GENERAL WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS
MASTER CLASS/MENTOR SERIES (ONGOING)
Where Do I Go From Here?
The purpose of the winter/spring Master Class/Mentor series is career
development with the creative process at the forefront. Brought together are
dedicated participants from all walks of life to create a support system with
continuous contact. The group meets one full day a month in New York City to
present and discuss current work. This six-month (or longer) dialogue concerns
vision, creativity, and experimentation. Our main focus will be on your work
and how it can be refined to best reflect your vision and sensibilities. We
will address such issues as blocks, motivation, marketing and the development
of ideas. For information, contact Ernestine Ruben at
ernie.ruben@gmail.com
"I've had the great privilege of being involved in workshops led by
Ernestine Ruben. Her dynamics, boundless energy and enthusiasm create a
productive work-shop environment. Ernestine's strong belief in the potential of
the individual student and her dedication to photography as an art form have
not only inspired me but have given direction to my artistic development. Her
love of art and teaching have combined to give me unforgettably rewarding
experiences."
Bill Metcalf 2003
WORKSHOP GOALS:
A productive workshop is when obvious and hidden pieces are carefully connected
producing the most benefit to the individual as well as to the group. These
include technical knowledge, aesthetic awareness, intellectual curiosity, and
personal honesty. This means reaching into given "baggage", reworking the
contents, and creating new pathways. This is done by mutually identifying
strengths and weaknesses, establishing problems, planning their resolution
through creative approaches to photography.
DURATION:
1-14 days; all at one time or split into two parts allowing time for
preparation in between
GROUP CLASSES:
2-15 people
PRIVATE CLASS:
Call or write for information
1. Changing Environments in Photography: Inner and Outer
Environments
As our external environments change our internal environments change and vice
versa. How do we keep up? What happens to our ideas? This workshop concentrates
on our states of mind and creativity in forever changing environments. How is
all of this expressed using photography? It will appeal to the person who has
little time, or travels a lot, or is interested in opening up new channels. The
subjects will vary as the problems arise. It is our aim to breathe new life
into our processes and products.
2. Detours in Photography
Students will work under Ruben's direction to break new ground with their
image-making techniques. As rules are broken, new approaches are developed and
discovered to appropriately express new vision. Students will print the images
using varying techniques on varying surfaces,including handmade papers. By
using these alternative methods, they will be able to explore new dimensions of
their creative energies.
3. Perceptions of the Nude
This workshop explores the subject of the nude as a means of revealing and
clarifying each participant's individual perceptions of the world (and
development as an artist). By examining our philosophical and psychological
reactions to the human form we become more sensitive to our own "human-ness"
and can frequently break down barriers, releasing new creativity. The nude in
photography will be related to other art forms such as painting and sculpture,
which have incorporated the human figure in a variety of ways throughout
history. The workshop includes extensive photography sessions with models, both
indoors and outdoors.
4. New Visions in Photography
This workshop is for all artists at all levels who seek (re)discovery through
photography. The human imagination can be stretched and strengthened through a
continual motion between risking the unknown and incorporating the given,
between failure and progress. And photography is the perfect medium for this
because it deals with a given reality and yet today it is so open-ended. In the
workshop we will address our humanness and passion in creativity, look at the
origin of our ideas, and pinpoint barriers in order to release new energies
toward a new project. Appropriate techniques will be developed to express new
visions. The workshop will emphasize one-to-one contact.
5. The Photographer: The Human Being
Most photography classes discuss either technique or philosophy. Rarely is the
human aspect important. I wish to combine all three. Photography is often
clothed in technique. Many people involved in photography forget that there is
more. This workshop is a complementary approach toour constant learning which
must take place. Do we want to inject ourselves into our work? How do we do it?
How do we master techniques enough to transcend it?
Week 1: People Project: Who we are. Self-portraits, personal
vision, career development.
Week 2:Ideas: How we think. Ways of finding ideas, choosing
ideas, visual organization.
Week 3: Ideas: How we work. Processes, manipulation,
applications, etc.
Week 4: Extensions: Where we go. Portfolio preparation, shows,
books, performance, experimentation.
6. The Female Eye: Women Seeing Women
Peter's Valley Craft Center, Layton, NJ
www.petersvalley.org
Photographing the body is a difficult and exciting challenge. The human body, and particularly
the female body, has always played an important role in photography. Women have a particular view
of their body and often treat it as landscape, as portrait, and as body inhabited by dreams and expectations.
Therefore we are offering this workshop to female image-makers of all types and ages who wish to explore the celebrations of the female form.
This workshop will encourage you to create a fresh approach when photographing the figure. In this hands-on class
you will discover new ways to take risks in order to represent the female body with innovation. We will explore how
the female body has been interpreted throughout the history of photography and learn new methods to take our work
beyond those limitations, which we all know too well. This class is all about opening new doors with creativity!
Combining in-depth discussions, portfolio review, demonstrations, lots of shooting, and one-on-one meetings with
Ms. Ruben, you will have the time and guidance to re-energize and realize original and informed directions for your
image-making. On location at inspiring sites, Ms. Ruben will cover the latest techniques, innovative aesthetics, and
share her expertise on how to use lighting to your best advantage. The experience of working with live models
will have its effects on everything you photograph! Come with ENERGY!
7. Beyond Seeing II
Peter's Valley Craft Center, Layton, NJ
www.petersvalley.org
In the fast changing world of the photographic image, there is more than the camera!
The landscape at PV is a great motivational factor for discoveries in Photography!
Has everything been done? You will find out. The artist and their art can take new directions! Experimentation
will be strongly encouraged as well as risk-taking. Students will pursue their own tracks with the help of one
to one attention from Ernestine Ruben. Creating problems and finding their resolutions will be encouraged. You
are encouraged to bring your laptops and shooting with a digital camera will be required.
For Schedules and details (cost, location etc.) contact
Ernestine Ruben
LECTURES
Lectures about such topics as the human body, spirituality in photography, and
collaborations between photographers and other artists, can be organized. For
more information,contact Ernestine Ruben