Professional Practice is designed as a rigorous, supportive space for artists to develop their work through sustained dialogue. During our weekly meeting, participants present work both finished and in progress and engage in focused, constructive critique with the aim of sharing illuminating feedback, sharpening both interpretive and evaluative skills and developing a shared language that sharpens both making and thinking. Discussion will attend to formal, conceptual and contextual concerns, with an emphasis on how individual works operate within broader artistic, cultural and historical frameworks. Through group crits, occasional visiting artists, art historians and gallerists from the art community, targeted personalized art history talks and exhibitions, participants will examine the formal, conceptual and personal throughlines that shape their work. This class was previously called Independent Study: “Art and Identity,” but our Wednesday night group has evolved into more of an art group than an art class. And since I taught the “Professionalism” class in the Tulane MFA program as as adjunct and have noticed many similarities with that graduate level class, “Art and Identity” seemed ready for a slight shift. Despite the new title, our aim remains to provide support to artists in identifying, articulating and developing a coherent artistic identity, within their evolving practice. The goal is to clarify intention without foregoing experimentation, and to position identity as an ongoing process of inquiry and refinement rather than a fixed endpoint. Critical feedback, the exchange of ideas, and exploration of larger cultural contexts pave a tried and true path to clarifying your own artistic identity and expanding your ability to articulate it in all forums, both personal and professional. Prerequisites: Previous classes in drawing and painting are strongly suggested.  Supplies: Student should bring what supplies they want to work with.