[MR] participating in competitions and displays

[Michelle L. McDaniel]

Greetings all!

Hope all is well with you and yours!

It's good to see this discussed because participating in arts and sciences
competitions both as an artisan and a judge can be grueling.

One of the reasons I don't participate in more competitions is because I
find out about them too late. A month or two, is not enough time for me to
get something ready for a competition. I need about three months to do a
decent job. One month for research and deciding what I'm going to do and two
months to get it done. Many of my projects take longer. When an event shows
up in the Acorn or on the website a month or two in advance, there is not
enough time for me to have something ready, especially if it is some kind of
special topic.

To tie this in with the event planning thread, earlier notice of A&S
activities at events would let me participate regularly in competitions.

Another reason I don't participate more regularly is because the guidelines
are often unclear. Are baronial A&S competition just for those within the
barony? How many times can you show a piece? How long can you show a piece?
More info concerning the competition would help me decide to participate.

I like both competitions and displays and enjoy seeing what other artisans
are doing. I compete not to win but to see what others have to say about my
piece. When all I get are numbers with little or no explanation of why I
received those scores is when I get frustrated. I find the comments more
helpful to me than the numbers because it shows me where I need to improve.
Things in Atlantia are improving in regards to this but work still needs to
be done.

When I am judging a competition I schedule very little else for the day
until after the judging is complete and don't bring my family, because I
won't be able to hang out with them for much of the day. This way I am able
to give the entries my full, undivided attention rather than have to squeeze
them in between other activities.

Take care!

**aelfwynn of whitby**