Drawing on the Dream: Finding My Way by Art

How does a twenty-first-century woman living in rural southern Oregon enter the spiritual realm of the Dreamtime and what impact does it have on her life? Denise Kester is an artist and art teacher whose inner dream life is populated by a host of profound characters (brown bears, black crows, blue monkeys, sea turtles, and rabbits among others) who guide Denise through a difficult year of artistic creation as she stares down at a deadline for an important exhibit. Drawing on the Dream is part instruction for artists but even more a profound illumination on the way of the artist. The book includes Kester's brilliant monoprints in all stages of process to completion and the stories or poetry that inspired or illuminate the work. Kester writes about the struggles and the triumphs that occur as the deadline approaches. She asks the question “do I make the art or does the art make me?”

In her Foreword, bestselling author Jean Houston (Jump Time, The Possible Human observes: “As you read, see, and enjoy the riches contained in this book you too may discover, with such wonder and astonishment, that the dreamtime lives within you. For you are in the presence of Denise Kester who has tapped into the source of creativity and thus, is herself, a Source-rer.”

Denise Kester is a working studio artist who has been exhibiting her work for over thirty years. She is a sought after teacher of printmaking, painting and art process, including book making, collage, and assemblage art, presenting workshops and classes in Washington, California, Georgia, New York, and Oregon. She lives in Ashland, Oregon.

Jean Houston, Ph.D., scholar, philosopher and researcher in Human Capacities, is one of the foremost visionary thinkers and doers of our time. She is long regarded as one of the principal founders of the Human Potential Movement. Dr. Houston is noted for her ability to combine a deep knowledge of history, culture, new science, spirituality and human development into her teaching. She is known for her inter-disciplinary perspective delivered in inspirational and humorous keynote addresses. She is author of 26 books including Jump Time and The Possible Human.