See Raphaella Vaisseau's Heartful Art in this ABC15.com video clip with Heidi Doyle from Polka Dots & Popsicles

Polka Dots & Popsicles is the dream child of Heidi Doyle and John Braden and is located in the San Tan Village Mall in Gilbert, Arizona. Call (480) 963-1101 for more information.

Raphaella Vaisseau is the featured vendor this week at The Venice Farmers Market

Find Raphaella Vaisseau's Heartful Art at Five Sisters, A Spiritual Journey - South Dade, Miami, Florida

Elizabeth Zosman first found my Heartful Art in 2007 online at wholesalecrafts.com. At the time I was still living and creating art in California at my Heartful Art Gallery in Sausalito. I was thrilled to discover her beautiful store was minutes away from where my parents live in Miami, so on my next trip home, my parents and I all packed in the car to go see this magical place for ourselves.

I learned there really are five sisters - they are her five daughters. The recent article (included here) by Bella Kelly of the Miami Herald, shares some of what they're up to. During my visit, I witnessed a buzz of shoppers, milling around with stacks of items in their hands. I had brought more of my Heartful Art to show her, and waited respectfully until there was a pause in the line at the register.

The shopping trend continued over the years where others have failed (fourteen stores on my list of vendors have closed their doors during the past two years), I believe, in part because of Elizabeth's knowledge of spiritual and metaphysical things, and in part simply because of her presence, and the ambiance she and her daughters have created there.

On my last visit before the new year I arrived at an unspecified time on a Sunday afternoon. Elizabeth was not there so I happily browsed and shopped while waiting for her return. After some time, it occurred to me I might ask the sales assistant at what time she expected Elizabeth to return. I never did get the opportunity to ask, however, because the lines at the register were ten deep and continued that way for over an hour.

Having been in retail for many years, having had my own gallery in Sausalito during what we now refer to as the prosperous times before the economic downturn, seeing these long lines at the register in 2010 was a feast for my eyes to say the least. I watched in amazement as I wished to myself that I carried my camera in my purse to document things such as this.

Every time I visit Five Sisters I am touched by Elizabeth's generosity, kindness, and wisdom. When you are nearby the art and warehouse district of South Dade near The Falls in Miami, do yourself a favor and visit Five Sisters. You can find my Heartful Art magnets, posters, matted quotes, and art there along with crystals, jewelry, clothing, books and many other uplifting things. Elizabeth also offers classes and events to support and nourish you on your spiritual journey.

Five Sisters is at 8805 SW 132nd St., Miami, FL 33176. Their hours are 11am - 6pm M-Th, 11am-9pm F-Sat, and noon - 5pm on Sun. The phone is 786.250.4170.
-Raphaella Vaisseau, Heartful Art

Raphaella's 64th Birthday - April 14, 2011

I had a nice birthday celebration all week long, with friends and family sending me cards and gifts and singing birthday songs on the telephone.

I also appreciated the gifts I received from nature, especially the birds (pelicans fishing on the shores of Siesta Key, an osprey in the cypress tree eating a fish high up on a branch, an egret in the lotus pond) as well as gaining new personal insights on living in appreciation.

On my actual birthday, my friend Joanie and I lunched at Sharky's. While snacking on bean and cheese nachos, we shared appreciations with each other and enjoyed a tropical afternoon in Venice. My cat, Diana, especially appreciated the flowers Joanie gave me.

I'm 64 and loving life still as a grand adventure. I look forward to whatever creations life will unfold as I walk through the year ahead.

Here's a creation of my own that I completed this week - a commissioned abstract painting called "Mirror Lake" (a companion piece for "Redwood Forest" which the collectors purchased a few years back). Whereas Redwood Forest, also an abstract, is an up-close look at the trees themselves, Mirror Lake is seeing the forest from a distance through the mist of a morning fog.

Thanks for being a part of my life. I appreciate you.

Henry David Thoreau quotation on an inspirational magnet by Raphaella Vaisseau

One of my favorite Thoreau quotes is this: "Above all, we cannot afford not to live in the present." When I was ordained as a minister in the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness in 1978, a portion of my ministerial blessing was about "giving in to the moment I'm in,” thus allowing my spiritual gifts to awaken (one of which is creativity). I took the blessing seriously and worked at understanding what it is to live in the present. Meditating helped. Practice is key.

Later, when I became a full-time working artist in 1997, I began to create little reminders on magnets (and posters) of words and quotes that inspire me and others. I decorated the words with my art and still look at them every day as I do my work and live my life. I practice continuously to live in the moment I’m in.

I’ve noticed that even while walking on the beach, I sometimes become aware that my head is down and I’m absentmindedly looking for shells on the sand beneath my feet while I’m walking. Then I remember, and lift my head. I take a deep breath, and take note of where I am. I look up and see the clouds in the sky. I feel the warmth of the sun on my skin. I notice the other people around me. I listen to the sound of the waves crashing on shore, and the birds calling out to each other as they glide overhead.

I feel a kinship with Thoreau when I walk. His words remind me to appreciate the beauty that surrounds me and to live in the present, in the here and now. In every moment. Again and again.

April Fools Surprise - a Snake at my Front Door

Diana (my cat) loved it, we were both scared of it, and luckily it slithered out the screen door on its own.

Walking for Life

While in Arizona over Christmas, I got in the habit of walking an hour a day with my friends, Anja and David. It felt so great I continued the practice when I returned home to Florida. It's a healthful addition to my daily life. Some days I walk around the neighborhood if I feel I don't have time to drive to some spectacular destination (there are many of them here where I live). One day I walked from my house to Staples and returned a cable I didn't need. Another day, when it was cold and raining, I walked up and down every aisle in Home Depot. Both journeys filled me with a sense of accomplishment. I didn't get stopped by weather or some made up rule that had me want to walk someplace beautiful or not at all.

As I'm continuing with my daily walks, I'm discovering much about my environment and my surroundings. Now I'm always on the lookout for where I might find an adventure nearby where I might be going that day. This morning I had a breakfast meeting near Stickney Point, so afterward I walked on the hard white sands of Siesta Key. The picture (of Venice Beach from the South Jetty) is from another day when I had an errand to run in downtown Venice. You can see my whole walking path in the picture: from where I'm standing on the jetty and around the curve of the beach to the end of the high rise condos on the shoreline. The water was such a beautiful emerald green the other day I had wished I had brought my camera.

One day a week or so ago when it was particularly windy, the pelicans were all close to the jetty with their huge beaks open like scoops on the water, gobbling up fishes who were swept into their waiting mouths by the current. There was so much excitement, it felt like the pelicans were having a party. I did manage to get a picture of that with my phone.

On Monday nights I have a Landmark Seminar (Invented Life) in North Sarasota, so the past two weeks I've headed up early. First I stop to buy French bread and croissants at C'est La Vie on Main Street, and then head over to Saint Armands Circle to walk around and enjoy the shopping possibilities there, including a new shop (The Artful Giraffe) that sells my very own Heartful Art creations.

The adventure continues. Sometimes I walk with friends, most of the time alone. Either way, every step I take is a gift to myself. Not only in the positive impact this new practice is having on my health, but in the beauty I've seen and the exhilaration I've felt in all my senses just by looking up and out and exploring more of the world I live in.

-Raphaella Vaisseau, www.heartfulart.com