When my children were really little, 4 and under, I kept having these recurring dreams that I was a sea lion. One of them in particular was so crystal clear vivid, I can still see it in my mind’s eye as if I were watching a big screen of it happening. Nothing happens in the dream, except that I am an actual sea lion swimming in the cold dark water, except the water isn’t cold. Or rather, I’m not cold. And I am looking up towards where the water touches the sky and I can see the light filtering down upon myself and the other sea lions I am swimming with.
This dream always brings this deep calmness and feeling of belonging and well being.
At the time I kept having this dream I was taking an intuitive painting class with Melanie Brown in Chicago and she talked about our dreams being a fertile place to turn to when we approach the canvas. I shared my dream with the class and she told me to look up symbolism and mythology or folklore about sea lions. And I came upon the selkie stories….and I felt this inner knowing that went all the way through to my cells that there was a message in that story for me about motherhood and sense of self. It was very powerful.
Ever since then I have created several drawings and paintings and even a sculpture to work out this dream for myself. And this one that I recently finished is probably the closest I’ve come.
Funny though, I am sure I will keep on working on different iterations of this dream for many years.
I often have dreams of water and being in the ocean. Hmmmmm…
I am going to keep this painting for myself, but am open to creating prints of it. Please feel free to contact me if you’re interested!