Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Workshop Descriptions


Hand Painting Digital Photographs

Learn to take your images to the next level, with the personal touch of your own hand.

With the first few simple strokes, discover how to reveal the heart and depth that exists in the collaboration between you and the image.  Hand-painting is an inspiring and fun process, transforming each image into a one of a kind artwork. Working on both color and black and white prints, we will enliven images by accentuating lines, enhancing highlights, tinting large areas, and more.

In a relaxed, bright studio setting, I will work with you, side by side, guiding you through my own particular process of applying texture and color to digital photographs, using acrylic paints, pastels and pencils.

Tips for selecting optimal printing surfaces for your images, handling and presenting your finished artwork, and the option of using oil paints will be discussed.

Three dates available for this one- day workshop:

May 15  Sunday

June 26  Sunday

July 11   Monday

10 am – 6 pm

$145

You will be asked to bring a few work prints. Suggestions for selecting them will be given upon registration.

All levels welcome.
6 participants per class.


Photographic Alchemy

Alchemy: A power or process of changing one thing into another; esp., a seemingly miraculous power or process of changing a thing into something better.

This workshop explores the creative process of transforming any photograph into something beyond the original capture, bringing it closer to your vision.

We will discuss ways to identify, and visually emphasize, your original inspiration for a photograph, as well as reveal possibilities for using the original image as a launching point for your imagination.

Through a slideshow of before and after examples, lecture, discussion, questions, answers and samples, you will become aware of an inspiring and infinite world of possibilities for your images.

Emphasis will be placed on the use of Photoshop techniques, hand-embellishment, and alternative printing surfaces.

This inspiring day is about planting seeds of creativity. We will not be attempting to create finished products.

Participants should come prepared with several images* to be used in discussion, and a notebook. A laptop computer is optional.


Three dates available for this one- day workshop:

May 21  Saturday

June 24  Friday

July 9     Saturday

10 am – 6 pm

$145
Open to all levels of experience. Knowledge of Photoshop is helpful.
6 participants per class.
*Details regarding images will be given upon registration.


Layering Images in Photoshop


This workshop is an inspiring digital adventure for Photoshop users who would like to explore the immense creative potential that lies within every image.

You will learn to combine the original photographic capture with additional images for added content, color and texture. Layering images an art form in itself, yielding unique artworks with endless possibilities.

I will instruct this workshop as a step by step process, with all of us working on a common image, at the same time, on laptops. In the first half of the day, using a projector & screen to guide you through the process, I will share my favorite tips and techniques for layering. As we proceed, during the second part of the day, you will have the opportunity to work with your own images.

With an emphasis on creative play, artistic integrity, attentiveness to detail, and a respect for the subject and “story” of the image, you will be well on your way to a whole new world of image making.

Printed notes will be supplied, so that you can review the information, and continue the techniques at home.

Participants are asked to bring a camera and a laptop. Basic knowledge of Photoshop is required. CS versions recommended.

Three dates available for this one-day workshop:

May 22  Sunday

June 25  Saturday

July 10   Sunday

$145

6 participants per class.


Mounting Images to Wood 

Mounted images hold a space in a room in a very special way, similar to the way an original painting provides an atmosphere far beyond it’s frame.

Freeing the image from the boundaries of a framed border can give it the potential to be transformed from being an object, to becoming an experience.

Also, choosing to mount images to wood panels allows you to eliminate the glass that is traditionally used with photography, but can be distracting not just because of reflections, but also the fact that there is an actual barrier in between the image and the viewer.

In this very hands-on workshop, you will learn to produce beautiful, polished mounted artworks, using all archival materials and processes.

You will leave with a finished piece, built to last a lifetime, along with the knowledge to continue the technique at home with a minimum of tools. 

This course is divided between two consecutive days to accommodate drying times needed for glues, etc.

Three sets of dates available for this two- day workshop:

May 29-30  Sun-Mon

June 27-28  Mon-Tues

July 12-13   Tues- Wed

2 – 6  day one, 10 – 2  day two

$145

You will be asked to bring a selection of prints to choose from for mounting. Instructions will be given upon registration.

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6 participants per class.

REGISTER:

Registration by phone is preferred:   (250) 537-6120

All workshops are $145, less $5 each for multiple registrations.

Due to the limited class sizes, advance registration and payment is required.
Accepted forms of payment: Visa/MC, Check.
Fee includes HST, all materials except for prints, coffee & tea.

After registering, you will receive confirmation, a receipt, directions, and additional information, by email (or standard mail if preferred).

Workshop Schedule-Spring/Summer 2011

Voila... The WORKSHOP SCHEDULE for the coming spring and summer is ready!
I am excited about this series of small group sessions, all of which will take place here on Salt Spring Island, in the new studio.  


The workshops are designed around the kinds of things some of you have asked for, as well as being subjects I particularly like to work with.
Every session is limited to six participants, to provide each of you a very personal, focused learning opportunity.

My approach is always to teach what I doI do my best to distill many years of exploration and practice, down to what works, and share that with you.

My goal is to provide you with skills and ideas, that will unlock the door to the potential that exists in each of your photographs. I trust that every time you have lifted your lens to photograph something, you did so as a response to inspiration. That initial inspiration is the key, and will be an important focus of our time together.

I’m really looking forward to these workshops. We’re bound to have some fun. 

I've also been working on putting together workshops in southern California, and the Santa Cruz area  because of requests, followed by kind offers of help with logistics, from some wonderful people in those areas. Look for those workshops  in the fall catalog, when it comes along around late May or early June.

If you are interested in any of the workshops this spring/summer here on this beautiful island, send me and email, or give me a call to request the full catalog by pdf:
amylmelious@gmail.com
(250)537-6120

Cheers,
Amy
WORKSHOP SCHEDULE: SPRING/SUMMER 2011

May 15 Sun          Hand Painting Photographs
May 21 Sat           Photographic Alchemy
May 22 Sun          Layering Images in Photoshop
May 29-30 S-M     Mounting Images to Wood

June 24 Fri           Photographic Alchemy
June 25 Sat          Layering Images in Photoshop
June 26 Sun         Hand Painting Photographs
June 27 –28 M-T   Mounting Images to Wood

July 9 Sat             Photographic Alchemy
July 10 Sun          Layering in Photoshop
July 11 Mon          Hand Painting Photographs
July 12-13 T-W     Mounting Images to Wood

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Painters Lodge this Weekend

Just a reminder that Photographers at Painters is coming up this weekend. There are still has some spaces available for the weekend workshop extravaganza in beautiful Campbell River, Vancouver Island.  Here's the link: Photographers at Painters
Bound to be at least as much fun as the royal wedding!



Momentous!

I'm thrilled to share that I've recently moved my art studio to a bright new cabin in the trees, here on Salt Spring Island!
I'm incredibly grateful, and proud of the fact, that for nearly twenty years, I have been able create a life that included a home studio. I have made art while the soup simmered, the kids did their homework, the cat wanted out...and I wouldn't have had it any other way (okay, maybe less laundry).
Now, all of my daughters have grown into beautiful women, gathering their own creative momentum. At a certain moment, I realized it was time.
This new studio is perfect for what I do, and plan to do in the future. I feel so fortunate to have had it come my way.
My daughter, Chloe, described the excitement of it very well when she said "It's like when the winds came, and Mary Poppins arrived with the umbrella, you know?!"  She called me the next day to say "Momentous! That's the word for it!".