February 2006 Emeritus College, Santa Monica
To my Emeritus students, Happy holidays.
It's this time of year again, and we are all so busy. It has been an extreme pleasure working with our group for the past semester. The paintings have been fabulous. I can see the struggles that some of you are going through, and the changes that are coming from those struggles. It is something just to get up and out and come to a class like this. We never know what the weather is going to be like, or what the site will be like.
Painting is a funny thing, because all we have to work with is ourselves and a piece of paper and some color. What this activity does to the individual is profound, and can only be understood by those people who actually do it. I am pleased that we have some new people in the group. and we are all looking forward to meeting you. I know that you will have a wonderful experience painting outdoors - it is unexplainable - something to be experienced.
I am planning a show in the gallery at Emeritus College during the month of February. Maggie cannot think about it until January after the holidays, so I will put in my proposal at this time. My proposal will consist of the idea that we are showing paintings all done at Santa Monica Beach during the past 4 months. This in itself is unique.
I know that our show will be outstanding, and I want you to think about it from time to time during the holidays. I am looking for some help in writing PR and getting
a lot of pictures and articles in all of the local papers. I would like to call attention to ourselves - after all - we are the elders of the community, and as such, have something to say about life and living. And I think that this shows in your paintings.
Now - to business. There has been a change in the schedule that was printed. The first meeting, Wed. January 4, 2006, will be held in Douglas Park, not in Joslyn Park as listed in the brochure. We have the craft room from 8:30 AM to ll:50 AM. What I would like to do during that first meeting is to get to know the new people a little, and then examine our work. I would like you to bring two or more paintings that look like they go together and that would look good hanging together. I am looking for a show that holds together as a unit, and where it is clearly observable that each group of paintings was done by a specific individual. They can be simple, complex, any size from tiny to large, and also we can include sketches and also sketch books. We can hang from the floor to the ceiling if we desire - I want to put up a full show.
There will be no jurying - we will decide together about the hanging. I will need some people to help with the hanging come February. Emeritus has l00 frames which we can use if desired, and they have hangers coming from the ceiling. These hangers can hang more than one painting, and we can also group some paintings together in many other different ways. Depending upon the paintings we are going to show, there are many different ways to group them, not always in the more traditional way. It may be possible to take a group of paintings - let's say of one location - and make a montage of sorts on cork board, foam board , or some other large surface. As I'm sure you know by now, I am always looking for different ways of doing things. With your backgrounds, I'm sure that we will come up with something wonderful.
I also want all of your names out there, and possibly some pictures of you painting on site. I have quite a few photos, and I know that you do also. So I am excited about next year. One of my goals is to publicize the
Emeritus College so that people can see what a wonderful place it is, and what wonderful work is done through the college. Not only is the city helping people follow their passions, but is also contributing to our good health and allowing us to inspire other people to keep creating. In my mind I keep the vision of
Matisse, Degas, Monet, O'Keefe, Moses, and all of the other artists who created their most significant work when they were in their 80's and 90's. We have all that background and understanding of life that we did not have when we were younger. We may have had more energy when we were younger, but did not have the time, knowledge and experience that we have now.
I am looking forward to seeing you on the 4th of January, complete with a nice body of work. Bring as much as you can of what was done this semester because we have the whole morning to really look at the work, indoors, and let's get this show on the road.
Have a great vacation.
My best wishes,
Susan Weinberg
