Workshops | Melissa Blythe Knowles

WORKSHOPS

Look . Listen . Engage

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Seen / Unseen

Seen / Unseen workshops invite participants to look closely—with care, curiosity, and camera in hand.

Through guided exercises in perception and mindfulness, participants engage both the science of sight and more intuitive ways of seeing. The workshops introduce ideas such as the animacy of the world and the rights of nature, while offering technical grounding alongside exploratory approaches that support more intentional, attentive image-making.

The After Light is a practice I leaned into as a gentle way into solitude while grieving, giving me not only a creative outlet for grief but also a tangible way to express my love for Geordie. It invites exploration of memory, connection, and presence. Working between what is seen and what is felt, photography opens into moments that can hold both fragility and quietly joyful qualities.

No prior experience is required, and cameras are provided. Workshops are offered to schools, healthcare organizations, and nonprofits for both children and adults.

Spirit Photography

Spirit Photography invites participants to bring images of loved ones—those present, absent, or in transition—and create new work that reflects an ongoing connection.

Through techniques rooted in the history of spirit photography—such as double exposure, intentional camera movement, and reflection—participants create expressive “spirit photographs.” These works are not meant to prove or explain, but to give form to memory, feeling, and connection.

Grounded in the often-overlooked lineage of women spirit photographers, the workshop honors a tradition of creative and spiritual practice—exploring the enduring human desire to remain connected to those we love.

TidalTokens, a beach photo walk, is inspired by the Ling Qi Jing, where instead of casting coins, participants encounter the sea’s shifting arrangements of sand, stone, and seaweed as spontaneous acts of divination—welcoming the possibility that our loved ones leave signs and symbols for us in the world around us.

Living Love

Living Love—a phrase Geordie wrote of in his journals—draws from one of the most enduring human rituals: the talking circle. This monthly gathering brings people together in small groups to share how love and loss continue to shape our lives—through conversation, journaling, and the sharing of photographs and personal items that reflect those we carry.

Together, we consider the ways our relationships continue with those who have died—including moments that may feel spiritual, intuitive, or difficult to explain. Between sessions, participants are invited to borrow cameras and join me for photo walks—using photography to notice what feels meaningful, and to share these reflections in future gatherings.

Woven throughout are meditations and creative prompts that speak to grief, spirituality, and the subtle threads that remind us that love, like all energy, does not end—it changes form.