The Dream: I have attained a level of artistic competence, and it occurs to me that I should use it to get a job I would enjoy. I think I would like to be a fashion illustrator, and I become excited about following through on this idea. I am in New York. My first thought is to show my portfolio around, but I’m not sure how to go about it. Who should I show it to? Will anyone look at it if I don’t present some credentials or have a degree? Or connections?
I decide to go back to school at FIT for an illustration degree. Then I wonder who’s hiring fashion illustrators. I realize I haven’t seen many lately. I become discouraged; even if I have the degree it is unlikely there will be jobs available.
Interpretation: While I'm confident in my art skills some part of me thinks I must have validation from the outside world: I need credentials. Then I realize that having them won't solve my dilemma: It’s difficult to find a practical application for art skills. Yet I think I must.
In my dream, artistic skill is a metaphor for perceiving the world. I am in New York, which to me is a symbol for creative ferment and diversity. I am being invited to go beyond seeing vocational possibilities. To broaden my perception rather than think in terms of selling.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rachel, for pointing out a new way (for me) to think about the meaning of New York, a city which often appears in my dreams. Now that you've brought up its symbolic potential, I realize that the 13 years I spent there as a young woman were crucial to my artistic development. Consciously I tend to think of the place as a crucible of competition.
ReplyDeleteDear Dreamer/Carla,
ReplyDeleteYou surely have found a practical application for your artistic skills in creating this website. I find it useful in understanding my own dreams and resolving formerly unconscious concerns.
Ruth
Thank you for pointing out that creating this blog is indeed a practical application of my skills. Like many of us, I find it easy to dismiss an accomplishment; thanks to you I'll bask in the warm glow of having done something useful--at least for a couple of hours!
ReplyDelete