"I began painting in 2002 in response to a dream. In the dream, I go to an oriental family’s house for a meal. After the meal, the man
who is a painter, suggests that we paint. He gets out paints, brushes, paper, canvas, etc. We start painting. I am painting on a very
large canvas. Either I have put globs of different colors of paint on the canvas or the globs of paint were already there. I begin by
taking a brush and just smearing the paint around. As I work I notice that a picture has emerged.  I look over and see what the other
man has painted. He has painted a stone tablet like one might see for the Ten Commandments. I think that he has painted Jesus
like coming out of the stone. I look closer and see that it is Moses. I am quite amazed at how it looks like Moses is coming right out
of the painting. I look at my picture and think that I need to bring out the figures in my painting." 

 It was like the process that I was using in the dream was instructing me on how I was to paint. So, following the dream, I begin by painting

several colors into a background. Then I stare into the background until I see something, and I develop whatever it is that I see. I might

stare into the canvas for several hours before suddenly I may see a nose, an eye, a part of an animal, a bird’s beak, etc. I then develop

that image and let the painting emerge. My painting has evolved to include images from dreams or images that I meet in meditation or on

a shamanic journey.

Sheldon lived in Bluffton from 1967 to 1988 and taught Spanish at Bluffton High School. Currently, he lives in Noblesville, with his wife, Betty.
He is a clinical social worker  for the Center for Mental Health in Elwood and has a private psychotherapy practice at Wellspring Counseling
in Indianapolis.

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