By Cliff Bellamy

cbellamy@heraldsun.com; 419-6744

DURHAM -- MaryAnn Black, the head of community relations for Duke University Health System, has a dream for Durham. She wants Durham to embrace its diversity, and for Durham to become "one of the healthiest cities in the world physically, financially and spiritually."

Artist Eleatta Diver has interpreted that dream in a painting. Shades of blue -- Black's preferred color palette -- dominate the canvas. Three female figures represent physical, financial and spiritual health, and their arms are intertwined with flowing scarves to symbolize unity.

The painting is one of three that Eleatta has completed so far in a series titled "Durham Dreams." Eleatta, a Durham resident for six years, became a resident artist at Golden Belt about a year ago. "Little by little, I started finding out about Durham's transformation. ... I was fascinated by all the stories of transformation and commitment."

She wanted to pay tribute to the people who helped transform Durham. "How could I use my art to be a megaphone for these amazing stories?" She asked herself.

A committee of Durham residents chose 12 people for the series. A different dream interpretation will be unveiled each month during a monthly Third Friday event at Golden Belt, in Room 114, her studio. The series began in March and will continue through February. (The next Third Friday event will be June 18, from 6 to 9 p.m.) Each painting is accompanied by a photograph of the person, and a printed interview in which they articulate their dreams and visions for Durham.

Thus far in the "Durham Dreams" series, she has painted interpretations of dreams by Downtown Durham Inc. President Bill Kalkhof, Durham County Sheriff Worth Hill and Black, associate vice president for community relations for Duke University Health System.

The painting representing the dream of Bill Shore, director of U.S. Community Partnerships for GlaxoSmithKline, will be unveiled in June. Other leaders whose dreams will be interpreted are Krystin and Joel McCauley, co-owners of Relative-T; Pepper Fluke, a potter and arts activist; Ernie Mills, founder of the Durham Rescue Mission; Cora Cole-McFadden, Durham City Council member; Kelly Bryant, a civil rights leader; Taylor Mingos, founder and CEO of Shoeboxed; Evelyn Schmidt, chief medical officer for Lincoln Community Health Center; and Ivan Parra of Triangle Can.

Eleatta interviews each person. She asks them to articulate their dream, their favorite artist or artistic style, and their preferred color palette.

Kalkhoff's dream is "to see downtown Durham become a fun, thriving, prosperous walking community where people desire to come live, shop and play." He likes Impressionism and purples. Eleatta's painting is an image of Main Street looking east, with a bright horizon representing Durham's future.

Hill's dream is "to see the youth of Durham equipped to be able to make wise choices with their lives." Hill's favorite artist is the late Ernie Barnes, who was born in Durham, and he likes warm colors. In Eleatta's interpretation, a group of young people are in a car. Two signs bearing the word "Decisions" point in different directions. Before she finished the work, Eleatta said, she needed some words to put on the license plate of the car. A friend of her son's suggested the phrase "up to you," represented in this painting as UP2U.

The up close and personal interviews are important in the process, Eleatta said. "I don't think I could do it as easily if they'd sent me [their dreams] by e-mail."

She said that 12 paintings just scratches the surface, given the number of similar stories in Durham. "I can see me repeating this several times," Eleatta said.

When the series is completed, she would like to find a way to have "Durham Dreams" travel so more people can see all the paintings.

Visitors to her Golden Belt Studio have responded well. One man, Eleatta recalled, said of the series, "These are so encouraging, because everybody has a dream."