Education
Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Beyond
The Unfiltered Self-Portrait: Exploring Body Image and Creative Joy Work
Saturdays 12-2 pm
starting February 01, 2025
This transformative 6-week photography course will guide students through self-discovery via self-portraits, journaling, and messy art.
Explore your body image, fostering a connection with your ever-changing self. Instructor will provide poetry, prompts, guidance on technique, and encourage sensory exploration, creating images that authentically reflect your relationship with your body.
Students will also practice weekly complementary written expression and messy art activities to release concepts of perfectionism and practice self-liberation, using mediums like gelli plate transfer and gold leaf application to self-portraits.
Classwork includes juicy discussions, establishing a supportive community for your ongoing journey of body acceptance. Students at all phases of the ongoing body image journey and photography levels welcome, come prepared with a journal and phone or camera for taking photos. Repeat students welcome, new material will be covered. Ages 15+.
Rebel Beauty: A Body-Positive Photographic Art Workshop
Are you ready to flip society the bird and embrace your pores, wrinkles, dimples, folds, dips, and curves? Join us for a half-day workshop where we'll gleefully photograph ourselves and each other, celebrating features like aging, stretch marks, and rolls—those so-called "flaws" the media tells us to fix. Instead, we'll showcase these as badges of a life well-lived. Together, we'll turn those photos of our bodies into artistic masterpieces, decorating and honoring every inch with the joy and reverence they deserve using paint, gelli plates, gold leaf, embroidery thread, and other art supplies. Ages 15+.
Saturday, March 22, 2025, 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Durham Studio and Upcoming Camps and Courses
Pixel Play: A Creative Adventure in Youth Photography:
Summer Camp Dates Upcoming
Students ages 9-12 will unleash their inner artist as we explore the basics of composition, color, and storytelling. From mastery of their equipment to effective self-expression, we will focus on balancing skill building and joyful creative inquiry.
Each week has a new theme, but we will always revisit our central questions: What story are you telling? What does this make your viewer feel? Let’s talk light, color, composition, and angles! What makes this photo uniquely yours? We will make albums, go on scavenger hunts, play with angles, and learn about editing techniques. Students will leave this course with a clear sense of their personal artistic vision and strong foundation in photography basics. We will host an exhibition on the final day for friends and family. Students will need to bring a camera (phone, dslr, or point-and-shoot acceptable although everyone will learn manual camera basics).
Introductory Photographic Portraiture, Light Sculpting, Posing, and Interactive Skills
Not Currently Offered
This course is taught by 3 professional photographers to produce a 6 week cohesive experience to introduce the student to the art and craft of producing evocative and meaningful photographic portraiture. Instruction includes studio and theatrical lighting taught in the ArtsCenter’s theater, ambient and environmental natural lighting with reflectors, fill flash, window light, and the psychological interpersonal skills in working with camera and subject. Students will may use dSLR and mirrorless cameras and use their dedicated flashes if preferred. They may also experiment with smart phone options if appropriate. Participants are encouraged to enroll with partners if they wish to work together. Requirements: Working knowledge of camera equipment. Lighting equipment provided during sessions.
Barbara Tyroler
With dual MFA and MEd degrees, Barbara uses the synthesis of light, imagination, and technology to express aesthetic concepts. A skilled professional photographer, she blends fine art and humanitarian work. As an educator, she guides her students to express and authentically share their ideas while teaching them the technical aspects of creating a solid body of work with the most impact to evoke and convey meaning.
Lis Tyroler
Lis is a Durham-based freelance photographer and certified Body Image Bootcamp Facilitator who fosters creativity, self-expression, and radical self-love through her lens. With a broad
range of experience including social work, activism, community building, and theatrical design, she is able to draw on her varied skills to share a profound love of wild imperfection with her students while encouraging them to explore their unique artistic vision.
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