To Sleep, Perchance To Dream: Artist finds solace in moments of nighttime solitude

If you love a homegrown story that takes you back to your Arkansas childhood, you probably already know the voice of Sandra Spotts.

"I have written for my own pleasure since childhood, but began writing stories [to share] when my father died at age 94," Spotts begins her tale. "He told us bedtime stories about what he knew -- his growing-up years in Lawrence County, Arkansas. I cherish those stories today and wanted to tell my stories about growing up with him."

That's how Spotts -- who has appeared on the National Public Radio program "Tales From the South" -- came up with "Homegrown Tales," a live storytelling evening that started in the fall of 2019 at Brews in Eureka Springs. It filled the coffee house, was recorded for broadcast on a local radio station and was a big hit with her co-host, artist and author Zeek Taylor, and guests as well known as food guru Crescent Dragonwagon.

And then came the pandemic. And Spotts found herself returning to her first love -- the visual arts -- and her lifelong refuge of sleep and dreams. Those aspects of her life came together for "REM: An Exploration of Sleep and Dreams," her first solo show of 14 abstract expressionist acrylic and mixed media paintings on exhibit through May 31 at Gotahold Brewing in Eureka Springs.

Spotts says her love of writing and storytelling influences her mixed media painting style, in which she often incorporates fragments of letters, books and other found objects and original prose.

"The first art that I remember being fascinated by was Art Nouveau illustrations in an old book of fairy tales that had been left behind by the former owners of our home in Little Rock," she remembers. "At a very early age, I recognized the intricacies and the elegance of those drawings.

"My artistic journey started in second grade when I found myself surrounded by classmates wanting me to draw a version of my 'fancy lady' for them. The attention was heady stuff for a very shy 6-year-old! I never looked back."

Spotts says she has always been drawn to texture, and mixed media -- acrylic paint, graphite, paint pens -- with found objects provides the format to experiment with that.

"In college and beyond, I combined painting and drawing with graphite," she explains. "I always loved three-dimensional work and was encouraged by a friend who was a weaver to try it. I did on- and off-loom weaving for years and then experimented with other fiber arts such as handmade paper making and nonfunctional sculptural basketry."

Of course, real life altered Spotts' trajectory for awhile -- but it didn't take her off course, she says.

"The practicalities of raising a family pulled me toward teaching art in junior high and elementary school, which I did for a number of years," she says. "I realized I would prefer to be the artist rather than the teacher, so I followed with a position as a project designer for a craft book publishing company. I later had a home decor shop from which I did interior decorating. I've never veered far away from art-related jobs."

Having moved to Eureka Springs from Little Rock, Spotts found herself weathering the covid storm in a tried and true manner.

"I have always considered sleep a refuge and a healing agent," she says, "[and] during covid-19, I have sought that refuge more. I have always valued my visually rich dream life. For me, doves represent the peaceful place where sleep takes us, and the circles are the cycles of sleep -- and life. The mostly quiet color palette for me feels like the enveloping nature of sleep when we go to those quiet and dark places within us.

"I hope the audience takes away an appreciation of the solace and protection we are inherently provided to weather difficulties," she concludes. "A reward of a solo show are that only you are responsible for the look and feel of the show. The challenge of a solo show is the same! I like that I was able to create a theme and paint to that end, exploring several facets of that theme. That is gratifying because it is a real exploration.

"It is also my hope that [viewers] understand they don't have to understand my imagery and that they can interpret the works with their own symbolism."