2026 Body & Soul Art Intensive with Alex Grey & Allyson Grey
ABOUT THE PROGRAM:
Body & Soul Art Intensive is a creative spiritual practice and visionary ritual intended to turn on the Light Body. Multiple systems of subtle healing life energies run through and surround our body. Seven Chakras, witnessed and reported by clairvoyants as "wheels of light,” ascend the spine and color our emotions and aspirations.
This drawing ritual challenges us to depict the model’s nude presence and encourages us to imagine and portray bio-energetic radiant auras that extend beyond the skin.
Join Alex Grey & Allyson Grey for a weekend of drawing & painting that will include:
- A slide talk on the portrayal of the subtle energetic body throughout art history
- Instruction on proportions, features and expressions of the head and body
- Instruction on painting and drawing techniques and elements of design
- Vision practices that allow us to glimpse the interplay of body and soul
- Drawings or paintings of the seven subtle chakra centers posed by a yogic model
- Drawings or paintings of the subtle body interaction of a yogi & yogini
All levels of ability are welcome. Mediums of focus will be drawing plus colors - pencils, watercolors or acrylics.
The first evening of this program, Friday after dinner, is an essential work period, offering preparatory insight into how the figure and light body has been represented in masterpieces of art history. This orienting three-hour evening work session also offers instruction on the proportion of the figure and face, plus tips on how to translate a three-dimensional body onto a 2-dimensional surface.
WHAT TO EXPECT:
Drawing begins on the first morning of the workshop. Each of the seven chakra drawings are briefly introduced by a short guided meditation to consider the energetic force-field associated with the chakra we are about to portray.
Each participant will create seven drawings focusing on the character and hue of one chakra. Each drawing period is forty-five minutes long, working with meditative focus. The exercise is accompanied by a thematic musical playlist highlighting the archetypal meaning of each chakra.
To introduce each drawing, a brief blessing describes the meaning, color and vibration of that energy center, identifying specific organs and nerve bundles that correspond within the body. The subject of each drawing is a yogini, a nude model who stands, sits or lies still for class members to draw or paint.
On the morning of the second day, we create three separate drawings, this time, of a loving couple, adding complexity and practice in the challenge of combining inter-relating figures within one picture plane.
Artworks by participants may be touchstones of the harmonic integration of psyche & soma. The interactivity and alternately, the silent periods offer an enlightening contrast that deepens our reflection and helps build our creative skills.
There are ample opportunities for community inter-relatedness in this workshop, during breaks, between poses, at meals, and during free time, when participants often visit Entheon, walk the Wisdom Trail and labyrinth, and enjoy the many features of CoSM buildings & grounds.
Live drawing sessions will feature a nude model. All participants must be 18 years of age, unless accompanied by a legal guardian.
SCHEDULE:
All times are listed in EDT
Friday, November 13
- 3pm - 5pm: Guests arrive by 5pm and check-in to their rooms.
- 6pm: Dinner & Orientation are part of the workshop for all participants. - Dining Hall
- 7:30pm: Orientation & Introductions | Body & Soul slideshow presentation - Library
Saturday, November 14
- 8am - 10am: Self-serve breakfast - Dining Hall
- 10am: Body & Soul Ritual Session One - Art Lab
- 1pm: Lunch - Dining Hall
- 2:30pm: Body & Soul Ritual Session Two - Art Lab
- 6pm: Dinner in the Dining Hall
- 7:30pm: Body & Soul Ritual Session Three - Art Lab
Sunday, November 15
- 8am - 10am: Self-serve Breakfast - Dining Hall
- 10am: Final Session – Drawing Male & Female Models together - Art Lab
- 1pm: Lunch - Dining Hall
- 2pm: End of Workshop
- 6pm: CoSM closes
CoSM and Entheon are open weekly on Friday, Saturday & Sunday, 12pm - 6pm when CoSM Grounds close. Participation includes day passes during open hours to CoSM facilities and grounds for the duration of the workshop.
You are welcome to extend your overnight stay to the Thursday before, and/or the Monday after the workshop by emailing [email protected].
YOUR INSTRUCTORS:
Alex Grey & Allyson Grey
Alex Grey, world-renowned artist, poet, and author, is best loved for his paintings which portray multiple dimensions of reality, interweaving biological anatomy with psychic and spiritual energies. His books, Sacred Mirrors, The Mission of Art, Transfigurations, and Art Psalms, trace the development of his work and mystical experiences that shaped his spiritual artistic life. Alex’s most recent monograph, Net of Being, addresses how his art is evolving the cultural body through icons of interconnectedness. alexgrey.com
Net of Being by Alex Grey
Allyson Grey is an artist whose paintings have been exhibited and sold internationally. Co-founder of the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, Grey is a community leader with a Master of Fine Arts degree from Tufts University. She has edited and co-authored over a dozen books and journals, lectured widely, and has been an educator and muse to artists for over 30 years. The symbol system in her paintings represent an essentialized world-view comprised of chaos, order and secret writing. allysongrey.com
Chaos Order Secret Writing by Allyson Grey
Together, the Grey’s co-founded the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, CoSM, a spiritual creative retreat center in the Hudson Valley of New York. On the forefront of a movement in which painters join musicians on stage, the Grey’s painted together live before tens of thousands of folks at New York Broadway theaters, at sold-out festivals and arenas in dozens of international cities across five continents. As long-time advocates of “cognitive liberty,” a growing international “sacramental culture” has embraced the Grey’s as important mapmakers and spokespersons for the visionary realm. The Grey’s, with a dedicated and evolving team, have created CoSM, an interspiritual Art Church and Entheon, a Visionary Art sanctuary at CoSM. cosm.org
Chapel of Sacred Mirrors in Entheon, sanctuary of Visionary Art at CoSM
SUGGESTED MATERIALS:
- Pencils and pens for drawing graphite pencils — 2B, 3B, 4B, HB
- Pencil sharpener
- Kneadable eraser and other preferred types
- Heavy drawing paper pad — 11″ x 14″ 2 or 4 ply Strathmore drawing paper pad or Bristol 100% rag paper
- Good quality colored pencils — 20 or more colors
- Watercolor or acrylic set
- Palette or white/clear plastic lids
- Good quality brushes of various sizes — 0, 1, 2, 4, 6… point? flat? angled? Listen to what calls you.
- Watercolor paper block — We like the pink Arche watercolor block. It is smooth. If you like texture choose blue or green. We like 9″ x 12″; 10″ x 14″ AND/OR Stretched pre-gessoed canvases — No larger than 30″ x 40″ please, due to space constraints. AND/OR Gessoed panel(s)
Easels, chairs and backjacks & side tables will be provided based on your selection at check out.
CoSM WORKSHOP SETTING:
Class sessions will take place in the MAGI Art Lab. (Mystic Artists Guild International)
The Grey House, CoSM's Visionary Victorian guest house, provides accommodations for all participants. Residing onsite together is a part of this immersively creative weekend, providing maximum benefit & enrichment.
Accommodations in Grey House are offered in a variety of economies, in addition to the workshop fee.
Participants are welcome to extend their overnight stay at CoSM to the Thursday before and/or the Monday after the workshop.
WORKSHOP AMMENITIES
Available for the duration of the 3-day workshop:
- Healthy meals by CoSM chefs, starting with dinner on Friday and ending with lunch on Sunday
- Coffee, tea and snacks available in the Art Lab between meals
- Access to Grey House common spaces — The Library, The Parlor, The Dining Hall & Gallery Spaces on all three floors.
- Yoga mats for self guided practice
- Accommodations include private rooms and shared dorm rooms—femme only or co-ed options.
- The Wisdom Trail offers a contemplative walk through the CoSM woods, including a labyrinth, outdoor sculptural installations by visionary artists
Participation also includes Day Admission to CoSM: Friday, Saturday & Sunday 12pm - 6pm:
- Access to Facilities, grounds and self-touring Entheon
- Students are welcome to experience Entheon and Grey House Galleries, including both CoSM Shop & Entheon Shop.
- Beverages and light fare will be available for purchase in the Mushroom Cafe
TUITION:
Tuition for the 3-day Body & Soul Art Intensive includes meals - $400.00.
- Accommodations are additional.
- Payment plans are available, with all funds due one month before the start of the workshop.
For further information, contact [email protected].
ACCOMMODATIONS:
The Grey House, CoSM’s Visionary Victorian guest house, offers accommodations for all participants. Works of art by Alex Grey, Allyson Grey and accomplished artists of the international Visionary Art community are featured throughout the guest rooms and common spaces of the guest house.
Onsite accommodations are a part of the course experience and are available in a variety of economies. Here is the pricing for the two night stay, arriving Friday, November 13 and departing Sunday, November 15, 2026, reflective of the 10% workshop discount:
- King with ensuite bathroom $495.00
- Queen with ensuite bathroom $450.00
- Private Queen/shared bath $360.00
- Dorm bed: Single $216.00 *co-ed & femme-only options available
Workshop accommodations must be booked directly through the workshop department with confirmation of workshop registration, rather than through the booking engine on the website. After purchasing tuition, you will be contacted regarding accommodations.
Questions about tuition or accommodation fees, payment plans, travel, retreat amenities, materials etc.?
Contact us at: [email protected] | +1 (845) 297-2323