In this four-week Olio, we'll draw from Jungian psychology, mythology, creativity studies, and contemplative practice to get curious about the critical voices that accompany creative life. Led by Justine Williams, we'll gather an intimate group to spend four weeks transforming our relationship with creativity and with the inner critic that so often shapes it.

Rather than trying to conquer or silence these difficult parts, we'll explore how to understand them, engage with them, and, at times, even collaborate with them. Along the way, we may discover that the very capacities we cultivate through creative practice—curiosity, imagination, play, and compassion—are also the tools that allow us to meet these voices differently. What once felt like an obstacle may become a source of insight, depth, and unexpected creative momentum.

Wherever you are in your creative journey, for many people — and especially for artists — the moment they begin to clarify a creative aspiration or imagine a different future for themselves, another voice quickly takes center stage: the inner critic.

Perhaps you've heard this voice:

"I'm too lazy."
"I'm not talented enough."
"I'm too old to start."
"I'll never, I can't, I won't..."

When these critical voices arise (which is a completely normal part of the creative process), our instinct is often to fight them, silence them, or surrender to them altogether. A quick survey of popular self-help and inner critic workshops suggests that this is the standard response: tame the inner critic, overcome the inner critic, banish it, erase it.

In this four-session Olio, we'll take a different approach.

We'll broaden our perspective beyond the inner critic to explore the larger chorus of voices within us — some quieter, yet supportive and wise. How might we recognize and enlist these inner allies as we pursue creative work, set meaningful goals, and build a rich and fulfilling creative life?

Through playful exploration — not therapy, and not self-improvement so much as a kind of creative detective work — we'll investigate this inner chorus and develop a more dynamic relationship with our inner world.
Participants will leave with greater clarity, renewed creative momentum, and practical tools for moving more confidently toward a creative calling.

Sessions
Four sessions, Mondays 7:00–9:00pm, beginning September 14 at the Olio Lighthouse.

Session One: The Mythology of the Inner Demon
Learn the origins and archetypal dimensions of the inner critic through mythology, folklore, and Jungian psychology, and begin to explore the personal mythologies, creative belief systems, and stories we carry.

Session Two: Collaborating with Your Inner Critics
Discover tools and approaches for understanding, engaging, and working constructively with critical inner voices.

Session Three: Discovering Inner Allies (and Other Voices)
Identify supportive inner figures, values, and perspectives that can help guide creative work and decision-making.

Session Four: Creative Visioning
Bring these insights together to clarify a direction and envision the next chapter of your creative life.

What to Expect

A grounded introduction to Jungian archetypes and shadow work
Frameworks drawn from folklore, mythology, creativity studies, and coaching
Guided exercises and creative practices designed to make the work personal and accessible
An approach to visioning and goal-setting that recognizes how identity, social location, life circumstances, and larger cultural contexts shape what feels/is possible and meaningful for each of us
A playful, exploratory atmosphere
Opportunities for reflection and conversation within a small group

Who this is for

Do you sense that something creative is trying to emerge in your life? Perhaps there's a project you've been imagining, a practice you'd like to begin, a change you're considering, or simply a desire to bring more creative purpose and expression into your life? Are you an artist already pursuing a creative career, but feel passive or reactive, and long to direct your creative life more powerfully?

Our Teacher: Justine Williams (she/they)
Described as "wickedly funny" (SF Gate), Justine Williams is an artist, performer, filmmaker, and educator whose work centers play, collaboration, and social imagination. Since 2013, Justine has been on faculty at the Yale School of Drama, where they teach acting through play and guide interdisciplinary collaboration.

A celebrated teacher, Justine has led workshops internationally and runs The Play Society, a roving school and creative lab dedicated to training and new work development through an ethos of play and collaboration. They hold an MFA in Performance and Interactive Media Arts from CUNY/Brooklyn College.

Justine's collaborations include a decade-long creative partnership with Eva Peskin exploring queer friendship and world-building, and an ongoing project with artist and death doula Kate Muehlmann that invites public engagement with questions of death and dying.

Their work has been presented and supported by The Public Theater, Ars Nova, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Abrons Arts Center, Dixon Place, New Georges, Queer|Art, The Orchard Project, and more.

Myth, Play, and Shadow Work: A 4-Part Creativity Seminar

Myth, Play, and Shadow Work: A 4-Part Creativity Seminar