Women of Visionary Art

An exploration of the role that dreaming, psychedelic experiences, and mystical visions play in visionary art

• Includes discussions with 18 well-known female artists, including Josephine Wall, Allyson Grey, Amanda Sage, Martina Hoffmann, Penny Slinger, and Carolyn Mary Kleefeld

• Reveals how they have all been inspired by deep inner experiences and seek to express non-ordinary visions of reality, reminiscent of shamanic trance states, lucid dreams, and spiritually transcendent experiences

• Shows how visionary art often contains an abundance of feminine energy, helping us to heal ourselves and see that we are all connected

Since early humans first painted from their mystic eye onto cave walls, artists have sought to share their sacred visions with the world. Created in every medium, from oil painting and sculpture to contemporary digital modeling, these visionary works of art give those who experience them a chance to “see the unseen,” realize wider modes of perception, and discover spiritual and mystical realms.

In this full-color illustrated book, David Jay Brown and Rebecca Ann Hill examine the work and inspirations of eighteen of today’s leading female visionary artists, including Josephine Wall, Allyson Grey, Amanda Sage, Martina Hoffmann, Penny Slinger, and Carolyn Mary Kleefeld. They explore the creative process and the role that dreaming, psychedelic experiences, sexuality, and divine guidance play in the work of these women, alongside full-color examples of their art. They discuss the future of visionary art and reveal how these artists have all been informed and inspired by deep inner experiences and seek to express non-ordinary visions of reality, often reminiscent of those encountered in shamanic trance, lucid dreams, psychedelic states, spiritually transcendent experiences, and other altered states.

Showing how visionary art often contains an abundance of feminine energy, helping us to heal ourselves and see that we are all connected, the authors explore with each artist what it is about being a woman that has most influenced their artwork. They also examine the connection between visionary art and spirituality, the influence of Nature and sacred geometry, and how this creative form is simultaneously ancient, futuristic, and timeless, providing an accessible doorway into the visionary realm.

David Jay Brown holds a master’s degree in psychobiology from New York University. A former neuroscience researcher at the University of Southern California, he has written for Wired, Discover, Scientific American, The Huffington Post, and CBS News. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including Dreaming Wide Awake and Frontiers of Psychedelic Consciousness. Rebecca Ann Hill is a visual artist with a wide range of experience in different mediums. The coauthor and illustrator of Ecstatic Love, Lost Dreams & Mystic Visions, she creates illustrations for websites, promotes ayahuasca retreats in Peru, and is a skillful Tarot reader. The authors live in Ben Lomond, California.

Acknowledgments

Preface: I Return as Millions by Rebecca Ann Hill

Introduction: A Brief History of Visionary Art by David Jay Brown

The Lost Language of Unseen Worlds
An Interview with Allyson Grey

Sprouting Seeds and Organic Symmetry
An Interview with Amanda Sage

Tantric Secrets, Feminist Surrealism, Sixty-Four Dakinis, and the Goddess
An Interview with Penny Slinger

Portals and Mirrors
An Interview with Martina Hoffmann

Angels, Demons, and Deities
An Interview with Maura Holden

The Alchemy of Creative Ecstasy
An Interview with Carolyn Mary Kleefeld

Blending Creativity and Spirituality
An Interview with Jessica Perlstein

Flow States, Consciousness, and Symbolic Motifs
An Interview with Elizabeth Rosemary Banker

Mythic Realms and Crystallizing Visions
An Interview with Emma Watkinson

Blending Organic Forms and Enhancing Environmental Awareness
An Interview with Hannah Faith Yata

Divine Jungle Transmissions
An Interview with Lucy Delics

Hacking the Inner Firewall
An Interview with Ashely Josephine Foreman

Spiraling Earth Goddesses and the Interconnection of Life
An Interview with Emily Kell

Mystic Reflections and Symmetries in Nature
An Interview with Noa Knafo

Sensuous Illumination and Connecting with Nature
An Interview with Autumn Skye

Spiritual Intimacy and Sacred Geometry
An Interview with Burgandy Viscosi

Visionary Art and Shamanism
An Interview with Nana Nauwald

Fairies, Goddesses, and Mythological Beings
An Interview with Josephine Wall

Recommended Reading and Bibliography

Index

About the Authors