Week 15
artists in attendance 13
The artists love abstraction it so much they want to carry it on into the new year. Well I’m flabbergasted!! Last week I reminded them that there were only 2 weeks left until the exhibition had to be up they said that they were enjoying it and didn’t want to feel rushed to finish their work. Since I haven’t advertised the exhibition this was cool with me.
So is to be in the new year and we shall have a private view on a Saturday so people can invite family and friends. So they do want people to see their work and they are proud of what they are producing they just don’t want to admit it! I suppose singing your own praises isn’t some thing they are used to doing I think they think that it is arrogant.
I remember a time when I wasn’t confident in my own art work but after realising that if you tell your story and explain how much you are passionate about it, people tend to like something about the work even if it’s just the idea. Art work for me is a selfish frivolity I enjoy what I do/ make and it for-fills something in me so I’m not really affected by what the viewers think.
Thinking back to 3 months ago when this project started the group has changed tremendously. They used to come in talking about their illnesses aches and pains. Now I hear nothing of that it’s a lot more positive. Some people actually correct themselves when they say something negative about themselves or their work. It is absolutely fabulous. The group has also helped me to build my confidence as a facilitator, I have not worked (by myself) on a long term project for a long time due to funding cuts etc and this project has been my baby all my own ideas all my own way of working! strange and wonderful as it is the group have embraced me and my wacky style with open arms. I am a very lucky lady.
Things to think about now are:
will the group design the poster for the exhibition? When will it be and do I employ an artist to come and give a curation workshop?
Next week more abstraction and Christmas celebrations!
WEEK 13
Artists in attendance 11
Is the idea of abstraction more difficult to grasp when you are over 60? Through taking part in these workshops the artists have acknowledged that there is skill in abstraction, they have seen that it is not easy to just “slosh paint on a canvas” they are learning a new way of looking and seeing and being freed from the copying world, and are having to use their imaginations. From their comments it seems frivolous to them to create an image that is directly from their minds and “means nothing to the viewer”. This week we reviewed each others work, through doing this the artists learnt that their images do mean something to the viewer. “ooo it reminds me of a water fall in a fairy tale” “it looks like a city in the mist and “it looks like a food preparation area” were some of the things people said. The artists were surprised that there were so many different ideas that came from their images.
The next time the artists are in an art gallery will they skip past an abstract piece or will they stop to look?
When the abstract workshops are over will they return to painting watercolour trees?
ABSTRACTION 3
Week 12
Artists in attendance 13
The group is getting to grips nicely with abstraction. There have been lots of beautiful images produced over their development period. A little niggle that one member has is that she has many ideas and is finding it hard to decide which way to go and this is making the development process difficult for her. Another lady whilst choosing images is thinking too far into the future “what can I do with it what will it look like when finished?” these are all good, but as I told her just start with something you like the look of, don’t worry about the end result, the process will take you its own way.
I reminded them that they were going up in the gallery space the week before Christmas people started to worry about what people would think. I assured them that people would think what they wanted. if they themselves liked it as the creator that was what was important. I have been playing devils advocate and questioning them about their images they have been quite defensive (in a good way) and have explained their image with confidence about where it came from, what influenced them and the story behind it.
So roll on next week when they start the final pieces on their boards. I cant wait to see them up and turn our boring white space into a colorful place of imagination.
