Susan Armington

Lucid Dream with Palace

Mixed media, 2011

In my dream, I am walking/flying along and think about being lucid. But instead of just thinking it, I say the word lucid and realize I am dreaming. At first I don’t really believe it, but then I say, ok, test it out – fly.  And I fly up. I fly toward this distant palace (which is what I saw in the first place that made me think lucid. It reminded me of a previous lucid dream.) I fly right towards the palace. I go in and right away find a man to have sex with! I fly inside the building too, across the open space on the top floor. At first I have some concern about everybody looking at me because I am lucid, but then I don’t care. I really get into it and practice this thing of being aware and choosing what to do.

My art represents the moment of getting lucid and seeing the palace.  Suddenly the palace is clear as anything and shimmery gold and the possibility of being in a whole new realm comes into being. I painted the palace with gold leaf to give it an extra luminousness, and painted light around my head to show that the lucidity comes from there and is not only around the palace, but also exuded by me.  I made the upper right of the picture sharper and clearer (you can actually read some print on the map) to show a whole different level of clarity that comes with lucidity, versus the murkier view of the left side. Also, I wove some of the texture of the map into my hair, to show that the clear reality I see is part of me; not something distinct.

P.S. After attending the IASD conference in Rolduc, I realized the palace looks like a mandala. It’s not really what I “saw” in my dream, but when I was painting it, I felt the need to make it like that. Later I learned a mandala is Jung’s symbol for the Self. I like this way of seeing it; as if I am flying towards my "Self."

Copyright 2011: All work contained herein is protected by copyright. Neither words nor images may be used, copied, transmitted or reproduced in whole or in part in any form nor may they or any part thereof be stored in a retrieval system of any nature without written permission of the artist.