Saturday, September 28, 2013

Finally we are back on the blog
 AGM September 2013 Summary
Ilona opened the meeting with prayer after which she welcomed all present. 
She introduced Judith Mason (guest speaker) as our ‘super magnet’ and thanked her for supporting our Organization. 
 Judith has been a practising  artist for 55 years and sells her work mostly through an agent in Johannesburg. 
She centred her speech around the fact that we live in a rural area that is mostly dominated
by an art/craft/decorative driven society and that different  thinking artists find it difficult to
 find a niche in this environment.  She stressed that the word ‘art’ covers many genres and a
change of mindset is needed  as contemporary art is mostly misunderstood. It is our duty to  raise
awareness of this fact through newsletters, art evenings and visits to art collectors.  Judith mentioned
that she will contact Jack Ginsburg, a serious art promoter and   hailed as a ‘champion of the arts’, for advice.

 

She  also explained the different stages of the creative process many  artists goes through:

i) Anxiety stage: you are anxious to get the image on paper and  do not want to be interrupted as you
 feel a  desperate need to focus.  ii) Manic stage: once you get the general idea, you now get to fill in
with colour, tone and all the rest.   A sense of enjoyment creeps in.   iii) Depressive stage:  when
 your work is finished but you feel disappointed with the end product  and now rejection sets in.
  Her advice was to work simultaneously  on more than one piece at a time  so that you can
 go back to phase two on a different work when you start to feel depressed. She also advised that
we should  always remember the following;  do  not  let  random  people  comment  on your work
while you are still working on it. 

Ideas put forward to rejuvenate the LAA are the following;

a)Ilona suggested that the LAA act as an Umbrella Organization to alert members
 about various opportunities regarding exhibitions, competitions, and all art related matters.

b)      Marietjie mentioned the upcoming VANSA workshops on ‘how to market your art via 
internet’.  A workshop  will take place during the first week in   October.  She  will send out a reminder.

c)Ilona also suggested that artists hold open studio days.

d)     Marietjie mentioned that all artists that participate in exhibitions should be

            personally involved with the promoting of their work as the public wants to  

       meet the artist and have a chat. 

e)Annalie suggested that artists whose work compliment each other should form and  exhibit as a group.

f)    Annemarie requested that a Prophetic Art workshop should be arranged.

g)      Judith Mason suggested we hold a monthly get together over lunch to discuss art    
    topics. This will be a get together for serious artists and not a recreational exercise.

h)      Maria P  requested that all members send their email addresses to Kato so that they 
can be verified and corrected in the LAA data base if necessary.

i)        Maria M  will be responsible for the upgrading of our website.

j)        Ilona urged members to visit Facebook, Lowveld Art and our Blogspot where artworks
 are advertised.

k)      As of the end of October only paid up members will receive newsletters and   other
 correspondence.  A newsletter will be sent out  to this effect.

l)        It was suggested that the LAA host only one big exhibition a year and that all
members should be urged to participate.


m)    Everine voiced her concern about the new proposed Art Gallery in White River and whether Nelspruit artists will be welcome to exhibit there.

Judith giving out secrets