This painting began as I was placing a short string of battery operated mini lights into a Kerr canning jar as a decorative touch for the Holidays. When I turned the lights on in the jar, I was struck by how they reminded me of lightening bugs that I caught on summer nights when I was a child and that my parents often referred to them as "dreams in a jar". I set up the jar and the lights as a still life and photographed it in minimal light. What drew my attention in the photograph was a faint glow of light that seemed to be escaping out into the darkness through the open top of the jar. This photograph is the basis for the colored pencil painting that I entitled "Free Your Dreams". We all have dreams. Free yours so they can soar to amazing heights! For those of you who might not have ever seen the magical glow of lightening bugs in a jar because of where you live, I hope that this piece allows you to better imagine what they might look like. The size of the artwork is 18 X 12 inches and was done on museum quality Grafix drafting film using Farber-Castell Polychromos pencils.