An Online Experiential Retreat for Photographers
October 2-4, 2020
call me artist
LISHA ZULKEPLI
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Lisha is a mother of one, living with her daughter and husband in Malaysia.
She is a self-taught photographer, and mostly takes photos of her family. She primarily shoots in natural light, and loves the surreal feel freelensing gives her. She takes photos by feel, often ignoring all basic rules. Her goal is to take photos like great artists paint.
She also writes, and is a certified baker.
She has taught for Phlock's The Voice Within Summit and is a Click Pro photographer. Her work has been published in numerous internationally-accredited magazines and blogs.
I AM ME: A GUIDE TO FINDING YOUR INNER ARTISTIC STORY
& THE ART OF LETTING GO
Creativity does not come naturally. It is strengthened only when you stop feeding your weaknesses with thoughts and starve them with actions. It is human nature to get easily swayed by competition, letting ourselves (and especially our art) be subjected to societal approval, putting our own voice in the back seat.
This course will take you through the processes that will help you find who you are again. It will give you the courage to stand up for your art. It will refine your habits into working that creative brain while still being true to you. It will give you the assurance you need in order to embrace imperfections, your imperfections, and the imperfections of your art. It will also dive into how accepting these imperfections will lead to better mental health.
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LISHA'S ARTISTIC JOURNEY
When my daughter was born in 2014, I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety.
Taking photos first became part of my self-care ritual, and later, a means of releasing my emotions. It was this second step that allowed me to see things in a different way. Because of my mental health condition, I learnt how to get to know me better. I dove deeper into my fears, and reconditioned them; I discovered suppressed interests and nurtured them.
By remembering who I was, I was able to envision who I wanted to be.
And all I wanted was to be free.
I then discovered that I had been allowing constraints on myself, through my past experiences, through cultural and religious inhibitions, through the inheritance of my family’s history, and all of this; and more, as I continually learn, unlearn and relearn; is the thing that was confining my art.
And then, two years ago, I taught myself how to freelens.
Freelensing advocated for me, the reality of limitless creativity.
It gave me room to breathe, (something I had forgotten to do along the way), and just enough room for me to still be in control.
I realized then, that the borders I had drawn for myself were unnecessary; that I had been mislabeling them this whole time, and that they are actually what makes me me.
By accepting my past experiences, my culture and religion, my family’s history, I was able to finally see that they were all a part of me.
By utilising them in my art, embedding little snippets of my story in my photography, I was able to finally call myself an artist.