"Our imagination is the most important faculty we possess....
it is the deepest voice of the soul and can be heard clearly
only through cultivation and careful attention.
A relationship with our imagination is a relationship
with our deepest self."
- Pat B. Allen, "Art is A Way of Knowing"
Process Painting is a powerful way to cultivate imagination and bring us into relationship with the deepest part of ourselves. When we dare to create we drop our insane rushing and mind chatter and instead experience being at home with ourselves. The transformation that happens when we touch our home base, our essential self, is truly extraordinary. An expansiveness is felt inside and an aliveness that says YES to life.
We come to recognize and embrace the ability we have to sense and act directly without thought and the pull of our ego. Our creativity is quieter than the loud shouts of our reactions and opinions, likes and dislikes. It has an intelligence that can guide us. This way of sensing is always available if we remain present, in the moment, alert.
With Process Painting we are not given any instruction on how to paint. There are brushes, colorful pots of paints and large pieces of white paper in the studio. There is no goal to reach, no "shoulds" or "have tos". We are not trying to paint something beautiful or meaningful. We are simply painting: painting from our own imagination, taking risks, inventing, following our own feelings and energy, expressing authentically.
The facilitator's job is to support painters when they are stuck. "Stuckness" often happens when we identify with the inner critic, or the one who wants something from the painting, or the one who tries to control or protect the painting or the one who doesn’t know what to do next.
All levels of art experience are welcome, including beginners, professional artists and people who think they “aren’t creative”. The atmosphere in the studio is safe and accepting; paintings are not critiqued or interpreted. Painters agree from the outset not to make any comments on one another's paintings. Classes are designed to assist painters in opening to their unique creative energy, to access authentic imagery and expression and to facilitate healing and well being.
