Journal: March 6, 2023

Last night I listened to the podcast called “The Dreams That Shape Us” by Steven Ernenwein and Jason DeBord, both members of the IASD. They met Scott Sparrow at the Tucson conference and recently hosted a two-hour conversation called “Knocking On Heaven’s Door.” It was beautiful. I have tremendous respect for Dr. Sparrow. Bonnie and I met him at the Rolduc conference. For me it is a shame that so much of the dream focus at the IASD is scientific and psychological, neglecting the spiritual experience of dreaming.

My tarot card this morning was The Empress. I have been getting that card twice a week for months. Today I have a different take on it. Not just motherhood and creativity, but nature too. Early in my clay days, I would add leaves, grasses, twigs and flowers to my pieces. They would fire just fine. I want to go back to that process. It seems important. I use paper clay, so why not Mother Nature clay? I have been having ancestry dreams (houses, fields) for a long time. Fusing nature with stories seems an honor to my Celtic and Dakota ancestors.

I just made the connection between the words “fired” and “firing.”

Fragment: Heaven’s Upper Story

(Sunday, March 5, 2023) waxing gibbous moon Leo / tarot seven of pentacles

I had to get up early this morning to babysit Wyn and Oona, so I don’t remember much of this long dream.

I’m in a work-related house with friends and family. The main-level floor has studio rooms with fairly complete structure and decor. One of the rooms is my office/studio. I travel up the stairs to the top story, which is still under construction, as it has been for decades. Even so, I am very interested in my upper level studio because it is spacious and complex. That inspires and intrigues me. It feels close to heaven. And, the top story is not just a single level, it contains multiple levels. I am committed to finishing the construction.

Day notes:

I had a conversation with Cullan this morning about my renewed focus on fine art. My clay studio is in the house basement, but my dream room is on the top story. I said I was tired of doing graphic design (commercial art) for 43 years and was ready to move on. If I have success with small bits of clay, I could create an account on Etsy and sell them. I took a great class at Northern Clay that taught me how to safely ship ceramics. But my main focus needs to be self-expression, dreamwork and storytelling. Hagitude.

Yesterday an email from the ceramic shop near Nokomis confirmed that she can fire my paper clay at cone 6. She will put all of my pieces in one kiln and won’t mix them with other people’s projects. I’m happy!

Journal: March 2, 2023

The stone jester photo that I took outside of the Cider House near Glastonbury (at the top of the home page for The Dreamsters Union) reminds me of the jester in my kiln dream. He is wearing a hat, but his face is very round, like the character in the dream.

The Dreamsters Union