“To die, to sleep – to sleep, perchance to dream – ay, there’s the rub, for in this sleep of death what dreams may come…” Hamlet

You may wonder where I get my obsession with people sleeping in my work. Well for that, you only have to look to fairy tales which are, after all, my obsession. Snow White, Briar Rose or The Sleeping Beauty, The Princess and the Pea, Goldilocks and the Three Bears… They all had sleep (or lack of) as part of their story. I’m sure even in Rumpelstiltskin, the miller’s daughter slept while the little, wizened man spun her straw into gold.

Of course another reason for people sleeping in my art, is the fact that I love to dream. The most bizarre dreams play in my mind through the night, so much so, that some days I wake up exhausted. People from all works of my life appear to me, even if I haven’t seen them in years and years, as was the case last night when I dreamed of a reunion of a drama group I was part of. Sometimes, I dream of people I’ve never met, but I’m sure someday they will cross my path. I dream of walking on foreign soil but I wonder if I am indeed remembering a past life or perhaps astral traveling when that happens, as the dreams are so vivid of a place I’ve never been before. As mentioned in my last Sleepy Saturday post, I also often dream my art into being, so as you can see, sleep is of the utmost importance to me.

So here is today’s ode to sleep. This one is very much based on Snow White or The Sleeping Beauty with the rose being a nod to the Briar Rose version which is the first one I read. Rest your head on my flower bed sweet princess.

Happy beauty sleep….Livvy xxx