The Arcanum: Meet Karen Hutton

The Arcanum Prepares

I mentioned some time back that I’m part of “The Arcanum: Magical Academy of Artistic Mastery“. Sounds fun, huh? It’s a new kind of school for the arts being created by awesome photographer and friend Trey Ratcliff.  While it’s starting off with photography as the primary discipline, the vision is to branch out over time into other artistic channels. Here’s how he describes how it’ll work:

“A very old… ancient, in fact… way of learning and growing through a Master & Apprentice relationship, powered by a NEW kind of academy. Imagine a type of Hogwarts, online in Augmented Reality, where you always have a connection to your Master and your fellow Apprentices. Get your head around that, and you’ll see where this is going…”

I’m excited! I’m starting out as a Master under the discipline of Landscape Photography. We’re all choosing one to start with, then opening it up to other genres later if we want to. We’ve been asked to create 5 videos to go in the Grand Library, so that when doors finally open there’s some awesome content for apprentices to enjoy and learn from right away. One of the videos needed to be a “Hello, I’m _____” introduction.

Here’s mine, created just for The Arcanum:

Defining Yourself & What You Bring

It’s a challenge to define yourself and what you’re all about in the context of something like The Arcanum! I’m sharing what went through my mind, in case YOU ever have to do such a thing, either in person or via video. These days… it never hurts to be ready for such a thing. It’s required more often than you might think!

For this particular purpose, I figured I wanted to do something that not only talked about my background and what I do… but also convey who I am in some way. Since one of my “things” in photography is finding your “signature”… I figured my intro video better Bring It in that department!

I’ve had so many career paths in my life – and such a wide variety of life experiences – all of which I feel define who I am as both an artist and a coach. And as a human! Let’s not forget that part. And I figured it better all factor into one short package. We were given a “5 minute minimum” criteria… going longer was fine, just not shorter. With the minimum basic requirements in mind, I moved on to…

Where, What, How

I got the vision for what I wanted to do it pretty early on – but felt so daunted by how to pull it off that I procrastinated for a good while! Then of course, felt pressured by the deadline. :O

And where?  At first, I wanted to film in the snow… but since we’re having near drought conditions right now in the mountains I call home, I had to alter that plan. Since I spent a portion of my time near the coast… well, the coast it was! Because of course I wanted to film outside.  Heck, I’m a landscape photographer – I should be out IN it, fergodssake!

Then… I wanted to tell the whole story in sections, from different locations… and have it all weave together. Tell the story of my life as it relates to The Arcanum and what I bring to it. Include a touch of my photographic philosophy, some background, a little gear and how I feel about processing, since that’s such a big part of what I do.

Of course it had to be at least a wee bit entertaining… talking about yourself isn’t all THAT interesting by itself! Have some brevity, but not be too serious. Be long enough to include the important stuff, but not so long as to make you look at your watch. It had to move, because I do.

Above all, I wanted anyone walking through the Apprentice doors to easily get a sense of who this KHutt person is, right off the bat. Being who I am… it needed to be a “signature” piece, if you will.
Just some thoughts if you ever find yourself need to present YOU one day. ;D

First Round: Let the Adventure Begin!

This first round of The Arcanum is going to be new, exciting and stage-setting for all that comes after. Everyone – Masters and Apprentices alike are going to learn from each other, experience new challenges and delightful surprises. We’re working intensively behind-the-scenes to get everything as ready as we can, think of every detail possible, come up with the ways and means to accomplish our dreams on BOTH sides of the equation. You see, there have already been over 10x the number of Apprentice sign-ups than originally expected… and we haven’t even opened the doors yet!  Preparation is KEY!

With anything brand new, there are always unknowns and this is no exception. As prepared as we’re trying to be… there are still going to be whole host of Unexpecteds. But with the adventurous spirit of everyone involved, I know we’ll come up with answers, ideas, accomplishments and experiences that will make The Arcanum a unique and wondrous place to learn!

I. Can. Not. WAIT!!!