Complimentary photo of you when you take Celebrate The Feminine Worshop.

Celebrate the Feminine!
Come Celebrate Who You Are and Where You Are in Your Life!
Would you like to let your hair down and have an afternoon of great fun?
Are you ready to embrace your creative spirit and let it carry you away?
Could there be a gentle goddess, naughty nymph, or mischievous mermaid somewhere inside of you?
That's what this playdate is all about celebrating who you are and
exploring alternative sources of creativity all in a safe environment.
Activities include:
· Being photographed by Laurie Klein.
(Bring a variety of outfits that fit your inner persona or your alter
ego, wedding dresses, flowing fabric, solid color bathing suits, lace,
business or party attire, costumes, and lots of wild makeup.)
· Active visioning and relaxation exercises, as well as a guided
journey
· An opportunity to photograph others. Bring your own cameras.
· Applying the Method Acting technique to your own particular
creative endeavors.
Sunday Oct 23 1-4 $100 includes an 8x10 photo of you taken by Laurie

Tillman Crane's October Musing was so amazing that I had to share it with you. I meet Tillman a few years ago at Peters Valley. He is an incredible photographer and photographic educator. Enjoy his Musing!

FRIDAY 30, SEPTEMBER 2011

October 2011 Musing

The Thin Envelope

We have all gotten them, the long awaited reply that comes in the thin envelope. Replies from committees that arrive in thin envelopes are not, usually, the news we are hoping to hear. The rejection letters are always in thin envelopes, probably because it doesn’t take much space to say “Thanks but no thanks.” Good news comes in thick envelopes, envelopes filled with further instructions and forms needing to be filled with information. A thin envelope means you have been rejected. You’re done. The dream, for the moment, is gone and your efforts deemed unworthy. And boy, does that hurt.

This year I applied for both an artist grant and an artist-in-residency program.  The thin envelope for the grant came just the other day. I hope to hear about the residency in a few weeks.

The real question is: How do we deal with the thin envelope? It immediately has us listening to our internal demons, giving in to our doubts, asking ourselves why we continue to do this work we call art when no one seems to care. It is easy to quit if the only things we get for our effort are the thin envelopes of rejection.

We can get angry and spend our time railing against the injustices of a world that fails to recognize our genius or efforts. We can dismiss the work of those who got  “our “ grants. We can mock the committee’s choice, we can tell our friends how unjust it is. In total, we can waste our time being angry and hurt.

My graduate school mentor, John Weiss, has a great way of looking at the thin envelopes. He says that all competitions are a matter of selectionand NOT rejection. The judge, jury, panel or whomever, is looking at the work for something specific.  They are selecting for their needs and desires, not rejecting everyone else. The secret is to keep applying until you find a group of jurors who agree with you.

So, my work didn’t happen to fit what the group of selectors desired for the artist grant this year. Intellectually, I talk to myself about selection rather than rejection, but the sting of rejection still hurts - for the moment. It makes it a little harder to keep making applications for other grants, fellowships, and residencies - for the moment. But only for a moment. The truth is I make my photographs because I have to. It is who I am and what I do. When the thin envelope comes, I will, for the moment, be angry at not being selected. I’ll be hurt for a short time that my work wasn’t what the jurors were looking for. But I won’t quit making my work because one day it will be exactly what a group of jurors is looking for.

Don’t quit. Keep on working.
Tillman

www.tillmancrane.com

Fall Workshops

Fall Workshops

Photographic Playdates One of a kind workshops created for groups, minimum of 5 students, usually running 4 hours. We design the Playdate together in advance. Fee $65 per person time and place TBD Intermediate Photography Workshop Lets go beyond the basics together! We will have a model to photograph  and discover the wonders of portraiture. We will experiment and discuss  flash, lighting, advance camera controls and aesthetics. Saturday Oct 22 10-4 $165 plus $15 model fee Celebrate the Feminine! Come Celebrate Who You Are and Where You Are in Your Life! Would you like to let your hair down and have an afternoon of great fun? Are you ready to embrace your creative spirit and let it carry you away? Could there be a gentle goddess, naughty nymph, or mischievous mermaid somewhere inside of you? That's what this playdate is all about celebrating who you are and exploring alternative sources of creativity all in a safe environment. Activities include: · Being photographed by Laurie Klein. (Bring a variety of outfits that fit your inner persona or your alter ego, wedding dresses, flowing fabric, solid color bathing suits, lace, business or party attire, costumes, and lots of wild makeup.) · Active visioning and relaxation exercises, as well as a guided journey · An opportunity to photograph others. Bring your own cameras. · Applying the Method Acting technique to your own particular creative endeavors. Sunday Oct 23 1-4 $100 includes an 8x10 photo of you taken by Laurie The Business Side to Your Art Do you want to fuel your passion and feed yourself and your family? How do you turn your passion into money? In this workshop we will discuss how to set yourself up for business success. This class with include: · how to create a business plan · creating a mission statement · understanding your core purpose · how to make S.M.A.R.T. goals · 3 month, 6 month, 1 year and 5 year goals · legalities involved in starting a business · what makes you different will make you successful · Marketing · Identifying your clients · understanding demographics · how to reach your clients · position yourself for success · using social networking · gonzo marketing · creating websites and blogs 4 Tues. Oct. 25 - Nov 15th 6:30-8:30pm $165 Creativity Workshop Got Juice? - Creative Juice That Is. Do you recall the freedom and joy you felt as a child when playing with finger paints?   Creative thinking was easier then. Our intuitive right brain functioning was more developed than our more cognitive left brain functioning. As we grew older and developed logical thinking, language, and higher education, our more creative talents fell behind in growth. Creativity is like a muscle - use it or lose it. It must be nurtured, fed and exercised in order to grow. When you learn to let your creativity flow, you become a better decision maker and problem solver. You gain more energy and stay more focused. Artists produce better work, businesspersons become greater assets to their employers. This workshop will facilitate: · independent expression · visual journaling · greater reliance on intuition · small group creative 'think tanks' · will facilitate broader analytical thinking · renewed energy and initiative · heightened awareness of new possibilities Saturday Nov. 5th 10-4 $165 plus $15 model fee Standing Out ~ How to Photograph and Market a Wedding Photography Business Like No One Else Learn/Review the Basics: Even the most creative endeavor requires a strong foundation. In this part of the course we will review the important highlights of the wedding day story. Every wedding has a structure, from the initial bride-and-groom dialogue until the last dance. Once you understand the basics, you are free to be more artistic. Developing Your Own Photographic Style:  We will be working with models to experiment with different techniques, in order to discover which methods have particular resonance for you the photographer. Bring in your past photographs to be used in group critiquing and also for individual mentoring time with Laurie. Marketing Like No One Else: Do you want your studio to stand out from the crowd? With a huge number of competitors out there, creative marketing is more important then ever. In this section of the workshop we will discuss: Person-to-person marketing, including mining your past clients Using social networks (Facebook, Linked In etc.) Partnering with other vendors Advertising-dos and don'ts How to get editorial benefits from print and internet media Building a better public relations campaign Sat. & Sun. Nov 12th & 13th 10-4pm $295 Private Instruction available Workshops will be held at my Lake House Brookfield, CT www.laurieklein.com, info@laurieklein.com, 203-740-1110