Architecture of a Dream

This is the overarching title for a series of compositions and narratives drawn from dreams that have become the catalyst for meditations on culturally and ecologically significant microcosms and how different forms of life might coexist under the impact of extreme ecological and climatic change.

Architecture of a Dream - The Gift I & II, charcoal on paper, 2020

I – A giant came out of the ocean to a sheltered cove and placed a gift there for me, just out of view behind the rocks

 II – The Antarctic ice sheet holds around 90% of all the Earth’s fresh water. The ice caps are melting creating an iceberg graveyard and rising sea levels.

There was a dream image in my mind of a huge giant coming out of the sea to a secluded bay where he placed a gift for me behind the rocks, just out of view.

I made small sketches in pen and pencil, studied giant postures, attempted a few more drawings, got really frustrated, put them away in a draw for a few months and then bought really nice big smooth paper and left it set up on the drawing desk. One day I leapt up from the stool with an inscribing tool and a piece of sharp charcoal from the fire and worked hard over the surface with many lines and arcs. Then I used thick and thin willow charcoal to draw what you see using my fingers, scrunched masking tape, rag and a kneadable eraser to put the light back in. Though I wasn’t brave enough to keep the beautiful dark giant in I, drawing II seemed to make itself.

Over twenty years ago I began to document these epic dreams that opened up my imagination and creative consciousness to an understanding that these realms can be shared across space and time and are transmutable. The dreams provide the raw material for mysterious, intimate experiences to be transmuted into drawings, narratives and other mediums. The many giants of the art world since the beginning of recorded human creativity have enriched my understanding of what a compelling idea and artwork can be. Their philosophy and work inspire me to persevere with methods of observation and techniques that work to liberate my artistic self and give her free reign over the subject matter.