Once more into that "goodnight"

For the class I revisited my recurring dream from a past class. It was the one with the junkyard and towers of cars with suspended, swinging bridges connecting them. The ground was made up of red dirt and dust, almost like a desert. There is a female and male in the dream, acting as bystanders. In the dream, I feel compelled to climb the towers and cross the swinging bridges.The strangers do nothing. That is pretty much the dream and the image that I ran with. But man did it get crazy in there this past class.

During this class we used our senses to create the world of our dreams. We started first by listening for the sounds that were far away. I could hear the faint sound of chains dangling. They were so faint. Then we began to pull in sounds that were closer. From there I could hear bursts of wind catching the sharp corner of something and whizzing out away from me. With this sound I feel the sensation of the cool wind smacking against my shirt and pushing my arm hairs up. The sounds nearest to me revealed themselves in this moment. The sound of loose dirt and sand particles being slammed against the environment around me. They would slam and bounce off of any solid barrier that attempted to stop them. I could hear the slight and soft ping of the sand hitting metal and car bodies.

The sense of smell is what really seemed to ground me. I could smell the aroma of body odor and the smell of clothes and human skin that has been baking in the sun. That smell that comes from being in the wind for extended periods of time. I could also smell and feel the salt from sweating. It has been dried by the wind but that thick, oily flesh remains. My mouth felt dry with a hint of salt. There is a faint smell of metal on my hands.

Jon asked us to search the environment in front of us for an anchor. (This is where one of the coolest things that has ever happened to me in a stream occurred). I began scanning the image in front of me and nothing was popping up or standing out to me. Some time passed and suddenly I was blinded. Something out in the sand before me was reflecting the bright sun rays right into my eyes. I moved toward the object and it started to become more clear in shape and size. Once on top of the object it turned out to be a thick, blue tinted glass bottle halfway buried in the sand. It was rectangular in shape with one of the bottom corners jutting out of the sand. It was dirty but not filthy. It seemed to be newish to the landscape, but covered in the ever blowing dirt and sun. On the bottom around the edges it had small circles made of the same glass lining it.

From here, Jon asks us to turn around slowly, sketching the image as we turn and find another anchor that was behind us. I must admit that turning the image and finding what was behind me took some time. Eventually, something did appear. A green, wooden fence appeared before me and stretched as far as the eye could see. At no point in my dream did the fence ever appear so that was very interesting. Due to the amount of time it took to manifest in my image and I felt like my mind was racing to fill the space, I do wonder if it was a product of the conscious mind. I know we aren't really supposed to question it, but it just felt different from all the other aspects of my stream. But regardless, after the fence appeared, I focused onto my next anchor. It was a white balloon ribbon that had caught itself on the rough, green splinted fence. It was a faded white color and dents all down its length.

We then moved back to our original location. My location was the area that had the strongest scent of sun drenched clothes and dried sweat. Jon asks us to search the image for a symbol. We have our anchors and now it is time to find a symbol. In the dream, I felt like the symbols were the towers of car in this flat, desolate junkyard. They felt so imposing and dangerous. But once I started to scan the environment, another symbol appeared. The crazy part is that this symbol was never even in my dream. Just like a repeating frame, I now see the captured balloon ribbon bouncing softly off the fence. Attached to one end of the ribbon is a silver, heart shaped balloon with black and white patterns. The balloon has very little air in it. Not enough to float but enough to catch the gusts of wind and attempt to pull free from the fence. It is just batting itself off the fence.

A part of this process that I absolutely agree with and just does not work any other way for me, is that the harvest must be done out loud. Whether I am harvesting the experience to the class or if it is just me, I have to talk out loud. There is something about the physical voice and vibrations of doing this that solidify the experience and also help me to reach emotional and rational conclusions. I've had instances in the past where I've read a script and done all the work, but it is not until I'm talking out loud that I discover something that was right in front of me. Or make a discovery. It is just how I'm put together and my mind works.

I witnessed some ground breaking work that also answered questions for me that I didn't know I had. It is exhilarating to witness everyone working so hard and making discoveries daily. I have no problem at all watching others work, because it is just as nourishing for me as an artists and I am making discoveries through the work of others. Just fantastic all around.

An epic post!! A must read!