Working with Suzette and participating in her Visual Medicine™ training has been profoundly transformative for me, and I feel truly fortunate to have been invited to her first, on-line version of this training and part of this creative and spiritual work. I had planned to get on a plane to London just to participate and, since I live in South America, imagine the economic relief in knowing I could still participate without the extra cost of plane fare and lodging. Knowing what I know now, however, after having been on this journey, it all would have been worth every single peso.

Working with Suzette has felt like coming home to my origins: I’ve spent just over half of my life in Chile, having left California for Santiago for a three-month visit 27 years ago. Post university, Spanish became the language of my daily life and any further training or courses —or just anything— I’ve done in Spanish.  

My work with Suzette allowed me to return, again, to my native language—English. My roots are English, so the feeling of knowing she works from London has felt familiar, beyond language. What’s remarkable, however, is that through Suzette’s teachings, I’ve rediscovered a language that reaches far beyond words or place: the language of The Creator. It’s a mother tongue I didn’t even realize I had lost touch with.

While I don’t usually consider myself an artist, the VM practices and painting sessions have filled my house (which seems to have turned into a studio!) with colors and images that sometimes leap off the paper and engage with me. And sometimes, I can’t help but laugh and think, “Wait, is this really happening?”—like when I see a bird or ocean landscape or even Smokey the Bear just recently appeared in my paintings. It’s surreal and delightful all at once. But I know I’m not making up what I see. We can trust our experience. My husband or daughter might not exactly see what I see, for example, but, at least for me, I see what I see and I’ve learned to honor that. Most of the time what comes through is a feeling or a thought or idea as I connect with the paints themselves. No painting session is ever quite the same.

Co-creating with the Great Mystery: Through Suzette, I’ve learned how to trust this deeper creative process, co-creating with what I might call intuition or my higher self—or simply, the “great mystery.” There’s something so pure and joyful about it that at times I can’t help but think the connections I make are pure coincidence. But time and time again, something magical happens. I feel like I’m being led by an invisible hand, showing me new ways of creating, and I can’t help but be surprised by the images that emerge from the wet paint and watch the paint dry and transform into something completely different sometimes.

The process is delightful, surprising, and emotionally revealing, even hard work sometimes: This work has been more than just creating paintings. It’s been a profound emotional journey. There have been moments where I’ve tapped into feelings and relationships I had forgotten about, and at times, the creative process has led me into unexpected emotional depths. Suzette holds a safe, welcoming circle. I´ve been vulnerable. It’s okay. We are each allowed to explore our experiences and emotions if we want to. I’ve never felt pushed when I haven’t wanted to share. Throughout my work with Suzette, which includes the VMä facilitator training, I feel like I’ve been through the whole birthing process: the stages of longing/fantasy, desire, contact, fertilization, gestation, about to pop, “are we there yet?”, labor pains, PUSH, and finally giving birth. One could say I’ve given birth to a family of little post-card sized colorful babies, and I have, but most of all I feel like I’ve given birth to a new me, a me who speaks and relates in a different language and who now simply sees the paintings and the world differently. Like so many experiences in life, nothing might look very different on the outside, but I feel the internal shift. I’m currently in the, so,-here-I-am,-birthed.-Now-what? stage. Like a bird, just hanging out here on a branch or a cliff, [not quite] knowing that there will be wind, flight, plummeting until, hopefully, flapping.

Beyond painting: What I love most about working with Suzette is that this has never felt like just a painting class, not to diminish “just painting” classes which I’ve also taken and loved. Suzette starts with all the needed logistics and covers all of this very professionally with her complete lists of materials and answers questions like how to get your lids unstuck and questions about stinky paint. She’s great at answering all my basic questions (I was never trained as an artist). For me, the class became a space where I could show up “as is”, where whatever came up for me in the moment—whether it was an emotional block, a creative challenge, or something deeper—was welcomed. It’s felt like talking to a trusted friend who wants the best for me or a skilled therapist who makes me feel safe and understood. It’s in this safe space that I’ve allowed myself to be vulnerable and creative without the pressure of “producing” something pretty or perfect.

The transformational power of this work: I don’t consider myself an Artist, but I can claim I’ve done quite a bit of inner work. I’m a trained Gestalt therapist and have spent my life on a spiritual journey, including exploring a long path of Buddhist meditation. I have my own list of life experiences—losses, celebrations, and everything in between, just like we all do.  Yet, meeting Suzette has felt like encountering an element of my life I was longing for without knowing I was longing for this, the feeling of having a soul sister who is many steps ahead of me on a similar path. The feeling is DIFFERENT than what I’ve experienced before. There’s a sense of timelessness in the way Suzette works, and it has to do with a feeling of being connected with the work of the divine feminine. Suzette opens the door to this for me. I often think of Suzette as being on the same spiritual and creative wavelength as the great artists and teachers— I like to imagine that Suzette’s own older sister on the path as being Hilma af Klint. That’s how strongly her work resonates with me, and I feel like I’m part of a larger, deeper circle of wisdom with everyone in the group.

A journey that unfolds in layers (A hero’s journey): I had the joy of being part of Suzette’s first online course, even before she offered the first Visual Medicine™ facilitator training, and it was such an economic relief not to save multiple flights to London each year to study with her. But I was ready to do that, even, for the facilitator training because working with Suzette has been such a deeply enriching experience. It’s a training that works wonderfully on-line.

After my first course I knew I’d landed in fertile soil. I went on to take several more of her offerings before signing up for the facilitator training. I sighed up without knowing where it would lead me, exactly, but I knew I wanted to continue the work. I was curious. I was hoping to understand the many layers of this process, for one. I also found it like studying meditation—just when you think you’ve understood one aspect, another layer reveals itself. Kind of like when I was climbing to Machu Picchu— “Are we there yet?” No, there’s another peak and surprise ahead of you.

This journey continues, but instead of it exhausting me or feeling like I need to get to the top, it thrills me to know I can keep deepening into it and climbing to new heights if I choose to.

It’s about walking a creative, spiritual path. I’m not in it to “get” something or turn this into a commodity. I can’t even imagine selling my paintings or doing a show. Believe me, I’ve thought about it! But I’ve learned that this is not what Suzette is teaching us. What matters is the practice itself and the process of showing up and creating, learning how to listen to the paintings, do the writing practice to see how it all guides me. I’ve realized that this work is about coming home to the origin of who I am and starting to recognize a new language as it unfolds.

Suzette’s depth as a facilitator and teacher: What strikes me most about Suzette is the depth and authenticity she brings to everything she does. She’s not just a facilitator or a therapist; she’s an artist, a mother, a wife, a friend—a full person. She’s professional and responsible in all the right areas to hold such a space. A the same time there’s a beautiful imperfection about her, thank god. I honestly do not enjoy courses with a tone and pretense and attitude and aroma of everything’s perfect and scripted and sweet and spotless. It’s that very messy paint-splashy imperfection that makes her work so powerful and credible for me. It allows me to show up as I am—imperfect, vulnerable, and open to the creative process. I deeply appreciate her humanity and how she creates space for us to be our true selves, too.

The facilitator training: A little confession: I’ve been careful about recommending Suzette’s courses. I find myself in this polarity because I feel both excited and protective of this work. I’m always afraid I might end up have to defend the true nature of my paintings, so I often keep them to myself.  It’s not just about learning how to paint or about teaching others how to paint. At first glance it might seem like that, but it’s not. It’s about a deeper, richer experience that requires an openness and a willingness to go on a personal journey. It requires some open-mindedness and deep respect. And if I might say this, some humility. By humility, I don’t mean insecurity. I mean having humility in the face of what we think we know (about art or painting or groups or inner work or whatever) and having humility even in the face of what we think is possible.

At the other extreme of my little confession, I want to shout from the rooftops to anyone who will listen: Take these courses, just anyone! Do it! Even sell it and not get it but do it because you’ll have so much fun! I can’t keep the fun to myself, you will love it even if you just try it once and then decide to go back to photography or water color or making dinner!!  The world needs more of Suzette’s wisdom. What I’ve gained from the facilitator training is so much more than technique. I’ve learned to ground myself, be present, and let the work unfold. I’ve learned that we don’t need to change who we are or “to know more” to create; we just need to show up and trust the process. This is about coming home to our true selves.

In conclusion, Suzette’s work has had an enormous impact on me. It’s changed the way I approach my creative process and my life. I do enjoy watercolor, and my approach and experience to the painting I had done feels different now. The work I’ve experienced with her has helped me reconnect to a deeper part of myself, and I’m deeply grateful for that. I can’t recommend her courses highly enough, as they’re not just about painting—they’re about transformation, self-discovery, and creative expression.

Thank you, Suzette, for everything you’ve shared with me and with us. You have my deepest respect and gratitude. I feel we are sisters on the same path, and you have been leading the way, as you yourself are being led by our great great great great great dear dear dear dear dear older sisters.

Con Mucho Amor,

Jennifer Wickham

Santiago/Concón, Chile

(Originally from Oregon, USA)