Many artists, writers, musicians, poets and other creatives have begun to utilize meditation, hypnosis, and guided imagery to enhance their creative process. I remember a presentation given by an art professor at an Art and Creativity conference around 1999. He had begun adding hypnosis and guided imagery to his college drawing classes. He shared before and after photos of his students drawings. I was astounded at the differences. Students began using more vivid colors and contrast. Their images were larger and more striking. In addition the drawing techniques were noticeably advanced from typical first year students. The presenter reported moving through class material much faster and the students were absorbing and integrating more content at a quicker rate. Since I was creating an art retreat at the time, this got me excited. Maybe there was a way to incorporate hypnosis into our classes for added enhancement.

As a psychotherapist, I had received my hypnosis training in the eighties and had utilized the techniques with great success in my trauma recovery practice. To use any type of meditation or guided imagery, it was a requirement in my Florida psychotherapy practice. I had also found it useful for my own personal developed. I had finally quite smoking. I had developed some healthier habits and began routing out blocks to improvement. Why not incorporate guided imagery into our art retreat curriculum?

I began experiment by playing around with idea. My co-creator in the art retreat was willing to be a Guinea pig. I began doing sessions for the two of us. We were hooked. I began utilizing guided imagery in all of our classes, but we also had one class geared toward utilizing Guided Imagery for expanding inspiration and creative skills, improving focus and motivation, and deepening our ability to see the color, form, and light more fully.

I would start out the class teaching drawing basics emphasizing the importance of following these academics. Earlier students had gathered materials to create a still life to draw from. I would set a timer and then instruct them to paint their still life. A second piece of paper was provided. This time, I would take them on a guided imagery journey filled with sights, smells, sounds, color and light. Feeling into these senses and the emotions that were stirred. Timer was set for an equal amount to the first painting with instructions to paint their still life once again.

The second paintings were filling up entire canvases where first ones were tiny. Almost like they were afraid to be seen. Colors were more vibrant, paintings were more interesting and representative of the subject. Although there was no emphasis on technique in the guided imagery, second paintings seemed to be done in more advanced skill. This did not seem to matter whether they were beginners intermediate or advanced artist or they were just computer people wanting to shift their brain to be better in their own job.

Spring of 2023, I plan to add guided imagery recordings for all creatives to connect with their muse and gain inspiration. If you are interested in seeing if it will give your own creative practice a boost, please consider subscribing to my Substack Newsletter, From Paws to Prose News. Just click below to subscribe.