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Welcome to my studio, this week it’s color box frenzy. I’m having a creative blowout with colors and three-dimensional bead shapes.
To be honest, I’m not certain they are only beads, they are growing more sculptural and rising up from the bead table. This is the newest one, it’s called ‘Sweet Dreamer’ and shows a rainbow-like box with its wings folded, at least in rest if not actually dreaming.
This top view shows the lid of the ornate dream reliquary, with the dreamer’s visions coloring and radiating on it. I started to put the words ‘Sweet Dreams’ on the side of the vessel, but it somehow changed from being about the dreams to being about the dreamers themselves, that they inhabit the little reliquary in their sleeping and dreaming moments, so I added the words ‘Sweet Dreamer’ instead.
The lid is tightly sealed, to contain all the beautiful thoughts and ideas contained inside, with the notion that when the sleeper wakes, the wings would open and spread to fly through the imagination of the waking dreamer’s mind.
The worktable in the studio is spread and waits, with colors and unformed shapes to be made, thanks for dropping by the studio to see what’s going on and joining me in considering how creativity happens and grows. The process is mysterious and wonderful!
So here’s the thought-provoking question for this week:
Do you get inspirations for your designs from your dreams? And do you dream in color, and remember your dreams vividly? Or do your dreams wake you up in the night with an idea that you must jot down so you don’t lose it?
How does your creativity influence or receive influence from your dreamer’s imagination, tell your story and leave a comment for a chance to win a colorful heart bead tile from Lynn Davis for Valentine’s Day!
Sharon
February 14, 2009 at 5:12 pmHi Lynn,
You are amazing! I am astounded at your creativity and with each new piece of art comes new surprises!
As for me, I usually wake up in the middle of the night with a great idea and if I don’t write it down, it’s lost in the morning ether. So now I have a pen and pad on my nightstand…hopefully in my grogginess I can remeber to write it down!
SueBeads
February 14, 2009 at 5:23 pmYES, to both! I dream things and they must be in color for me to remember the colors, right? And I also have to get up and write it down, whether it’s a lampwork bead design or one for the rare piece of jewelry I make. I just love your new beads, and the one on your blog post today too!
Doreen
February 14, 2009 at 5:28 pmSuch an interesting topic! I dream in color (yay!). I remember many of my dreams vividly. I don’t really dream about my creativity…but I get LOTS of ideas at that stage between asleep and awake. I can be pondering on something all day and never come up with anything. Then, in bed just before falling asleep or waking up, the answer will come. This is amazing to me because it happens so frequently. I used to do that with math problems I was stuggling with. I would often figure them out after bedtime. Weird, isn’t it?
SummersStudio
February 14, 2009 at 8:37 pmLove the bead! I dream in full technicolour and sometimes all I remember from a dream is the colour. And not only do creative ideas and problem solving happen in my dreams, I often wake up at 4am and hop out of bed go straight to my studio just to capture those dreams.
CarolAnn
February 14, 2009 at 9:36 pmWow! Lovin' this Reliquary. Your work is both incendiary, & so very inspiring.
I dream in colours, and often remember the general "feelings" the dream evokes. I keep a Dream Journal to jot down smaller items and details to look up with my coffee, later : ).
Just recently, I dreamt of a big, boisterous, Italian family dinner, with all the requisite aunts and uncles, kids, cousins, dogs, fights, & raucous laughter present, and it inspired me to buy a small canvas for each family member, really pondering their fave foods, numbers, colours, hobbies, habits, and an 'apt' word to describe something about their character that "speaks to me."
I have never done collage before, but I am hammering nails, rusting trinkets, and making these 3D sort of sculptures that are lifting off the canvases!
My muse has popped the lid off the box, and is going full speed ahead!
Cheers to You, the wonderous Reliquary, this timely post, and your blog.~*~
Terri Faye
February 14, 2009 at 10:18 pmI’ve always looked to my dreams for help in both inspiration and in life. If I need to know something or need a new idea, I ask for it before I go to sleep. I always get my answer. I do dream in color. I even dreamed my youngest daughter name when I was only 3 months pregnant, from that point on I called her by that name.
Heather Powers
February 15, 2009 at 3:12 amI love this bead, it’s so amazing Lynn!
Yes, I dream in color and they are vivid. But I can’t say I’ve dreamt of a design or art idea. I suppose everything swirls around in that factory of creativity so who knows exactly where ideas pop up from.
Thank you for sharing this week.
Ann Rishell
February 15, 2009 at 3:26 amI seem to always dream in color. Sometimes about beads and if I am lucky to wake up in time I sketch what I can remember. When I can’t sleep I think about what beads I have gotten lately. Sometimes new ideas come right as I drop off to sleep!
Thanks for sharing your new bead!
peacockfairy
February 15, 2009 at 5:10 amI dream in color… and yes I write things down. I have many, many lists of project ideas. It’s my only way to keep sane! Often when I have a challenging piece, the solution will pop up right before I drift to sleep and it makes for an exciting morning.
Dale
February 15, 2009 at 6:17 amWow! I am reading all about the vivid, colourful dreams that others are having, and i am in awe here. I unfortunately am not blessed with dreaming in colour, or dreaming usually of anything interesting at all. My dreams are usually dialogue based and quite realistic… so much that many of them could be real life instead of dreams hahah.
Anonymous
February 15, 2009 at 7:59 amBEAUTIFUL creation, Lynn!
I often dream in colors, which represent ideas and emotions. Happily, these dreams can be VERY inspiring and I remember them about half the time…
Gaela
February 15, 2009 at 12:40 pmLynn, this is a very awesome bead! I’ve spent quite some time just sitting here looking at it. About dreams…I only dream in colour and always remember them, as my dreams always take me to the “other” world I visit in 95% of my dreams. When I do have inspirations from my dreams, the idea is extremely involved, the details so intricate that if I don’t sketch it or write about it right away I lose it. Unfortunately, these ideas remain in my sketchbook for the most part as they seem to intense for me to create.
Nati By Adaya
February 15, 2009 at 2:40 pmLynn, j’adore votre travail et à chaque fois je suis subjuguée
Bizzzzzzzz Nati
http://perlerouge.canalblog.com/
http://www.byadaya.com
perlerouge
February 15, 2009 at 2:51 pmje suis toujours subjuguée par votre travail, fantastique!!!!!
bizzzzzzzzzz
Nati
stregata
February 15, 2009 at 4:22 pmThank you for this insight into your work. Such a lovely box.
I do dream in colour, but I don’t really remember alot of my dreams. Some are so intense that they stay with me, but most travel back to where they came from before the night is over.
Renate
Valerie C.
February 15, 2009 at 6:37 pmYes I dream in color and it is extremly vivid. I do get some insperation from my colorful dreams but not all the time. I have not had to as yet have to wake up and jot anything down. My dreams are so vivid that I do not have to.
Jamie
February 15, 2009 at 11:21 pmHello. I love your bead. I cant wait to see where your sculpturing muse takes you next. As for the question? I dont often remember my dreams. But seem to get more in that short space between sleep and awake. I keep a pen and pad by my bed at all times to write down the often colorful images that come to my minds eye at that time. They are usually very vivid and clear. I also start most of my writing and poetry this way too. But if I dont wake up enough to write or draw them, they are gone like smoke in a breeze.
cw
February 16, 2009 at 12:53 amWonderful work, it is deeply inspiring, one could get lost in thoughts here.
I do dream in color and it is vivid and alive.
Dreams inspire my work as a designer, but many times it is not until I am lost in my work that I realize my dream is unfolding into my creativity. Coincidence? There are no coincidences in life. There is deep meaning to all experiences you have.
cw
February 16, 2009 at 1:00 amWonderful work, one could get lost in thought here.
Yes, I dream in color and it is vivid and alive.
As a designer, I get inspiration from my dreams, but it is not until I am lost in my work that I realize my creativity is coming from my dream.
Coincidence? I think not, there are not coincidences in life. Every experience has deep meaning in your life, now, or in the future.
CreekHiker
February 16, 2009 at 1:39 amYes Indeed… In fact I just blogged about my recent dreams that became beads on my bead blog. Sometimes in color but shape is my big thing in dream time…structure too. I remember them very vividly and don’t have to write them down. But, I do need to get to the torch right away!
Alice
February 16, 2009 at 8:12 pmNew here, and love the blog! I dream a lot, and in color (but not in chocolate–darn it!) Most of my dreams, though they seem very real at the time, are either nightmarrish or a nonsensical hobgob of the last few days. In fact, if I were to describe my dreams to a psycologist they would most likely have me committed! I do get a lot of ‘work’ done during that time between sleep and wake, but mostly creating my next day to-do list, organizing one of my many volunteer activities, or creating a unique display idea for my jewelry shows. I don’t jot them down since they normally stay with me. I can’t say that I have ever created a piece of jewelry though. By the way, I love the beautiful bead! Alice
jeannie
February 17, 2009 at 4:24 pmMost of my inspiration for color in my jewelry designs comes from people and things around me. That spurs the design. I’m a quite obsever. The design itself comes from my dreams and or nightmares. Not all the time. Sometimes when I listen to people the juices start to flow depending on what they’re talking about.
That beautiful bead with the lid on it really needs to come off. Got to go the juices are flow’in……..
Cindy Lietz, Polymer Clay Tutor
February 17, 2009 at 7:04 pmI love this line: “To be honest, I’m not certain they are only beads, they are growing more sculptural and rising up from the bead table.”
That pretty much sums up the way I feel when I see these beads! Lynn your beads are tiny works of art which would easily shine in any jewelry design. Very beautiful and meaningful beads!
Pamela
February 17, 2009 at 7:58 pmI, too, dream in color, when I remember my dreams. I can’t say that any of my creativity in beading has come from my dreams, but it has from that calm, slowing down process that leads to sleep. The job that I have that supports my bead needs is teaching. We just got done with Pandora’s Box and my students had to create their own story about a sealed container and then there is yours!!! Things that make you go hmmmmm.!!!!
TammyG
February 18, 2009 at 9:29 pmYour beads are fabulous!
I dream in color, and sometimes remember my dreams, usually the bizarre ones. I don’t come up with ideas in my sleep, but often as I’m lying in bed before I fall asleep.
LLYYNN - Lynn Davis
February 19, 2009 at 10:31 pmThank you all so much for the kind feedback and appreciation. I made that bead in one long session the night before I photographed it, the following morning, I just couldn’t stop until it was to this place of being created.
I’m glad it has inspired some ideas and gotten some juices flowing for you. Your stories are facinating, thank you so much for sharing them. Pandora’s box, the secret place, a reliquary of preservation, it is all of those things, and anything else you see in your mind’s eye.
sharon
February 21, 2009 at 2:53 amthis is my first blog ever and i don’t think i could have picked a better place! since discovering this site i am obsessed, just love it. i have tons of dreams, lots in color, bright colors, which i don’t usually use, hardly ever.they don’t inspire my work, they are usually too complicated, and more about feelings. my work usually is a product of something i like or enjoy.
your beads here are fabulous! i was never very good in 3-d and these are fascinating to me and so detailed, just beautiful!
CrystalGoddessLisa
March 3, 2009 at 3:17 amI LOVE this article as I am a HUGE dream fan! I dream in vivid color, keep a dream journal, and have attempted to interpret dreams since I was 10 years old. Lots of my life choices, including my design inspirations have resulted from my dreams. In fact, the colors in my dreams are even more vivid and gorgeous than in waking life! Sometimes dreams come to me with ‘color themes’ and I know which colors are begging to ‘come to life’. Sometimes certain stones will appear as well and inspire me for a new project.
I thoroughly enjoyed the article and I ADORE this bead! Thanks for feeding our minds and spirits!