ONLINE WORKSHOPS & MENTORING
One on One Mentoring
If you are interested in working with me one on one, for a session or a series of sessions, I am taking in new students starting September 2020.
Schedule is flexible, and sessions last an hour. Please send me an email so we can discuss what you interest is and how I can help you.
Below are some testimonials from photographers that have done mentoring with me and/or have taken the workshops.
Review for Interpreting the Self, Fabric of Things and Private Mentoring
Karen is an exceptional teacher and mentor. She is magic! You will see.
The class was inspiring and well organized; rich with art history, relevant artistic references, readings and reflections all of which touched deeply on the unexplored parts of our psyche. We were challenged to find ways of expressing that which is complex and intangible through the language of photography. Many of us have continued to explore themes she presented to us in class and have found her continued teaching and mentorship to be instrumental in developing meaningful bodies of work. As students, we developed a deep bonds with each other, and friendships.
She is a guide and the journey she presents is one that will inspire and excite – her ability to ground us in the elemental, to connect us with the roots of creativity and creation, to expose us to an understanding reaching deeper and further beyond western art history, was a profound shift in my photography education and one which has enriched the work I make and the explorations I undertake. Karen is an exceptional artist and her interest in materiality, and different media, allows for a liberating scope of exploration and tactile engagement with photography and the photograph.
I have the deepest respect for Karen and feel incredibly fortunate to have followed my instinct and signed up for “Interpreting the Self”. - Semira S.
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Karen Miranda-Rivadeneira's inspirational photography classes helped me find my own unique personal vision. Through her creative exercises and assignments, and her presentations of the work of other visual artists, from ancient to contemporary, she changed the way I approach photography. Her encouraging, sensitive feedback gave me permission to explore new styles and subjects and try new techniques, without feeling self conscious or insecure. I have taken several classes with her, and look forward to continuing to work with her. -Annie W
Interpreting the Self, Portraiture Workshop, upcoming, email me if you are interested in participating in this workshop
The notion of intimacy, the use of the body, and the exploration of the self through various creative contexts have always been a point of return in contemporary art practices.
In this class, we focus on the toughest type of observation - the study of our own persona. We turn the camera onto ourselves and travel through our psyche, our dreams and our memories to tell and create stories. Whether we use our memories or create a fictional character, we reinvent ourselves in each exposure.
This is an autobiographical class that focuses on the self as a tool, as a subject, and as a place of inspiration for new work. We will look and discuss the work of many contemporary artists as points of reference, we will also look at how world cultures interpret the idea of "self" through rituals, symbols, dreams, the observation of the cosmos among other topics. This is a class suited for beginners to advanced students, that define their work as photographic and for artists that incorporate photography in their work.
Although we will look largely at photographic projects, we will be looking beyond the lens base realm to include, performance, visual arts, video and art from cultures around the world. Everyone is encouraged to apply.
Through weekly class assignments, students will engage in various approaches to interpret and project their inner world. Discussions, short readings, films, critiques, and writing exercises will be pivotal components of the course.
The session will run for 6 consecutive weeks and week off before the last session.
DATES TBA
*We will use GotoMeeting platform all the classes will be recorded and sent to you the following day.
The Fabric of Things, Developing Stories, Projects and Ideas using the camera and camera-less photography, upcoming, email me if you are interested in participating in this workshop
In this stimulating, thought provoking and multifaceted class, we will examine ways to tell stories that touch the boundaries of imagination and technique.
We will look at photo projects that are born from personal stories, intimacy as well as bodies of work that explore critical, social concerns through an artistic and loosely defined genre. We will look at projects and artists that use the camera and camera-less tools as a way to compose visual essays as well as open-ended stories.
This class is intended to open the student to a wider scope of knowledge by addressing creativity from familiar and unfamiliar gazes, and thus reexamining and enhancing their roles as creators.
The emphasis on the class will be on discussing the intricacies of continuing a work in process, including projects that are in its initial stage either as ideas or beginning images and also in its final stage. We will discuss editing/sequencing, presentation/printing, installation ideas, book possibilities and so on.
Through weekly critical conversations on photography, discussions of art projects and artists that merge disciplines, participants will have a stronger sense of how to complete their present project as well as having the tools for projects to come. This is a class suited for beginners to advanced students, that define their work as photographic, and for artists that incorporate photography in their work. Although we will look largely at photographic projects, we will be looking beyond the photographic realms to include performance, visual arts, video and art from cultures around the world. Everyone who is artistic is encouraged to apply.
This will be a small class which will ensure the attention to each student’s work in process. Readings, Films, critiques, and writing exercises will be key components of the class.
The session will run for 6 consecutive weeks (Before the last session we will take a week off (11/11) to prepare for the final day, which will be a longer session with a short break)
Dates TBA
*We will use GotoMeeting platform and the classes will be recorded if you miss a session and also if you want to have the class info available for reference.
Delighted to be one of the master mentors for the 2019-2020 cycle among this amazing group of creative thinkers.
School of Visual Arts, SVA, New York
ICP International School of Photography, NY
Previous workshop
The Unwavering Fountain
A photographic workshop exploring our relation to ecology, dreaming, perception and the birth of creative substance.
This workshop is designed to give us the time to surrender to the natural world and focus on the inner world, which has been a point of inspiration, expansion and creation for many artists; some may call this the original mind.
Embracing a new paradigm in teaching and talking about photography, this workshop’s practicum explores our relationship to ecology, dreaming and perception. The practicum, imparted in large part outdoors in majestic landscapes that demand attention and silence, will help participants connect to the birth of creative substance.
Everyday there will be an exploration of the senses and territory, one day will begin with Left Brain/Right Brain exercises on awareness, ecology and movement led by Karen. She will also be sharing a practice that she has developed, The Fabric of Things, a guided silent walk to experience the senses in relation to the artistic realm.
In the afternoon, we will go to places such as the Great Sand Dunes, the White Place and experience what Delphine has to teach on form perception, inner power and myth.
We will learn from Brendan about truth in color perception, obsession as an integral tool to establish visual language. He will also share with us his mantra on landscape.
Participants are encouraged to create photographs in each outing as well as take part in experimental activities. There will be ample time for feedback and discussion on the work produced.
Jessica Hubbard Marr will provide participants with a short talk on the history of photography in New Mexico, principally looking at how photographers have captured the land and culture over time. This will be followed by an artist salon at a local’s artist home, which will also give you a taste of life in Taos.
Every evening we will gather for a communal dinner at an artist’s home or a local restaurant, which will give us more time to share outside the workshop space.
Interested participants should know that it is a demanding workshop that said, we are open to all levels of skills; we are most interested in real commitment to the teachings that will unfold on these days. It is our intention that this workshop supports you delving deeper in your practice, by exploring the self, the land as a catalyst for transformation and originality.
Additional Information
When & Where:
The workshop will run for 5 days (3rd to 7th of June 2019), Taos, New Mexico
We start on the day of arrival in the early evening and ends in the late afternoon on the last day.
Tuition:
$1,400 US includes round trip form airport, transportation to the meeting place, breakfast and lunch.
Accommodation:
Participants are responsible for their own accommodation, however we will help as much as possible in finding affordable stays either on AirBnB, in local houses, or hotels. We will make sure that you are in a good spot and in walking distance to town.
Registration Info:
To sign up or learn more about the workshop, please email us at unwaveringfountain@gmail.com
Detailed schedule for each day of the workshop will be emailed to interested participants.
With:
Delphine Diallo
Brendan Pattangale
Karen Miranda-Rivadeneira
Special presentation by Jessica Hubbard Marr
Bios:
Delphine Diallo is a Brooklyn-based French and Senegalese visual artist and photographer.
She graduated from the Académie Charpentier School of Visual Art in Paris in 1999. Sought to challenge the norms of our society, Diallo immerses herself in the realm of anthropology, mythology, religion, science and martial arts to release her mind. Her work takes her to far remote areas, as she insists on spending intimate time with her subjects to better able represent their most innate energy “I treat my process as if it were an adventure liberating a new protagonist” — Diallo’s powerful portraitures unmask and stir an uninhibited insight that allows her audience to see beyond the facade.
Brendan Pattengale is a Los Angeles native, a photographer with a painter’s eye for color and composition.
Pattengale is constantly in pursuit of broader horizons, seemingly untouched territories, explosive vastness and depths allowed by unraveling landscapes, figure studies and still lifes through his field of vision. Most recently he has shown at the Fresno Art Museum and has been exhibited at Fahey/Klein Gallery in Los Angeles. Pattengale received his BA in Studio Art from UC at Davis and has dedicated the last 17 years to mastering photographic techniques and examining these in relation to nature and figure studies.
Jessica Hubbard Marr is an independent photo historian, photographer and archival assistant. She earned her Master's in The History & Theory of Photography from Sotheby's Institute of Art in London in 2011 and her B.A. in English literature from Kenyon College in 2005. Since 2013 she has been a global nominator for the Prix Pictet and works with artists between the US, Mexico and Latin America as a writer, researcher, curator and consultant. She currently lives in New Mexico.
Karen Miranda-Rivadeneira is an Ecuadorian-American photographer currently living in New Mexico.
She is a graduate from the School of Visual Arts in 2005. During that time, she focused on performance art, and trance states. Following these interests she has collaborated with indigenous communities and her relatives to create photo-based projects. From the Mam to the Mandaeans, she has spent more than a decade living between the Amazon, the Andean highlands and NYC. She is interested in digging for psychic gold, in threading personal and collective narratives exploring the peripheries of memory, storytelling, myth and perception to encounter the myriads of ways in which photography can create platforms for diversion and reflection.
Photos by ©Chris Villafuerte
