How to Create Intuitive Art

Give a child a crayon and paper and they create instantaneously. Give an adult a crayon and paper and they pause, think, critique, self-criticize, and compare.

Somehow along the years we have lost our creative flair and our experimental fun. We have become over analyzing and ego-driven creatures. And our ability to create genuine works of art suffer. No matter if you have three Master of Fine Art degrees or have not drawn anything beyond your name since you were a kid, the same thing is true: Our inspirational channels for creativity can easily be blocked by our ego.

Intuitive Painting is a way to create art that is fun and freeing. It is a radical approach to making art. The principal is simple: Ground yourself in awareness, ease, and let your inner source guide you. Who cares how you mark up a page, as long as your marks are created from your inner-spirit. Authenticity and personal clarity is the fundamental driving force in intuitive painting.

Why struggle to create a masterpiece? Let the masterpiece create itself! Follow the following intuitive drawing exercise to find out how.
1) Sit in a comfortable position with a set of colored pencils and paper next to you. Close your eyes first. Let go of any chatter in the mind and find a moment of silence. Allow your mind to be as blank as your sheet of paper. Taking continuous deep breaths allows for the mind to grow still. Focus on nothing other than a place of emptiness.

2) Begin to draw something, anything, while keeping that empty clear mind. (Opening your eyes is optional at this point). Draw the view out your window or the flowers in your vase. Draw the nature of your day, or a memory from before. It doesn't matter the subject. If you are not sure what to draw, just begin making movements with your pencil and let the pencil lead you.

3) Continue to find that space in your mind as you draw. Don't look too hard at what you are drawing. It helps to look away from time to time, even as your hand is moving. Do not grow attached to what you are drawing. Simply move continuously, without stopping. If you pause, 9 times out of 10 you are thinking. And we want to curb the thinking, as this relates purely to the ego.

4) Practice to draw from a space of emptiness and non-attachment regularly. This takes out the control factor. Your pencil will begin to move before your thoughts do, and, with practice, your drawing will draw itself.


Intuitive Painting with The Meta Experience:
Four Consecutive Thursdays
Early Spring Session: March 11 - April 1, 2010
7:45pm - 9:15pm
Baltimore Yoga Village, Hampden Location
3000 Chestnut Ave. #15, Baltimore, MD 21211 (Parking and entrance on Mill Road)
$160 ($105 for students)
Price includes a complimentary half hour Reiki session
* The registration deadline for a session is three days before class begins
This fun four-week workshop combines active meditation with drawing and painting to produce meaningful works of art. The emphasis is on abstraction and introspection. Participants will engage in guided meditation sessions, followed by non-traditional drawing and painting exercises. Participants will broaden their understanding on how/why we make art and will gain a therapeutic home practice. The classes are for novice and experienced artists alike. A cumulative class exhibition will be held at The Baltimore Yoga Village in the summer.

This class is a part of the Love MySelf Program, which is geared towards helping people find wellness through the visual and healing arts. Other Love MySelf Program classes include Light Consciousness and Meditation Intensive. Discounts are given to participants who take more than one class.

For more information on Intuitive Painting or the Love MySelf Program, visit www.themetaexperience.com.