CONGRATULATIONS!
1st Place Winner-
Hazal Orhon- Wandering Karabasan II
DREAM
As a child, I experienced frequent sleep paralysis, known in Turkish as “karabasan,” often perceived as a dark, entity-like presence. One day, I was told that when “karabasan” do not visit children’s dreams, they wander in the forest. After this, the episodes stopped, but I began dreaming of karabasan wandering in the forest instead.
When these dreams continued into adulthood, I went into the forest to create self-portraits, embodying this presence. Through this process, the dreams ceased.
This series reflects those wandering karabasan and what remained.
2nd Place Winner-
Denise Kester- Earth Girl Intertwined
DREAM
Two women artists have come to talk to me about my art. We are looking over my artwork, paintings and prints. I notice a little viewing machine. I look in and I see an old painting of mine.
It is a painting of myself. I have a cedar tree going up my body like a spinal cord. The tree is part of my body with limbs going out. The branches are also going up and out of my head. I have brown hair. Branches go down the trunk to roots coming down from my body into the ground.
3rd Place Winner-
Scott Venners- A Healing Dream
DREAM
I heard a cat crying in distress and stepped onto a terrace to see my cat stranded on a second-story windowsill. It moved down the wall effortlessly, like an insect, and halfway down transformed into a sickly goat with distended teeth, mangy fur, and foam at its mouth. As it approached, I felt fear and compassion at once. Then a strong goat rushed in and placed itself between us, protective and watchful. I telepathically communicated that I wanted the sickly goat to come closer. The strong goat’s expression seemed to say: “OK, I’ll follow your wishes. But are you sure?”