About Seducing the Muse
A creative immersion at the intersection of aliveness, expression, and the body.
Where we started
Seducing the Muse began with a shared wonder:
What if creativity isn’t something we generate, but something we access through a channel in the body?
We (Joanna Garner and Lara Blackin) met in the jungles of the Yucatán, together assisting at a spiritual, sexual, shamanic immersion. There, they began a multi-year friendship, rooted in exploring the intersection of creativity, embodiment, and presence.
Coming from different disciplines—immersive experience design and visual art/tantric practice—they discovered a common thread:
That creativity becomes more available when we are fully engaged with our bodies, our senses, and the present moment.
Not forced.
Not overthought.
But allowed.
What started as a sweaty series of “a-has” in cenotes and palapas, quickly evolved into cross-country collaboration on workshops and group experiences to bring together artists and seekers to explore new ways of accessing inspiration.
What we began to notice
Across these early retreats, a pattern emerged.
People weren’t just learning creative techniques.
They were shifting their relationship to creativity itself.
Participants who had felt blocked began creating again, consistently, and with ease.
Others moved beyond long-held patterns of self-protection and into fuller expression.
Some began to claim the identity of “artist” for the first time: not as a label, but as a way of living.
One participant, after years of feeling disconnected from visual art, began a daily watercolor practice that has continued for months and has cracked open a whole new life and career path.
Another described leaving behind a lifelong sense of needing to be “armored,” and stepping into a more open, expressive relationship with herself and her work.
These weren’t surface-level changes.
They were shifts in access, identity, and creative capacity.
A different approach to creativity
Most creativity programs focus on technique, output, or discipline.
We explore creativity through:
The body and the senses
Presence and attention
Emotional and energetic awareness
Play, curiosity, and experimentation
This work is informed in part by somatic practices and tantric philosophy—traditions that recognize the connection between life force, sensation, and creative expression.
But it is not about adopting a system.
It is about discovering what opens you.
Place-based immersionEach Seducing the Muse experience is shaped in collaboration with the place that holds it.
Rather than arriving with a fixed curriculum, we respond to:
The cultural and artistic lineage of the location
The people and practices rooted there
The energy, rhythm, and texture of the environment
In New Orleans, this means engaging with a city where music, ritual, and artistic expression are woven into daily life.
Future experiences will unfold differently—each shaped by its own landscape and creative ecosystem.
Because creativity doesn’t happen in isolation.
It happens in relationship.
Aliveness is the sourceAt the center of this work is a simple idea:
Creativity flows more naturally when we are fully present and engaged with our experience.
When we are disconnected—from sensation, from emotion, from the body—creativity becomes effortful.
When we are connected, it becomes responsive.
Alive.
Seducing the Muse is an invitation to explore that shift—not as a concept, but as a lived experience.
Founders
Lara is a Tantric Educator, Sacred Intimacy Practitioner and Visual Artist specializing in therapeutic, sensual & energetic touch bringing aliveness to the art of living + loving. A creative leader & guide who brings multidimensional vision to her offerings, she facilitates the ignition of personal transformation in others & community. Supporting the curious on their journey toward mindfulness and connection with conscious communication tools, intimacy practices, tantric embodiment exercises, and acclaimed artistry, Lara is a leader in the field of sacred embodiment with over 25 years of professional experience as a 1000 e-ryt Kundalini Yoga Educator & Sacred Sexual Somatic Arts Practitioner.
Lara has a BA in Theatre Arts and creates artistry with ritual, theatrical event design, and is known for creating alchemic spaces for authentic self expression. Weaving art, tantra and mindfulness practices, teaching individuals and partners the art of intimacy is Lara’s greatest mission in life.
An herbal alchemist and ceramics artist, she calls upon the elements of nature to create pleasure and harmony. Lara is the owner of Tendrils of Green Tantric Arts and writes beautifully poetic essays and creates erotic art at tendrilsofgreen.com.
Lara Blackin
Joanna is an award-winning writer, immersive experience designer, and creativity guide who crafts shared experiences that ignite freedom, wildness, and transformation. As former Senior Story Creative Director for Meow Wolf, Joanna spearheaded story development for the mega-hit exhibitions Omega Mart and Convergence Station and led creative brainstorms for artists across the company. Now she helps companies, projects and individuals turn on creativity, including directors Jon Favreau and Chloé Zhao, neuroscientist Beau Lotto, Virgin Voyages, F/X, Comic Con, and the regenerative land and culture project Eden Forest Collective.
She has an MFA in Playwriting from University of Texas-Austin and four years from the International School of Temple Arts, as well as training in Kundalini activation, Reiki, and a variety of other techniques that she applies to supporting artists and visionaries to access life-changing creativity.
You can see her creative portfolio here, or read her writing about the intersection of creativity and sexuality on Substack.