Deadline for submissions for jury is only a little more than 2 weeks away!!

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Dreamkat

Finish your dream shrine! Add the last details to your dream reliquary! Or start one now…you have exactly 18 days to get all of your artwork done, pictures taken, artist statement and biography written and emailed to me!!

I can’t wait to see what we receive!  Send all of your submission information to artistsindreamland@gmail.com by 5 p.m. on the 18th.  I will let you know when I receive them, just so you don’t have to wonder and worry if I received it!

I promise I will keep you in the loop – I will let you know when our esteemed juror Laurie Zuckerman does her thing, and of course let you know the results!  If you have even the teenies, tiniest question, please email me! You can also call me at 970-690-6984. It is a message phone, and I will call you back as soon as I can!!!

Download the entry form here

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Carl Jung and the dream

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Dreamkat

It’s no secret, I love what Carl Jung says about the psyche, unconscious, art, dreams etc.  Every time I discover something else he has said about the dream, I feel I have discovered gold.  Here’s one of my favorites: 

“The dream is a little hidden door in the innermost and most secret recesses of the soul, opening into that cosmic night which was psyche long before there was any ego consciousness, and which will remain psyche no matter how far our ego-consciousness extends.

For all ego-consciousness is isolated; because it separates and discriminates, it knows only particulars, and it sees only those that can be related to the ego.   Its essence is limitation, even though it reach to the farthest nebulae among the stars. All consciousness separates; but in dreams we put on the likeness of that more universal, truer, more eternal man dwelling in the darkness of primordial night.

There he is still the whole, and the whole is in him, indistinguishable from nature and bare of all egohood. It is from these all-uniting depths that the dream arises, be it never so childish, grotesque, and immoral. “

Source: The Meaning of Psychology for Modern Man” (1933). In CW 10: Civilization in Transition. pg. 304

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What is a reliquary and a dream reliquary?

Posted on December 18, 2011 by Dreamkat

Acc0rding to artist and teacher Dee Dee Hampton, a reliquary is a container for a relic. The reliquary may either conceal or reveal the relic within. Through its construction & use of meaningful materials the reliquary makes a statement about the preciousness of the relic within.   The reliquary defines the relic by declaring that this is valuable and worthy of preservation! Often times there are words on the reliquary that describe the relic and place it in a religious and /or historical context. These words can be a date, tell what the relic is and the background story of its sacred significance. A reliquary does not have to be made by hand- it can also be a natural object.

The word relic comes from the Latin reliquiae, meaning “remains” or “something left behind”. A relic is a material object, a memento, something left behind of personal meaning that achieves significance by being collected and honored and sequestered within a reliquary. It may have mystical powers for the believer. In the Christian religion it may be the mortal remains of a saint or something touched by the saint.

So what is a dream reliquary? My answer is it is a container holds a meaningful relic or relics that symbolizes the dream as a whole, or parts of the dream that are meaningful to the dreamer artist. The dream reliquary could contain important words or dream thoughts or questions that the dream poses, which expresses the dream at another level., and asks the viewer to ponder their answers to those statements or questions.

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Artists in Dreamland 2012 call for entry

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Dreamkat

ARTISTS IN DREAMLAND

Fifth Annual Juried National Dream Art Exhibit
Poudre River Gallery 406 North College Avenue
Fort Collins Colorado 80524
(Located in the Poudre River Arts Center)

Exhibit Dates: May 3 – 26, 2012
Exhibit hours: Thursday, Friday and Saturday 11 to 5 p.m.

Download the entry form here

The theme of this year’s exhibit is dream shrines and reliquaries. The purpose of this exhibit is to showcase shrines and reliquaries that honor and express dreams that we all have in the night. This is a unique opportunity for our visitors to walk through a visual dream diary of the exhibiting artists.

Eligibility: Original artwork in the form of a dream shrine or reliquary inspired by dreams or series of dreams in the night. Both the dream shrines/reliquaries and the dream that inspired the creation of the art are juried. All dream shrines/reliquaries created in the last year (2011 and 2012) and have not been exhibited in any other exhibit will be considered.

What is a Dream Shrine or Reliquary? A dream shrine is an enclosure devoted to a dream that is personally meaningful. It houses the images and symbols of a night dream, representing some dream character, event, feeling, and/or experience. The items inside the shrine symbolize parts of the dream and pay homage to something that we deem important and sacred in the dream. A reliquary is a receptacle as well, such as a coffer or shrine, for keeping or displaying sacred relics symbolizing the dream.  The dream that inspired the creation of the shrine is the story. A dream narrative will accompany each shrine in the exhibit.

What Makes My Artwork a Shrine or Reliquary? There are three essential parts: the structure that encases the objects, the subject or objects within the enclosure, and the story behind the objects. The structure can be a drawer, a box, a shadow box, coffer, case, cabinet, or chest. The enshrined objects are to symbolize parts of the dream, to give a visual statement about the dream. The dream that inspired the creation of the shrine/reliquary and its objects gives the items relevance and meaning.

One of the most important criterion is how the art piece is connected to a dream or series of dreams, to fit into the theme of the exhibit. If there is not a clear connection between the dream and the visuals of the dream shrine, the piece will not be accepted. Download the entry form here

Media: This exhibit is showcasing three-dimensional media, either to be hung on the wall or placed on a pedestal. Size is limited to 6 feet in height and 3 feet in width and the piece must fit through the front door. Weight is limited to 30 pounds. All works accepted must be suitably ready for display. No crafts, kits, reproductions, or production please.

Juror: Laurie Zuckerman, Fort Collins artist and art instructor, is best known for her large-scale eclectic altar installations, home altars, and memory jugs with their blend of dramatic and mysterious Mexican Catholic, Haitian Vodou, and African sensibilities. Laurie constructs her found-object assemblages out of antique and vintage religious art and collectibles from the 1800 and 1900s. Laurie travels regularly to the Southwest and Mexico to photograph and study Catholic cemeteries, altars, shrines, grottoes, churches, missions, monasteries, sanctuaries, roadside memorials and descansos. More information about Laurie and her artwork can be found at: http://lauriezuckerman.blogspot.com

Accepted Artwork:

Specs: All work must be exhibit-ready and/or ready to hang or display, please no exceptions; pedestals are available for 3D work. No sawtooth hangers. Labels (supplied at end of this form) must be attached to artwork upon delivery.

  • Only digital images will be accepted. Each entry requires two (2) images. Digital images must be a standard JPEG (.jpg) file, 1920 pixels on the longest side, in RGB or sRGB color space, no larger than 2 MB. When opened, each image file should appear in the proper orientation.
  • Email images to artistsindreamland@gmail.com or mail a CD to Kat Peters-Midland, Poudre River Arts Center Studio 200A 406 N. College Ave., Fort Collins, CO 80524 on or before the entry deadline. Please mail the signed and completed entry form with check payments (and CD, if not emailing image files) via postal mail to the above address. All completed entry materials must arrive on or before the entry deadline.
  • Please label each image file with your last name, first initial, title and 1 (for full image) or 2 (for detail), for example: JonesK_TitleOfImage.jpg. If your artwork is untitled, please use “entry1,” “entry2,” etc., for your title. CDs will not be returned. Entries not formatted correctly will be excluded from the competition.

Entry must include:

• A printed dream narrative must accompany the dream art in the exhibit, to illustrate the connection between the dream and the dream shrine. Dream narrative may be continued on the back of the entry form.

• A brief artist statement and biographical statement, computer printed or typed on 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper that will be displayed in a 3-ring notebook, available to visitors to view in gallery. Please note: artists’ statements must include the dream or the significant part of the dream that inspired the art and an explanation of how the work is dream-related.

Shipping: Work should be shipped to or hand-delivered to Poudre River Gallery on or before delivery deadline. Artwork must be submitted in reusable containers with enclosed prepaid return shipping label. Only submissions with a physical street address included will be accepted.  Please use bubble wrap or foam rubber and rubber bands – no tape or peanuts. No wooden crates except for sculpture. If you wish to have a receipt of delivery, please ship accordingly.

Liability: Kat Peters-Midland, Poudre Studio Artists and Poudre River Gallery will take all precautions to ensure the safety of all artwork. All work will be handled with care. The gallery will be staffed during all open hours of the exhibit. Kat Peters-Midland, Poudre Studio Artists and Poudre River Gallery will not be responsible for any loss, damage, or stolen artwork. Any insurance is sole responsibility of the exhibiting artist.

Sales: If entries are for sale, the price must be included. There is a 40% commission on all sales. An opportunity to offer prints and cards with images of the art in the exhibit is extended to each exhibiting artist; they will be placed in the  PSA Gift Shop. For those items, please request a consignment contract and inventory form in advance of product delivery.  Request these documents from Becky Hawley at marketing@poudrestudioartists.com.

Judging: $50 first, $25 second, and $15 third place will be determined by Juror Laurie Zuckerman and will be posted on  www.ArtistsinDreamland.com as soon as the winners are determined. $10 People’s Choice award will also be offered and will be determined by a vote of visitors, which will be tallied at the end of the exhibit.

CALENDAR

March 1, 2012 Deadline for submissions for jury and entry fee ($35 for up to 3 pieces; $10 for each additional piece)

March 23, 2012 Artists notified (by email or phone call) of jury results. Dream shrines and reliquaries selected to be featured in marketing materials.

April 1st, 2012 Accepted dream shrines/reliquaries, dream narratives, artist statement and biography received.

May 1-May 2, 2012 Exhibit installed

May 3 – 26, 2012 Artists in Dreamland Exhibit: Dream Shrines and Reliquaries

May 4, 2012 Opening reception on First Friday Gallery Walk from 5 to 9 p.m., with refreshments and music.

May 26, 2012 Local artists pick up unsold work between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. (or by appointment)

May 28, 2012 Shipped entries with prepaid return shipping labels will be return shipped by 5 p.m. Contact Kat Peters-Midland at artistsindreamland@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Download the entry form here

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Opening words: Our perceptions speak to our view of self by Jan Waterman

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Dreamkat

Last week I visited the 4th annual Artists in Dreamland exhibit at the Poudre Arts Gallery 406 N. College Ave., Fort Collins. The artwork on display is literally dream-inspired. In fact, written in paragraph form, a description of the dream that inspired the art is posted beside each piece.

I found myself drawn to the dreams first, and then I’d look to see the dream in the art. A few of the artists were there and I had the chance to talk to them about their processes. One artist captured the image of her dream in a sketch before considering the dream’s story. Other artists let the dream itself show them how to create the art image. I admired how the artists encapsulated the essence of the dream with a visual interpretation.

Some of the dreams were familiar to me; I had dreamed them myself. Other dreams intrigued me-I wanted to delve into their layers of meaning. We all share the experience of dreaming. Freud theorized that dreams act as the guardian of sleep.
I like to think that dreams come to wake us up.

I’ve long been interested in dreams. At first Freud’s theory seemed to make some sense. For example, if I was thirsty I might dream about a cool refreshing drink instead of waking up to get a drink of water. Yet as my interest in dreams continued, the guardian-of-sleep theory seemed too shallow. It dismissed the richness of experience that dreams offer. If dreams are pure, unedited messages, direct from my subconscious mind, I wanted to find out just what those messages might be.

I joined a dream group to explore the mystery and messages of dreams. Because dreams speak symbolically and are often so strange and different from what we typically experience in waking life, the temptation to define and dismiss their meaning is lessened. There are an infinite number of ways to look at a dream image and what it might mean. Dreams are at once personal and universal. Although we share common archetypes and symbolic images, our interpretation of those images are uniquely our own. I learned in dream group to preface my interpretations with the phrase, “If this were my dream . . .”

Waking life is not all that different from dreams. That is, any event can be viewed symbolically and explored from as many perspectives as we can “dream” up.
Meaning is not outside ourselves. The way we perceive anything says more about who we think we are than about any circumstance or event. Projection makes perception. The value of dreams, and waking life, is that we gain insight into ourselves that allows us to “wake up” and become free of our mistaken, and limiting, thoughts.

Our interpretations are uniquely our own. When we remain focused on who we are, we no longer distract ourselves by criticizing or judging others.
And free of our mistaken beliefs, we realize that love is our nature. No longer needing our defenses, we naturally give and receive love.

You can view the free Artists in Dreamland art show at the Poudre Arts Gallery located in the Poudre River Arts Center. The show runs 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Jan Waterman is a writer and teacher who loves to question and seeks to align perception with the highest perspective. She hopes that what she writes will inspire others to consider new thoughts and ideas about their spiritual selves. Her column appears occasionally. Send email to: aligningperception@ gmail.com.

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Opening reception was a success!

Posted on May 7, 2011 by Dreamkat

I see that I forgot to post that the exhibit was installed and it was ready to go for our opening reception on Friday.  Many thanks to Barbara McCullouch, Deedee Hampton and Karen Endres for helping to design and hang the exhibit!

The opening reception was busy busy – and it was wonderful to see everyone who was able to make it.  Artists Wewer Keohane, Carrie Johansing-Heintzelman, Laurie Gudim, Tracey Kazimir-Cree, Grace Blowers, Shari Southard, Karen Endres, Deedee Hampton, Carole Hossan, Barbara McCullouch, Fran Saperstein and I were all there for the reception.  The talented Star Edwards was there playing celtic harp, creating the perfect ambiance for us. 

Pictures are coming!!

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Preparing for hanging the exhibit tomorrow

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Dreamkat

A million thanks to the artists who delivered their dream art and the artists who helped with preparing for the hanging/installation of the exhibit tomorrow.  Barbara McCullouch painted the pedestals and gave us advice on how to configure the exhibit today.  She is also putting the title/dream narrative cards together tonight or tomorrow.  Thanks Barbara!  

Also Dee Dee Hampton and Karen Endres helped with creating the configuration of the exhibit today.  Thanks Dee Dee and Karen – your help is so appreciated!!

Once the sculptural pieces and wall pieces are installed, I will take some pictures and I will post them here.  Stay tuned!!

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Article about Artists in Dreamland in the Loveland Reporter-Herald!

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Dreamkat

Artists take hold of dreams: Interpretations rendered through variety of media in upcoming exhibit

By Sandy Barnes
© 2011 Loveland Reporter-Herald

Works of art as multilayered as the dreams that inspired them are the theme of an upcoming exhibit at the Poudre River Arts Center in Fort Collins.

The Artists in Dreamland exhibit, which opens May 4, encompasses a broad range of media from bold acrylic paintings to richly textured three-dimensional creations.

Among the 16 artists displaying their work is Wewer Keohane of Carbondale, who focuses exclusively on dream imagery. “From the time I was small, I had a basic interest in dreams,” she says. “Although I tried to portray dreams literally in the past, I now try to sense the dream and record the energy of its experience,” Keohane says. “I still use both processes.”

Keohane uses a variety of elements in her work from wax and paints to gold leaf and recycled tea bags, which she shaped into an intricate kimono creation.

Collections of her work are on display at the Denver Art Museum and at galleries in Washington, D.C., Paris and New Orleans.

Keohane is displaying three new pieces at the Poudre Arts Center including one titled “Breaking the Patterns,” which incorporates wax and gold leaf textures. She also will have copies of her latest book, “Artful Dreaming,” available at the exhibit.

Estes Park artist Dee Dee Hampton is exhibiting several of her dream-inspired works in the show, including paintings and assemblages she created from found objects.  “I end up using Jell-O molds, doll parts, little pieces of jewelry,” she says. Hampton says she also incorporates metal embossing with things she finds on the ground, putting them into place as she forms the works.

One of Hampton’s pieces, “OhMite Has the Answer,” consists of a doll head, wings, wire and shells on an embellished metallic base. Her “Roots and Blooming” painting features a prominent blue owl and red hand against a multicolored background of designs. “It’s a piece about being comfortable in your own skin,” Hampton explains.  “These pieces are inspired by a feeling,” says Hampton. “I put myself in a trance-like state when I paint, and I allow images to appear.  “The thing about dream art is the process rather than the product,” she adds.

Artist Kat Peters-Midland, who is organizing the exhibit, says she experiences dreams as significant, both personally and creatively. The three clay sculptures that Peters-Midland has in the show reflect a dream about taking people to a pond that she had visited. “I’ve been energized by this dream,” she says.

“This is a very personal kind of art show,” says Peters-Midland. “It shows our connectedness … the universality of experience.”

http://www.reporterherald.com/Entertainment/go.asp?ID=32441

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Dream art is starting to arrive!

Posted on April 30, 2011 by Dreamkat

I’m so excited – the dream art is arriving!! I can’t believe that our opening reception is just a week away!   We will have refreshments and live harp music from our own Star Edwards.  I can’t wait!

So far I have received pieces from Wewer Keohane, Fran Saperstein, Star Edwards, Tracey Kazimir-Cree, and Shari Southard. I got to take a sneak peek at Shari’s, Star’s and Tracey’s pieces today and they are fabulous! I love it when artists create outside the box and express their dreams in the night.

Our visitors have a unique opportunity to see the artwork inspired by dreams AND to see the actual dreams.  And since dreams express our shared humanity and challenges, our visitors have a chance to see themselves in the dreams.  We will have artwork inspired by dreams of flying, discovering underground places, unusual people, ordinary places, and so much more.  Have you dreamed of flying?  or of discovering underground places?  or of unusual people? or of ordinary places? 

Monday we’ll start to work on the configuration of the gallery and then take the plunge and hang and install all of the pieces on Tuesday. I will post pictures of the exhibit here sometime next week. Stay tuned!

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‘The Colour of My Dreams: The Surrealist Revolution in Art’ on exhibit May 28 – September 25, 2011

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Dreamkat

If you can be in Vancouver, Canada sometime in May through September, be sure to check out the “Color of My Dreams” exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery! This exhibit includes works by Hans Bellmer, Louise Bourgeois, Joseph Cornell, Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, Alberto Giacometti, René Magritte, Joan Miró, Man Ray, Dorothea Tanning, Yves Tanguy and other leading figures of Surrealism.

With the ideas of Sigmund Freud as a major inspiration, the Surrealism movement and this exhibit’s artwork tap directly into the unconscious mind and dreams. The exhibition will explore the theme of dream states, amongst others, that captured the imagination of Surrealist artists and were explored repeatedly over several decades. It will also highlight techniques invented by artists in the movement, including automatism, frottage, fumage and the surrealist object, an approach to sculpture in which several unrelated components, most often found objects, were joined together.

Go to http://www.vanartgallery.bc.ca/the_exhibitions/exhibit_surrealist_revolution_in_art.html for more information!

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