Well, it turns out that for years I was supporting women artists to articulate and go after their art dreams. I could never think of an "art dream" myself - it always came out as "travel."
So last week, one of the days in Yellowstone or the Tetons - I think it was at "artist's point," a spot overlooking Yellowstone Canyon where the rock looks like flesh. Or maybe on the road, in vast open spaces beyond belief, with funky buffalo walking their ancient walk on the road. Or maybe photographing pelicans making v shaped water waves as they swam. Or just looking at the sky.
I thought WOAH, this is IT!
Not a solo show at the Hirschhorn, or getting mammoth commissions, or being written up in Art News (a colleague woman artist's dream), or selling work for 10,000 dollars. Nope, I would not turn down ANY of those. But those are not dreams I go after.
Now we are planning to visit Glacier National Park. Or maybe Yosemite. Or maybe some day Alaska, or Hawaii.
When I was three, we visited a farm in southeast Missouri, called May and Belle's farm. I have a photo of me sitting on a fence post. I asked over and over to return to that farm, but we never did. That was it for travel, until I took a bus to NYC when I was 19. And eventually many more buses to NY, and later trips to Europe and Costa Rica and Prague. There you have it. Maybe our dreams are about filling out the empty spaces in our lives.
