The Inner Studio - Riverside Architectural Press

THE INNER STUDIO
world and they automatically “see” their answers. As they begin to
describe their responses, they are actually describing the images
they have “seen” or in some way “sensed” internally. Designers
don’t do this because they are taught to, but because this is how our
minds work. Forming images is a crucial mechanism in the process
of thinking and people who are visually inclined are more likely to
“see” their thinking–albeit unconsciously.
As we shall see, visualization is not just the capacity to see
objects in the mind’s eye–it may include hearing, sensing, touching,
or tasting, or any combination of these vehicles of perception. The
key is to get to know which of these avenues works best for you.
In the inner studio, visualization means learning to consciously
work with images as they are created in the mind’s eye. We want to
become skillful at not only “picturing” the places and things we are
trying to make, but also more practiced at summoning the subtle
levels of feeling that are responsible for our own internal image
making. We want to bring the rich and complex world of the imagination
into the making of our world.
Drawing or modeling visualized images means capturing the
essence of the image–adding details and all manner of elaboration
make up the content of the development phase of design. The
drawing has to carry enough information to allow the image to
unfold and to allow us access back to the visualization. The act of
drawing or modeling is an essential element of the design process
because it connects us with the process of materializing the image.
I will discuss this further after exploring the inner world of imagination
first through visualization and then through active
imagination.
The Experience of Visualization
When we observe an image in the mind’s eye, we see the images
within; our eyes don’t have to be open. What distinguishes visualization
from active imagination is that visualization works when we
know what we want to visualize and directs the unconscious to
produce the image. We already have an image, perhaps a memory,
texture, or condition, and want to put our sense of what is best to
the test.
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