Narrative Alchemy

Carl Jung described myths as psychic phenomena that reveal the nature of the soul. Just as dreams provide insight into the individual unconscious, myths translate eternal, symbolic meanings for collective and universal psychological experiences. In this four-week workshop, participants will select an archetypal text—such as a myth, folktale, or fairy tale—as a foundation for visual exploration. Through lectures, readings, and discussions, students will engage in intuitive and experimental studio projects that explore themes of transformation, feeling, process, and the inner journey of self-discovery.

Emphasizing improvisation, students will develop ideas through drawing and exploratory making, embracing intuition, risk, and spontaneity. Role-playing as symbolic characters will serve as a tool for engaging with contrasting psychological perspectives. The course will culminate in a final artwork or series based on the chosen archetypal text, with the potential for continued self-directed exploration beyond the workshop. Students will be encouraged to consider how research, materials, and historical or contemporary references might inform their evolving work.

Von Franz said that the archetypal image is an act of grace and cannot be forced. However, by building a relationship with our psyche—paying attention to its messages and imagery and collaborating with them through a playful artmaking process—we can engage in creative preparation, inviting the healing qualities of the archetypal experience to appear.

Selected readings may include excerpts from Marie-Louise von Franz’s writings on myth and fairy tales, The Fisher King and the Handless Maiden: Understanding the Wounded Feeling Function in Masculine and Feminine Psychology by Robert Johnson, and Pregnant Darkness: Alchemy and the Rebirth of Consciousness by Monika Wikman.

Suggested themes of exploration: Descent, rebirth, union of opposites, maturation, sexuality, sorting and clearing, stillness, transformation, and the healing of instinctual nature.