Ann Stockdale, Nicolas Bruno and Edward Burne-Jones
Dreams, Art & Songwriting with Ann Stockdale
Artist and singer/songwriter Ann Stockdale whose dreams inspire her art says: “Dreams are such a connection to our higher self and give so much to guide us. I’ve kept a dream journal for many years. It’s enlivening to look back over several years at once as the meanings become more clear over time. I especially enjoy creating art from my dream images. The creative spirit which is in each of us is the door to self knowledge and happiness. When I paint it is the spirit who brings something through. Same with music. That’s why it is so addictive…because you’re always interested and sometimes surprised by what comes though.”
Fred La Mott, Poet and Professor at Evergreen College, says of Ann’s work “You are Chagall, naked running through a field of poppies, drunk on sunlight!”
Ann started her career as an actress after graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Ann's paintings have been sold through many galleries throughout the United States and were the focus of a One Woman Show at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle. Her work has been presented in the Corcoran Museum in Washington DC.
Ann is also an accomplished singer/songwriter who has recently produced four CDs with the finest blues and rock musicians in the NW (i.e., Annieville Blues and Rod Cook). After a stint on Broadway and a few film appearances, Ann became interested in developing her creative ideas in a way that expressed her own world vision. She met many influencial writers and musicians, such as Stan Getz, Willie Nelson, Jimi Hendrix, Steve Winwood (with whom she recorded one of her original songs), and Dr. John, who played piano on several of her tunes. Her music can be found on CD Baby, Spotify, and other streaming services. Check out Ann’s art and music memoir “Myself Inclined." www.annstockdale.com
Dreams, Art & Healing with Nicolas Bruno
“By translating my dream experiences into my artwork, it has lifted my spirits from a darker place than I used to reside in,” says artist Nicolas Bruno who has been plagued with the condition known as sleep paralysis for years. Nicolas has therapeutically transformed the struggle with his demons of the night into stunning works of creative self-expression, a path to self discovery and peace of mind.
During sleep paralysis a person is essentially dreaming while awake and typically experiencing terrifying visual and auditory hallucinations. In this zone between being fully awake and asleep the individual is aroused to a conscious state while continuing to experience the physical immobility that is typical of the sleep state.
Although his sleep paralysis hallucinations are terrifying, Nicolas has discovered the therapeutic value of recreating these nightmarish images from the dreamscape into works of art. This process “has taken the role of my full time therapist ever since then,” he says. “Over the years I have since been able to cope with sleep paralysis by transforming these night terrors into a source of inspiration for my artwork. Each day that passes I’m able to gain more control over what happens within my sleep paralysis episodes.”
Advice for dreamers from Nicolas: “I began to analyze my dream journal in high school. It is extremely crucial to me that I begin documenting the dream the instant that I wake up. I will sketch a quick drawing of what I have experienced, rather than attempting to describe the experience with words.”
Artist Statement: “Photography is a medium where you are able to combine rational thought with wild imagination. My work is embedded with this imagery to give my viewers the ability to openly interpret the story line and concept of each piece. I aim to give viewers who have not experienced these night terrors a visual taste of what lies within the in-between realm of sleep and consciousness.”
Check out more of Nicolas' work including his new Tarot deck designs: https://nicolasbrunophotography.com/
“Every child is an artist. The only problem is staying an artist when you grow up.” Pablo Picasso
Sleeping Beauty and Artist Edward Burne-Jones
Psyche by Edward Burne-Jones
"All days are nights to see till I see thee. And nights bright days when dreams do show me thee.”
William Shakespeare, Sonnet 43
Pre-Raphaelite painter Sir Edward Burne-Jones painted scenes of medieval romance including a series depicting knights and ladies dreaming about each other. He wrote,
“I meant to depict a beautiful dream…in a light better than any light that ever shone…in a land no one can remember. . .”
Once traveling to Rome by train, Burne-Jones fell asleep and dreamed so vividly of the nine muses on Mt. Helicon he felt compelled to paint them the moment he arrived at his destination. 
In the late 1800’s, Burne-Jones created a series of paintings titled “The Legend of Briar Rose,” inspired by the classic fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty.” Burne-Jones’ friend, the poet William Morris, composed verses to accompany each of the paintings. As we all know, in this famous tale Sleeping Beauty and her female attendants fall into deep slumber after Beauty pricks her finger on a magical spindle.
The Rose Bower
Here lies the hoarded love the key
To all the treasure that shall be.
Come, fated hand, the gift to take
And smite the sleeping world awake.
To all the treasure that shall be.
Come, fated hand, the gift to take
And smite the sleeping world awake.
The Briar Wood
The fateful slumber floats and flows
About the tangle of the rose.
But lo the fated hand and heart
To rend the slumberous curse apart.
About the tangle of the rose.
But lo the fated hand and heart
To rend the slumberous curse apart.
The Council Chamber
The threat of war, the hope of peace
The Kingdom’s peril and increase.
Sleep on, and bide the latter day
When fate shall take her chains away.
The Kingdom’s peril and increase.
Sleep on, and bide the latter day
When fate shall take her chains away.
The Garden Court
The maiden pleasance of the land
Knoweth no stir of voice or hand,
No cup the sleeping waters fill,
The restless shuttle lieth still.
Knoweth no stir of voice or hand,
No cup the sleeping waters fill,
The restless shuttle lieth still.
The themes of the Troubadours’ songs of the 11th through the 13th centuries also focused on medieval chivalry and courtly love. This mixed-gender group of poets and musicians later became known as the Traveling Minstrels because they traveled widely throughout southern Europe sharing their songs of love and adventure.
Love the key
To all the treasure that shall be.
Come, fated hand, the gift to take
And smite the sleeping world awake.
To all the treasure that shall be.
Come, fated hand, the gift to take
And smite the sleeping world awake.
Sir Edward Burne-Jones, 1833-1898
For more inspirations about dreams and art, see "Be a Dream Activist"
Dream Discovery™ All Rights Reserved
