Critique

This weekend I had the priviledge of attending a critique group of other quilt artists. The group gets together periodically and it brings in someone who is very familiar with art in general but not necessarily familiar with quilts. It often helpful to see our quilts through fresh eyes.

As much as possible I like to bring my newest work. This time I brought “Captivated.” I thought it was interesting that some thought this piece represented a step backwards from other things I had been doing recently. That’s actually true because I designed and started the quilt in 2003. There were numerous other comments which I felt were encouraging and constructive. I also love to hear honest opinions. I’m really not interested in compliments, though a few thrown in every now and then are nice. But mostly I want to learn how to improve my art.

Generally speaking, this weekend the critic responded favorably towards the quilt in the foreground transitioning into the landscape in the background. She also liked the use of the quilt block in the sky. There was quite a bit of discussion on ways the piece could have been different to make it more effective and more interesting. I agreed with some of the ideas and not others, but each idea gave me something to consider for future projects.