One doesn't immediately think of socializing when one thinks of participating in 'art'. Most of the time we long to be alone in our studios. However, there is that component that occasionally becomes quite important...for exposure, for inspiration, for affirmation.
In our little shoreline town here in Connecticut, a local gallery promotes local artists by calling for their participation in a pop-up installation that encourages interaction with the public. Greene Art Gallery hosts these events in their sculpture garden where a wonderful little 'Habitat for Artists' acts as focus.
For the second time proprietor Kathryn Greene invited our art quilt group Sisters in Cloth to host an event, one of her summer series aptly titled "Nurturing Joy". We brought small finished work and displayed it on lines that we strung between trees. We brought works in progress to share. We spend two hours chatting and sharing with the public, encouraging them to show the art work that many brought and ask questions about ours.
It was a huge success. So much so that Kathryn asked that we establish it as an annual event.
From my personal point of view, these events are energizing and provide an opportunity to promote our medium, however, there is nothing more satisfying than productive time in my studio. It's not an either or situation. It is an AND situation....with studio time greatly out weighing socializing.
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| Habitat for Artists |
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| Work in progress |
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| Original needlepoint by visitor |
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| A more traditional work |
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| Carol Ludington's floral |
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| Hosting art quilters, needlepoint and mixed media artists |
I am hoping my V9-3 colleagues agree that irrelevance is, indeed, an unusual material to work with.
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