“Go forth from me a virgin…” Visions of Dolly
A few months ago, Dolly Parton came to me in a dream and yesterday we lost more than a legend.
August 25th, 2026, a day that smothered like a heavy dark mass. I reflected, like so many of us did, on the otherworldly transcendence of Dolly Parton. We lost a dear friend who, for most of us, has sat shotgun the entire ride. It hurts.
As a designer and an artist, I keep looking for how she might have influenced my work, and I can't find her mark anywhere. Apart from the time in the mid 80s when I directed my little sister to stuff a pillow under her shirt and put a doily on her head while I recorded her on our early VHS Magnavox, lip-syncing "I Will Always Love You." She was quite adept at lip-syncing. For both of our sakes, I hope it never resurfaces.
:”Behind the Seams” a christmas gift from my partner Jeffrey.
For me she was a North Star in a complicated world where I find myself wary of having any human idols. But if I did, Madonna would be the Iconoclast, the fire stealer; Tori Amos the Oracle, the Orpheus; and Dolly Parton the benevolent one, the Hermes who everybody loves. Of the three, she is the one I can't stop thinking about today.
But last night, exhausted and making comfort food to soothe my soul, I remembered that a few months ago Dolly came to me in a wild, vivid dream. Recording my dreams has become a bit of a hobby. They are so clear and sometimes terrifying, but they are nothing short of miraculous, and often they find their way into my work.
Below is the text of that dream, which I quickly dictated into my notes app, which is why some of it is hard to understand.
Oct 16, 2025, 6:38 AM
"Dolly Parton is in my dreams last night. She's in her trailer with this gigantic sewing machine that had an option resser (presser?) foot. I get the impression it's hard for her to slow down. She is studding her shoes for the shows and at some point she's having a lot of trouble and the girls (her handlers) fix it at one point we are all gathered around her she pull me aside starting to slip on 1860s floral brocade and leather lace up boots that she got on very easily (I remember it gliding on quickly) with cover passes pia asses (???) went down and she had told me some very wise stuff, including that I should "Go forth from me a virgin and have presence in your veins", and then she lit a bush of sage"
Needless to say, I had a fantastic day. Those words have stuck with me. "Go forth from me a virgin and have presence in your veins." My interpretation: see the world as a child, and know that this moment is all we have.
I got to meet Dolly that night in my sleep.
That direction has found its way into a few of my works. I was hoping to land it in the joint 21C Hotels show that Heather Bennett and I have up right now, but alas, it was cut at the last minute in editing.
Dolly was my North Star for leaving the world better than you found it. People are flawed, but Dolly's flaws seemed few. In a world that feels so depraved, so greedy, so full of hate, it's crushing to lose your guiding light. But we have her words. We have her music, her laughter, her pranks. Her generosity and thoughtfulness will keep surprising us in ways we can't predict.
We even have one more song, that we know of. Locked away in a chestnut box at Dollywood is a song she recorded in 2015. On her 100th birthday, January 19th, 2046, we will open her box, aptly named the "Dream Box," a box named for dreams. Of course she left us that.
You're crying I'm not crying.
So I did find her mark, in my veins, stitched on cloth, embroidered on silk.
One can only hope she has a few more mystic visions left to impart on me. Knowing Dolly, she does. 🦋
“Go forth a virgin and have presence in your veins” Embroidered handknit deadstock elastic and wool sleeveless pullover.