Category: Jamie’s Creative Life

Daring to Dance

0

A while ago I saw an audition invitation for Le Grand Continental, a dance piece to be performed at the Luminato Festival here in Toronto. With the tag line, “If you’re a dancer at heart – or just want to be – WE WANT YOU!” I knew it was something I’d love to be involved in – but could I do it? It’s been quite a while since I’ve done anything other than dance around the house or play Just Dance!  And, despite my time at the gym, my sedentary days as an online entrepreneur have taken their physical toll, something I’ve been working on changing. Could this be just the motivation I need? A fun way to reawaken my inner dancer and get me moving? What would it be like to go to a dance audition at my age and stage? I guessed it would be two things: uncomfortable and exciting – a combination I try to say yes to!

So I did what I often do when faced with an enticing and intimidating adventure: I didn’t think, I just said signed up and said yes.

This is the audition piece that I learned and performed as well.

On the day before the audition, I came down with a bad cold, but something in me knew I had to be there.  Again, I didn’t think too much. Instead, I got the best night’s sleep I could, ate a nourishing meal, put on an outfit that I could move in and that felt like me and headed down to the space.

I walked in with an open mind and heart, deciding that whatever happened, the audition in and of itself would be an amazing adventure.  I mean, here it was a Monday night and instead of nursing my cold at home I was out at a dance audition!

Could it all go horribly wrong? Absolutely.

Would I feel uncomfortable, embarrassed and incapable? Quite likely.

Might I feel engaged, alive and brave? Unequivocally!

Might it open the door to something amazing? It just might!

So, with my tummy tingling and my head stuffed, I showed up. I was delighted to find that both the production people and the other aspiring dancers were generally friendly and kind. For the first 10 to 20 minutes, I felt good. As I followed the moves and grooved to the tunes I thought, “This is fun! I can do this!”

Then, at some point, there seemed to be way too much to remember and some slick, quick head turns had the room spinning and I thought, “Whoa… what was I thinking? I can’t do this! I should call it quits. I mean, this is just a short segment – the show is going to be 30 minutes!”

In other words, I felt certain I wasn’t ready for a 30-minute dance piece!

The good news is that I didn’t have to be.

In this moment, I only had to be ready to audition.

I had to be ready to say yes to this moment, to commit, to show up as I was and give all I had.  That is all.

This is how all great adventures begin. We aren’t ready. We don’t know where we’re going and we don’t know if we have what it takes to get there. The truth is, we probably don’t.

We’ll have to learn along the way. We’ll have to get stronger. We’ll have to make allies. We’ll fall. We’ll fail. And we’ll get up and we’ll get up again. We’ll laugh and we’ll doubt. We’ll surprise ourselves and one another. We’ll find we are more than we thought we were and we’ll do more than we thought we could. We’ll be amazed and amazing. We will be transformed. And, we will have stories to tell.

That is why I knew that no matter what happened, it would be worth it. I would be able to say with truth and conviction that I am a woman who said yes, who showed up, who braved the uncomfortable and stretched into the unknown.

Happily, in this instance, I’m also the woman, who got the part!

From Receiving Inspiration to Sending with Love

0

By now you’ve probably heard the story of how inspiration woke me up in the wee hours last January and wouldn’t let me go until I had poured the Studio Yearbook out of my heart. I didn’t know what I was creating. I just wrote and wrote and wrote for hours. After I had messily put every idea onto paper, I thought to myself, “I think maybe this is a thing.” I mean, how could it not be if it woke me up in the wee hours to be created? For the past year, I’ve been following that inspiration to fruition. I’ve followed it all the way here…

Box of Yearbooks
photo by Suzie Ridler

Yes, The Studio Yearbook is now officially “a thing”, a magical wonderful thing.  This guided journal pulls together practices and principles from Jamie Ridler Studios in one creative place. It is a clean, open and inviting space just waiting for the magic of the creative who steps into it. It is a guide, a companion and a daily reminder of the artist within. It is inspiration come to life.

After a full year of use and testing, by myself and an amazing teams of creatives, it is awesome to not only see the yearbook in print but also to be sending it out into the world. We created 100 print copies that sold out in 36 hours. We also created a PDF so people could get immediate access (and no shipping fees!) and dozens of people printed them on the first day, like Lorraine in London.

Lorraine in London Yearbook
photo by Lorraine

Here in the studio, we worked to get the print copies ready to go out into the wide, wonderful world! It took a dedicated week to pack them up with care.


It’s important to me that each step of the way, we infuse studio creations creativity, magic and love. My sisters, Suzie and Shannon, helped me do just that with the Spring Studio Yearbook.

Handmade Envelopes

I knew I wanted to tuck a few treasures into the print copies of the Spring Yearbook, which we affectionately call The First 100. Shannon made a collection of beautiful one-of-a-kind envelopes, which we then added some treasures to.

Shannon and Ephemera

We had an amazing night, listening to music and packing up each envelope with intention. We let our intuition choose a treat selection that felt just right somehow. We trusted absolutely that the right envelopes would find their way to the right creative hearts. (And according to Bryonna, the magic worked: “They might have been random in the envelope, but the Universe directed that envelope to me!”)

Our Packing Table Set-up

The next day we had a packing party! We lit the twinkie lights and played some music. We set up all our supplies with care and one by one we put the packages together with love.

Suzie was in charge of washi tape and she tuned into her intuition for every choice she made. She and I would read the name of the person who was getting the yearbook and then Suzie would reach out for the washi that felt just right. Next I would package the yearbook in an envelope, imagining the beautiful artist that this book would be a companion to this spring. I imagined her receiving it with delight and filling it with her own unique creative spirit.

Shannon and First 100

Then Shannon would finish it off with a commemorative First 100 sticker and it was ready to put in the mail. Even getting these beauties posted had magic! Though it took me three trips with a granny cart and lots of patience from post office patrons, the two clerks were kind, supportive and really helped get these yearbooks out with efficiency and care. I’m so grateful to them both.

Journal & Washi Tape
photo by Suzie Ridler

Making a project like this come to life is thrilling – and a lot of hard work.  I am beyond grateful to everyone who has been a part of bringing it to life – my sisters Suzie and Shannon, my husband Justin, my marketing maven Kim, the alpha team, the beta team and the cheerleaders, plus the whole team at the printers and the staff at the post office.

Every moment of care and kindness, every word of encouragement, every act of support, all of it bolsters the magic of a creation.

The Studio Yearbook is richer, stronger and more vibrant because of everyone who has touched it. Now, it is out in the world, ready to be filled with the magic of the creative heart it will pair with.

If you’re ready, the Studio Yearbook is ready for you.

Interested in getting a yearbook of your own? Find out more here.

Saying Goodbye to a Poet, an Artist, a Canadian Son

0

“That Night in Toronto”

It’s hard to say what Gord Downie meant to so many in this country. It’s even harder to say what he means to me. Since news of his cancer and The Tragically Hip’s final concert last summer, I felt so moved and I expected to be called out.

“Did you have every album?”

“Do you know every word?”

No, but there are words etched in my heart, lyrics that make me cry – every time. There are songs that are a part of the fabric of my life and the life of a generation of Canadians.  And there is the way that somehow, with a magical force of presence and art,  this man, his work and his passing have brought us together.

I recently read Brené Brown’s Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone in which she exhorts us to “Hold hands. With strangers,” to join in moments of collective gathering.

“All of these examples of collective joy and pain are sacred experiences.” Brené Brown

In that spirit, Justin and I went to Nathan Philips Square last night and sang our hearts out along with a crowd galvanized by Choir! Choir! Choir! I cried my way through Bobcaygeon and belted out Courage. I was pulled into The Stranger and let loose in New Orleans is Sinking.  I did it alongside others wholeheartedly doing the same, each with their own soft spots and memories, each with their own Gord.  Every moment deepened my belief in the power and impact of sharing and art and the worthiness of making this your path.

The arts bring us together.

The arts send us home.

Sing Along… (Lyrics available here thanks to Choir! Choir! Choir!)

We get to feel small…But not out of place at all

It was in Bobcaygeon
I saw the constellations
Reveal themselves one star at time

Don’t tell me what the poets are doing… Don’t tell me that they’re talking tough.

It’s sad but true… I’m kinda dumb and so are you.

Sundown in the Paris of the prairies

Courage… it couldn’t come at a worse time.

Her son has gone alee… And that’s where he will stay

I’m moving fast.. On the path nobody knows

Learn more & Contribute – Downie/Wenjack Fund

I come from downtown… Born ready for you… Armed with will and determination… And grace, too.

No dress rehearsal … This is our life…

Picking out the highlights of the scenery… Saw a little cloud that looked a little like me

The event was livestreamed to Facebook. For a time you should be able to find the recording here.

Creative Living Adventure: Horseback Riding

5

On the Adventure Bus

This season I’ve done a major shakeup to my schedule. One of the things I wanted to get back to was going on regular adventures with Justin. We love exploring and sharing new experiences together and this past weekend we did just that by going horseback riding with Toronto Adventures. We left the house in the dark, watched the sunrise as we rode the all-night bus to our pick-up spot and boarded the Adventure Bus at 7:30 AM.

Claireville Ranch

The bus took us up to Claireville Ranch in the Claireville Conservation Area in Brampton, just north of Toronto.  It is so close and yet, for a city girl like me, it feels like a getaway. Of course, the realities of the environment quickly become clear.

When you step off the bus, you are greeted with the smell of horses. Want a quick pee break before you start your ride? There’s the outhouse. While you’re standing in line to get your helmets, don’t be surprised if the horses are peeing too! Lol, Justin and I looked at each other with smiles and said, “Nature.”

 

 

Getting Ready to Ride

For the ride you could choose to rent a helmet or go without. We tend to be a “better safe than sorry” couple and so we put down our $6 each. As Justin said, “If the leaders are wearing helmets, I’m wearing a helmet.” Good thinking! I tried on all the pink ones and the ones with horses too but none of them fit so I went with classic black.

Once we signed our waivers and made our helmet choices, we stood together as a group and were assigned our horses. “You, Georgia.” “You, Ditto.” “You, Sierra.” Justin was matched to the biggest horse in the group, Chip. A bit intimidating, yes, but Chip turned out to be a lovely horse. I was so glad. On Justin’s one and only previous experience with horseback riding, he was thrown so it was a big deal that he had said yes to this adventure and I really wanted him to have a lovely experience.

Of course, I was thrilled when the leader looked at me and said, “You, Karma.” Now that’s got to be a good sign! Karma is a beautiful horse, as you can see from the photo. It didn’t take me long to figure out that she was companionable but didn’t suffer fools lightly. For the first hour of the trip, we were negotiating.

Before the ride, we received brief instruction, including being told not to let our horses eat the grass. We were also informed that every one of the horses would definitely try to do so!  With Karma, if we were all stopped for a bit and she wanted to eat a little grass, she’d totally ignore my correction. However, if we were  moving along and she tried to grab a nibble, I’d correct and she’d respond right away. Perfectly reasonable, Karma. I get you.

Cowboy Breakfast

After an hour, we made a stop for a “cowboy breakfast” that had been prepared for us in a clearing. Coffee was an immediate yes and really good too! Then there were eggs, beans, bacon, sausage and hash browns – plenty to fill you up after your gentle morning ride. It was interesting to hear the guides talk about the horses and their time at the ranch. Our leader had been volunteering there since she was 8 years old! As she said, “Once it’s in you, it doesn’t leave.”

After breakfast, we had another hour ride ahead. In the first hour, I had been struck by how familiar the terrain was. These were trees I recognized, plants I recognized, but something about the ride reminded me to look closer, to be present. Yes, I have seen goldenrod before but I have never seen a whole field of yellow alive with monarch butterflies from the back of a horse.  Priceless. And then there was the oddly quintessential Toronto moment of being able to ride a horse under a highway bridge and look at graffiti. All of this while in connection with the strong presence of Karma. This was a day I won’t soon forget.

Friendly Horse

After our ride, we had some time to hang out at the ranch. What a treat to spend more time around the horses.  It’s interesting. During our lunch break, one of the participants was saying that she found the horses expressionless. She said, “There’s no smile in their eyes.” The guide said, “You have to learn to read their energy. I can tell how happy he is to be out and on this walk today. I can feel it. You just haven’t come to know them yet.”  I wondered what it was like to learn the language of horses, to understand their signals and I was delighted to be taught a little lesson by the horse you see in the photo above.

As we stood nearby, he came right over and it was clear to me that he wanted to say hi. I walked over gently and he moved his head closer. I put my lightly closed fist up and he pushed his nose into it. My heart soared. I thought that was it but then he gave that little nudge, that nudge that I recognize from all the cats I’ve known, that nudge that says, “I want you to pet me here.” So I followed his lead and rubbed that velvety soft spot right above his nose and reveled in this moment of connection and communication. Thank you, you beauty.

And, of course, no journey would be complete without having an encounter with a “cat in the ‘hood”! As we waited to board the adventure bus for the journey home, we discovered this sweet kitten who was quite happy to play, to pose and to get some cuddles. The perfect ending to a wonderful day.

Found Poem #2: The Remnant

3

The remnant,
The faces,
The griefs,
The terrors,
The ruin

Letters to each and all

The deepest wisdom
Of all the earth

The city throbbed
Day and night
The narrow ways
Were crowded
The wide road
Yet dark

A strange cry rang out
High
Vast
And the point was a rich sword