On Saturday 18th May, I went to London to attend a seminar hosted by Brooke Shaden, who readers of my degree will know is one of my all-time favourite photographers/artists.
The day started early, and we were all greeted into the auditorium one by one by Brooke, who hugged all the 120 guests individually. This was the start of a great day that took us through the concept of being passionate about our work and pushing through to create art even when motivation is low.
Brooke Shaden has a relentless and unstoppable work ethic she has created hundreds of pieces over the last decade every one I find appealing and inspirational though Brooke herself is more critical of some of her work.
The day opened with us all getting paint on our hands and putting them on a huge bit of cloth she spread across the stage.
There was a lot of time spent doing what Brooke called exercises, which got us to lose our inhibitions and feel easy interacting with a room full of 120 people. Brooke was very free with her inner self and even shared details on how she makes her money and what worked and what did not. It was a very revealing day and left me feeling motivated to create and get on with the artistic side of my photography.
The day ended in a photoshoot where Brooke had hired a set of models, and we spent time shooting them in all sorts of places around the auditorium including at a large grand piano. Lots of fun was extracted, and I have a few hundred shots yet to play with.
I enjoyed the whole day and loved the experience of meeting such a giving artist who put her heart and soul into inspiring us. The day ended as we all single filed out and received another hug and a selfie with Brooke. Best study day ever!