While we were in Lowell, MA last month Lisa Chipetine (new SAQA Pres) urged us to jump in and participate in an online crit group. I decided to give it a go, even though I'm not really happy with anonymous criticism and I'm not very computer literate.I didn't have what I thought was a good candidate at hand so I put this small (about 30" square) piece up for review. It features narrow stripes of text...some Japanese, most English and is titled "Miscommunication".
"Quilt Critique Live Session" occurred this past Monday night and was comprised of five artists with work for review, Sandra Sider and Lisa. Some of the suggestions for my contribution was 1) leave off my dangly bits that distracted, 2) add color to the "faces" blocks, and 3) bind it so that the eye is drawn back in. (gotowebinar@citrixonline.com)
When I started the piece I was pretty unimpressed with it and would have been happy to scrap it. But the critique process changed my mind. I think it might have value now. I am a new proponent of this online crit group. It was very interesting. I learned much from the other participants, both from their comments and from the suggestions offered for their work.
Certainly an interesting exercise and one I will repeat periodically. It's a lovely resource to have at one's fingertips.
I have quilted between the "faces" with script: e.g. "mistranslations", "mistakes were made", "lack of clear and adequate words", etc.
Now for blocking.
All in all a surprise. And I'm not often surprised. (Jaded, maybe.)
Wow, Diane! This piece is really transformed. The red borders around the faces plus green around the outer edge makes for very nice tension & energy. I agree with "cleaning up" some of the dangling parts but I'm glad you kept the shape uneven. The middle section looks like a set of blocks knocked out of place, which is great for the concept of miscommunication. And keeping the faces inside the borders adds a sense of crowding or overlapping conversation. Fantastic!
ReplyDeleteWOW!! I did a double-take to realize that these two pictures were the "before" and "after" of the same piece! It still has a wonderful element of surprise, and yet it appears more cohesive. The important thing is that YOU'RE pleased with the result -- it sounds as though you are!
ReplyDeleteDiane
Wow Diane! That is a very intersting piece and it is also interesting to see its progression and evolution. It sounds like it was a successful session and that more people need to get involved with this kind of critique... Your changes really made the composition more balanced and controlled. I like it very much.
ReplyDeleteYep, it's better! I auditioned Sandra's suggestion on my piece but while it worked in her Photoshop redo it did not work in reality, so I left it alone. However, it was somehting I can keep in mind for future pieces.
ReplyDeleteInteresting process - everybody should give it a try. I do have one friend who did the crit and thought the suggestions were totally lame for her piece but were good for the rest of them that night. It's a crapshoot - but one worth taking.
I love the use of words in a quilt, nice job!
ReplyDeleteHi, Diane --I just sent you an email, thanking you for your comment on my blog, and it came back as undeliverable. Could you send me your email address again, in case I goofed? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteDiane
Maybe the first version should not be completely forgotten. The piece had its charm, even then. Maybe another trace to follow in another project.
ReplyDelete