Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Disintegration II

Last night I finished this dyed, painted, silk screened, foiled and embroidered cloth that ended up being 13x9" when completed. I am more pleased with it than not - although I am my own worse critic and not a great judge of my own work. I would love to be in a small supportive circle of fellow artists who are able to establish enough support & trust (important, that trust thing) among themselves to view each other's work and comment on what works, what doesn't, etc. Does anyone out there have experience with a group of this sort? How well does it work? Is it beneficial?

9 comments:

Terri Stegmiller said...

I really like this piece. It has great movement and the colors are beautiful. If I'd have made it, I'd be wondering whether to border it or not. I belong to a small group, and I think it is very enjoyable. I think if you just approach people, those of whom you admire their work and see if anyone is interested, you might be surprised.

Mary Ann Littlejohn said...

Denise, I really like this piece. In regard to a critique group, I am in what I think is a very successful, supportive group. After Quilt Festival I will try to remember to email you with more thoughts on the matter.

dianeclancy said...

Hi Denise,

This is a great piece!!

I have sometimes been informally involved in such groups - I find artist feedback ... kind and honest ... very helpful.

~ Diane Clancy
www.dianeclancy.com/blog

margaret said...

Thanks for the comment on my blog, Denise. As for the critique group - this is my heartfelt longing too (along with having more time to do art work!) We have to keep trying to find the right people/group for this - asking around to people whose work we admire, as has already been said.

Anonymous said...

I like it too Denise. There... you are getting critiques already!

Mandi aka Fabric Princess said...

that's a gorgeous piece! so vibrant.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I can't remember how I found my way to your blog or I'd credit the source. I've been lurking for a while.

I teach writing and that means moderating workshops -- which can be "challenging."
I find it helps to:
a) give my students 4 technical things to look for (to establish a common language of criticism)
b) encourage them to address issues of craft, rather than issues of taste
c) suggest that, when receiving feedback, they listen for "trends" -- that is, if three or more people comment on something, to think about that component.

It helps to have someone moderate the group -- to keep comments on track, to make sure everyone gets heard, to make sure that any questions the artist has are addressed.

Hope this helps.
(BTW, I would be useless at a meeting for you -- I am often simply struck dumb by the beauty of your work -- although breathless praise is sometimes just what we need to keep going...)

Denise Aumick said...

"although breathless praise is sometimes just what we need to keep going..."

Yes, a remark that can bring tears to one's eyes certainly has a huge validation factor!

Do you have a website or blog, Melanie?

Denise

Anonymous said...

No, sorry, I'm a reluctant techno-type, and even so I feel like I spend w-a-y too much time learning software and updating hardware, only to have it all go obsolete just when I get up to speed. (I emailed some jpegs for the first time about a week ago.) So, no blog, no website, but a dear friend who keeps urging me to start already. I dunno...