Hello!
My name is Madeline ‘Maddy’ Orsinger. I’m from the beautiful land of Stillwater, MN. For my undergrad I went to Benedictine College in Atchison, KS, graduating with Bachelors in Art and Theology.
BACKGROUND:
I’ve loved the outdoors as long as I can remember, especially the simple beauty of the Midwest and the rugged North woods of MN. The landscape became my primary focus during college when I found myself missing the pine woods I was accustomed to. Scenes of pouring sunlight, the texture of branches, pockets of blended shadows all have a way of carrying that nostalgic longing of home for me, which I’ve come to understand as a longing for something eternal, deep, lasting, transformational.
After college I got married and spent 4 years on mission with Saint Paul’s Outreach. I slowly switched to being a full-time mother as our family began to grow.
GOING FULL-TIME:
After a few years of growing my art business part-time as a stay at home mom, my husband and I decided to take the leap to making this art business a full-time reality! We’ve been at it since Summer 2025, and we’re so grateful for the growth and learning that’s taken place. So many of you have rallied behind me through encouragements, purchasing paintings and prints, joining my patron community, and offering ideas - I’m so grateful and could not do this without you!
Since going full-time I’ve been doing a deep-dive into my ‘why’ as an artist and discovering ministry is truly at the heart of why I do what I do.
MY ‘WHY’ AS AN ARTIST:
I think vision is incredibly important - what we envision for ourselves as our goal or destination has power to change the trajectory of our lives. We have to know where we’re headed if we want to stay the course. And the same is true of the spiritual life.
My ministry is one of ‘sacramental vision’, which means to seek the eternal realities behind the visible. When I go through my day, I want my day to remind me and point me back to God. I want to see past the feelings around my circumstances and rejoice in how God is ordering all things. I want to celebrate each little moment as a foretaste of the glory yet to be revealed. A practice of ‘sacramental vision’ is a practice of keeping our end goal in mind, and through prayer, allowing God to renew our spiritual sight from the inside out.
WHAT AM I WORKING ON THESE DAYS?
My art business goals are oriented around these themes. I want my art to be a window, a small daily reminder for those who keep it in their homes, of the ways God is speaking.
I’ve spent more time creating resources to teach more practically on ‘sacramental vision’. One of those resources is A Guide to Visio Divina: Praying with the Eyes of the Heart - a practical guide to learning to pray in a way that teaches sacramental vision.
In terms of artwork - I plan to seriously simplify my painting goals in the coming months, in this season of motherhood, less is more. I plan to focus on a few larger-scale projects and really give them the gift of time to mature to completion, hopefully at a new level of artistic execution and translucency of spirit that allows the work to speak to the viewer’s heart.
In terms of other events - I’ve recently begun taking more speaking engagements to talk about themes surrounding religion and art, the role of beauty, Sabbath leisure and how to cultivate it, sacramental vision and the spiritual life. If you have a group or a topic in mind for a speaking event, please contact me via my email form! My talks have taken the form of art shows with a talk, interview-style talk shows, and talks during retreats.
To fellow artists looking to grow:
I’m so grateful that I found Matt Tommey’s artist mentoring resources, his programs were pivotal in building momentum as I began my artistic journey. If you’re an artist trying to get started, I’d highly recommend you check out his artist mentoring program!
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