WEEK 11
Artists in attendance 10
The feed back from the gust artist workshop last week (MUSICAL CHAIRS) was great. The group said they really enjoyed sharing and working together. They said it took them out of their comfort zone and made their imaginations work in a different way. They also agreed that they would like to take part in a group exercise once every couple of months. I was so pleased that they enjoyed it and embraced it fully. They finished by giving me a round of applause for finding and organizing such a brilliant artist to run the day as Ria Roberts, well done Ria you were a hit!
It is always difficult when choosing guest artists, I find that it has to be a particular kind of person that can work with my groups. They need to have these qualities: need to speak in a everyday language that the members will understand, be able to plan a workshop that involves everyone and their needs and need to be a fun and upbeat person. These qualities are quite hard to find in the art world, as there seem to be lots of big egos out there.
This week we carried on with our abstraction project the members developed their ideas, this week they seemed to get into their stride more easily. They are coming to terms with just making beautiful images the pressure if off as they are not copying something, their ideas are their own and this gives them more confidence. I am so proud of the group they really do get involved and give things a go! I have to keep reminding myself that some of the members haven’t done any art since they were at school and for some that may be 50+ years ago.
Next week we are continuing abstraction but will be talking about our work to the other members to see if they have any feed back.
WEEK 10
artists in attendance 11
Introducing our first guest Artist….
RIA ROBERTS
First of all I would like to again thank everyone at Didsbury Good Neighbours art group for welcoming me and for taking part in the interactive group work ‘Musical Chairs’. I was invited by Trae to run a workshop and after discussing the different creative possibilities the group would like to explore we settled on an idea based on group work. The tables were covered in paper and the seats arranged around them so that everyone had their own space to work. Each space was numbered 1-8 and after 30 minutes of art making at their place, they were moved to someone else’s space to work. At no time did any of the group sit back where they started with their own work. Over the hour and a half the group work really evolved and took on a new life of its own as each group member worked on one another’s work.
By working in this way interactive group art can take on a new meaning – people can at times feel a little uncomfortable when they feel that maybe they will ‘spoil’ the art already done or that they may get upset if they feel their work will be changed in a way they were not expecting.
I feel that the group really embraced the group piece and rather than letting the concerns of encroaching on each other’s work or space take over, they accommodated one another sharing the moment together and engaging with the process – from what I saw and heard I think they really had fun with it. At the end we cleared any materials off of the table so we could all look at the work that was made and how it had changed. I asked everyone how it felt to change places and let their work go and work on each other’s and most people enjoyed it. One or two found it quite challenging, which is not unusual when working in groups. I think that there is a real cohesion in the group overall and there was a real feeling of positivity and sharing. I wondered if people had sat next to people they maybe wouldn’t usually interact with? I also wonder if it brought the group closer in some ways.
In the afternoon there was a smaller group as a few people could not make it. I felt a little apprehensive as I wondered how it would feel for people to come to their group and find a huge piece on the table for them to work on, rather than having fresh paper. There were 2 people that came in the afternoon and 1 volunteer. One of the ladies was new and was very nervous about making any art at all. Luckily they were relieved that they were not faced with a ‘scary blank page’ to fill and instead could work around what had been done in the morning. As the group was so small Trae, Nina the volunteer and I contributed to the group work, moving around it as everyone had done in the morning. The lady that had come for the first time began to enjoy the art making and I think by the end of the afternoon she was feeling less nervous and enjoying being involved as well as being part of a community group.
I have really enjoyed meeting everyone and sharing this collaborative work with the group. I hope that it has been inspiring and given them some ideas about how they could do it again in the future – maybe next time they could work to a theme. I am excited to hear what they think of the finished work when they see it again on Wednesday now that it has changed again.
Ria
WEEK 9
Artists in attendance 11
Abstraction quite a difficult thing to get your head around if you’re over 60 and have very rigid ideas of what ‘real’ art is. Most of the group said they didn’t see the skill in abstract, until I mentioned artists such as Miro, Kandinsky and Barbara Hepworth. I think the fact that these artists were famous gave their work value.
I have to remind my self that growing up in the 40’s and 50’s was very different than growing up in the 70’s and now. Society was very rigid and people did practical things and gender roles were very specific, people weren’t encouraged to use their imaginations or even to dream. You ask a 70 yr old what were there dreams when they were young adults and I bet you get such answers as “I didn’t have any dreams” “having a job” “owning a house” and “having a family” all things very achievable in those days. Lots of our older generation only sees watercolour or oils as art. They may not even consider sculpture, textiles, or photography as art as “there is no skill to it.
So i’m up against it, trying to open there eyes to abstraction, i’m trying to get the pint across that art should be personal, fun and for them, not for the viewer. If you have don’t have confidence in your art works the viewer can give you that but then you are just making art that other people have to like to make it good. Where’s the fun in that???
I gave each artist a small paper frame and asked them to choose an image that they liked, and then to frame a part of it and draw or paint that part. Within minutes the group had stopped looking at their original image and were off creating shapes and colours from their own imaginations. Hurrah!
I talked to individuals and pointed this out “oh well I just seemed to get carried away”, “it’s just so relaxing”, “I thought that this shape would look better here so I did it” were some of the comments I received.
The general consensus of the group was that they didn’t feel so pressured because it didn’t look like anything so no one could judge it against the real object. (Always going back to what other people think aaarrrrrrrrg!
The abstract theme will be carried on for the next couple of weeks at the end of it hopefully they will have many sketches and will have completed a final large piece on canvas.
Next week we have our first guest artist coming Ria Roberts who will be facilitating a workshop in collaboration ‘MUSICAL CHAIRS’.
29th November 2014
WEEK 8
Artists in attendance 11
Who doesn’t love a bit of life drawing? Who doesn’t find life drawing difficult?
Who is scared of life drawing? Who worries about what the subject will think?
All of the above for me, and most of the artists this week. There were lots of comments like “I can’t do it, it won’t look right,” “sorry it doesn’t look like you,” “i’ve made a mess”. In the end every one had a go some people were pleased with what they did and some felt very cross with themselves. All this is to be expected for maybe your first go at it. It was really interesting to see the internal struggle that some people were going through, worrying that the subject would be offended by what they had produced. We all talked about this and came to the agreement that people would just accept the images and not be offended by them.
next week ABSTRACTION
