon, in the golden light,
she would climb the Western mountain.
Up, up, until her legs burned
and her great lungs danced with air.

There, up the top of the mountain,
above the reach of the suburbs and the world,
she would curl up among the fallen tree logs,
and the grandfather rocks.

She would breathe in the sky,
letting her eyes flight with the birds,
watching the moon rise above her,
and remembering herself as a child
of this beautiful Earth.


mountain girl (prints on etsy)

may you be healed by mama earth today ~
leonie


* more turquoise journey here
* more water ~ air ~ earth ~ fire @ self portrait challenge

Etsy opening

I invite you to the official launch of my Etsy store ~ http://goddessofleonie.etsy.com
(Click here for Original art and here for Art prints). You can purchase my original artworks through my little Etsy chapel of creativity, as well as, for the first time, fine art prints. (Australians, please note Etsy is in US currency).

At the door are steaming mugs of dandelion tea,
basketfulls of rainbow shawls,
round plates of caramel tarts,
soft, full blooms of roses,
flecks of bindis.

I invite you in with a hug of angel wings
and a great big smile ~
Thank you For Being Here.

Folksy, soulful, earthy music is playing...
Candles are lit, and the room is enchanted with joy.
Adorn yourself with your dreamiest outfit
and allow yourself to be filled up ~~~

(Please make yourself a cup of tea, put some beautiful music on, make yourself comfortable and enJOY)




I have spent some deliriously divine days with my hands streaked in paint,
putting into paint the dreams, visions and possibilities in my soul.
I feel so deeply blessed to be living my passion, and hearing my calling so strongly.

I offer these creations to you with open hands and open heart, in gratitude to Great Spirit and this magical world we live in. I offer these artworks as a celebration of joy, love and light.

May you always remember that Joy is an option.

From the Goddess in me, to the Divine in You ~
I honour you.

With love and light,
Leonie