Full circle

The Cosmic Web in the tree under which it all began

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Yesterday my friend Glen came with his pickup van. We went to collect the Dream House from the Raj Yoga Centre where it has been since it left Alice Yard. I was going to keep it at home until I figured out where next it would go.

However, on the two-minute drive back home from the Raj Yoga Centre, a decision was made which may surprise some people. Dismantle the entire Dream House ... rather than keep it, sell it or put it anywhere else. It was an unexpected decision, but it felt like the right thing to do and the right day to do it. No amount of thought was involved and I felt no attachment to the piece. We parked in the driveway. Glen got out his screw driver and started to unscrew everything that was keeping the lamp together. I went inside and got a bucket with a cover - to keep all our dreams in (until I source an appropriate clay vessel). Within minutes the Dream House as we knew it was no more.

As of yesterday, this physical structure no longer exists.
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The original idea was (once Veronica's House is built) to gather all of the dreams that people have put into the Dream House, place them in a clay vessel (time capsule), hike into a forest, bury the vessel of dreams and plant a tree (still to be decided what kind) on that spot. This will still be done (at a date and place to be announced), but as of yesterday, the timing has changed. I will do it before Veronica's House is constructed. Energetically, the Dream House and Veronica's House now feel like two separate entities.*

The dismantling process felt very freeing. I made the comment to Glen that it felt as though we were doing something for everyone's dreams. As soon as I said it, a sudden light rain sprinkled us, lasting a few seconds.

"Blessings," Glen said.

I know some people will be taken aback and will ask (as has already happened): "How could you do that to your artwork?!" or: "Why did you destroy the Dream House?!!" But it is not destruction. It as a part of the process. It is in keeping with the way I followed my feelings and instincts (about this window) from the very start, so I trust it. Glen took the parts back home - to somehow reuse the wood and metal in his factory. I kept the bulb and lock and the dream catcher/cosmic web.

I took the cosmic web and put it to hang on the same tree at the bottom of the garden under which the original window (Kairos) once stood. As I hung it, I suddenly remembered that in the beginning, there had been a spider's web being spun above that very spot. This is the web that had inspired the dream catcher/cosmic web in the first place. This confirmed for me that everything was right and had come full circle.

* Brief update: we are partnering with Habitat for Humanity to build Veronica's House.

Yesterday at the Raj Yoga Centre

Yesterday there was a screening of 'Invisible' at the Raj Yoga Centre in St. Augustine. All efforts to get a projector fell through (I think I need to buy my own) ... so I ended up using a TV, which served the purpose and, at the end of the day, was easier to set up and operate.
A scene from 'Invisible' where Veronica gives her daughter her medication: "She doesn't know that she is HIV positive. All she knows is that she has to take her medication ..." The full 'Invisible' video can be viewed on Trinidad Express TV (online for a few more days, so share the link with friends and associates at home and abroad). Simply click on "Click to view web news" to view.
Those present wrote their dreams and slipped them into the Dream House window lamp at various points throughout the evening. In this photo, Nisha (who was at the launch last Friday and wrote a dream there) got busy writing several more!
Hyacinth Cross, the head 'mummy' at Cyril Ross Nursery, returns to her seat after placing her dream into the Dream House window lamp.
Little call cards with the account number for anyone who wants to make donations to Veronica's House.
Backview of section of the intimate audience of about 25 people ... as they listen to a short talk on HIV/AIDS (definition and other details) given by Nurse Reverly Downes of the QPCC.
Those in attendance included representatives of NGOs and other organisations (invited specifically to see how they could assist with Veronica's House), members of the public who were interested in seeing the film and one or two members of the Raj Yoga Centre, St. Augustine, who kindly gave their space as a venue for the screening. A very worthwhile evening for all.

Where do you think the Dream House should go next? Somewhere indoors, preferably somewhere that lots of people go (but not a bar, in case people spill drinks, etc on it), somewhere that's not too bright - in order for its glow to be evident. Any ideas/suggestions?

Screening and Dreaming (an invitation)

DREAMING

Great news for those of you who missed Friday night's Dream House launch and would like the opportunity to place your dream(s) into the lamp. The Dream House window lamp has moved from Alice Yard and is currently at the Raj Yoga Centre, lower St. John Road, St. Augustine. Feel free to go there at any time of the day or early evening and, once someone is present to open the door for you, please enter. There is a peaceful vibe inside. Spend some quiet time feeling out what you want to say, write your dream and slip it in to the Dream House. (Remember, when the real house is built, our dreams will be placed in a time capsule and buried in the forest, with a tree planted over them).

SCREENING

For those of you who missed the world premiere of the film, 'Invisible', this is an open invitation for you to attend a small but special screening this Sunday at the Raj Yoga Centre. If interested in attending, please contact me by phone (786-2539) by the close of today. I would like to confirm numbers to ensure adequate seating and refreshments.

'Invisible' screening
Date: Sunday 24 February 2008
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Venue: Raj Yoga Centre, lower St. John Road, St. Augustine
Admission: Free

The screening will be followed by a discussion and progress update on 'Veronica's House' and a discussion on the situation in TT involving children living with HIV/AIDS. Audience participation will be encouraged.

Visiting planet Earth

I had my camera on me all night at the Dream House launch, but ended up only taking these few shots of the capoeira display by Instituto Palmeiras.I don't know what Glen was doing at this moment, but every time I look at this shot it makes me laugh. I showed it to my friend Nisha and she found it looks as though the Dream House (in the background) is a ship that just landed on earth, Chanzo and Maurice (the capoeiristas) are the aliens and Glen is protecting the earthlings from the invasion: "Step back! Don't come any closer! They may be dangerous!"

Risking his life, Glen rushes in to defend the earthlings from the space invaders.

Startled by the sudden movements of the earthling, the aliens spring into defense mode.

But ... wait ... where is Glen?

Have these intergalactic warriors absorbed him in their powerful energy field?

Have they used their cosmic powers to dematerialize him?

Have they assimilated him into their space vessel?
Their celebratory dance hints at some kind of victory.

(Some) Dream House photos from launch night

Many thanks to photographer Agusto Murrillo for taking the photos on Dream House launch night.Before it all began, the Dream House was covered in a large sheet. The projector (for projecting the film later in the night) is positioned before it.

The Dream House unveiled.

Explaining the Dream House to those in attendance. Pointing to the heart-shaped foundation stone in the centre, from which the deepest and most wordless prayer emanates ... swirling out and up to be received and answered. The Cosmic Web, which pulls everything together sits in the centre (like a dream catcher) around the heart stone.

One of the many who wrote their dreams on the coloured squares of paper. N.B. Purple gift bag on ground, containing the coloured squares. The colours were all colours of the rainbow, as well as black, brown, pink and white.

Another one of the many dreamers: my nephew, no doubt about to write down something about getting a new video game.

One of the many who slipped their dreams into the slot at the side of the Dream House. I love the image of someone wearing a tie, coming from a long corporate, city workday, writing down his heartfelt dream and believing in it as it slips into the Light.

I had written the contractor's estimate on large pieces of brown paper and stuck it on the walls of the room in which the Dream House was ... so people could see what materials are required.

With my nephew, as we all watched the film 'Invisible', projected onto the back of the Dream House lamp.

With Katie after the film as we addressed those present. She spoke about the cause (Veronica and her children, their situation, how/why we were moved to build the house for them and what needs to be done) and then there were suggestions and questions from people in the crowd.

After our speech explaining the cause, many people came and gave suggestions, offered assistance, etc. Here Nic's dad gives advice on how to raise money for demolition and backfill (which, the day after the launch, someone offered to do for free). Hooray for generosity.

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I will put other photos from the event on Flickr some time later and will let you know.

What the Dream House was/is for: building dreams and a real house

Where it all began.
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Some time early this week I will receive the photos of Dream House launch night from the photographer. Rather than wait until then to explain what the making of this lamp was all about, I will do so now (and post photos later).

As described early on, the lamp is a three dimensional prayer. "For what?" you must be asking.

In order to explain, let me take you through basic steps of what happened on the night of the Dream House launch.

Prior to the launch, I asked those from abroad who had signed up for the Dream House International list to write their dreams (waking dreams, not sleeping ones) and e-mail them to me so that I could act on their behalf on the night.

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REMEMBER THE LINE I HAD ON THE INVITATION: When dreams come true, lives change. Mine. Yours. Theirs.

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OUR DREAMS TO MANIFEST
On the night, I unveiled the lit Dream House to an appreciative, applausive (if there's such a word) crowd. You will see the photos eventually, but basically the lamp itself is like a small house. To the side of the 'house' there is a slit in the wall into which everyone's dreams, written on squares of paper (all colours of the rainbow) were 'posted'. The international dreams went in first (I slipped them in for those who could not be there); then I wrote mine and slipped it in; then, for the rest of the night, people from the crowd came, sat in front of the lamplight, thought about what they wanted to say, wrote their dreams, posted them, etc. It was a great vibe. It was even possible to see some of the dream paper fluttering past the window (behind the artwork) to join the other dreams ... all of them now in the Light.

THEIR DREAMS TO MANIFEST
Later in the night (after the unveiling), I turned the lamp around so that its back was facing the crowd. The back is flat and white, about 4 ft x 3 ft. This surface I used as a screen to project the mini documentary I had worked on late last year (INVISIBLE: Children living with HIV/AIDS) - which I did as a job for TTCRC (TT Coalition for the Convention on the Rights of the Child). The film, which turned out to be extremely moving and powerful, had the audience silenced ... especially at the end when one learns what happened to Veronica and her children subsequent to the interview/filming. Stigma and discrimination are a disease in their own right.

The following is a blurb from a letter Katie, my production assistant on the film (who is now back in Toronto as of Sunday) and I have been using to gather support:

This mini-documentary aims to raise awareness of children living with HIV/AIDS through the story of one mother, Veronica, and her two children. As a result of HIV/AIDS-related stigma, Veronica and her children are presently homeless. This critical situation is taking a heavy toll on the health of Veronica and her young daughter, who are both living with HIV. The film is being screened in order to gather support for the construction of ‘Veronica’s House’ – a new home and new hope for this family.

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The film being projected onto the Dream House (lamp) is a projection of the dream of Veronica and her children - to have a home for themselves. It is supported by the energy of everyone else's dreams within the lamp. Similarly, the collective dreams within represent the collective energy of those people who come together to make this real house possible. Hence Dream House has two meanings - a house full of dreams (many people's dreams) and a dream house for a family in need.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE DREAM HOUSE (LAMP)?
The Dream House lamp will move around to different places and people will continue to place their dreams into it ... until the day that Veronica and her children step into their newly constructed home. Then the lamp will be opened (the roof has a lock on it), the dreams removed (unread) and placed in a vessel (time capsule concept). This will be buried deep in the forest and a tree planted over it (exact vessel, forest and kind of tree to be determined).

IN THE MEAN TIME ...
Things have been unfolding in great ways. So far we have generous donations of materials toward the house and a contractor who is willing to do a lot of work and offer so much for the cause. Much more still has to be acquired and more has to happen, but undoubtedly it will. There is a bank account to which members of the public who are willing to assist can donate whatever is possible. Cash and kind are welcome. If you are moved to assist in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me.

I will supply this information (account, etc.) in another post to keep it simple and clear. I will also provide updates on the progress of the construction as everything unfolds and takes shape.

So this is what inspired Dream House ... the desire/need to build a house for Veronica and her children. We felt it was impossible to work on the video, to meet this little family and see what happened to them as a result of stigma ... and not do anything more to assist their situation.

And in terms of the lamp, it has a life of its own. So much more has come, is coming and will come from it.

Thank you to all, both seen and unseen, who have been and will be a part of this construction (in whatever ways possible).

A great Dream House launch

Thank you to everyone who attended the Dream House launch (in person and in spirit) on Friday night. It was really a fantastic, magical night, full of dreams, hope, Love, interaction, good vibes. The 'Love is Green' event, which also took place that night, enhanced the mood and entertained even further. Great people in the crowd, great energies.

A visiting photographer (Agusto, Nic's friend) took professional photos of the Dream House. We had gone the night before to set up the lamp and he came along with me to do some shooting of it (minus the people who would be there next night at the launch). When I saw the images on his camera screen I was totally blown away. Such a difference between me taking the photos myself ... and what he did, which is pure artistry in itself, with specific lighting to enhance the beauty of the piece ... making it look to me like something displayed on a blue moon. All it was missing was white mist (a la fog machine) swirling around its base. Ethereal, dreamlike, mesmerising, compelling, otherworldly, a Light presence. As soon as those photos are ready, I will post them so that you can see the lamp (Dream House) which really ended up looking and feeling great - not only in A's photos, but in real life. At the moment that I unveiled it on the night (pulled off the large sheet that covered it) ... all I remember is hearing complete silence, then a gasp from the crowd, then clapping. Then everything began .. the first purpose, which was ongoing throughout the night (and will be even after) ... followed by the second purpose, later in the night (also to be ongoing).

As the invitation said: When dreams come true, lives change. Mine. Yours. Theirs.

Official photos, an account of what happened on the night and details of what it was all for coming soon. Stay tuned.

Love is Green

People who have never been to 'The Yard' are not sure how to get there. It's easy. If coming from Ariapita, head northward up Murray Street, Woodbrook (landmark: Jacqueline's Bakery at the corner) until you get to the park on your right. At top of park, Roberts intersects Murray. Turn left and 'The Yard' is about the second on the left from the corner. You can't miss it. Parking on both sides of road.

If coming from Tragarete Road side, head southward down Murray and take first right at corner of park.

The Dream House and the film will be happening under the umbrella of Greenlight Network's 'Love is Green' event. Even though the two are 'separate' they fit together for various reasons.

See you later (those who are coming).

Continuing

Part of the Cosmic Web
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Work continues on the lamp. It is an extremely simple piece (unlike the earlier lamps) ... yet somehow a lot has been (and has to be) put into it (in more ways than one). It will be ready for Thursday evening, when it will be transported to its location.

I will not mention it again until after Friday's launch, when I will give an official account of what it was all about.

The Invitation

Please click on invite to open it up bigger, save it and/or forward to friends as an e-mail attachment.

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Come and bring friends.
The more people the more power.
The dual purpose of the lamp (and the lamp itself) will be revealed on the night.
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International participants who have contacted me to be on the International Dream House list, you will be given details and information separately, so as not to 'spoil' it for those who are here.
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Thanks.

Elspeth

Window Lamp Retrospective

Before moving ahead, let's take a look at a few of the earlier window lamps (there are more, in various houses, with various owners ... but unfortunately I don't have/didn't take photos of them). Most of these lamps were interactive in different ways and each one was designed for a specific purpose. The DREAM HOUSE is different from these earlier ones in structure, purpose and type of interaction. And whereas the earlier lamps feature translucent artwork on their panes (each pane being a canvas telling a different symbolic story), the panes of the DREAM HOUSE remain clear, with no artwork on them.

SOMNIUM

(designed to alleviate the insomnia of the J.H., who acquired it):
Oh Light that vibrates to the sound of Om, I have come seeking peace in the humble Temple of my Self. My purpose now is to sleep and dream, because what I dream is an important prerequisite to the order of things.
THE LOVE WINDOW LAMP
(Owned by me).
DREAMING GOD
Detail: one of the four panes
Designed for deeper dreaming. Was owned by me.
Is God dreaming us or are we dreaming God?

A range of lamps I had made for the launch of my INFINITE CD. Each lamp was inspired by (and named after) the title of the songs on the album. Here they are in the annex of the National Museum where I put on a small solo concert for the launch.

BELOVED
(One of the songs from the album)
BELOVED (detail: top pane)
LEVITY FOR GRAVITY (and Vice Versa)
One of the songs from the INFINITE album.
AS I AM, YOU ARE
(One of the songs on the album).
Photo shows guest at INFINITE launch studying the lamp, now owned by A.H. of Quest Bookstore.
FEEL IT NOW
Not a lamp (since it was not designed for light to pass through it).
Created for an event (the launch of a friend's single - a song of the same name).

I AM
(Designed to eliminate fear):

All of a sudden the moment became impulsive. It grabbed you and pulled you through the door that led to Somewhere. Afraid of not knowing, you held back from flowing, but the moment would not be ignored. "Fear not," it said, pulling you further. "Relax as I hold you, I am here to unfold you. Open and find who you are."

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The I AM lamp was used as the 'backdrop' in the popular 10 Sisters shows ... and was used in the design of the 10 Sisters album cover (see two below photos from album cover). The lamp is now owned by the producers of the show.

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DIVA

The interactive lamp that had lived up to her name ... had everyone adoring her, writing poetry and short stories in her honour and reading them to her. She started off the whole online documentation of window lamps, had people video taping her progress, had us gathering in Quest bookstore to have readings and refreshments (her launch). Commissioned and now owned by G.H. (aka 'girlwithawindow')

SERENDIPITY
(Designed to attract happy chance meetings and unexpected finds)
Commissioned by A.H. and now owned by I. and P.
Serendipity was also interactive: video and dinner-for-six launch (in the studio I had at the time in CCA7).

Table set for six in my studio. Waiting for the guests to arrive and dine on my sumtpuous lasagne. Little did two of the guests know ... the lamp had been commissioned for them by a friend in the States ... and they would be be going home with it that night.
Serendipity in the corner of my studio at night.
TV for viewing the 'Serendipity video' after in-studio dinner.

ENCHANTED FOREST
(Designed to attract new 'space' = yoga studio for KB)
Interactive meditative window lamp, designed with different things to do to lead the participant on a journey to his/her centre and calm the spirit. Commissioned and owned by K.B.

SOUL WINDOW
aka Window to My Soul (Mate)
Detail: first pane
Name speaks for itself.
Now owned by K.W. and family in Texas.
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Other lamps have included:
Mysteries of the Universe
Twilight Door
Healing Hearts
... and others which I can't remember right now ...