Week Eight: Playful Critique and Problem-Solving
Play and critique may sound like opposites, but both are vital. This week we balance experimentation with reflection, exploring ways to self-critique without slipping into self-judgment. In our Zoom, we’ll celebrate “happy accidents” while also practicing strategies for solving problems in works-in-progress. The goal is to strengthen your work while keeping your spirit buoyant and your curiosity alive.
Play and critique may sound like opposites, but both are vital. This week we balance experimentation with reflection, exploring ways to self-critique without slipping into self-judgment. In our Zoom, we’ll celebrate “happy accidents” while also practicing strategies for solving problems in works-in-progress. The goal is to strengthen your work while keeping your spirit buoyant and your curiosity alive.
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4:00 CST
MONDAY ZOOM: W hat goes through your mind when you know you have to show something to a group without being completely prepared? Are you confident and excited? Do you inwardly moan and worry that your work wouldn’t be as good as everyone else’s? Were you afraid of secret criticism? Where was your self-confidence on a scale of 1-10, 10 being super-confident, 1 being wishing you could hide under the bed. Where does confidence in our work come from, anyway? Can it come from criticism? In preparation for Monday’s zoom, take a coffee break with your journal and your thoughts. Reflect on a time in your art making life that someone’s critique or criticism was a catalyst to moving your work forward in a powerful way. What was the context? How did that experience concretely affect a particular work or a direction. What was your response? Reflect also on an experience where criticism put a stop to your enthusiasm, dampened your work or shut down your process. What was the context? How did that experience concretely affect a particular work or a direction? What was your response? Here are some resources for learning the language of effective critique Critique Strategies Self-Critique Critique Conversations Be prepared to share your either one or both of these experiences with the Circle. You will have about seven minutes for this sharing. If there is time, we will initiate a general discussion about those inner voices that impede your growth or challenge you to be more authentic. TO READ: In her PDF, Mid-Work Review-It’s All About the B’s Michelle offers quick tips for self-evaluation of work in process using an easy-to-use formula for assessment. Print out this practical guide and keep in in your studio when you need when your mind goes blank, and you find yourself on a hamster wheel. TO WATCH: CraftArtEdu Vimeo Lesson Lyn describes this video Troubleshooting Composition as the “Worst and Best” videos she has made on composition. I’ve watched it at least four times and I still learn something new each time. Her clear, concise outline for evaluating orientation and alignment in a collage composition is easy to remember and hard to forget. CraftArtEdu Vimeo Lesson TO ACCOMPLISH:
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TO DEEPEN:
Fairly Tale Exercise Part Two OPTIONAL RESOURCES: Finding Your Direction, Evaluating Three Works in Process for A Way Forward In this video, a part of a longer class in Cold Wax, Michelle uses clues from a series of three works to find a way forward in these works in process by returning to the original inspiration for each. Cold Wax: Finding Direction in Your Work 
Week Eight: Playful Critique and Problem Solving
Sixth Question: What “happy accident” deserves more attention instead of correction? |
