Not The Usual Critique

Our critique group hasn't met for almost a year.  Some of our regulars have moved away, people get other responsibilities, etc.  Last time I officially scheduled one I was the only one who showed up, so I did some stuff there in my Studio and then went home.  But occasionally I get word that people miss it and want to have it start up again.  Many students fear critiques, many students and artists can't handle any criticism at all, even if it is surrounded by praise, and so they stay away as much as possible.  I have long held the view that if you can't handle people expressing their views about your artwork, you probably need to get out of the business, and a good critique is a useful tool for artists of all levels.  Which kept a lot of our regulars coming for years, often traveling long distances to get there.

The last person besides myself to come to one was Mary, my most frequent woodcut student in Belmar, and she offered to host one at her home a short distance from the Studio.  Had some food, too, so we could have dinner then talk art. I got word out to many of our regulars, and asked Molly to send word out the regulars on her list.  The only responses I got were negative (though one asked to be kept on the list in case he could make it next time) so I guess I wasn't too surprised that was just Mary and I showing work tonight.  Mary had a few woodcuts in progress, and I brought last summer's St Georgia print, since it has never been exhibited and few people have seen it. I didn't get around to taking any photos of the evening, but it was a pleasant time, making us all hope we can get the critique group back off the ground someday.