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.
