Edward Bakst Director Designer Professor

Imagination Workshops Conductor & Creative Consultant Edward@ideaforia.com or EBakstCGI@aol.com

website: www.ideaforia.com awn.com/blogs/reflections

Skype: edward.bakst +1-917-603-0262

Strictly Confidential

© Edward Bakst @ Ideaforia

“Gravity Free & Reality Independent” Imagination Workshops

“Imagination, the Matter of Which the Future is Made, spurs creativity inspiring innovative & inventive ideas”

My artistic and academic careers traverse diverse arts, design & media, doing so in dissimilar cultural ideological or political regions of the world. Such practices distilled my focus on the power of imagination. Since many universities teach "how" to, ignoring the "why", I probe the "why" that inspires self-discovery distilling essence that makes us unique, inspiring personal vision, voice and ambition. Tailored to artistic and students, faculty, young professionals or entertainment studios, my workshops ignite self-discovery and self-expression, brainstorming, ideas, abstract themes, concept designs or metamorphic storytelling. While in China my "digital arts & design" sessions attracted multidisciplinary students from animation, film, game and interactive designs, coding, programming, IT, automatic language translation and even law. All found that defying the status quo challenged their minds, magnifying vision and horizons, empowering and enriching their self-awareness that, in turn, ignites their ideas and power of personal self-expression. Utilizing organic or digital, still or motion, 2 or 3d, visual or written art, design, photo, collage, cut-out, clay or constructs, match-stick drawings, performance, storyboard, synopsis, sculpture, mixed media or own devise, they empower partakers as magicians and Creators. Past participants claim to have been liberated from status quo by my outlook on problem solving. Ideation free of reality and technology inspires invention of innovative solutions, designs bolstering conviction, winning clients & career advance. The themes include, but are not limited to: “Power of Imaginative Ideation & Conceptual Art”, “Concept Design Probing Future of Interactive New Media”, “Metamorphic Storytelling via the Magically Visual Language of Animation” & “Experimental Animation”. Animated thinking versa the "live action" empowers participants to probe the impossible. Ensuing sample themes inspire self-exploration and reflection empowering ideas and expression distilling each participant’s voice while arousing imagination:

“Power of Imaginative Ideation & Conceptual Art” “Self-Portrait from within”, who are you deep inside and what makes you unique YOU? “Who or What would you be” if you could re-design yourself, your body, mind, even a life form? “Visions of Hell & Heaven” based on your inmost hopes or fears, imagine what has never been seen. “Machine” that can alter reality or make your innermost dreams and wishes come true. “Fantastic Nano Worlds” they exists all about and within the oblivious us. What is yours like? “Your Wildest Dream” whether factual or imaginary, secretly desired or wished for. “World of Your Creation” envision a uniquely own, gravity free & reality independent world & life forms. “If granted only 1 Wish”, how would you use it, what would it be, how would it change your reality?

“Concept Design Probing Future of Interactive New Media” Interactivity within a virtual or AR fusing reality & virtuality will free us of status quo, altering the future. In a decade all currently static and passive shall become interactive and artificially intelligent. It will make our environments reactive, able to relate to us. For design focused, ensuing themes explore such visions. Doing it technology free allows imagination test foresight, invention or amazing visions of what lies ahead: “Augment Yourself” to visualize and express who you are deep inside, or dream of being. “AR & VR Play World” that everyone would die to own, liberating us from pragmatism, reality & gravity.

“Exhibition” fusing real & virtual to embark visitors on a fantastic exploit beyond Museum’s physicality. “Ultimate Roller Coaster Ride” one that defies all the rules, thrusting you into …? “Ultimate Game” one never seen before. Design amazing World, life forms and storyline. “Interactive Space” fusing AR, VR, Ai, making you forget reality & gravity: a portal to new dimension. “Theme Park” fusing the best concepts into the greatest, wildest and most breathtaking attraction ever. “Your Very Own” concept wielding metamorphic, gravity free & reality independent freedoms.

“Metamorphic Storytelling unleashed by the Magically visual language of Animation”

Animation lays infinite powers in hands of its author. Artist becomes the Creator, God over the world of own conception and vision. That world is unbound by reality, physical or moral rules restraining us. Artist is free to design and create life forms of own imagination. Artist determines whether gravity exists there, if time moves forward, backward or stands still. Ability to travers through time, space, perceptions, thought, form or realities is unique to the art of Animation. It is an awesome power so often underestimated or not explored. In animation, Artist’s imagination is the only limitation. So let us discover such infinite potentials: Themes are initially explored in storyboards. Then the selected one is turned into a short film in a medium of one’s own choice: “My Life as is, in 30 seconds or less”; My life & Me as I wish them to be”; “Dreams I Dream”; “On the Other End of a Black Hole”; “Fantastic World of My Creation”; “If granted a Magic Wish?”

“Sensuality of Tactual Experimental Animation” Explores rapport between dissimilar organically tactual materials and distinctive ideas and metamorphic stories each inspires. This workshops requires such materials as: chalk, charcoal, cut outs, 35 black film stock to scratch, sand, paint on glass, 2.5D clay on glass, stop motion, 3D clay, and your own technique, cameras, light boxes, tripods, lighting, firm table surfaces on which participants can work on own projects. Further themes or topics can either be integrated into the current ones or establish brand new workshops. The workshop format is flexible and customizable. They can run from a few days to a few weeks or more. Longer format permits greater reinforcement and practice of the method and ensuing ideation. Workshops can run every or alternate days, it giving participants extra time to think and execute assignments. They can also run twice a week or, if conducted over a full semester, be offered once a week for fifteen weeks. Ideal total of attendants is between 15 to 20. Sessions are 3 to 4 hour long, ending in a new assignment. During every session each participant presents a new project for open discussion. To expose participants to ideas, practice or global defies, we will screen films, animation or art from worldwide expressive artists. I have conducted such workshops and/or presentations in art and science museums, galleries, conferences, festivals, schools and universities in the USA, Germany, Korea, Venezuela, Poland, Costa Rica, Japan, India, China, Singapore, UAE, Israel, Turkey, Malaysia, Netherlands, Sweden, and most recently in Cuba. My cultural, political or socio-economic milieu sensitivities may entail a dialogue defining choice of themes and objectives that are tailored to and respectful of a given setting. Currently I am in the process of deliberating conducting these for several of Hollywood’s entertainment studios. There they will be devised as means of reigniting and reinvigorating imaginative fortitude of creative talent whose passion may be dimmed by production burden, deadlines or loss of personal impact and creative contribution within an often overshadowing or overwhelmingly intensive production pipelines. Ignited by their ideas, stories, synopses, concept art and designs or inventions, participants may elect to proceed further by converting projects inspired and envisioned during the workshops into either process books, pilot films, multimedia, exhibition or presentation to pitch for “proof of concept” development funds.

Past workshops’ amazing designs are confidential, hence shared in person or only upon request.

Thus, they are not to be used, dispersed, reproduced or published in any manner or medium.

Strictly Confidential

© Edward Bakst @ Ideaforia

“Self-Portrait from within”, who are you deep inside and what makes you uniquely YOU?

“Visions of Hell & Heaven” based on your inmost hopes or fears, imagine what has never been seen.

“Our World after the Next World War”, what would be left and how would our reality be altered forever?

“World of Your Creation” envision a uniquely own, gravity free & reality independent world or life forms.