The Dream: Clark and I own the rural and idyllic house we lived in when we were in England. I want to go back and stay for a long visit. I wonder if I will be able to get groceries and whatever I need without having a car. I think perhaps I can get some help from my neighbor, but then I remember she is probably elderly by now. I am also concerned with the fallout from the volcano. Is it affecting the country?
Interpretation: Dreams are almost always triggered by current events, including both those in our individual lives and those in the news. This one combines a conversation I had with my daughter about the ways Jamie Oliver has changed the British school lunch menu and the news—current at the time of this dream—of the powerful Icelandic volcano. The unconscious put these together with fond memories of four years in Hampshire and presented me with an idyllic home there. But the home is not without its dangers: I might not be able to get what I need (groceries) and an explosive force hovers. Looking at waking life, the difficult and demented aunt Clark and I are caring for might explode at any moment, and the ravages time has chiseled into her aged face make me aware of the precariousness of any sort of apparent stability. The neighbor who cannot help reflects the isolation we feel in dealing with this difficult situation.
In what medium do you make your illustrations? They look so "precise"!
ReplyDeleteThis particular illustration was done in Adobe Illustrator CS5, which does yield very precise results but can be manipulated to look more "natural." I use other methods as well including egg tempera, water color, pen and ink, pigment ink brushes, Photoshop, Corel Draw, and any combination of these.
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