Variations of a Dream
I assembled this random poem earlier this week and was very pleased with the combination of word scraps. However, I found it a more difficult proposition when it came to creating the image. There were plenty of magical phrases to inspire – purple words, roses and violets, magic carpets, dream weavers – but it was difficult to encapsulate the dreamy feeling of the poem visually without distracting from the actual word collage.
Fairly early on I decided to use a page from an antique copy of The Arabian Nights that I have. The texture created by the foxed tissue insert was interesting, but I still didn’t quite like it.
Who but Scheherezade was the greatest dream weaver of all?
Then I had a eureka moment. Of course! Who but Scheherezade was the greatest dream weaver of all? The stories she told the Sultan every night caused him to fall in love with her – and, incidentally, saved her head from the chopping block. (Let’s not deconstruct this scenario too much or the illusion of romance will be quite evaporated.)
I removed the veil (so to speak) and revealed the etching in all its glory. It is the only illustration in the book, and it is singularly apt to illustrate my poem. I like the cultural weight this iconic book brings to my poem – they tie so well together, a bit like the vintage Mills & Boon page coupled with my poem on brides in the previous story.
Scroll down to see the other variations.
Version 1: the image was actually advertising bathroom fittings! I had to tear around a bathroom cabinet. Just not romantic enough.
Version 2: the first incarnation of the page from The Arabian Nights – I wanted to show some of the image, but it didn't quite fit with the cut paper words – the flow was interrupted
Version 3: Perhaps a vintage postcard of roses and violets combined with my handwriting? Too messy.
Version 4: Or a simple oil pastel background with my handwriting etched into it? Too simple and unsatisfying, I felt.