Dreamcatchers

Chippewa Tribe

Dreamcatchers• Traditional to the Chippewa Tribe

– When seen in other native cultures, it is more of a “pop-culture” item for sale in native gift shops

– Traditionally made using red willow and sinew (animal tendon/ligament that connects muscle to bone or bone to bone)

• Charm to protect sleeping children from nightmares• Nightmares get caught in the web• Today’s native cultures view dreamcatchers in different ways:

– Loving tradition– Native unity– Tacky symbol of culture

Chippewa Dreamcatcher

Chippewa Dreamcatcher

Assignment• There is such creativity in the idea of using a metaphorical

web to catch nightmares and protect sleeping children• Create your own metaphor for “catching” nightmares OR

CREATING DREAMS! • Do NOT use the metaphor of a spider web or anything

similar!• Make a unique connection between something familiar and

the ability to protect children • Then, design a work of art that communicates how your

metaphor works to keep children safe from their bad dreams

Assignment Continued• Think about what kind of nightmares you wish you could avoid• Think about what kind of nightmares ANYONE might wish to avoid• Think about what kinds of things keep your thoughts and dreams

positive (sometimes just being positive helps keep the negativity away)

• Think about how to use this imagery in your artwork• Think about how to use contradictory imagery in your artwork as

well if your metaphor calls for it (imagery from GOOD dreams to drown out the bad ones)

• You can design your own mythological dream-maker or nightmare-preventer!

Assignment Continued

• This can either be a 2D or 3D piece• 2D: Graphite, colored pencil, marker, paint• 3D: Recycled materials and/or found objects– If you choose to create a 3D piece, think about what

materials might communicate on their own before incorporating them into a sculpture

– i.e. All found objects and recycled materials have “baggage;” they remind us of their original purpose…it will be your job to give them a new purpose or to use them to communicate a specific idea.

Dreams: Greek Mythology

• Morpheus: God of dreams– Winged creature: was given wings to reach people who

needed help in their dreams– Had many many siblings (each sibling was responsible

for a specific kind of dream…realistic, exaggerated, etc.)– Communicated the messages of the gods to humans

during sleep– Can take the form of any human in dreams– “In the arms of Morpheus” = sound sleep– His father was Hypnos, God of Sleep

Hypnos/Morpheus

Chinese and Japanese Folklore

• Baku: supernatural beings that devour dreams and nightmares

• Originated in Chinese lore • Currently associated with

Japanese lore• Chinese mythical chimera with

elephant trunk, rhinoceros eyes, ox tail, and tiger paws

Baku by Katsushika Hokusai

The Sandman

• Central and Northern European folklore• Sprinkles sand or dust into the eyes of children

to bring sleep and dreams• The grit/sleep in eyes upon waking is said to

be the work of the Sandman• Hans Christian Anderson’s 1841 folktale: Ole

Lukøje (Danish name meaning “Close Eye”)

The Sandman

The Sandman

The Sandman

Pop Culture Dream Mythology• The Big Friendly Giant (Roald Dahl)

– The BFG catches dreams (which manifest themselves in Dream Country as floating semi-fluid sparkler-like objects) and at night, he sends his bottled dreams into the bedrooms of children

Pop Culture Dream Mythology

• Wizard of oz• Concussion-induced

dream that altered Dorothy’s real life into fantastical characters

• Although most of the research on dreams is inconclusive, some researchers believe our dreams are abstractions of our real lives

Pop Culture Dream Mythology

• The Dream Giver (student film)

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