Paper mache, acrylics, hand stitched wool/rayon felt and mixed media embellishments, 18 1/2" x 14"

Boats, of course, are vehicles that take us from one place to another, traveling via waterways. Symbolically, in the inner landscape, they transport us to other realms: to the source of our dreams, into unknown dimensions, to the realm of our ancestors, to the Otherworld, wherever that might be.

I was inspired to create this piece after seeing a photo of an old sculpture depicting an ancient Egyptian pleasure barge. I found the sculpture deeply moving, and felt as if I were about to step onto that boat which would then transport me back to some new and unknown place.

Dreams, as well as art, both have a mind of their own, and soon my boat was taking me where it wanted to go, never mind what my sketch said it needed to be.

Once I had put my passengers inside the boat, the top of the mast demanded to have the moon as a guide. Then came the sail, on whose center I embroidered a labyrinth of sorts, indicating the winding ways the consciousness tends to travel. Then the stairs at lower right, which take us either up or down: down into the basement of the psyche, or up to a place where the bigger picture emerges, becoming clear.

Both fish and birds are guides, one taking us down into the waters of the unconscious, the other up to the realms of the soul. And the key I put in the left side corner of the sail is meant to open doors to new knowledge, perhaps even to wisdom.