Clare Rosean is a Chicago-based artist whose drawings are inspired by anxiety-inducing dream scenarios. Her work taps into the collective unconscious, illuminating the common but haunting dreamwork shared by people everywhere. Rosean, who received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2010 and her MFA from the University of Chicago in 2012, shows at the Zg Gallery and has work at the University of Illinois and various private collections.

For her Zócalo Sketchbook, Rosean has built elaborate, dream-like worlds populated by strange characters living strange lives. Please enjoy Rosean’s delicate pastel work paired with her stylized, graphic forms. In a starring role, we find a trio of root-limbed pansies that might be slightly sinister… or maybe just misunderstood due to their impeccably designed eyeshadow. A sun of hands shines upon the flower creatures. Meanwhile, a mysterious pollinator lends air support. At least that’s our interpretation. Do you see a completely different story? Let us know! And as we move through the month, consider how the artworks’ proximity to recently published Zócalo work changes your interpretation of each character.