[MR] Tokens left for A&S entries was gift giving and A&S judging

Fri Jun 29 14:41:29 PDT 2007

Hmmmm, very good points you make Olwen. 

I like to use my card not only as an ID of who left the token but as a small note card for leaving a comment. Cards can be made to look more handmade or can actually BE hand made. I am fortunate that my cards were designed by one of our artisans and have a nice illumination design and calligraphy hand.

I have to say I personally treasure the notes or tokens of encouragement. I have my own "I don't suck" box that I save each and every token and note in for those days that I'm having a bad time in my SCA art. I can open the box and read the kind notes and be reminded that, hey, maybe I don't really suck. I save the beads up and make Viking Necklaces out of them.

Folks should not feel their tokens are unappreciated. They are a small gesture that has a lot a bang for the buck. 

These are good words for thought and I know I will consider how I give tokens so that they can be the most meaningful to the artisans I wish to honor.

yours,
Martelle

Olwen the Odd <olwentheodd at hotmail.com> wrote: Somehow this is not the same almost at all but here goes.

I have seen folks who leave tokens of appreciation for A&S entries over the course of the last many years and have even gotten a few myself and found this a kind and encouraging gesture.

More recently I have watched this kindly gesture turn into something that holds almost no meaning any longer, on two levels.

Over time I have seen more and more computer generated business cards, sometimes with a bead or something attached and sometimes not.  Now, I know your heart means well, but let's face it, this is the SCA and we are trying to recreate the past.  So you plunk down your computer generated business card on top of a hand made re-creation to show you appreciate the workmanship and/or documentation.  hhhhhhmmmmmmmmm.........  But the part that I find worse is that more and more often people are just plunking down their cards or tokens on ALL the entries, magnificent, horrible, and everything in between.

Now, put yourself (if you have been there you probably know what I'm talking about here) in the place of the artisan who works very hard on a project that has sometimes taken over their life for a while; one who does the research and the documentation and sets forth a beautiful display which  sits on the table next to a project that may be made by someone who has entered an ok piece of work with little or no documentation, or maybe something that is done by a complete novice in the skill set.  All of these happen, and that is just the way it is supposed to be.  Nobody ever came out with any more skills than the other - we all knew how to breath - that's it 
- everything else is a learning experience.  Ok, back to the topic... It is 
perfectly fine for any one of us to appreciate someone's work, even if it 
isn't the best "knock your socks off" thing on the table.  Sometimes the 
"knock your socks off" thing is not *your* thing.  Maybe the item by a 
not-so-good novice *is*your thing, leave a token!  It is even better if we 
let someone know that we really *LIKE* their project!  But how does an 
artist KNOW if they see the very same token at every piece of art on the 
table?

Of course we would all like to say how much we appreciate everyone for
entering a competition or display, but if we all did then the arts would be
buried in tokens.  Instead, we may consider getting back to the idea of 
leaving a small token of our appreciation for the particular items that we 
enjoy, thus giving more meaning to that token.

OK, I'm stepping down from the haybale now and readying myself for the
pitchfork toss.

Cariad a heddwch (love and peace)

Dame Olwen the Odd
Laurel to Lady Katherine O'Carroll
Order of the Pearl
Bright Hills Cooks Guild
House Blackstar
Barony of Bright Hills
Kingdom of Atlantia!

Come and visit the Bright Hills Baronial Household list.
It is open to all who would like to help me with my Baronial
duties and projects. 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BrightHillsBaronialHousehold/

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