They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.

-Edgar Allan Poe

Just how do you create imagined worlds when you live in the “real” one? The first requirement is to feel comfortable with turning off your intellectual mind for a while and allowing yourself to be transported to other domains – extensions of yourself.

My starting point when I create imagined, fantastical worlds in my writing and in my art, is a sense of wonder. It is an exhilarating feeling and if I, myself, do not experience, instinctively, an oh my! or oh wow! reaction, I can’t expect others to. Creating fantasy starts within you and is then amplified by your desire to explore your own, unique spheres of possibilities.

These imagined worlds do need to be rooted in reality however wondrously fantastical they might be – and have a logic to them. Then, both you and your audience will feel right at home in this totally unfamiliar, make-believe world. Without logic, what you have created would simply be bizarre.

I love creating and painting fantasy because it gives me so many aha moments. I find that delving into my imagination is not only tremendously nourishing and exhilarating for me, but often, it happens to be the best form for a particular story that I wish to tell. Furthermore, through fantasy, I can explore human characteristics and foibles with ultimate freedom. I recognize aspects of myself and of others in my characters.

Through fantasy, I can also explore the state of our world today by examining and amplifying  a make-believe parallel world and reaching a “truth” which I might not have been able to demonstrate or to which I might not have been able to allude as freely with non-fiction. A Glimpse of Possibility is very often my point of departure for my books and for my art … and for exploring and sharing my thoughts.

Each genre in which I write, has its own requirements. In my non-fiction book, HAVE YOU EVER HAD A HUNCH? The Importance of Creative Thinking, I created questions and reflections about the significance of creativity in our lives. The subject matter was based on personal philosophies, teaching courses I have conducted, experiences, and on research.  In THE WORLD OF GLIMPSE  the fantastical characters and settings, appeared as a result of imagination and reflections about life and the world around us.

So, creating fantasy started with an eager sojourn into alternate landscapes (while simultaneously, having one foot firmly planted into my world of “reality”) to which I could return any time… even while I imagined…

Lunaberry Street, and

The Moth Boutique.

The Encyclopediary – the repository for

Justgimious’ ONE THOUSAND FACTS –

indelibly leaded by Pencilpal Fred-in-sparkling-red,

into its cavernous foundations.

The Point-of-View and

The Nuse – a teashop where Glimpsibles

muse while digesting the news –

taking each word with a pinch-or-sip-of Lunaberry Tea.

Every morning,

Precisely on the dot of turquoise,

I woke up and began to imagine

more…