Every week I work with a group of older women in a local day care centre. Most of the women have had no previous experience of art and many didn't even get to experience it in school. For them to be "good" means to be able to reproduce something that is right in front of them. I have introduced them to different mediums and subject matter, delved into the imagination and examined other artists work. During the month of May we have a national arts festival for older people called Bealtaine, http://bealtaine.com/ which is to celebrate creativity in older people. For this festival the group had an exhibition of their work in a local library. Local dignitaries were invited and a well known artist opened it. It was the first time that I felt that my work with them was going somewhere. Each week when I propose something to do they all claim it is too hard and they couldn't do that, my challenge is to give them confidence and encouragement to do it and also to appreciate their work. At the day of the opening I could see they were finally beginning to see themselves as artists and appreciate their own creativity.
In two weeks I am bringing them to see the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibition in IMMA. I am so excited myself to see the work as Kahlo is one of my favourite artists. I hope the visit will inspire them and help them to view art as something other than painting a vase of flowers. What I love about Kahlo is her honesty in her paintings and how she used her work and creativity as a way of dealing with and expressing what was going on in her life. Art shouldn't be just done for the viewer, often I forget this myself and become paralysed by the audience who have yet to exist. I am looking forward to how the women interpret Kahlo's work.
No comments:
Post a Comment