Threshold

Creativity and the Heart of Contemplative Photography with John Barclay

TOMORROW - Thursday, August 6, 2:00 p.m. CST

John Barclay has been the inspiration to the creation of Contemplative Photography Retreats held in Molokai, Hawaii over the past few years. These retreats brought together the participants in this series, Flint Sparks, Rikki Cooke, and Dewitt Jones, and formulated the principles that will be shared in this series. John lovingly uses the acronym “CPR for the Soul” for these Contemplative Photography Retreats — “ the restoration of vitality and joy in our lives through photography”. Flint will lay the foundation of contemplative practices and John will follow with his powerful presentation, Dream - Believe - Create.

In John’s words “as we dream about what we wish our photography (and our life) to look like, we need to first truly believe it can happen.“ He asks “Where do we find this kind of faith or trust? As we turn toward our own hearts and, mindfully, to the life around us, we may discover a spark of creativity from which everything begins to flow. When contemplative practices are incorporated into our process, photography becomes a spiritual path. This approach applies in everyday life even if your only camera is the one on your phone.”

Join is for this Thursday Series through Aug 20. Tickets at tinyurl.com/awakenbeauty ✅
Recordings of all presentations will be sent to all ticket holders.

@ Threshold

Meet Contemplative Photographer Jan O'Neill

”As a child, I wanted to be an artist but lost my confidence as I grew older. Photography brought me back to my creative soul. It has become a place of healing, generative new beginnings, and hope".

Jan O'Neill holds a Masters in Public Policy & Administration and has been an educator throughout her career, having taught pre-K through university graduate levels. In the last 6 years of her career she helped build a national community coaching program at the University of Wisconsin, which supported adoption of equity-focused policies at the local level. Now retired, she is involved in a number of Madison anti-racist initiatives. Do not miss the Awakened by Beauty - Intimate Conversations about Contemplative Photography. Thursdays - August 6, 13, 20. Series Tickets at tinyurl.com/awakenbeauty Recordings of all presentations will be sent to all ticket holders.

@ Threshold

"We get good at what we practice, so what do you actually practice with your own heart and mind when you photograph? Not the technical practices, but life practices? What happens when you dive below the surface of everyday experience, entering the light and the shadow of your own life and what do you discover there?” ~ Flint Sparks

Thursdays at 2:00pm CDT
Series starting tomorrow...
Jul 30
Aug 6
Aug 13 .cooke
Aug 20
Tickets at tinyurl.com/awakenbeauty

The Conversation with Flint Sparks:
A spiritual path, when practiced in a wholesome and wholehearted manner, opens us to the magnificent fullness of experience, what I call “the embodied inconceivable.” Life can be felt, lived, shared, and celebrated as an awe-filled mystery. We often realize this most fully in those moments when we are awakened by beauty. In this initial session, I will lay the groundwork for a contemplative approach to photography as an everyday practice available to anyone. Whether we discipline ourselves to the most sophisticated technical aspects of photography, or just love that we have an amazing camera with us at all times in our phone, we can enjoy this kind of practice. But learning to truly see is a deeper calling, and through it we are transformed. This is the path we have set out in these presentations.

Each of the accomplished photographers who will participate in the three following conversations, has become my dear friend and mentor. They have shown me things which I have found surprising and often thrilling. Through our enduring friendships over the years, they have demonstrated what is it is like to be changed and liberated through the lens of a camera. This has been an incredible gift to me. I sincerely hope you will find these presentations and intimate conversations inspiring, and even transformational, for your own life. (Photos shared here are copyrighted by Flint Sparks)

@ Threshold