The Archetypal Artist: Reimagining Creativity and the Call to Create
A Six-Week Experiential Course
Pacifica Graduate Institute ~ Pacifica Online
​Begins May 2022

Thanks to all of the wonderful people who joined me for this series! I'll be offering something new in 2023 , again through PGI Online.
Depth Psychology has long maintained a paradoxical position to creativity and to the creative individual. On one hand, the artist is singled out as the one “who creates the future,” while on the other, creativity is likened to an instinct shared by all. This six-week series will explore the paradoxes, perils, and reveries of creative “making,” what the Greeks called poesis, through the insights of Jungian and archetypal psychologies, as well as through mythology, philosophy, and artmaking itself. Whether you consider yourself an “artist,” a “craftsperson,” or simply long to answer a calling that will not subside, this course will both ground and transform your understanding of yourself as a member of an archetypal lineage of world-bridgers, shapeshifters, mystics, philosophers, healers, magicians, and alchemists. What unites these figures? What is their mission in our modern world? “The creative,” according to James Hillman, “is an achievement of love,” while for novelist Franz Kafka, “art, like prayer, is a hand outstretched in the darkness, seeking for some touch of grace that will transform it into a hand that bestows gifts.” What are your gifts? How do you bestow them? What are your achievements of love?

The six-week series features three primary areas of engagement: 1) curated weekly recorded lectures, readings, and links to auxiliary materials; 2) weekly live Saturday morning gatherings; plus 3) the opportunity to deepen and share the course content throughout the series via shared creative expression such as poetry, song, dance, film, performance, visual art, and discussion with fellow participants.

For more information and to register, please visit
​Pacifica Online

Past Events

Certificate in Applied Mythology
Pacifica Graduate Institute Retreat Center
Begins June 2021

This highly-successful certificate was originally offered over a six week period in 2019. Join Craig Chalquist, Kelly Carlin, Kwame Scruggs, Devon Daimler, David Odorisio and me for a concentrated participatory experience on how to bring myth and mythic sensibility into our daily lives. This is an online course with live Zoom sessions with the instructors. For more information and registration please visit the Retreat Center website.

The Tao of Chaos/The Taos of Creativity: Inviting the "Third Mind" Through Creative Collaboration
Phoenix Friends of Jung
Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019. Phoenix, AZ

Please join me for a day of interactive lecture, art making and conversation focused on the element of chance. No art making experience is necessary and all supplies will be provided! For more information and registration please visit the Phoenix Friends of Jung online.

Ongoing & Past Events

Continuing in 2019-2020--A Free Workshop Series for Cancer Survivors

I'm collaborating this with Alice Arnold, Ph.D., J.D. to present an ongoing series of workshops that we've entitled, "Healing Through Stories and Images." We're being hosted by the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Santa Barbara, CA. This is a FREE series for women on the Central Coast at any stage of their treatment for any type of cancer, not just breast cancers. We'll  be exploring some of the world's great myths dealing with illness, loss, rejuvenation and resilience. I'll be guiding everyone as we create our own personal intuitive collages based on the week's themes.

Psyche & Image: The Wonder and Danger of Aesthetic Experience
Charlotte Friends of Jung
Nov. 10 & 11, Charlotte, NC 

I so enjoyed presenting a Friday night talk along with a Saturday workshop for the Charlotte, NC Friends of Jung on Nov. 10 and 11, 2018. Thank you all for your hospitality and creativity!

 2016 Talks in Ojai and Santa Barbara, CA

Many thanks to the Ojai branch of the Joseph Campbell Roundtable for inviting me to speak to their members and guests on Sunday, June 12. I presented a talk entitled "The Archetypal Artist: Creating at the Crossroads of Fate and Free Will," at the Council House on the stunning grounds of the Ojai Foundation. 

Personalized Courses

The Archetypal ArtistTM: Origins & Realities of the Creator's Path
What is Your Artistic Destiny?
​A 5-Month Online Course with 5 Personal Sessions

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This course is about the "why" of creativity and the "why" of the artist's eternal call to create.  Whether you're a full-time or part-time creator, a seasoned or emerging artist, or perhaps a creator who's recovering from a difficult life event, this course will revitalize and deepen your connection to your artistic gifts.

Join me on a kaleidoscopic journey as we encounter the mysteries of the creative process as expressed through history, myth, spiritual and psychological traditions, as well as through the eyes of wise creators themselves. Through good times and bad, this type of multi-dimensional wisdom will keep you connected to the truest aspects of your calling. An "archetypal attitude" will strengthen and encourage you through fallow times, while reminding you of your destiny as a creator.
Over five months, both online and through personal sessions, we'll discover the most profound meaning of art as expressed through a multitude of rich sources, both contemporary and ancient. We'll also explore the responsibilities of creators in our world today. Ultimately we'll be asking: What is your artistic destiny? What might you be called to do at this moment in time?
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Check out the full course description.  Please email me for details.

Soulful StrategiesTM: Career & Presentation Skills for Creators
Playing the Game of Art
A 3-Month Online Course with 3 Personal Sessions

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This three-month online course is geared toward creators of all types, with particular relevance for visual artists and writers. From the most seasoned creator to the part-timer and/or emerging talent, we can all benefit from regular rehabs of our promotional materials and online platforms. We continually need fresh strategies for attracting the right type of attention to our work.    
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Specific areas to be addressed include web and social media presence/platform building, plus email and newsletter management. We'll cover pitch and inquiry letters, editor and collector correspondence, bios, resumes, CV's and artist statements, along with digital and print portfolios. We'll develop strategies for identifying the people and venues that are best suited to propel your work forward. We'll also explore the "power of story" in crafting compelling promotional materials and how the archetypal "trickster" comes into play whenever we present ourselves and our work.
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What makes this course "soulful?" Check out the full description.  Please email me for details.

The Archetypal ArtistTM
A Three-Day Retreat in Santa Barbara

Many thanks to the Retreat attendees for 2018 and 2019!

Santa Barbara is truly a creator's paradise with its Mediterranean climate, stunning natural beauty, and rich multi-cultural history. This weekend retreat will present key elements from the Archetypal Artist training through engaging and interactive presentations interspersed with writing, art making, meditation, group and individual reflection, creative ritual and outdoor adventures--all aimed at reviving and reinforcing the most profound aspects of your creative calling.

Please contact me if you would be interested in joining a small group of fellow creators in a relaxed, yet invigorating setting between the Pacific ocean and the Santa Ynez mountains for a few days devoted to the mysteries of creativity. Deepen your connection to your artistic calling as we explore both the gifts and the responsibilities of the creative life. I am happy to speak with you about customizing a weekend for your own small group of friends.