Photo Surrealism Experimental Photography: Transfers, Dioramas, and More!

Julia Forrest is a Brooklyn based artist. She works strictly in film and prints in a darkroom she built within her apartment. Her own art has always been her top priority in life and in this digital world, she will continue to work with old processing. Anything can simply be done in photoshop, she prefers to take the camera, a tool of showing reality, and experiment with what she can do in front of the lens.

Julia is currently working as a teaching artist at the Brooklyn Museum, USDAN Art Center, and Abrons Art Center. As an instructor, she thinks it is important to understand that a person can constantly stretch and push the boundaries of their ideas with whatever medium of art s/he chooses. Her goal is for her audience to not only enjoy learning about photography, but to see the world in an entirely new way and continue to develop a future interest in the arts.

Blend vintage photography processes with the digital processes of the NOW! All within the unique and highly photographable neighborhood of East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Many people forget that you do NOT need digital manipulation to create something surreal, unique or completely INSANE! This class will help you create otherworldly images using digital and analog techniques. Your imagination is the most important factor behind a successful piece of art and, as such, students will learn how other art materials can further develop their conceptual processes.

Students will complete three projects and a final project that will combine the processes learned in the course.

Class size: 12

Price: $200*

Scheduled: Sundays 11am-2pm Starting May 31st

Sessions: 6 sessions, 3 hrs each

All Ages

*fees include materials need for projects.

PROJECTS:

1. Students will blend digital technology with photo transfers. Usually done with Polaroids and within a darkroom, photo transfers were a way for artists to lift images off the paper and melt them onto any surface. In this course, students will take digital photographs and print them onto transfer paper. By using various solvents (in a well-ventilated area) students will remove the image and dissolve it onto glass, wood, metal, or fabric.

2. In the second project, students will take the transfer process further and print on a much LARGER scale on transparency paper. Because the last project can only be done on a small scale, students will now have the opportunity to push their ideas further with bigger prints. By overlaying the transparency paper onto another flat surface (such as a collage, a sculpture, a piece of writing) you can creating depth in your image. By blending mediums together, you will create a final art piece that makes a statement.

3. In the third project, students will create their own miniature dioramas out of photographs. By building layers with resin, you will create a stunning 3D effect. Through these artistic juxtapositions, a unique narrative will emerge. The final art piece will resemble a clear block, or a photographic sculpture.