CONSCIOUS CREATIVITY - A 6 WEEK ONLINE COURSE; APRIL 8TH - MAY 13TH 2024

Creativity is within all of us, but being able to take time to consciously connect to our creativity isn't always easy. It can be hard to shake off comparisons, insecurities and idealistic goals.

Over this 6 week course we will focus in on deep observation and actively explore shifting your ways of seeing, particularly those everyday things which often get overlooked.
I will be helping you to increase your sense and recognition of colour, texture, form, reflections, shadows, symmetry, patterns and framing.

The course will help you identify how you can develop your daily practice and it is designed to inspire and prompt creative impetus rather than telling you exactly how to do things. It's about feeling empowered to do your own thing; to follow your own path and take away any pressure to have popular or 'clickable' content. By the end of the course I aim to have you feeling more confident and excited about how you personally view things, and to have much firmer and clearer creative starting points.

I will steer clear of any 'styling' and overly considered manipulation of 'props', because while these skills can create a sense of beauty, they can also lead to superficiality. If your observational foundations are in place and you are actively exploring, appreciating and experimenting with the world around you, your work will always be richer for it.

The course feels very personal as I am always an actively present part of it and during my weekly Live demonstrations you can ask me any questions about the week's topic, about aspects of the work you're struggling with, or maybe even share something you've personally discovered during the week. I demonstrate for one hour, Live, each week through a private group. ( If the course group has multiple time zones, I usually demonstrate twice a day so everyone feels able to participate in 'real' time if they want to.) I try to answer any questions which may arise during the Live sessions and I give you recorded, personalised feedback if you send me any work you've done during the week. Included in the course price is one 30 minute personal Q and A with me, available to book in after Week 3, and to fit in with your time zone.

I will e-mail you a questionaire a week before the course begins, and then each week's topic and homework will be emailed as a pdf the day before the class. There will be a weekly film to inspire and help you with your topic and I will invite you to some private Pinterest boards for inspiration. If you ever feel like sharing course related work on your socials please feel free to use the hashtag #consciouscreativityclass .

Before the course begins I will provide you with a list of useful apps which I personally use, plus some video tutorials to help you use them. Each week I will suggest inspirational Instagram accounts, artists, books and films which you may find interesting, helpful and/or relevant for the week's topic.

I always work with my i-phone; creating and documenting through photographs, but if you prefer to work in a different way; with paper, pencils and paint, for example, that is perfectly ok. As the course is all about feeding your visual vocabulary, I will encourage you to create some sort of photographic document of your process and work throughout the course, but it really doesn't have to be about taking amazing photos if that's not your thing. However, it is always a good way to share and receive feedback, even if it's nerve wracking.
Previous students have also really enjoyed setting up a specific Instagram account just for the course as it tends to remove any worries about posting 'good' images, and works more like a sketchbook.

At the end of the course I will encourage you to identify personal projects as they always serve as a spark and/or an anchor for much more work in the future.

The course's 6 topics are:

WEEK 1:
Movement

WEEK 2:
Using Your Senses

WEEK 3:
Colours 

WEEK 4:
Textures 

WEEK 4: 
Shadows & Reflections

WEEK 6:
Layers, Shapes and Patterns

* * * TESTIMONIALS * * *

'Out of all the on-line courses I have done (and I've done way too many) this has without a doubt been the most value adding to me as a person. you may not have intended the course to do this but it has made me re-evaluate what I am doing with my brand and forced me to find the purpose behind it.' - Bex, UK

'…this was the right course at the right time for me. It was the perfect mix of thoughtful exercises, challenging homework, and inspiring demonstrations. I am taking away so much that will resonate with me for a long time and influence my art and craft and how I see and observe the world.' - MaryAnn, USA

'Please know how wholeheartedly I loved your course.
Your beautiful images on Instagram have been such an inspiration to me over the years, and to then have you personally encourage, and give me guidance on my own creative journey, was truly heart warming. Thank you again Philippa, you’ve changed the way I see things.' - Adele, AUSTRALIA

'Every time I attend class i can feel your passion and your thought in creating....I am so thankful for your encouragement and your advice which make me feel more confident when I explore thing around me. I have learn a lot from you and also the wonderful works of all classmates. Attending your class is really amazing for me.' - Thai Quyen, VIETNAM

'You open doors which I would never have opened before!
I knew that the course was going to be very interesting because I followed you for a while and I loved your account! It was a great course!...I have learned to look at things in a very different way and also I opened my eyes to things which before I wouldn’t have done!' - Yolande, SWITZERLAND

'Finding time to nurture the creative side of myself really changed how I feel about my work/life balance. I am enjoying my work more and being more free and easy about where it can take me. I feel less rigid and trapped on a high speed treadmill of my own making.' - Laura, UK

All proceeds from this online course are going to my Kickstarter campaign for my new photography book: 'WE'RE THINKING ABOUT REMOVING THIS PAYPHONE", which documents the decline and disappearance of the KX100 series of telephone kiosks in the UK.