Week in Review 2022 – 05/06

Solo Practice

There is value to solo practice. This is why artists sequester themselves in their studios or tote their equipment outside for some plein air painting. No distractions. Just the gentle hum of the sewing machine, hiss of the iron and the swish of the rotary blade slicing through fabric. However, there is a downside to exclusively working in isolation. You miss the feedback of others.

Five townhouses in shades of yellow with blue windows and gray doors and roofs are laid out in various sizes suggesting a hillside. There is a church, also yellow in the center. Above the village is a blood red sky.
I finished the church and added a few townhouses last week. The hillside village is beginning to take shape.

Group Practice

There are several ways to break the silence of independent creativity. One way I do this is what I am doing now. I share my work with through social media. Currently, I write a weekly blog post, maintain a website and add images to both my Facebook and Instagram accounts. Comments from those of you who check out my postings helps me to see my work from different vantage points. I think of this as crowd sourcing.

Another way to get feedback on my work is to join a critique group. I belong to two different groups of approximately 7 members each that meet monthly via Zoom. This gives us the opportunity to share our work and ask questions to solve technical and design issues. Although everyone in my groups is a fiber artist, we work in a variety of styles, techniques, media and subject matter.

The image is divided into three sections. The top section is a red sky. A church with three towers to the right of a townhouse is in the middle. The lowest section is made up of three yellow townhouses with blue windows.
My goal is to give the impression of a hillside village. I am using a combination of atmospheric perspective and value to do so.

Organizations

I am a member of both Cohasset Open Studios and SAQA. These are polar opposite in focus and membership. Cohasset Open Studios consists of artists from my home town. They work in a variety of media: water colors, oils, photography, printing, rug hooking and jewelry making. Every November we open our studios to the general public. Now that is feedback. It is also a great way to get my work known by the local populace.

SAQA, on the other hand, is global. I turn to SAQA for professional and career development. Here are just a few “gifts” I’ve received from SAQA:

  • Inclusion in several touring global exhibitions
  • Numerous webinars on a variety of professional and artistic development topics
  • Networking through volunteering
  • A contemporary art study group
  • Participation in critique groups

This is why I give back to SAQA by donating work to their two annual auctions.

Monarch Majesty can be found on Table 4 of the SAQA’s Spotlight Benefit Auction. The bidding opens on April 29th and closes on May 7 at 5:30 pm ET.

You don’t have to be a SAQA member to view 328 matted 4.5″ x 6.5″ fiber artworks available to bid on in SAQA’s annual Spotlight Auction. Nothing routine about the work on offer.

Quilt block consisting of a grid of 5 x 5 square units, some divided into half square triangles. The color dominant color scheme is deep forest green with with pops of yellow, orange and lavender. Novelty floral and chicken fabrics were used
The Rainbow Scrap Color of the month for May is forest and sage green. Only two green blocks are needed for my planned quilt.

I’m exhausted just sharing all I do to make my art, market it and develop my voice. So this year I figured I would add a relaxing, light commitment, no brainer project to my agenda – The Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I’m having so much fun creating simple blocks and reducing my stash of scraps simultaneously.

I am linking up with:

Subscribe to Gwyned’s Blog

By Gwyned Trefethen

I am an artist who uses fabric, thread and miscellany to create designs gifted to me by my imagination.

6 comments

  2. Such an interesting post! It is good to get feedback about your work, although it can also be a bit emotional! We all have our own vision of what we’re trying to accomplish. I really like your dark green block – neat design!

    1. Thank you for stopping by Diann. Sharing your work in a critique group, on line, during an open studio or as part of an exhibition takes courage. Courage is allowing yourself to be vulnerable.True it can be emotional, but also fascinating and illuminating to learn how others view your work. I do find my courage gaining momentum with time.

Comments are closed.