Patricia Vedomske – Two Images

I Dreamed of Floyd

Digital photography, August 2011

Twenty-five years ago, my friend Katie was killed in a car accident. Shortly after her death, I began to have panic attacks while driving. Eventually, I stopped driving long distances alone.

Last year, I dreamed of colored rocks in a mountain stream. I felt that this dream was urging me to make a long-postponed trip to visit dear friends in Floyd, Virginia.

I drove to Floyd a week after my dream. I felt transformed by facing my fear. While on a walk with a friend, I was stunned to see the stones and stream of my dream. At that moment, I experienced the joy of discovering that beauty awaits us on the other side of our walls of fear.

I’m not afraid to drive alone anymore.

I Dreamed of the Pacific Northwest

Digital photography, July 2011

My partner Bob was diagnosed with terminal cancer and chose to leave Virginia, to die in his adopted hometown of Seattle. I chose to be with him.

Bob wanted to share the beauty of the Pacific Northwest with me, and during the last months of his life, we travelled around Washington and British Columbia as much as we could. I fell in love with that part of the world. Bob died on January 2, and, I returned to Virginia shortly after.

A few months later, I was invited to visit a friend in Vancouver. I immediately accepted, but was filled with fear about revisiting a place I associated with death, grief and loss. I contemplated cancelling my trip.

I dreamed I was camping with a friend in Vancouver, and I told her that although I loved the Pacific Northwest, Virginia was my home. I turned to say something to her, and saw green forest and sparkling diamonds of light. It was dazzlingly beautiful, and I realized I needed to return there and to look again, without judgment.

I went to Vancouver. My friend and I went hiking in a beautiful, moss-covered forest. I saw grass and trees, covered with sparkling drops of water that looked just like diamonds. It was wondrous, and I found peace.

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.