Welcome

Wecome! After I lost my last blog to the ethernet, I took a break to work things out and finish my thesis project. All went well and I am now on a new path with many new projects ongoing. Basically, this my space to talk about art and my work. I am excited with the all the new possibilities opening up and all the amazing artists I have been looking at.
For me, art is all about communication. I seek to have a dialog with my audience and hope to connect and touch someone out there. Art makes life richer and opens windows to exploration both inner and outer.
I am a Surrealist and Cubist by nature and much of my work deals with myth, symbolism and idea of the unseen. I have been creating and working with dreams over the last seven years and probably will continue use dreams as a way to tap into the unconscious mind.
Below are a couple of my dreams from my project Mythic Journeys Beyond Midnight. All the dreams in the project are based on a myth that relates to a part of my journey through transition, loss, suffering and finally to acceptance.
Dream 59. Agnes in the Washroom
Agnes in the Washroom is based on an old Roman myth about a 13-year-old Roman girl who made a promise to God to never stain her purity. She was born around 291 Ad into the Roman nobility, but raised as a Christian. This is one of the few myths that is based around a real person. A high-born man fell in love with Agnes and wanted to marry her. She was pressured and even tortured to try and persuade her to marry. Agnes stood fast on her oath and was eventually condemned to death on January 21, 304 AD. She was venerated as a saint and is the patron saint of chastity, purity, girls, gardeners, virgins, and rape survivors.
The dream relates to the struggle to remain true to my inner self. It is a dream about spiritual turmoil, represented by the roiling water in the basin. It represents outside pressures to compromise my own desires in the service of others. This dream is near the center of my series as it is an awaking for me to stay true to myself and not put other’s desires before mine. It is one step on my journey of transformation.
Dream 51. Persephone
Persephone is the first image of my series. Persephone was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. While gathering flowers one day, Hades (God of the Underworld) fell in love with her and abducted her taking her to the underworld. Demeter (Goddess of the Harvest) was upset and went to find her. During the time Persephone was lost in the underworld, all the crops withered and died creating endless winter. Demeter eventually petitioned Zeus to get her daughter back. An accord was reached where Persephone would split her time between Hades and the world. While she in Hades, the world suffer a winter and spring would return when she was again back in the world.
The flowers in the image represent Persephone. They are in the shadows wilted and dead representing the idea of winter and darkness of life. The sunny window reflection represents the time of light and spring. This is the duality of life and how even during our darkest moments there can also be times of light.
I chose this as the first dream in the series as it represents the struggles going on in my life at the time of the project. My life was in turmoil and I was in distress, but at the same time I was enjoying a revival of my artistic roots and coming into my own professionally. My life was spent half in dark and half in the light.
Duality is ever present in my work and life. It is a subject I keep coming back to. I hope you enjoy my blog and return again in the future.
Cheers,
CJ

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