How a Visual Artist Dreams Up her Art!!

“I came out as a brook from a river,

and as a conduit into a garden.

I said, I will water my best garden,

and will water abundantly my garden bed:

and lo, my brook became a river,

and my river became a sea.

I will make doctrine to shine as the morning,

and will send forth her light afar off.

I will yet pour out doctrine as prophecy,

and leave it to all ages for ever.

Behold that I have not laboured for myself only,

but for all them that seek wisdom.”

The words of Sophia, the Book of ben-Sirach, 1st century B.C.

By Kellie Meisl

I was astonished to come across this passage recently while doing some research on goddesses for a new series of art projects. I was astonished to read the words "I came out as a brook from a river," and "as a conduit into a garden" because I had not long before created a mermaid sculpture I had called “Awareness,” whose goddess name is Venus.

MyStoryLives last October presented the story of “Awareness” -- in that story, I explain that this piece of goddess art literally came from a brook! Moreover, she is part of another dream where she was rescued and lived in a garden.

So to find these words by Sophia -- the goddess of wisdom -- while preparing to do my next piece, was an amazing synchronicity. For me, it confirms that I am on the right path, aligned with my soul’s purpose, and connected to the divine creative energy source.

The title of my new art piece is "Flow," and it shows the goddess Sophia. Like all of my art, this work is a composite of several of my dreams.

It was 2009 when I had the first dream.

In it there was a huge amount of turbulence. I dreamed that the walls of a disturbingly oppressive classroom were being blown over and the floor was opening up to reveal a gaping river of fermenting apples flowing along beneath it.

The second dream came a little over a year ago in March of 2010. In this dream, I was in my neglected gardens and had been given a helper, an older woman with white hair. She helped me remove a thorny, dried up rosebush that had not received enough nutrients. She plucked it out with her bare hands, and cast it in the flowing brook behind my home.As we stood from above watching the water move by, a large tree stripped of its bark, its roots and branches neatly severed off, came rushing by. Its wood was light and twisted, I saw it as a work of art, but it was so big and moving so quickly I did not know how to retrieve it alone. I was panicked. In the dream, the wise woman somehow reassured me, without words, as dream guides do, that I need not panic, but should instead let the tree go. I was relieved to be relinquished of this huge task and grateful for the support I received from the wise woman. I have returned to her advice often in the past year. I am reminded again and again to let go, to be mindful of the process and be aware, but not to panic.

And so, it is with messages of my dreams that I created “Sophia.” I asked for a dream on the night I completed her and this is what I was sent:

I am vacationing on the ocean with my family. There is a chain of resorts along the ocean where others are staying. I am standing by a picture window and the glass breaks from the pressure of a wave...I realize there is a storm and I must act now, it is up to me to move us...I look out the window and see that others along the chain may be trapped by the waves, I feel fortunate that we can get away from the rushing water. I look back and see a woman who appears to be trapped by the water, but she is not worried, she knows she will be okay…

I created my first piece of goddess art in 2009 for the Think Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Art Exhibit in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It has two names. I call it “Shattered Cups,” referring to the fact that it contains pieces of my great grandmother's heirloom china set. I also call the piece "Artemis," referring to the hunter goddess who is a protector of the feminine spirit.

 Artemis was well received by many, and went on to live in a very happy home full of marvelous art with a woman named Jo Ann, who has a keen eye for all things beautiful.

My piece "Awareness" was purchased by Pittsfield Mayor James Ruberto, for his vacation home in Florida.

As with Venus, Artemis has a larger story. She has received a fair amount of attention donning the cover of the book Seeing Red.

Artist Kellie Meisl's work can be seen at her website, Dream Art. She also keeps a blog called "Walk."