Door County NewsPixels™ & Wish Books & Brochures MAG. THE DREAMING ISSUE | Page 77

A Peek Inside The Cherry Life! Madonna Siles. (She does love it here.) Painter/Writer/Door County’er’. Q&A/A chapter of her book/Links to art. Name: Madonna Siles Where do you live? Sturgeon Bay When did you discover Door County? A family vacation at 9 years old. Memories of your early experiences? Our family stayed at the Alpine Resort. At the time, it was very much like the movie Dirty Dancing. A resort where the men wore ties and jackets to dinner and the ladies wore dresses and pearls. A live band played nightly and there was always dancing and shows. It was just such a fun, magical experience. Describe your connection to, or maybe passion for Door County... I feel an energy similar to the vortexes of the hallowed Indian grounds in Sedona, Arizona. It is an energy that is peaceful, and emotionally and artistically energizing all at once. What made you realize that this Door County dream / life, the place you fell in love with as a kid, had become the place you now call home? It has always been home to me, even as a kid. It has always been my, “go to quiet place, even if only in thought”. All my life, throughout college, as a professional in Chicago. It has been a spiritual and emotional retreat. Which is where the genesis of the book comes from. What do you love most about Door County? The best things about Door County have not really changed over time. The things I love most about Door County are the unlimited resources of incredible, beautiful and dramatic landscape scenes for plein air painting. If you s хɔ