Iapetus Falling

September 16, 1975 (cont.)

I have had two dreams in which the colors blue and green were prominent and I think I should tell you about them. The first was several years ago, when I was still in high school. In the dream I had a square pendent on a gold chain. The top half was blue and bottom half was green. The colors were shiny and metallic, like the copper trinkets with metallic powder my mom used to make in a small electric kiln in crafts at Red Raider Camp when we were little.

Wearing the pendant gave me the ability to fly. I would stand at the end of a field and a large crook-shaped stick would lift me up under my arm and carry me a few feet off the ground toward a group of trees that were in a bowl-like depression. The stick would carry me down to the middle of the trees and let go and I would soar up through the tree branches in a big backward arc and then lightly touch down. Then I would do it again. I don't now how many times I did this, but it was many and it was exhilarating. But I couldn't resist wanting to know what was holding the stick, because I was outside in an open field. I finally looked up at the stick and the dream ended.

The second dream was a few days after the Yes concert at the Spectrum. This was the one that stuck with me and became part of my artwork.

In the dream I had gone to a concert with two friends from high school, Laurie McLeod and Greg Caputo. But when we got there the concert hall was gone. There was nothing around except green grass and the outline of the building foundation. I looked over the horizon and suddenly the grass turned a deep emerald green and the sky turned a deep sapphire blue. They dazzled with iridescence. The planet Saturn appeared above the horizon and began growing larger.

The closer it came the more joy I felt. But it was so intense it made me afraid and I blinked my eyes and everything went back to normal. I asked my friends if they had seen it, but they had not. I looked again, and again everything turned deep green and deep blue and Saturn appeared. It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen and I didn't want it to end. But every time it began coming closer I would become afraid of the powerful, joyful rush I was feeling, and I'd blink my eyes to make it stop.

I did this many times, each time letting Saturn get a little closer until I couldn't stand it anymore and then I'd make it stop. Finally, I decided to let it keep coming. I wouldn't blink. Saturn appeared and began growing larger and larger. I braced for it to fill the sky...

I woke up to the sound of my dad dropping his electric drill on the basement steps to my room with a loud crash. I never had the dream again, but whenever I see pictures of Saturn it always makes me catch my breath. I get a similar feeling now when I look at pictures of the Grand Canyon.