A New Dream
by: Katherine B. Topolniski
The dream of the dream of the dream unraveled, breathing a frustrated sigh through the window of a speeding rail car. The dream felt trapped, a fire waiting to be lit, a prisoner of expectations and false love and adoration; her passions fading like a watercolour in the sun.
Misguided by it all, she dutifully avoided the ache of jumping from the train, waving love away with the passing landscape. The dream yearned to be born again, into a new mind, a new body, a new place. Focused on a rebirth of grace, she dreamed a dream of a new dream, where youthful wonder and awe reappear.
The train sped her to the mountains, and their love compelled her into the arms of the family of land. Her remembrance of the moment is an impressionist painting of time, cultural boundaries blurred as she left the train behind. At last she is home, wrapped in the love of a new dream, adopted into generations of brothers and sisters and innate existence.
The dream is a dream of widening circles, connecting for eternity to the spirit and the lands. She conveys the flame of her curiosity as she explores the space she occupies between natural and supernatural. The summits overlaid by seabed are one with the ocean, as the human body is one with the earth, as she lives the dream in the uniqueness of the oneness.
Janice’s Workspace
Janice Tanton is an incredible and inspired interdisciplinary artist. She has created many stunning works in the last 24 years, and currently calls Canmore, Alberta home.
Meeting Janice in her workspace in her home in Canmore was like being physically surrounded with her life experiences, canvases breathing meaningful visual impact to her stories. I cannot begin to describe how honoured I am that Janice participated in this project, having recently come out of aggressive treatments for breast cancer. Her decision to welcome me in during her healing process is one I will cherish, her openness and willingness to bare her mastectomy scar in her sacred tipi sends waves of gratitude through me.
