What does it mean to be a creative visionary?

I just returned to Santa Fe from teaching a four day workshop called “Engaging The Creative Visionary- The Unplanned Painting” at The Center for the Arts in Jackson Hole Wyoming.  It was a majestic drive traversing through the red rocks of New Mexico into Chama- hitting hot springs all through Colorado – then ascending into peaks and valleys through the Flaming Gorge in Utah,settling into the masculine towering energy of The Grand Tetons.

This was my second time to The Art Association. Over the last sixteen years I have slowly and organically witnessed my teaching strategies change and this past week a leap was made. I believe this is largely due to a shift in humanity. We are as a whole quickly evolving. Twelve years ago I was seen as a bit unusual in the art center classroom for bringing up breathing and meditation techniques. Now participants in these same centers and classes just cannot seem to get enough of it. We seem to be more readily wanting authentic experiences that bring us closer to our deepest inner desires. Compromises in this arena are less tolerated and people are open to change. Our awareness is slightly altered when we take time to connect to the deep crevices that is ourselves and engage with our right brain. I believe creating is one of the fastest way’s to bring us in touch with our deepest creative visionary potentials. Have it be through music, writing, poetry or making art. More and more people are beginning to think outside the box of mainstream media and what their families and culture told them to be true. We are seeking our own truth. Many have lived this way all along, some of us just need a little more of a gentle push into the trust of our intentions syncing in with our intuition and imagination.

While teaching or making art, showing  up for a painting is not that different than showing up for life. We can process through the anger, light hearted fun, sadness and joy all in a single painting. As a painter and mixed media artist  I know the value of learning a variety of techniques and tricks to put in your back pocket in art making practices. It’s important for engaging fresh approaches to an already existing practice and quite fun for those new to art making.

But some of the deep questions I reflect on in making art is- why do we have an urge to create in the first place, and where does our unique narration begin to move from pure process to a sophistication in our finished paintings?

When we do touch upon symbols and deep messages that emerge from our psych, often our reaction can be quite surprising and overwhelming- we are entering uncharted waters. We may only allow ourselves to go so far. The water may be too cold and too deep to actually spend any time there. When we do a visual narration begins to birth itself- you begin a dialogue with soul.

I use to think that I needed to choose between being an art therapist and teaching critical thinking or high art and the engagement of techniques to get there. It was not occurring to me that a delicate balance of structure and release was emerging in the classrooms that can actually benefit the artist and workshop participant into truly easing into our creative authentic visions with an accuracy that includes a balance between surrender and critical thinking.

My teaching style is not just what the genre of art therapy does in setting out to create a safe environment where deep emotions, experiences and trauma can be explored through art making. I also give gentle instruction in how to discern a painting.  How does line, shape, composition play a part in bringing a process to a completion.

It’s an invitation towards a deep investigation to explore what it means to be your own creative visionary. Our visual narratives are our own.
So a classroom workshop is set up to give instruction- technical assistance through a variety of mediums - then to let go and forget. Then back again as a give and take process. Structure and release.

The creative visionary asks of us to go a step further beyond process for process sake.

While we dive into our true selves we search out like-minded others. We are not here on this planet to do it alone anymore- we are here to bring others along on the creative challenge to be fully ourselves, to dream together in a new and different way. New way’s of living our being born from this- and this is creative visioning.