Every 4 - 5 weeks, I meet with 3 other artists, two painters and one photographer and we bring work, gossip, food to share. I provide the venue which means I clean up my studio surfaces, put down clean paper, and remove my work from the wall. I also provide some liquid nourishment in the form of whiskey which seems to satisfy 3 out of the 4 members. The meeting is from 6 pm to 9 pm and has had this core group since it's inception in February 2007. Initially, the goal was to not only talk about art but also make art. However, the making part fell by the wayside and the talking became the focus. We have had a couple of projects that have been fun and illuminating such as creating a self portrait in a style you dislike. But the members wanted to see art and critique work instead of devoting meeting time to creating. We are all already creating work on our own, and we didn't see a need to do so at our meetings. And the 3 hour meeting is just enough time to talk each person's work.
I've learned a great deal about how to look at photographs, how to think about process, and the meetings have opened my eyes to new ways of thinking. It helps that I love and respect each member - I am glad we have all formed deep bonds. And we have a name for our little band of artists - we are called Playgroup.
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