Heights and Depths

I am so thrilled cause I entered this painting in an exhibition in Montreal for the International Conference on the Study of Dreams.  Paintings inspired by dreams

was the theme of the exhibition, and I won 2nd prize for this piece!  This work is

a special piece that reminds me of the heights of clarity and joy that come from plunging into the murky depths of dark waters.

A month before being diagnosed with breast cancer I had the following dream:

I know I must descend into the depths of darkness but I also know that I will be able

to retrieve my drum, which has fallen to the bottom of this dark valley.  I am afraid to leave my position on top of the mountain bathed in the luminous light of the full moon but know that I really have no choice.  Somehow this descent is connected to my journey

as an artist and as I descend I am also in the process of creating a colourful collage of red hearts.

The following poem was inspired by the same dream:

Heart Drums

The veil slips away and there you stand,

luminescent and glowing.

I take one look and know you,

just as you are and always have been and always will be.

You are my reflection,

only you don't know this yet.

Do not be afraid to claim this beauty as your own,

It belongs to you, you have earned it.

You have fed in this swamp long enough

It is time to take this dark nourishment along

with my hand and rise up to the light

where we will sing healing songs of the earth

with the rhythm of our heart drums.

We both thought we were alone in the darkness

when really we were guiding each other home.

We meet where the shadows are deep 

and the light is dim.

I recognize your soul, dripping with the

mud and sludge of the swamp

that we both have been soaking in,

afraid to move for fear of drowning or worse

for fear of surviving in this foul, festering pond.

I discover that this swamp is the Source.

All beauty arises from here like a silent mist,

surprising us as she spreads her veils wide open

with the splendors of the Light beyond.

I claim my swamp self and wrap it around my glowing heart like

a warm comfortable blanket that keeps my light safe.