Pages

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Fragment of a dream

In the dream, an artist -- mid-40s, blonde, someone well-known -- and I were chatting on a country road in what looked like rural New York state. I couldn't recall his name; it was on the tip of my tongue, and I felt increasingly awkward as a result.

He seemed amused by my lapse of memory, yet wouldn't tell me who he was.

As we talked, I looked down at a puddle left by a tire track in some road-side mud. I saw an old cloth-covered art history book face down in the ditch, sodden and mud-stained, with faded gold letters on the spine:

A P O L L O

Shifting my head ever so slightly, I saw the picture-perfect reflection of the sky in the mud-puddle, bright sunlight streaming through cumulus then dissolving along the reflection's left edge into muddy pages.

*****

Sharing it in this very public forum since I have no other pix to share.
A dream-fragment like this in a week full of business? Priceless.

16 comments:

am said...

Your dream-fragment is a photo, a poem, a chapter, a video, a film clip, a window, a meditation, a tesdoeoj (word verification prompt). Wonderful!

R.L. Bourges said...

Lori: reading this (and given my fascination with Russian poets/authors/painters) I couldn't help thinking of the Art magazine Apollo that was put out in the beginning of the 20th Century in St-Petersburg or Moscow, I forget which. The illustrator Ivan Bilibin did several covers for them, as soon as I lay my hands on my copies of his books, I will post one of the Apollo covers for you on my blog.
A beautiful dream - truly priceless.
best

Anonymous said...

Oh LORI. What an exquisite post, exquisite dream.

lowenkopf said...

In which case, dream on.

Granny J said...

Lori -- your dream fragment is very similar to your photography -- on the edge of being identifiable, but not quite!

Dale said...

Just what business *is* this, anyway, that brings casual visitors in from Olympus? I know, I know, it's supposed to be a dream. They try that one every time.

Lori Witzel said...

Hey all y'all (she said, almost nodding off into the keyboard)!

am: I love a juicy big dream, and I'm tickled when even a remembered fragment leaves its feather of proof in my mind... :-)

Lee: I've always sorta wished I were Dionysian but know I'm very much Apollonian, and in some ways this dream was a smile from that part of things. I'd love to see those covers!

Pica: So it wasn't just me going "Coooooollll!!!" after all?
;-) May you have fabulous dreams this week!

Shelly: Must dig out my copy of Little Nemo in Slumberland...

Granny J: Yes, I seem to find the unreal in the real -- or is it the other way 'round? ;-)

Dale: Since I believe much of Neil Gaiman's American Gods was embellished journalism, it would make perfect sense. (Big grin at the thought...)

Smiler said...

I have dream envy. Your dream sounds just... wonderful. My dreams are only work and stress. Maybe you can offer a service. "Dreams for you" or something. People can get a subscription and you dream something for them. I'm being totally ridiculous. That would be because I'm sleep deprived right now. Off to dreamland. Wish me luck.

lowenkopf said...

Whoa! What's wrong with this, er, picture? More comments to straight text than the ones with pics? Of course it is true, your text IS a picture.

MB said...

Nope, it's not just you going "Coool!" And maybe now we have a little understanding of how your art comes to look the way it does. This is pic and poem, movie and magic, all at once.

x said...

I can't believe you dream with the exact same vision you see when you photograph. What consistency! No conflict whatsover. A focused artist and woman. Like a laser!

Lori Witzel said...

Hey all youse guys (hehehehe)--

Smiler: Mind you, these are not commonplace dreams. I usually dream about the so-called mundane world--work, household stressors, odd bits of randomness like going grocery shopping. But, hey, I'm all about being of service, so I'll talk to my dream-angels and see whether I can dream a dream for you (and if I can, it'll freak both of us out, and then what will we do?) :-)

SL: Yeah, it's the photos that I don't take that produce the best pix in others' minds' eyes. (Heh!) I suspect it's the combo of Apollo's guest appearance and my lack of image-sharing that's getting the attention. Or maybe it's just Apollo--gods do have that effect.

mb: Isn't it odd and fun when the way one's always seen things become something transformative, a magic carpet ride, for others? (Yikes, the long day and a few post-work adult beverages, and I had to retype that last punctuation mark about five times.)

Gloria: I can't believe it either! I need to talk with Apollo to understand how that happened. But first, must find a darker pair of sunglasses...

:-)

Anonymous said...

Intriguing--most told dreams bore me, but this one has a good story and mystery. And is oddly like your photographs as well. I like the double answer of book and reflected sun.

Box Elder has some new photographs that are very Chatoyance.

Reya Mellicker said...

Wonderful to take a ride with such a divine muse. Have you had an urge to play one of those Greek stringed instruments?

Wow, you were blessed by the Sun! Bravo!

San said...

Thanks, Lori, for sharing this magical little dream episode. Seems portentous...Someone is in artful complicity with you, girl.

Bubba said...

This reads like fine literature; evocative, awareness-heightening, filled with clarity... if you can sustain this in a consistent voice, I'd suggest you start looking for an editor.