Now More Than Ever - Rio Grande

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fusion nine page 6 in a collegial, non-pressure setting in hopes of triggering ideas that might lead to new work, either directly or indirectly. As one participant said, “It’s about finding a new way to think differently.” In addition to Bess and Hunter, the gathering included Ann Grasso, Carol Stein, and Abby Johnston, all New Englanders who have known each other for some time. The decision to get together in Maine grew out of a workshop the women attended in January in Bennington, Vermont. “I have this nice studio, and it’s conducive to getting people together,” Hunter said, explaining her initial invitation to her friends to come to Portland for a few days of informal professional development. “A lot of people do not have a space like this, so it’s kind of cool for me to be able to say, ‘Let’s use my space.’ I said, ‘Let’s get together and do this. Let’s try something different.’ Usually you say that and you get, ‘Yeah, that’s a great idea.’ But then you get home and you forget about it. But this time when I got home, I sent out an e-mail and within two weeks we set the date.” Each artist brought something to gathering – tools, materials, hot plates, maybe a killer recipe for an after-work meal. They worked side by side each afternoon, often in silence or quiet conversation, with bursts of laughter and boisterous exchanges. They had fun, but were serious. They called their experience play, but didn’t treat it as a game. “What I want to come out of this is energy and discipline,” Hunter said. “I want the energy that comes from working with other people. When you work by yourself, after a workshop, you come home and you’re all ready to go, and the next day it’s a little less and the next day you have to go the dry-cleaners and run other errands. And it gets dissipated. So this is good energy.” The artists talked about techniques they use to move past blocks. One said she busies herself by cleaning her studio when she cannot make work. Another likes to read biographies of artists. Another said she simply keeps trying. “I know I can get through this. I just have to keep working and try not to be too judgmental,” said Stein. Hunter cited something she read about the artist Chuck Close. “He says, ‘You show up. You get to work. You just get to work.’ There is no magic pill.” Bess said, “If I am stuck on something, I set it aside. A block is when I just can’t wrap my mind around work, and I just don’t know where to go. I put something aside and just pick up something new, something totally not related to what my block is.” Hunter said that if she is lacking ideas that inspire her, she goes through old sketchbooks. She often is pleasantly surprised at what she finds. “It’s amazing how much I forget that I knew was meaningful at the moment I sketched it. It almost always leads to new work.”
journal of the pmc guild Another device she uses involves music. She listens to a familiar CD and gauges her reaction. “I find myself saying, ‘I like this music, it’s very rhythmic.’ And then I ask myself, what does that pulsation have to do with my work, and how can I use it?” Here’s another idea: Go to a museum, or gallery. Before they launched into their encaustic experiments, these women spent a few hours at the Portland Museum of Art. A curator arranged to show a few encaustic pieces in the collection. Just the process of looking at other work opened up their imaginations and led to ideas, the women agreed. At the end of their gathering, the artists went home to their communities, endowed with new creative tools and hands-on knowledge of a medium they had been only vaguely familiar with days before. Time will tell if that knowledge surfaces in their work. But they all agreed, the gathering and exchange of ideas will pay dividends the next time they’re stuck. “This gives me more vocabulary. It’s another tool I can use,” Stein said. What works for you? Send your ideas to journal@pmcguild.com. If we get enough ideas, we will share them in an upcoming publication. Jurors Announced for Annual 3 Jeanette Landenwitch, Director of the Guild, has announced the jurors for the third issue of the popular book, the PMC Guild Annual. Bill Griffith, Tennessee Linda Kaye-Moses, Massachusetts Terry Kovalcik, New Jersey Catherine Davies-Paetz, Ohio These generous volunteers bring a diverse and varied range of experience and esthetics to the competition and guarantee a spririted selection. By the time you are reading this issue of Fusion, the May 16 deadline has probably passed, but if an extension is possible, it will be announced in the NEWS section of www.PMCguild.com. If you missed the chance this time, start working on next year’s piece. The schedule for this annual event is roughly the same each year —images due in the late spring with delivery of the book to all members in the autumn. page 7
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