Seeing things...
So I'm curious if I'm a freak or if this is just my inner artist trying to break through. Or possibly if I just took to much acid in my early 20's...
Before this begins to sound like I'm trying to tell everyone that I hallucinate or something, what I'm curious of is how many people, if anyone, tend to get ideas by looking at different surfaces and sort of... seeing things in them. Everyone's heard of watching the clouds pass and recognizing shapes and things... but I will sometimes find myself laying in bed staring at the popcorn ceiling and without much effort, I can start to make out something in a particular spot... could be anything but frequently are faces or monsters perhaps... as detailed as having any range of expressions and more-so the longer I let my mind wander.
So am I a freak or is there kin to my madness among the polycounters?
Before this begins to sound like I'm trying to tell everyone that I hallucinate or something, what I'm curious of is how many people, if anyone, tend to get ideas by looking at different surfaces and sort of... seeing things in them. Everyone's heard of watching the clouds pass and recognizing shapes and things... but I will sometimes find myself laying in bed staring at the popcorn ceiling and without much effort, I can start to make out something in a particular spot... could be anything but frequently are faces or monsters perhaps... as detailed as having any range of expressions and more-so the longer I let my mind wander.
So am I a freak or is there kin to my madness among the polycounters?
Replies
I once thought that a random splotch of rust in the bend of the toilet looked like an orthodox christian icon. I could see the stylish face, the cloak, even the halo around the head. Weird stuff.
ive just met a girl who admitted she is not only able to see stuff manifest in front of her (all a projection of the mind, of course) but can push it to the point where she completely cannot see the real world. and no, she's not a hippi
I don't condone it's use (overdid it a bit as I alluded to in my first post)... but I could only manipulate my vision that much on LSD.
What kills me is that I can't take a perfect snap shot of exactly what I'm seeing at the moment. I (don't laugh) don't have a phone with a decent enough camera and when I have tried to use what I've got and look at... it's hard to recreate the same sort of experience. The depth (if there is any) of the texture seems to be what really makes the "image" "come to life."
Anyway, I see faces in them... like ALL the time. I just attribute it to my overactive imagination :P But usually it's faces, or sometimes full bodies, sometimes in action poses even... sometimes even animals. Good times.
But this certainly isn't unheard of... ever hear about that grilled cheese sandwich that a crazy American lady thought was the image of Jesus? Yeah, I see stuff like that, but without the crazy religious additions. Cause, if it was on a grilled cheese... I would still eat it...
I was getting ready for bed and turned off all the lights and was heading through the door to the bedroom. I turned around to see if i had forgotten anything and at that point i could swear i saw a dim glowing head with neck and shoulders going past me at hip/knee level very close to me.
It wasn't as much scary as it was "holy f'n balls on a wall, did i actually see that?". I dunno if i did but I certainly thought so, I stood there dumbfounded for a few minutes until the girlfriend wondered what i was doing.
I don't think i saw anything like that though. Just the brain making shit up from the odd info it got.
I find that when sketching out designs, just drawing weird doodles and lines and overlapping patterns can result in me "finding" ideas in the lines that I never even considered before, and just creating something totally new from a mess of randomness.
Its this sort of thing that makes me doubt all the weird things people say they see.
You could have sold it on ebay. That Holy Potato made a couple of bucks if I recall correctly.
As someone who's been fighting insomnia (guess caffeine and nicotine doesn't help me all that much
Waking up every half an hour wears you out rather quickly and after a couple of days, your brain starts acting really funny. Unfortunately, it's nothing really interesting; inability to estimate the size of your surroundings, constant alertness and imagination running wild (and it never goes into the erotic field). I bet everyone here was at least once in such state, especially during LONG gaming sessions :poly142:
But it gets weirder when you start hearing things; since your brain remains very active during the night it tends to pick up every single noise and interprets them in some really bizzare ways. It's the worst during windy nights; if you get yourself into such state I guarantee you will "hear" some random whispers. Fucking creepy.
My parents used to get angry when I was leaving light on for the whole night... but when you start hearing whispers and have life sized Bunraku puppet hanging on your wall, there's no way you would be sitting alone in the dark. :poly142:
No, I am not insane
But yeah, pareidolia is pretty much normal.
But what is frustrating, is sometimes I'll see a pretty cool image there it'll spark my brain up and the image in my brain is never as good as what I can eventually recreate on paper/screen etc. :poly124:
THIS is a key exercise every artist should practice regularly or start their drawing sessions off with. Keep it loose, keep it simple, and don't think.
as for the OP, you're not crazy... i see dead people.
Ah... there's a name. Well, now I really don't feel quite so strange. Interesting though, how often it's facial... I hadn't put 2 and 2 together with that but sure enough, it's very frequently faces.
As long as I can remember, I've experienced the same thing you're describing, in clouds, tile, granite, wood grain, etc. Usually, I see skulls.
I also naturally think in terms of comicbook panels, for some reason.
For everything.
Everything.
With my eyes!
In general I've always had the ability to look at detailed surfaces or images and make out weird things. Not sure if art stimulated it, or having a hyperactive imagination stimulated the art, or if it's two halves of the same coin, but that's how it is. Nowadays I'll often get inspiration for something by looking at artwork and bringing out shapes and images that are completely outside of the scope of the work in question.
On the downside, this rush to pick out images where there are none resulted in me spending my childhood looking at the impressionist sunflower painting in the kitchen and seeing a punch-drunk rat with boxing gloves on. It was a pretty convincing image too.
lol
Man...the hell with you, I was reading this thread seriously until I burst out laughing after reading yours.