Friday, March 29, 2013

Another day at the Aimone workshop... or what in the heck am I doing??

Well. Here I sit, back in my room, discouraged and downhearted. But that's OK. That's OK. I keep telling myself this. I realized during my afternoon mopes as I struggled through another challenge that I might have expected to feel out of sync today. I should have been clued in when my inner critic was nagging away at me around 6:30 a.m. as I did my morning pages. She (the b***h) was saying things like "I don't know why you're doing this. After all, you're not very good at it anyway." And then she went on to say, "Why are you wasting your time and that very good paint, not to mention taking a space in the class that someone else more worthy could have filled?"

So, what do I tell that inner critic. After using some salty language with her, I should tell her in a kinder tone of inner voice to ease up. Should tell her to lighten up and let me be. And I'll do that tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day.

I know that this sounds whiny. Sorry about that. But so much GOOD STUFF happened in the studio today! There were many, many outstanding works that came into being. And Steve was constantly working his way around the room, taking in what was occurring and responding. He talked to us individually when we needed his advice; he talked to us as a group when we were at points in the current work. We did the "gallery walk" where we all went around to look at the work of everyone else, spending at least 10 seconds or longer with each person's painting.

Here are a few quick photos taken with my iPad during the day. Thanks, classmates and Steve, for allowing me to snap and post!























































Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

4 comments:

  1. I know exactly what you mean! I went to the portrait session at the art center this week, having felt like I did fairly well last time ( as in, didn't totally humiliate myself,) but this week i felt like I had never held a paintbrush before. And my work totally reflected that lack of confidence. Some serious self-talk will be taking place before next week. Not nagging, but some serious 'encouragement.' Plus maybe some random pose sketches....

    Even if we don't do well in the workshop or at the portrait sessions, I'm sure we will both get something percolating from the experience. (Thinking positive, here.)

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  2. Thanks, Kathy.
    You are an amazing painter and to hear this from you just is so humbling. Percolating through the experience, as you say, is quite important.

    If we are "tapestry artists" or ... whatever we want to call ourselves, we have to in some way exist in both worlds... the visual artist/painter world as well as the world of the artisan/technician/weaver. I've found that the painter/"fine artist" world isn't the one I want to live in. I enjoy the engagement with materials that tapestry weaving gives me too much to be purely engaged in paint and a surface. Yet what I want to "engage with" is image. Hence, the problematic nature of the tapestry medium. I don't have the answer. Wish I did.

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  3. I don't consider myself to be a painter, I have tried to learn to paint, as you do, to design. Just think about it though, as we beat ourselves up when working with painters; how many of them can weave a tapestry? It helps me sometimes to remember that I'm designing for a different medium. But then, sometimes some of my 'designs' just aren't compelling enough for me to weave them, so they just remain as paintings. I always tell people when they ask my medium that I am a tapestry designer and weaver, and I sometimes paint, but mostly to design.

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  4. This has been a very enlightening conversation for me. Thank you Kathy and Tommye. The workshop sounds exhausting and wonderful. I like what you say Tommye about living in both worlds. I have been wrestling with the same ideas. I am in love with the materials and process of tapestry and I don't want them to be reproductions of paintings but my interest is in images. I think this could take years to figure out.

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