Friday, March 14, 2014

Critiques. . .Off The Wall Friday

With this whole master class, the subject of critiques has come up.  The deal is that you submit your work three times a month and each time the teacher critiques it.  Now you - as a student - have the option to follow the advice or to go your own path.  Hmmmm - do you listen or don't you?

Here's my take - and let me warn you - OPINION ALERT - feel free to to disagree!

The Rules To Accepting Critiques
  •   If you don't want opinions - than don't ask.  Make sure  you actually want to know.
  •  Ask the opinion of a person you supposedly trust.  Make sure that person is qualified to give a good critique. 
  •  Also ask a person to critique that you agree with their design aesthetic.  (Okay I'll admit it - there are artists out there that are world famous that I think - OMG - who in the world would buy that drivel.  Obviously, I don't get them and probably I wouldn't be a good person to ask for critique of their work. As if they're asking. . . grin)
  • Accept the fact that you aren't always going to agree with the opinion - listen anyways
  • After reflection, take action.  You might change your work, you might not - you might just remember the critique for your next piece.  You are in control of Your art  - You did not give up the power by asking for a critique
  • And Last but its the biggest for me - the critique isn't personal although art is
Once I started following these rules, critiques became breezy-easy.  And to tell you the truth, if I'm being honest with myself - most times I know what they are going to say anyways.

But who wants to be honest with oneself???

As you can see I got the blocking done this week.  OMG - it was a lot of work but worth it.  I ended up having a Tim Gunn moment and told myself to edit it down and Make it Work! The arches were taking over the piece and two distinct pieces were emerging.  With a quick edit that 2/3rds to 1/3rd relationship was achieved and the piece was more pleasing.  I guess they don't call it Golden for nothin'!

Gosh my studio is a mass of green, teal and brown scraps!!  I must be having a love affair with brown this year - I gotta dye up a bunch for the third time in less than a year since I've depleted my stash!

So What have you been up to Creatively??

13 comments:

Glen QuiltSwissy said...

Ohhhhhh! I like it lots! Way lots. no critiques from me here! LOL. except that it isn't mine!

MulticoloredPieces said...

Hi, Nina Marie. Haven't been able to stop by for awhile so I was delighted to see this piece--it shows that you've worked so hard and it's beautiful. I thoroughly agree with you about critiques. However, I think at some point you don't need them anymore because you become confident about listening to your own artistic voice--well that's the ideal. I stopped asking for critiques long ago--probably because I'm a stubborn mule!
best, nadia

janice pd said...

Great points about critiques. I belong to a group and also think it is important to address only art principles and not personal likes or dislikes.

Vera Holmgren said...

I really like you arch quilt! The brown and aqua colors are lovely together.

quiltedfabricart said...

I soooo agree with you! You hit the nail on the head and I love your color choices.

Linda A. Miller said...

Good points about critiques! Love the progress of this current piece!

deborah lyn said...

Thank you much Nina-Marie for your posts and for Off the Wall Fridays!!! I am your new bee linker. I have also been in a class with Elizabeth, have her 2 books and am signed up for Masters in 2015. Great for going forward with my art - even if I am sometimes overwhelmed! Thanks again, see you again soon! http://deborahstanleyinspirations.blogspot.com/p/creative.html

deborah lyn said...

I forgot to say that I have enjoyed watching your Arches & Lines piece progress!! Thank you for this post and the helpful critique points. I do get stumped at the Not Personal - but you wrote it beautifully - "critique isn't personal although art is"!

Jody said...

I really like how your piece turned out! No crits here :-)

Marilyn Wall said...

Liking what you are doing.

Anonymous said...

I love the blocked out piece--amazing what moving the outer limits does for focus! And the texture you have added with the blues is just right. (That is a notch above "I like it," eh? Another phrase that is close to "I like it" is "It works well.") I agree with the comment above that critique should be in terms of art/design principles, but of course one has to know them to do so.

And even if we stop asking for critique, it still comes our way, and we still have to deal with unrequested comments.

Maybe by next Friday my piece will be ready.

Julianne said...

I really enjoy your pieces.

Valerie the Pumpkin Patch Quilter said...

I *love* this new piece of yours - it's like looking through a wrought iron gate into - who knows where! Awesome!!! I can't wait to see it quilted up.

I love your thoughts on critique. It is true, you must want to truly know the answer, and trust the source. I enjoyed reading your thoughts on this and I love your saying "art is personal but critique is not". That makes a criticism much easier to digest!

How do you feel about uninvited critique? I think that for me is the hardest to swallow! ;)