Rest and Begin Anew

We’ve taken another circle around the sun and here in Seattle, we’ve entered the Big Dark. Usually a time of gray and rain and the blues. But it can also be a time of renewal. As a friend reminded me when she posted a poem of mine that I’d forgotten about called “Sleep”. It got me looking through my collection of illustrations of books in art and wondering about images of reading and sleep. Who doesn’t remember falling asleep reading under the covers as a kid? Or that nap in the summer sun? Or dozing off as the book slips from your hands? And, among others, I found these.

Some suggest shelter and peace:

Illustration by Charle Vysotsky

Illustration by Berk Ozturk

Painting by Andrew Wyeth

Illustration by Eugeni Balakshin

Some link reading and sleep with dreams and other worlds:

Illustration de Vincent Desiderio

Illustration by Lucy Campbell

Illustration by Chris Van Allsburg

Illustration by Katia Wehner

Illustration by Valentin Gubareve

Mostly when I think of reading and sleep, I think cozy:

Illustration by Raja Nokkala

I hope your long winter’s nap is cozy, too. 

Here’s my poem about sleep. And starting a new circle around the sun.