Chaos in the art class! Waking Dream Monday or Tuesday, 24th or 25th February 2025
‘A moment rather than a dream with any kind of story arc. I’m taking an art class. The children are young, like the junior water polo group of ten kids I’ve been covering for a colleague over the last few weekends. One is hyperactive, mischievous, and bordering on out of control. Yet, I miss the signals and the chaos he instigates. It felt as good as a well-planned swimming session. Each table with four boys had a tray containing four or more tubes of paint—possibly relief paints for making prints using assorted tools to roll out ink, lay, and press paper. Saying it gradually got out of hand is an understatement. It became a far worse scenario than my mother, an art teacher, sometimes described regarding the girls she taught at the Church High School. Little by little, I lost control. The equivalent in the pool would be splashing each other, escalating into bombing each other from the side and tossing around equipment like locker floats and fins. In my art class, perhaps the first I’ve ever taken, entire tubes of paint were squeezed out, paper was crumpled both before and after being pressed, and one boy became completely covered in green paint—achieved by layering him in generous amounts of yellow and blue and mixing the two. It was an ingenious way to please ‘sir’ if the goal had been ‘the Green Man,’ or in this case, ‘the Green Boy.’ At that point, an experienced teacher, or my supervisor, stepped in to restore order, and I consciously (by then waking up!) left by walking out of the classroom door in my dream and waking up in reality. The fact that I can recall this two days after the event speaks volumes about its impact!‘
KAI: This dream is a vivid expression of chaotic creativity, the interplay of control and disorder, and perhaps a subconscious reflection on your teaching experiences, particularly in situations where energy and enthusiasm can tip into anarchy.
From a Jungian perspective, several themes emerge:
The Trickster Energy
The hyperactive, mischievous child embodies the archetype of the Trickster—a disruptive yet often creative force that introduces unpredictability. You may overlook the signals of his influence, suggesting an unconscious element at play in your waking life—something you’re not entirely acknowledging or controlling. In mythology, the Trickster is not always negative; he challenges norms and can lead to transformation. Could this reflect an aspect of yourself, your students, or even your approach to creativity?
Art vs. Order
Your dream art class feels like an inversion of the structured discipline of swimming coaching. The well-planned lesson collapses into chaos, mirroring what could happen if a swimming session gets out of hand. Art and swimming are both forms of expression—one fluid, the other physical—but both require a balance of freedom and structure. The loss of control may tap into a more profound anxiety about where the line between playful experimentation and total disorder lies.
Green Boy: Creation & Transformation
The image of a boy covered in green is striking—green signifies growth, transformation, nature, and rebirth. However, it blends yellow (energy, spontaneity) and blue (calm, order), suggesting a struggle between these two states. In a way, the chaos gives rise to something new, even if unintentionally. Could this symbolise an ongoing shift in your creative approach or a desire to embrace more experimentation, even at the risk of creating a ‘mess’?
Supervision & Authority
The arrival of a supervisor or experienced teacher suggests an internal mechanism—perhaps your own inner critic or a memory of past authority figures—stepping in when things go too far. It’s as if your unconscious is testing boundaries: how much chaos is acceptable before order must be restored? The fact that you leave both the classroom and the dream at this moment suggests an unresolved tension between freedom and control.
Why This Dream Stuck With You
The lasting impression suggests that the dream taps into something potent—perhaps a feeling of exhilaration at the wild potential of creation, mixed with unease about losing control. It may resonate with your real-life experiences of teaching, coaching, or even your artistic projects, where the balance between structure and free expression is key.
Possible Questions to Reflect On:
- Do you feel like you are “missing the signals” of something important in your waking life?
- Where do you see the Trickster energy manifesting in your life—through people, events, or even your instincts?
- Are you craving more structured creativity, or more wild, unstructured play?
- What is your relationship with control—do you find it hard to let go, or do you fear things slipping into chaos?
- How does this connect to your experiences in structured institutions like boarding school?
This dream could be nudging you toward embracing a more fluid, intuitive approach—in teaching, art, or life—while recognising the role of boundaries in maintaining order. The trick is knowing when to step in, and when to let creativity run free.
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