The taxi driver refused to go any further.
In the dream I was staying in a hotel on Spadina near College and wanted to go shopping further down towards Dundas, in the deep and winding medieval streets, but the driver turned the car around and let me out, saying “most people don’t want to go down there – it’s too dangerous”.
It was like one of those neighbourhoods in Mexico City – Colonia Doctores or Ciudad Neza way back when – where all taxi drivers refuse to enter, cause everyone knows anything could happen.
So I walked.
The streets were deserted, dark, until I got down near the very bottom, almost to the waterfront, where the sky was wide and the road opened up into a kind of rock quarry, reminiscent of Teotihuacan –
And still walking, I ventured into the rocks, strolling happily until I sensed movement in the steps and mounds of the quarry. And as I looked, these creatures took shape.
They were lions – stone lions.
They were living animals – their large bodies moving and rummaging about – but they were made of stone, the same stone of the the quarry.
At just the moment that it registered in my mind what I was seeing, the danger I was in, a large lion sensed me too, the hint of movement in his peripheral vision, and his head snapped up in a snarl.
Then the pounce, the running jump of the massive creature coming after me.
Suddenly I had a large plywood board in my hands which I lay underneath in a crevice in the rocks, pulling the board flat on top of me, effectively disappearing into the ground.
The lion lumbered heavily over me, not finding me, scrambling over and away, somewhere beyond where I lay hidden.
The fear was so real, the terror so palpable – one of those nightmares that wakes you up in a sweat, blinking in the dark of the bedroom.
The next morning I was out walking, and turning the corner to where the new second-hand bookstore is, the guy who sells old National Geographic magazines for a buck a piece, I noticed several had big spreads on lions.
I brought them home and began to draw.
When the dream is so vivid, so strong, and yet so cryptic, there is nothing for it but to spend more time with the imagery…
Grand Animal
follow your nose 
Gorgeous. No finer animal to capture.
Thanks John.
Even beyond the mane, I’ve been noticing how splendid their noses are – broad and straight and long…
Great animal to spend time with, exploring their details.
Excellent! reminded me of one of the Narnia books…The horse and his boy 🙂
Oh, The Horse and his Boy! I remember fragments – will have to look at that one again, we have it downstairs…
Thanks Amanda 🙂
Interesting dream, Kat. Your lions are exquisite. The third one looks like he’s winking at me 😉
Thanks Jeff! I needed to do a “grand” post just cause I knew you were waiting…but it took a while and well, it wasn’t really a photo post at all… 🙂
But you did have to take photos of your amazing lions in order to post them. Therefor, photo post.
See how I worked that 😉
I like your thinking!!
I’ve been known to really “reach” when it comes to the weekly photo challenge, so why not “reach” when it comes to how I see other’s. 🙂
I kind of like trying to do offbeat, unexpected things with the challenges – keeps it interesting… 🙂
Someday, I’ll have to share my face to (very close) face encounter with a male lion, in Africa. Still haunts me. I especially love your last painting and the smaller one on the left… that last one, gorgeous! Like you I dream so vividly… Some days, I find myself processing them all day.
So glad you like my lions, Dawn – I don’t think this little project is finished yet…
Looking forward to your face to face story!
xx K
Some day…..
Oooo! It got quite intense there for a moment! I love the Artistry! You have such a free flowing hand! And that lion trying to peer in at you busted me out laughing… Chilling story just the same! Great blog! I just gobbled it up!
Thanks so much for the visit, Spartacus!
Glad to have entertained you 🙂
Kat
Lions are a good omen, giving you strength, personal power and helping you through personal struggles as he can help show up any threatening situations….
Love your drawings. Very impressed with your creative art talent 🙂 xxx Love and Blessings Sue x
Thanks so much for your kind words, Sue!
It’s true, I forgot to read about lion symbolism…thanks for the reminder 🙂
“When the dream is so vivid, so strong, and yet so cryptic, there is nothing for it but to spend more time with the imagery…” bang on!
Thank you! Sometimes it seems to take months or even years to understand with the rational mind what a dream is about, so in the meantime…
Who/what is the lion in your life right now? Nice work.
Thanks FBG – I like the way you play the dream-guessing game 🙂
Beautiful images!
Your lines look inquisitive and playful.
Lions, not lines.
Dangnabbit.
I was gonna just correct your typo in the first comment and erase this one, but you said “dangnabbit” which is pretty irresistible …
Thanks so much Guap !
Your painting is beautiful. I love reading about people’s dreams or thinking about my own and trying to determine “what they mean.” If I were to go all psycho babble here I would think that the fact that the lions were made of the same material around you means that you are in a dangerous or threatening environment that does not always appear to be so…. OooOooo I should have my own 1-800 number like Miss Cleo.
Hey! You’re onto something, a dream call-in hotline…. I like it.
Thanks for stopping in Aussa, and for your fun comment 🙂
I’ve finally had a good idea, for once 😉
great drawing.s how wonderful to be inspired in one’s waking life by vivid dreams. I want to wish you the best in the coming new year. cheers.
Thanks so much, Mimi – wishing you the best for 2014 as well! Your blog is one of my faves, such an interesting range of topics…
So interesting. Your drawings are taking the shapes of the magnificent spirit of these creatures.
Thanks Karen. Drawing something is such a deep way to connect with it, I find…
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