Alchemy of Witness: Relating Through the Camera

“You talk, I listen. Now I talk, you listen. It’s a humble exchange. Image by image, experience by experience, our lives become nourishment to one another.” -Mark Yaconelli, Between the Listening and the Telling

*This program has now been extended through the spring quarter. During springtime, an additional focus on community teaching and education will be added in place of the heavy emphasis on photography during the winter quarter.*

Through listening exercises, communication skills labs, and analog darkroom work, this interdisciplinary photography and counseling psychology program will develop fundamental skills for students interested in expressive arts therapy and relational careers in public service, community, or the helping professions. Experiments with direct animation on film and cyanotypes will give us the chance to play in the realm of art while learning foundational film photography skills. Students will study the relationship between systemically oriented Narrative Psychology and Cognitive Behavior Therapy, while building an understanding of how both verbally-based and image-based storytelling can be used to connect more deeply in community.

Using film photography as an observational tool along with the idea that our attention is a gift, this program will spend time answering the questions: How do stories, people, and events transform through being witnessed? How do we create belonging spaces where the stories of others can freely emerge? And finally, how do we create space in ourselves to hold the stories of others well while facing the many calls of modern living?

Through play with experimental watercolor techniques, students will also have the opportunity to connect theory to practice through sharing a virtual art workshop (every other Wednesday) with Hummingbird Studio. Hummingbird Studio is a local non-profit that serves adults with disabilities by providing community art-making spaces.

Our primary artistic focus will be on analog photography/film experiments, and will provide us entry into the campus’ state-of-the-art darkroom facility. Larger than standard 35-millimeter film, medium format (60-millimeter) offers what some people consider richer and often more detailed imagery. No previous art skill is required, but the ability to cultivate openness to new mediums and “a beginner's mind,” are necessary.

Students who enroll in this program should be ready to use appropriate and respectful sharing to engage in dyad and triad work, participatory class sessions, and be interested in creating high-vitality spaces of belonging for any and all members of the Evergreen community.

Students who wish to register for the 12-credit option require a faculty signature and discussion with faculty. Students interested in the 12-credit option of the program need to contact the faculty at PartridP@evergreen.edu by week ten of the fall quarter, or at the academic fair, in order to complete the steps necessary and receive approval for engaging in this option.

Class will be held over Zoom on Tuesdays from 1-3:30 PM, and in person on Thursdays from 1-4:30. Every other week, students will attend a 60-90 minute art-making session hosted by Hummingbird Arts (described above) during a weekly time slot of their choice, decided in week one. This ‘floating block” of time for students can be attuned to students’ scheduling needs and take place either in person or virtually.

Readings will include: Between the Listening and the Telling, How Stories Can Save Us, by Mark Yaconelli, and an online reader containing articles related to art therapy, film techniques, photography and excerpts from The Creative Habit, by Twyla Tharp.

Anticipated Credit Equivalencies:

2 - Expressive Arts Therapy Theory

3 - Counseling Skills

3 - Photography