Class: Prosthetic Dreaming: How to Use ChatGPT, Meditation, and Surrealism To Unlock Your Creativity

Next class date is September 17, 1-4 PM Pacific time.

AI represents an existential crisis for humans, forcing us to face the question of whether there are more of us than needed. This question is particularly compelling for artists, many of whom already question the value of their own creations and themselves.

This workshop embraces AI as an art supply by recognizing that an artist’s contribution is not just to create something out of thin air, but to observe the startling connections between seemingly unconnected things that no one else has noticed. AI, specifically ChatGPT, can be a remarkable tool to bombard your brain, help you enter your creativity sideways, and give you the “x-ray specs” to see those unseen connections.

The workshop uses meditation and Surrealistic parlour games to bridge between ChatGPT’s sometimes spooky, sometimes hollow responses and your own subconscious. The workshop uses AI ethically, consulting it not to create anything but simply as a lens to see connections in the artist’s mind and the world. This workshop is structured to help all artists, but is particularly useful to those working in narrative mediums (fiction, non-fiction, drama, film/tv).

This workshop is taught by author Henry Lien, who has nearly 20 years’ experience as a Surrealist art dealer, and author/playwright Jerry Lee Davis, who has over 20 years’ experience teaching meditation.

Join Henry Lien and Jerry Lee Davis for a workshop in which they teach you new ways to dream up stories.

Classes are taught online and require reliable Internet connection, although in the past participants have logged on from coffee shops, cafes, and even an airplane; a webcam is suggested but not required. They are recorded.

“You will need access to ChatGPT for the workshop. You will need to create a free account to do so. Here is the link. Note that there is also an iOS app for iPhone and iPad. Here is the link. Please make sure you are downloading the official ChatGPT app by OpenAI, and not downloading one of the many copy-cats.

Here is a partial list of countries where ChatGPT is available and not available.

Cost is $99 ($79 for former students, which includes classes/workshops with me in other venues, such as conference or convention workshops and mentoring sessions). Patreon supporters receive the discount or free classes, depending on their support level and can also receive the video afterward for $40.

To register for this class, send an email with the following details:

  • Which class or classes and the dates you would like to register
  • Whether you would prefer to pay via Paypal, Venmo, or some other means.
  • Whether or not you are a former student or Patreon supporter
  • How you heard about Cat’s classes

You will be invoiced when the class slot is reserved.

Free scholarships: If you cannot afford a class but really want to take one, apply for a Plunkett Scholarship. Each class has three slots reserved for such students, and the sole criteria is only that you can’t currently afford the class. To apply for a Plunkett, which covers the entire cost,mail me and tell me why you want to take the class in 100 words or less. QUILTBAG and PoC candidates are especially encouraged to apply.

The Plunkett Scholarships are named for Edward Plunkett, who wrote as Lord Dunsany. Scholarships are given out on a rolling basis; I suggest getting them in sooner rather than later. You may apply for multiple classes.

Comments are closed.