One woman loves the moon and paints interpretations of her dreams. Another paints pictures of women in bathing suits, and adds an artistic flourish to pocketbooks and furniture. Another is a retired art teacher who returned to her passion just a few years ago, working in watercolor, acrylic, collage and calligraphy.
Each came to be an artist in a different manner, but what they do have in common is membership in Confetti, a group of eight North Shore women who meet weekly to work on art projects in a group setting.
"We say we're going to Confetti," said Susan Guest-McPhail of Ipswich. "It's a mix of art and a support system."
The women of Confetti will stage their second annual art show at the Hall-Haskell House, Route 1A, Ipswich, from Sept. 9 to 14.
"We think of ourselves as women obsessed with color," said Judith Schroeter of Essex, a retired special needs teacher, explaining where the name Confetti originated.
"We tried to think of a name that sounded like fun and color," added Deb Citron-Stevens, who owns a gallery called Confetti in Essex, where a majority of the Monday-morning meetings take place.
Confetti operates much in the way a writers' group would — where artists work together, ask opinions of each other and offer polite critiques. To join you have "to know someone," and membership is capped at eight women.
Occasionally, the group gathers at the home of Judith Stover, in the Willows neighborhood of Salem.
Stover said that the women also trade recipes, vacation together and have become close friends, even though most became acquainted when Confetti was formed, just three years ago.
"When you get to a certain age in life, you get to a point where you're not even looking for friends, and all of a sudden a whole new group of people become important to you ... and fill a place in your life," Stover said. "Plus, I've got a lot of art to learn from them."
