California is the mecca of dream work in this country, with pockets of interest in Virginia and other areas.

In Pittsburgh, it's been a harder sell.

Cynthia Pearson of Point Breeze, board of trustees secretary for the international Association for the Study of Dreams, has hosted a dream workshop for the public since 1995. These days, a handful of devotees meet twice monthly in the small library of the Friends Meeting House in Oakland. Among them are an artist, a lawyer with Duquesne Light, a retired dancer and a technical writer.

"When I first started, a lot of people came," said Pearson, 56, a friendly woman with an easy laugh who approaches dreams with a wide-eyed enthusiasm.

"I think a lot of people were hoping that somebody would tell them what their dreams mean. But they saw that you do have to work. There's not like a magic to it."

During the two-hour sessions, participants take turns describing one of their dreams. The others ask questions: What color was the object? How big? How did you feel during the dream? Next, they each give an interpretation, careful to lead with the preface: "If this were my dream...." Then, with insight gleaned from the group, the dreamer tries to explain what it means and how it can apply to his waking life.

Nancy Brooks, 52, a dream educator who lives in Forest Hills, has tried to earn a living here for 10 years leading dream workshops, teaching, making school presentations and working with at-risk children on how they can use their dreams to resolve problems.

"It's tough here," she says. "One of the things I've had to adjust to and to accept is that many people aren't ready for this in the magnitude that dreams would work for them if they would only allow them to."

To build interest in dreams, Pearson is organizing a regional conference of the association in Pittsburgh Nov. 19-21 next year on "Dreams, Art and Healing.'' It will be held at the Society for Contemporary Craft in the Strip District during the run of a special exhibit, "Perchance to Dream."

Along with events on art-related dreams, the conference will feature Patricia Garfield, author of the best-selling "Creative Dreaming," who will conduct a workshop for continuing education credits on dreams and bereavement. This will be held in association with the Good Grief Center for Bereavement Support in Homestead.

Prospective volunteers and participants can log onto dreamjournalist.com for conference news and updates.

The related art exhibit will feature three-dimensional projects of glass, clay, metal, fiber and wood that are inspired by dreams. It will run from Sept. 10, 2004 to Jan. 15, 2005.

Those interested in submitting work should send a brief letter/artist statement explaining how the work relates to dreams; resume; slides or images to Kate Lydon, assistant director, Society for Contemporary Craft, 2100 Smallman St., Pittsburgh, PA 15222 or e-mail to exhibitions@contemporarycraft.org.