Thursday Thoughts

(Continuing on the ideas from yesterday's post)

As a former exhibiting artist, I've watched a lot of people look at artwork. Some look at a piece, see the literal image and stop there.
Some really look, and take in every detail, and allow themselves to respond to the piece, noting their own feelings. The goal of any piece of Art is to make you feel something. Some Art is deliberately manipulative (we call it "Advertising") some, of course, is a lot more subtle, but the ultimate goal of all Art is to make you feel something.
A lot of it requires a bit of effort on the viewer's part. You can look at something and ask yourself, "What does this make me feel?" Sometimes art is nothing more than a pretty picture, and that's OK, but pretty pictures can get pretty dull over time.

Some Art takes you to a place you know, sometimes it takes you to a new place. You have to open yourself up, though, to let it take you anywhere.
One thing I've heard a lot is the phrase, "I don't know Art but I know what I like."

Which I think is a load of crap. Most people have no idea what they like. They like what they know, because they're afraid to look stupid. When a piece of Art doesn't conform to their expectation of what Art "should" be (i.e. "realistic," "beautiful", "exquisitely detailed") then they think it's bad.

There is no right or wrong answer. Art is about as subjective as it gets.

But getting back to Mary's question, why do bother to ask opinions of some of our loved ones... the answer is easy. Because they're there.

It's not easy to find an artist to critique your work. Excuse me, let me rephrase that. It's not easy to find an artist you can trust to critique your work.

You want someone who "gets" you. (So I wouldn't ask a traditional quilter to critique my work. All those brights, the different WOWs, the wonky letters, the mismatched seams. The poor woman would have a coronary, and I'd have to physically restrain myself from throwing her out of the house.)

You don't want a "Yes Man" (or Woman, as the case may be). So asking the staff at a local quilt shop might not be the way to go. They have a vested interest in keeping you as a customer, not telling you the truth.

Ladies at your local Quilt Guild might not be right either.

Let's be very clear though, Design is a separate element from Craftsmanship. I am not a sloppy seamstress. My quilts are wonky, free pieced, and way over the top, but my seams are straight, my quilts are square and they lie flat. Technically, I'm on the money. For the technical side of things, and experienced quiltmaker is exactly what you want, regardless whether her own quilting style matches yours.

You want somebody who can treat you with respect, who isn't mean, and uses constructive criticism instead of destructive criticism.

Of course, if you ask, you have to be willing to listen. To take the heat. To hear the negative. To consider the advice.

And be willing to change.



Thanks for listening, your comments are most welcome.