All of these drawings are inspired by sounds. For as long as I can remember, I’d be laying down to fall asleep and then suddenly startled by what felt like the lights flashing on for just a second. I remember always being confused about whether it was a sound or a light that had surprised me. It was a strange, disorienting experience that I never thought that much about until 8 years ago. 

I was having trouble falling asleep, tossing, and turning. This was not uncommon at the time, going through health problems and trying to break myself of the need for complete darkness to sleep. My entire life I had devised all kinds of contraptions to block out any light, no matter how minute. However, in our new apartment, there was no way to obsessively blackout all light sources, with its 15 foot windows and only shades for coverings. And for those of you thinking I should just get an eye mask, I’ve tried them and never could get used to it, so back to tossing and turning. 

I went to turn over again and as I did my whole being was inundated with an almost deafening sound accompanied by the most amazing blue and purple swirling patterns that filled my visual field. By the time I was almost comfortably on my opposite side, my brain had finally determined what was going on and the sound became what it really was as the patterns slowly faded. What the sound actually was, was the very gentle sound of my nail running along the blanket as I turned. 

Not long after, I mentioned this experience to a friend who suggested maybe it was Synesthesia. Through my google searches, the closest I’ve found to my experience is described as Hypnagogic or Auditory-Visual Synesthesia. The more aware I’ve become, the more clearly I can see the patterns. However, it only happens if I’m in a relaxed state with my eyes closed, so falling asleep or meditating, and there is an unexpected noise. They are usually just a quick flash of a black and white pattern. But I’ve found while meditating, longer sounds create patterns with motion and occasionally color, which has been really fun to experience. These are my interpretations of some of those experiences.