Dreams

I have written on this subject before but I have been having some very vivid dreams lately. I know most would consider this “normal” for artists but I honestly don’t recall a lot of them. The dream was disturbing but as I write this I see that my mind is telling me to not forget my family as I move closer to my dream of an art career. Or it might just be that the stormy, humid weather we have had lately got into my dreams. I then ran across this quote that made it all better.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

The beauty of dreams is a wonderful thought. I see images either live or online and if I hone in on the beauty of even just part of that image I begin to imagine what I could do to create a piece of art work. So I guess you could say I am always dreaming, dreaming of art, dreaming of colors and how I can translate this into a piece of art. I am day dreaming, something I got into trouble for doing as a child in school. Yet it was this habit of finding something from nature and seeing how I could show that beauty to others that makes me who I am.

All art is some form of communication. Sometimes I want to show the viewer what I was feeling at that exact moment. Sometimes it is to show the viewer what the wonder of nature really can be if they were to take the time to look. I am an open book most times so I am not good at hiding the meaning of my work. I do believe that the wonder of nature is closest way I can feel one with the universe. I know that other artists see landscapes and nature as passé’ for subject matter. I on the other hand think the more modern we become the more we need to seek out nature. To slow down, just breath and see natures beauty and wonder.

As a child I did a lot of exploring outside. I know that this was the root of my love for nature and landscapes. I would spend hours running thru the lower bramble of the blackberry patch as a child. It must have been at least 5 foot high and had been on that hill for many years. I would see if I could catch a baby rabbit who lived there, then get frightened by a screeching crow above the bramble. I would stop in my tracks then search above the twisted limbs to find the crow. I almost always got distracted by a spider web or two. The interlacing strands would be stretched out with such beauty of precision, yet there was always a line or segment out of place, not even or attached. I know many don’t like spiders but I didn’t consider the spider an issue. I was more fascinated by the pattern, the beauty of the spider web.

There is a tradition with Victorian crazy quilts that you include a spider web. They loved anything exotic and ornate.  They had a great love for nature.  Not only that, they considered spiders in their homes to be a sign of good luck. This has continued on to modern times for crazy quilters though not sure it is for the same reasons other than tradition. My latest crazy quilt block does include a spider web in a dusty pink. I used it like a trellis to hold a vine of green leaves and small pink flowers. Then came the spider using a pink bead and the same dusty pink silk thread as the web I added the legs. Honestly those eight legs were pulled out a couple of times so I could get the angle right. I was free hand stitching them and kept getting them off. Should have penciled them in first.

I do believe it finally worked out but I should remember that there is nothing exact about nature and just stop worrying about getting it perfect. Here is the final crazy quilt block for your review. I do hope you enjoy my creation.

P.S. A good friend of mine likes the wonder of spider webs and took this picture. Thanks Michele for this wonderful picture taken right before the night rain crashed it down. I love the reflection of the water coming down and the spooky glowing spider.