Exploring creativity and transformation: Magical creatures at the Sophia Center

Last Monday at the Sophia Center, we dived into an art project that sounded light-hearted: making creatures with “magical” powers. I expected the class to be playful and whimsical. Silly me! As it turns out, creating art has a way of uncovering the deep, transformative currents of the soul—and making magical creatures seemed to amplify that effect.

Some of the creatures that emerged were joyful and light, embodying themes like Spring and Joy. Others carried profound and serious messages, representing forces like Life & Death, Paradox, Transformation, and even Chaos. It was as if these creatures came straight from the rumblings of the underworld, bringing their wisdom and power to the surface.

What struck me most was the balance between lightness and depth. This wasn’t just an art class—it was a journey into the symbolic, tapping into archetypes that reflect the complexity of our inner lives. Making these magical creatures wasn’t about perfection or even art as we typically think of it. It was about giving form to something ineffable—something raw, alive, and deeply human.

Here are a few of the magical creatures who showed up:

Art can surprise us like this. What begins as playful exploration often takes us deeper than we expect, revealing layers of meaning and transformation. Have you ever found that creating something unexpectedly led you into deeper realms of insight?