Dream series, the Beginning (The House on the Hill) - from Cheryl Penn

[Marie Wintzer]

During the last months we have seen some of Cheryl's Dreams resurface. Most of them were wintery Nightmares, inhabited by blinded Pigs, haunted by Monsters of all kinds. This recent series is a continuation of it, but also a new start. We are clearly slipping into a warmer and less tormented season. Without ever leaving the Fantasy behind, of course...

 

Somewhere in the outskirts of Glen Anil, Durban, there is a House on the Hill. The House really does exist. It is hidden by bushes, by trees, nobody knows who is living there. It didn't take long for Cheryl to populate it with Imaginary Characters, adding her own layer to the mystery of the place, and making it a perfect start to a new mail art series.

 

Windows and Curtains. Someone once said "You and your room with a view! You can look out. But who's looking in?". I believe the answer is here in this very piece. People do (try to) look in, even through Curtains. And is this even a Dream in the first place? Not sure. Dream or not, I really like the way House and Window are used in this piece. Windows are the bridge between inside and out, between the soul and the outer world. Mountains of symbolism to be found there. I think I would like to quote a poem by Cavaffy, because it describes very well some of the dilemmas we might have with our Windows:

The Windows
In these darkened rooms, where
I spend oppressive days,
I pace to and fro to find the windows.
When a window opens, it will be a consolation.
But the windows cannot be found, or I cannot find them.
And maybe it is best that I do not find them.
Maybe the light will be a new tyranny.
Who knows what new things it will reveal?

 

Through the Curtains of this Window, our mind has drawn a furtive silhouette. Someone is in the House, about to find out. This is where the actual Dream unfolds. And this is where I can see an immense gap between a true artist (painter) and the rest of us (I am mostly speaking for myself). To achieve that kind of light, the suggestion of curtains (stencil with real curtains?), the depiction of the scene happening inside the house and seen from outside, you need to be Cheryl Penn :-))
I have first hand information that more Dreams are on their way to Wakoshi. Are we going to find out a bit more about what happened in that House? Are we going to plunge deeper into the mystery of the story? Quite frankly, I can't wait!

 

[Marie Wintzer]

He is FINISHED. That sentence haunted my night, I have to say.

[Marie Wintzer]

The sun is shining on a new day in traffic control island. Thanks for your comments everyone, really happy you like this piece!

Let's see how long it takes for Dw to go from curtains to shoes.

 

[De Villo Sloan]

What's behind those shades punk monkey?

[De Villo Sloan]

Windows! Dw, you're a pane and sill-y.

 

PS: Now I know who stole my only copy of "The Defenestration of Prague"

[De Villo Sloan]

Defenestration! It's curtains for you!

[De Villo Sloan]

I'm not finished yet. This piece has given me a new appreciation of your work. When Cherry Blossom comes back for traffic control, I have more things to say. You know Dw follows me like the plague, and we would not want this to become a critique of your shoes.

[cheryl penn]

AAAH! THe LitBoss - FAB summary DVS - masterful yourself!  :-) XX

[De Villo Sloan]

This is like cracking open a new mystery thriller. Marie's commentary is a very helpful and completely reliable skeleton key when the book happens to be written in vispo. Great Cavaffy quote. I am going to be coming back to this many times. It's not a quick read.

 

As Marie suggests, Cheryl seems to have tuned her radar to voyeurism, paranoia, and moments of claustrophobia and agoraphobia. Like Poe, Kafka, and David Chirot having a picnic lunch in a meadow on the most brilliant of spring days. Everything makes sense except the weather, so no one trusts it. A huge presence and absence theme.

 

And I'm with Marie that the last scan (just above) is masterful. It's not cerealism. But it might be surrealism.

[cheryl penn]

EEK! Looks I'll have to make a run on these for all of you :-) XX

[Nancy Bell Scott]

Agreeing with everybody, this is a great one. Great piece, great story, great blog, great poem. The fabric and colors are extra beauteous.