The value of others

The week was the monthly meeting of my fibre art support group--Ravenesque.  Only half of us were there-- an unusual occurance.  One lady is moving away and won't be able to attend any more meetings, but we only rarely have anyone actually resign.  So there is  a flow to our membership, but every person adds to the strength of the group. 

Because there were only 4 of us, the conversation was more subdued than normal( chaos is normal), and we were actually able to exchange much more in the way of ideas, and explore those ideas in a little more depth.  Two of us appear to be at a cross roads.  We are unsure which direction our future  efforts may take, but we both know that we are about to make some sort of shift.  A third member has acquired a sponsor and is in the process of making a shift ( maybe temporary) to accommodate some of the sponsors ideas ( as artists have done for hundred of years)  Thr fourth member present is fairly new to the group, but not to fibre art.  She is quite taken with the various techniques we talk about, with such ease and apparent familiarity. 

I mention the meeting because I truly, truly believe that this sort of stimulation and discussion with other artists is absolutely essential to the growth and development of any artist, in any medium.  Most artists do the actual creation of art in isolation.  That is; alone, in the isolation of their studios.  What they actually produce is an amalgam of the experiences and ideas that have flowed through their lives, and the support of a like-minded group can only a positive effect. These ladies give me honest critique-- a hard animal to find.  They force me to explore and verbalize my own creative thoughts.  They encourage me to actually try new things and not devolve into living entirely within my comfort zone.  All of those efforts may make me temproarily uncomfortable, but they all help me grow in both skill and confidence.

So, the next step?  Inks.