[MR] RE: A&S Competitions

[Virginia E. Liles]

Well I don't normally enter A&S contests because I don't keep my work so
it's hard to display. I did enter once in one catagory and end up winning
in another catagory - funny that. I have entered as display only. I have
put out display and asked for comments. All have been interesting and none
nasty but I never enter with the expectation of "winning". I know I'm not
that great  but  I do look for feed back that points me to new sources
ideas. I much prefer University. And if an event has a "library corner"
Where books may be prerused and questions asked I do enjoy that. As I have
endured cancer treatment this past year I have seen and heard about several
interesting things but lacked the stamina and creative juice to do anything
with it. I am hoping that is changing soon as I complete my Chemo. I am
working on entries for a Phoenix Eye - I should be able to hold on to them
that long anyway. Nasty comments on judging sheets...well we all have cat
hairs in our cornflakes some days...
Lady Geva


> [Original Message]
> From: <Craftydoni at aol.com>
> To: <atlantia at atlantia.sca.org>
 > Date: 2/24/03 3:41:14 PM
> Subject: [MR] Display vs competitions
>
> --
> [ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
> Hello the Tavern!
>
> I've been avidly reading everything on the list the last few days, and the
> subject is near and dear to my heart, being someone who has actually been
> bludgeoned with harsh criticism and judges who never should have set foot
in
> an A&S hall. That being said, I still put my items out when the categories
> allow, and I still put out a display if at all possible. I've been told
not
> to enter certain items, and I've been encouraged to enter others. I've
been
> told point blank that my entry wasn't welcome once (but that was purely
> political, and we won't go there! I laughed that whole competition off,
and
> chalked it up to petiness), and I've entered items purely for their
> laugh-inducing qualities. (I'll note that I did put on the judging form
that
> it was solely a novelty entry and shouldn't be taken seriously! But it was
> well-documented...)
>
> I've won one or two local A&S competitions, and those moments were indeed
to
> be treasured. But the displays I've put out have given me more confidence
> than winning ever could. I've learned more from comments placed with my
> collection of string stuff, and I keep each and every token in a special
box.
> When I feel badly about myself and my work I will take out the notes
jotted
> down on slips of paper or index cards, or hold a hand-made glass bead that
> Mistress Whats-her-name left for me. That invariably gets me back on track
> and back to work to make something even more spiff.
>
> Knowing that in a non-competitive venue my work has been appreciated and
my
> craftsmanship acknowledged makes it much easier to sail through
competitions
> where only three people 'judge' and I don't 'win'. I can take the bad with
> the good, and look to that box of tokens to remind me that peoples'
opinions
> are so very different.
>
> What I have noticed is that when there are competitions and displays, more
> tokens seem to be left with the display items than with the competition
> items. (This is my perception, I could be wrong!) I would encourage those
who
> leave tokens to be equal, and to leave just as many with the competitors
as
> with the diplays. I think that one bad comment from a judge could be
soothed
> over quite effectively with a handful of tokens and 'You rock!'  or 'this
is
> so cool! I never would have thought to do it this way!' comments from
> non-judges.
>
> They say it takes seven positives to overcome one negative when dealing
with
> human emotions. Since bad judges are few and far between, the rest of us
> should have a decent chance of making up for their negativity if we just
put
> forth a little effort.
>
> Just my two cents' worth.
>
> Seraphina
> Barony of the Sacred Stone
>
> A Little Bit of Everything
> http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/donisfuff/index.html
>
> http://www.marykay.com/DonyaBeasley
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