Ozquilt Network Newsletter Issue #31 MARCH 1999

In 1980 I started the Constructive Craft Criticism Group for textile artists as I felt there was a need for such a textile group. The meeting was open to all fibre/textile artists and, in the early years, I used to send out a report of the meeting and an open invitation to attend the next meeting, to the newsletters of the Crafts Council, Embroiderers' Guild, Spinners and Weavers etc. The group met at my Brookfield, Brisbane home until my move to Caloundra at the end of 1987. Since then it meets at my Caloundra home in February and then at a different member's home for the May, August and November meetings. The meetings begin at 10.30 am after a 10 am arrival time and half hour of coffee and chat. For each meeting the hostess invites a guest critic for the day who may be from any branch of the arts/crafts industry.

Until this year the group has been a loosely bound group of like-minded people with no formal constitution. However, at the end of last year we had a discussion after the November meeting about the possibility/probability of having to pay for the services of a critic in the future and how this could be funded. It was agreed that:

we would be able to enlarge the number of available critics and improve the calibre of critics by having funds available to offer self employed critics;

we would offer self employed critics a fee of $100 per session;

we would continue to pay the hostess $20 out of funds to cover the cost of a gift to salaried critics;

we would try to have two salaried critics and two non-salaried per year;

we would introduce an annual fee of $25 to cover these costs and review the situation at the end of each year.

Membership is open and has changed over the years with some of the original members still attending. All members' work has benefited by the open critique of their work and of others' work, as these critiques make one more aware of the principles of good design and use of colour.

© Cynthia Morgan 1999