10 Apr April 2011
Art is FORM and CONTENT!!
Our teachers and mentors know this and have tried to explain this to us, but WHY do we even need to know? I think I need to know all about both form and content so that as an artist I can use them to better express what I want to communicate to those wearing or viewing my jewelry. Wow! Yawn! What a boring thing to talk about! But wait! It really is a very exciting concept. Yes talking about form, which is line, color, value, shape, and the physical materials can be tedious. But content is all about our ideas. When we feel competent in the use of our physical materials we have the option (or challenge) of making our work more interesting to ourselves and to others by expressing ourselves. This is true in any media; in 2-dimensional work such as painting, printmaking and photography; and in 3-dimensional work such as sculpture, ceramics and jewelry. An artist chooses to either express his/her ideas or to master the chosen medium or sometimes both if skilled enough. I don’t have the skills to be considered a maker of fine jewelry, but I keep learning new techniques. What is more important to me right now in my work is to express my ideas or emotions; sadness, love, hate, hope, anger, humor, admiration, joy, empathy, sincerity, friendship, compassion or confusion. Sometimes it is hard to know how to use my materials, colors, and shapes together to express what I want to say. But it is this process of putting the puzzle pieces together that keeps me engaged and challenged. What about you? Are you challenged by your materials? Are you challenged by the notion of expressing yourself through art? What is important to you as an artist?
Save the Date – Wednesday, June 1st for our annual meeting and potluck dinner. To be held at United Church of Christ. Sign-up sheet will be in the gallery soon. Hope to see all of you there for an evening of good fellowship and sharing of future plans for the gallery.
Dance the Days,
Gail Brownfield, President