We will study examples of self-portraiture and begin to expand our definition of portrait work. We will discuss its significant relevance to the time we are passing through, and how portraiture can be a deeply grounding somatic practice for the SWANA artist. I will share light body and breath exercises and go over what tools we may need in our physical and emotional environments to carry out this work. This week, we will begin with light warm up assignments inviting you to use whatever camera you have at your disposal, as well as short mirror exercises. This portrait class is a study of our own gaze to the self as much as it is a study of the gaze of the other. But first, we begin with our own encounter with the body.

This week, we delve deeper into exploring other narrative possibilities when it comes to working with the self-portrait. We will consider the use of sound, moving image, and writing as acts of portraiture. Participants will be invited to share their experiences and results from the week prior. Multi-media portrait work will be assigned, and we will discuss the possibilities of including various elements and characters when working with the self-image.

Having tried multiple tools for self-portraiture, participants will begin to gather a sense of the medium (or combination of mediums) they prefer to work with in portraiture. We will share our work from the past couple of weeks, and, pause to consider how the results of this work may be showing up in our personal lives. This work extends beyond our intimate time with the camera and invites the possibility for other revelations, insights, and encounters in our lives. This work is about observing what begins to change when we replace the idea of ourselves with the truth that our portrait work reads back to us. Yes, there will be times it may get uncomfortable, and that is why we are doing the work collectively, slowly, with a great deal of care, tenderness, and honesty. The discomfort that arises along the way could perhaps the most important result of our work, with the right support and only with one’s willingness and permission to share. It invites the possibility for something radically different in our lives, if we are willing to accept what it wants to tell us. This is where you will have the chance to have your work read by others in the group. Together we will experience having our work and our image read back to us, in ways that are often very different from our own reading and intention for the work but almost always deeply revelatory and transformative.

This is where we review the portfolio of your self-portrait work: the writing, the visuals, the audio, and any other material gathered. We bring together the work of the previous week and rather than reading our portrait work as separate submissions, we will read them wholistically as a collection expressing your relationship to the self, to time, to your surrounding, and to the celestial/ sacred/ divine space around us. We will discuss where you may want to go from here and what ideas you want to extend your time working with. Participants will be invited to schedule another time with me to share any additions or later insights made to their collection.