Catching up with those women

Summertime is always a hard time to get people together, what with travels and out-of-town-company and projects and the like, so it has been a bit of a challenge to schedule what are usually monthly get togethers with a couple of groups. Finally, this week things came together and the STASH group met yesterday at Beth's house and the Gerrie-June-Terry critique group got together here today. I have so been needing time with all these women!

Today's group was really low maintenance. Ray cleaned off the porch, we cleaned up the house a bit and we were in business. Everyone is watching their diets so refreshments were easy. Plums, recently picked off our tree, almonds and coffee.

After a little catch-up and discussion of whose work was rejected from which shows, whose work was accepted for which shows and who hasn't bothered to enter anything in more than a year (that would be me), we took turns showing a piece for critique. The presenter keeps quiet while the other two talk about the work. When they finish, the presenter can respond. It's a formula we like and works for us. We are kind, but honest, leaning probably a bit more toward praise than criticism. It is uncanny, to me, how Gerrie and June always seem to touch on exactly the issues I have been thinking about when they talk about my work. I think they find the same when we talk about their work as well.

I showed the drawing and the sample piece for the "green" piece and got such good insight from my friends. Not only the painting/stamping/value issue I talked about in the last post, but the relationship between the figure and the background, even what color the figure's hair should be! (and why) I always come away invigorated and eager to get back to work.

We went out to lunch following our critique and continued the discussion. When we started this group we decided we could bring sack lunches to eat after our discussion. At the first meeting we said, "Oh heck, why don't we just go out, this time?" Sack lunches never sounded that good after that. We are working our way through Portland's restaurants. It works well as we each live in a different part of the city. We can sample places we might not know about. Today we went to JoPa just down the road from my house. The lunch out has become an important part of our process. Did I say everyone was watching their diets . . .?