There is a Reservoir of Dreams and Songs

I believe that if we can find our own voice in the world, our own creativity and unique sound, our song, we can metaphorically and literally sing ourselves into existence. ​​

Reservoir of My Dreams / 12" x 12" / acrylic paint on canvas / 11.27.2016

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I am awake.  It is hours before the Sun will rise and wash over the landscape; bathing what is now unseen in light and making the unseen visable.  

There are nights that as I lay sleeping the dreams wash over me and I am awake in other worlds or perhaps I am awake in other layers of the world within which my sleeping body lies.  At these times the unseen is also made visible.  I am a dreamer...in many, many ways.  There are certain dreams that come in the arms of sleep, dreams that carry a message and leave such an imprint upon the eye of my soul that they are impossible to forget. Within the multitude of these dreams there are a handful which always begin with the Moon.  She is always full and she is always dancing above the vast expanse of the Ocean.  For as many of the Moon dreams that I have received, there are an equivelent amount of paintings that move through me and find there way into the world.  The dream that whispered of the image below began over 15 years ago.  Periodically the dream has returned, or rather the dream has continued over the course of the last ten years.  Each time it returns it begins with the opalescent Moon; heavy, full and hanging over an unending expanse of Ocean.

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Dream of the Animals from the Sky (2002)

In the dream, it is night and I am looking out a window which is very high above the ground.  The Moon is full and bright and hanging above a vast expanse of water.  When I look down I see that the expanse of water reaches to the foundation of the building.  From my viewpoint high above there is no shoreline that is visible.  There is only water as far as my eye can see.  There is a brief moment when my thinking mind kicks in and I wonder if the building that I am in is rising from the Ocean herself.  

I turn from the window to look inside the room in which I am standing.  I am in a small bathroom and my young son is witg me.  Although I understand that the room I am in is a bathroom, I also understand that it is something else.  It resembles a long hallway and leaves me with a strange and surreal feeling that I am somehow within a tunnel.  Everything in the bathroom is white in color.  Everything in the bathroom is pristinely clean and emminates with the same opulesence as the Moon.

I turn to once again look out the window and accutely focus my eyes upon the water searching for some understanding or a clue as to why we are here.   A shadow begins to surface upon the waters.  The shadow rises  and a dolphin breaks upon the slow rolling waves.  Once it has broken through the water it turns and looks directly at me.  I know that it has come for me.  I tell my son to look out the window.  When he looks out the window, he tells me that he can not see anything.  I look out the window again and see that the dolphin has come up on the land which has mysteriously appeared around the building that I am in and it is underneath the window that I am looking out of.  We make eye contact  and the cetacean turns and reenters the water.

A few moments later I hear the sound of wind it is a whistling sound which is progressively getting louder and stronger. Within a few moments, a large white whale falls from the heavens and into the water.  There is a great splurging of water which is displaced and set in motion.  In the splash and displaced water that results from the whale’s arrival, I begin to see a multitude of shapes and shadows surfacing from the depths.  The water is filled with a multitude of creatures. As I look at the creatures, I realize that some of them are from times that we consider to be pre-history.  At first I think that all of the creatures are from times past; and then I realize that there are also present day animals and animals that I have never seen or heard of before.  Somehow I understand that they are the creatures and beings that are still to come and they have not yet been seen on our present day earth.  Some of the creatures begin to surface and walk upon the land.  As I am watching them walk upon the earth I realize that they are entering the building that I am in.  They ascend the internal structure of the building and find me and my son in the white bathroom. One by one, they singularly parade by us, each one pausing to ensure that eye contact has been made as it passes by and exits through the window back into the primordial waters from which it came.  

The final creature, which is similar in shape to that of monkey and  is entirely white in color, jumps onto the sink near where I am standing and waits for me to look at it.  We lock eyes and I see my own eyes reflected in the creature’s face. I then realize that we are standing in front of a mirror and the reflection shows that we share the same eyes.  In as much as we are different, we are the same.  We are reflections and images of one another. The actions of one will affect the world of the other.   The creature moves toward the window, takes one last look and then is gone.   I watch as the water enfolds and engulfs the creatures of my dream and returns them to the place of their origins.  The Moon's lights begins to fade and I am washed in darkness and sleep.

Creation of the Firmaments / 20" x 16" / acrylic paint on canvas / 02.08.2017

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A couple of years passed after this dream occurence before I would once again awake in the dream world to find myself in the depths of the ocean.  This time I was a whale.  I was swimming with a pod and I was singing there song.  Each sound reverberating through the depths of the water.  

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In 1991 an all white male humpback whale was photographed passing Australia's most eaterly point.  At the time of the sighting this whale was the only documented all white humpback to have been recorded in the world.  The Australian Aboriginal community named the whale Migaloo, the word that they use to describe a "white fella".  Migaloo is suspected to be an an albino whale, but without definitive evidence for the moment he is known as a “hypo-pigmented” humpback.  Humpback whales are an endangered species.  Migaloo is part of the east Australian humpback population, suspected to number around 15-17,000 individuals in 2012. This population was likely around 30,000 before commercial whaling began, but was possibly as low as 104 individuals after commercial whaling on humpbacks ceased in the 1960s.

Humpback whales grow to be about 12-15 metres long, weighing 25-40 tons. The females are slightly larger than males, as with all baleen whales. The four-chambered heart of the average humpback whale weighs about 195 kg about as much as three average adult human beings. (Really think about that for a moment.)  Humpbacks travel in large, loose groups. Most associations between humpbacks are temporary, lasting at most a few days. The exception is the strong and lasting bond between mother and calves. Up until September 2011 Migaloo was thought to be the only all white Humpback Whale in the world. Then amazing footage emerged of a 100% all white baby humpback calf.

The humpback whale is a baleen whale that sings amazing love songs.  Humpback whales are renowned for their ability to produce songs of remarkable beauty, complexity, and duration. But despite decades of research, scientists still aren't sure why these whales engage in such elaborate acoustic displays.

To hear the song of the humpback whale you may click on the Download File button below.

Coastal shamanic cultures rely on whales for a variety of reasons. Different tribal cultures believe that sound holds the world together and that the whales are the record keepers and their songs are the record of Mother Earth.  They are the caretkaers of the stories.  Many indigenous peoples believe that Creation was sung into existence.

I believe that If we can find our own voice in the world, our own creativity and unique sound, our song,  we can metaphorically and literally sing ourselves into existence. ​

In Gratitude, Love & Art,
~Heather

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If you are interested in learning more about Migaloo the white humpback whale I invite you to check out the following website -   http://migaloo.com.au/