Ryan Fletcher led the third installment of our creative discussion group.  Participants selected objects of significance from their home and presented them to the group.

People brought things such as shells, jewelry, postcards and stones.  Many of us presented objects that were tied to specific memories.  Several people commented that they collected rocks, which carry an additional reference to a specific place as well as time.

Objects often carry with them a sense of nostalgia.  We examined ideas about how painting and photographs relate to the idea of objects.  The way we experience photographs as digital information rather than as physical objects is a significant shift.

As object-makers it should be important for us to consider the significance of the objects we make.  Articulating purposes for our art-making can really help to advance our practices.

Our last two Creative Discussions have been great.

On March 7 Stephanie Kantor led a discussion about who we are as artists.  We worked through several quick writing exercises designed to stimulate insight into what our work is about.  Everyone wrote down 20 descriptive words directed toward our work, and then selected the five we liked the best.  The five words should, if not already be included in your artist statement or elevator speech.

We all found the exercise helpful.  We then moved on to sharing brief elevator speeches.  An elevator speech is a concise 30 second description of who you are and what you do.  We all presented ourselves and gave each other tips on what could be improved.

Everyone agreed on the importance of being able to accurately represent yourself in a short period of time and felt they gained some tools to do so.

Our first bi-monthly creative discussion "What do you want?," led by Bowie Croisant, was Monday this week.  There was a great response to our first meeting and everyone enjoyed sharing ideas and participating in a constructive dialog.    We discussed what we hoped to get out of our meetings, before moving on to goal setting strategies.

Interaction with a variety of artists was quickly identified as a draw to the group.  Feedback from multiple perspectives can really help to develop ideas.  Many of us were interested in enriching concepts to aid in creating artist statements.  Process based discussions can assist in articulating reasons for using chosen materials and help to place work within a historical context.  An ongoing dialog with a diversity of creative minds can help us think as "visual artists" rather than applying labels of "ceramists" or "painters."

After establishing some of the things we hoped to gain from our discussions, we moved on to the topic of goals.  We initially worked to answer the question "What is success?"  Of course our answers were quite varied, but we did all agree that we would feel successful as self sufficient artists.  It is important to identify what personal success looks like for you when setting your goals to ensure that your goals are relevant.  The ability to support yourself by doing something that you love seems to be a universal desire and measure of success.

Next we discussed some goal setting strategies.  Many of us have heard the goal setting acronym SMART.  These simple guidelines for effective goal setting really help to make goal setting work for you.  Effective goals are:

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Time-bound

Making sure that your goals fit to these criteria will go a long way in insuring that you achieve them.

Some great advice was shared regarding how to represent yourself.  Good visual representation of your work is paramount, as well as clear and accurate access to size and material information.  Being professional, adhering to protocols and establishing relationships before approaching curators and gallerists with your work allows a sense of trust to develop.  Continually visiting a gallery you are interested in will eventually make you known to the gallery and will help you to determine if they are an appropriate venue for your work.  When corresponding, attention to detail is key, as is following up and not being pretentious.

Incorporating interesting quotes to feed discussions was suggested for the future.  I think this is a wonderful way to stimulate thoughts in new directions, and I look forward to our meeting next month.

The next creative discussion will be Monday March 7th at 8pm.  We decided to prepare elevator speeches to present to the group.  An elevator speech is an interesting and concise statement of who you are and what you do that can be delivered in 30 seconds.  The elevator speech is a wonderful tool that everyone should prepare in order to represent themselves effectively when the time comes.  This discussion will also focus on informal promotion and will be led by Red Star resident Stephanie Kantor.

We hope to see you there!

We're gearing up for our first "Happy Hour," which is Monday 2/21 from 8 - 9PM, right here in the Red Star Studio. Bowie will be leading the discussion for this first meeting and we'll be following it up with a trip to McCoy's Public House And Brewkitchen to continue the conversation over $7 pitchers of their hand-crafted beer. If you are an artist or an arts enthusiast, we hope you join us.

Red Star Studios is location at 2100 Walnut Street, Kansas City, MO 64108.

McCoy's is located at 4057 Pennsylvania Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64111.