Crit of the Crit

I've finally had a chance to write up our conversation/ideas/brainstorming about how to make our crits better/more productive after our conversation at David's crit. I would also like to say that I found David's crit fascinating and was very interested in the conversation that ensued. I don't know whether that was because of the conversation we had spurred by Ben's email, the fact that David's work is wonderfully interesting, or a combination of the two.

Ok, here goes:

1. Maybe the person whose crit it is should think ahead and have ideas about what kind of help he/she would like from the group (answering specific questions? technical? conceptual? etc.)

2. There could also be a moderator if that would help the person being critiqued stay on track, keep the conversation on track, etc.

3. There could be someone taking notes if that would help the person whose crit it is.

4. Getting to know each other better and each other's work better would be a good step too - maybe one-on-one studio visits would be useful between major crits.

5. Capitalize on each other's expertise - we have a broad range of skills in our group. Getting clear on who excels at what areas and using each other for our strengths is a good use of our crits.

6. Maybe starting out with an "ice-breaker" before crits so we're not like, "Hi, I haven't seen you for a month. Here's what I think of your work..." It's kind of awkward. As well, sometimes it's a lot to see the work and critique it immediately. Maybe if we have one crit then go out for a coffee altogether that would give ideas a chance to percolate and people time to gather their thoughts and give more than they could in the studio/gallery.

7. So maybe there should only be one crit per night and then one fun event for talking/processing/getting to know each other better?

8. Perhaps having "assignments" - something to read, a movie to see, might help us to connect and have some common thoughts/ideas.

9. How do we feel about crits in the studio vs. in the gallery?

10. Is anyone interested in collaborations?