A Call to Committed Artists of All Kinds

[WS]

Call To Committed Artists of All Kinds Looking for a Support Group

(Note - I've added an example of how the group might work below this description in the same box.)

 

                                                                

The Bloomsbury Group  (according to Wikipedia) was a group of writers, intellectuals and artists who held informal discussions in Bloomsbury throughout the 20th century. Likewise the Algonquin Roundtable was a celebrated group of New York City writers, critics, actors and wits  [whose]…Daily association with each other, ... inspired members of the Circle to collaborate creatively.

 

                             

We would like to create a place for thinking artists to work, meet, exchange ideas and critiques.  Let us help one another through the tough work of creation! If you are an artist or a creative person, willing
to commit time, thought and energy to
art, we want you to be part of this group.

We offer:  Congenial support; a small intimate forum for thinking through ideas and discussing them; gentle pressure (and support) to actually work
through the creative process (to...well...create);  constructive criticism
and regular critiques of your work by other creative people; and a venue to
post your work, both in progress and finished, for all to see, admire and
marvel at.  All of this
in a private, moderated atmosphere of mutual respect and courtesy.  

What you offer:  A commitment to work and to interact intellectually on group discussed and/or guided projects and to post the results for the rest of the
group to see/hear, critique, and draw inspiration from; Constructive and
respectful criticism of others' works; and a commitment to an atmosphere (but
not a humorless one) of professionalism, respect and enthusiasm.

What we hope to accomplish together:  Art.  (Recognizing that art requires intent, an audience and therefore an intellectual and not purely visceral
dimension, we would like tangible proof of our diligence and dedication in
the form of posts about the process and of completed or works in progress.) 

Interested?  Send either WS or Animak a brief PM stating what you want to do, how much time you would be willing to commit to the group, a description of your art, how sensitive you are to criticism, and why you think this is the place for you.  Your PM will not be posted publicly. We would like to organize small Algonquin Round Table groups of 11 or so varied artists interested in working together towards these goals.   

(If you are not "friends" with either of us, you can email us by sending a friends' request to us and then we will friend you and you can email your replies.) I don't know why the font is messed up here - sorry tried fixing it several times!!)

ADDENDUM:  How this Might Work!

 I want the group to set up the structure, but the way this might work getting a group of  about 11 or 12 people with half the group critiquing the other half at two to four week intervals.
 
Let's say there were ten people.  We would set out a theme and then a due date for a draft or version of the work. The theme might be <b>strength</b> or the color<b> red</b> or <b>Jacob</b> (whatever the group chose to focus on.)  Then each "artist" would work for two week and the first critique would occur:

People ABCD and E would be critiqued by FGHI and J. Two weeks later FGHI and J would be critiqued by ABCD and E.  Discussions would occur in a public (or private if the group prefers) list about the way artists are conceiving the process, issues, approaches, problems etc.  Next month FGHI and J would be the first to be critiqued (although I would suggest mixing it up so that next week it be GHIJ and A critiquing BCDE and F etc.

 Anyone in the group would be allowed to add critique, but groups would be set so that each artist would have a guarantee of at least (in this case) 5 critiques to look at and use to modify the work or use in his/her continuing process.  The discussions would be the place for people to decide whether they wanted to continue with that work and theme or choose a new theme for the following month etc.  (I think I'll add this to the main description.)

[Mother Sanity (JackieRodzinski)]

Ah. I'm sweating less now. Some of my art is posted on my page, the rest waits for my technical art expertise to re-establish a web site. Commitment is a tough word though, especially when I'm not quite clear on what I am specifically committing to. Do like the idea of critiques & process.

[WS]

You would be committing to respond to 4 other people's work once a month, to writing about your process and engaging in discussion about process (ie. responding to discussions) as well as being willing to work on common topics at time that might relate to a theme such as serenity or frustration (or whatever the group decided might be the topic of the month or trimester depending on how the group wanted to set up the projects.

[WS]

GREAT QUESTION, Pru!!

I want the group to set up the structure, but yes the way I imagine it is about 11 or 12 people total with half the group critiquing the other half at two to four week intervals.

Let's say there were ten people. We would set out a theme and then a due date for a draft or version of the work. The theme might be strength or the color red or Jacob (whatever the group chose to focus on.) Then each "artist" would work for two week and the first critique would occur:

People ABCD and E would be critiqued by FGHI and J. Two weeks later FGHI and J would be critiqued by ABCD and E. Discussions would occur in a public (or private if the group prefers) list about the way artists are conceiving the process, issues, approaches, problems etc. Next month FGHI and J would be the first to be critiqued (although I would suggest mixing it up so that next week it be GHIJ and A critiquing BCDE and F etc.

Anyone in the group would be allowed to add critique, but groups would be set so that each artist would have a guarantee of at least (in this case) 5 critiques to look at and use to modify the work or use in his/her continuing process. The discussions would be the place for people to decide whether they wanted to continue with that work and theme or choose a new theme for the following month etc. (I think I'll add this to the main description.)

[WS]

Are you calling my group members farm animals!

[Bull]

My question would be where would y'all be Committed and will they allow visitors?

[WS]

Basically, we would like the group to determine what the time and energy demands should be.

[WS]

Bull said: My question would be where would y'all be Committed and will they allow visitors?

Oh, Bull, that's a different discussion!

[animak]

Where would you like to be committed, bull?

[WS]

Hey, BAF, When does the class end and would you and or others from the class be interested in continuing on line?

[animak]

We await your idea with bated breath, B A F!

[animak]

If a train carrying people ABCD and E left Schenectady at 3:43 am on Tuesday and traveled west at 27.5 mph and a train carrying FGHI and EI-EI-O left Peoria at 7:27 Friday morning, and headed east at 65 kph, when would they both explode into a burst of cathartic creativity? In Poughkeepsie?


See? The group is only in its early formative stages and already inspiring amazing bursts of creativity from the posters here. Just wait 'til we get going, people!

[WS]

I don't think it'll play in Poughkeepsie? How about Des Moines?!