Brush of the Spirit Workshop

A Shamanic Animal Journey translated into layered watercolour and oil pastel imagery

This workshop is a close collaboration between Back to Grá and Conscious Crafting, bringing together shamanic journeying and a quietly structured creative process. It is designed as an adult-only session and is suited to programme managers, retreat hosts and wellbeing organisers seeking to offer an experience that is reflective, experiential and gently ceremonial, without requiring prior experience in either meditation or art.

Led by Daniel Baillieul of Back to Grá, the session centres on a guided shamanic drumming journey, supported by a creative process facilitated through Conscious Crafting. The format works particularly well in calm indoor environments and is well suited to Connect Studio, Ferrybank, where the contained setting supports focus, safety and depth. Group sizes are intentionally kept small to maintain a held and attentive atmosphere throughout.

The workshop balances inner experience with outward expression, allowing time for reflection, making and integration at an unhurried pace. It is appropriate for adult participants who are curious about symbolic work, inner exploration and process-led creative practice, whether new to this type of work or returning to it with fresh perspective.

Meeting an inner Guide

The workshop is framed around the theme of guidance, introduced through a shamanic drumming journey led by Daniel of Back to Grá. Drawing on rhythm and imagery, the meditation supports participants in an inward journey where an animal presence or ally may be encountered. The approach is grounded and non-prescriptive, allowing each experience to unfold in its own way, without expectation or interpretation.

Following the journey, participants are given time to quietly note key impressions in their journals. Simple prompts invite reflection on the landscape encountered, any animal presences, and the felt quality of the experience. This moment acts as a bridge between the inner journey and the creative process, with optional sharing to gently anchor the theme within the group.

Layer by layer

The creative element is guided step by step, using watercolour and oil pastels on A3 paper. Participants begin with loose watercolour washes to establish atmosphere, followed by a second layer that responds to movement, relationship or proximity experienced during the journey. Oil pastels are introduced last, using firmer marks to suggest presence, traces or energy, while deliberately leaving areas of white space.

No artistic skill or confidence is required. The emphasis remains on process rather than outcome, with shared materials encouraging a slower pace and mindful choice-making. The creative process is treated as a continuation of the meditative state rather than a separate activity.

What remains

Each participant completes a single, layered artwork that reflects their own journey and interpretation. The finished piece is intentionally open rather than illustrative, holding personal meaning without needing explanation. Alongside the artwork, participants often leave with a clearer sense of what they are carrying forward from the experience, making the session resonate beyond the time spent in the studio.