[MR] A&S issue

[Marsaili Johnston]

In fairness, I must add, I have also had A&S judges that have been extremely helpful.  After a competition, one lady actually sat with me, explained her comments and told me how I could improve on a technique and create something in a period manner.  She was never the slightest bit rude or condescending -- it was simply a matter of 'you haven't learned this yet.'  
Others have had useful suggestions for the issue of documentation -- though that still always seems to be subjective!
I have no problem taking constructive criticism on how to improve what I'm doing.  Completely gratuitous insults that serve no purpose other than to bolster the ego of the person making them are another matter altogether.

Lady Marsali Johnston   Barony of Stierbach  Kingdom of Atlantia   

--- On Sat, 12/3/11, Marsaili Johnston <ladymarsaili at yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Marsaili Johnston <ladymarsaili at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [MR] A&S issue
To: "Stefan li Rous" <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com>
Cc: atlantia at atlantia.sca.org
Date: Saturday, December 3, 2011, 9:14 AM

>>Was this what the individual actually said? Unless they were referring to period bellows or drinking straws (yes, I have info on both in the Florilegium :-) ) such comments are not only rude, but non-useable. So they should be ignored as best you can. Judges volunteer to do that job. You are not 'wasting their time' if you are entering in good faith, no matter how good or bad your entry is.<<
Yes -- written on the judging sheet.  Anonymously.  Of course it was non-useable.  But it sure doesn't give one the urge to expose themselves to THAT again.  BTW, the pieces that 'sucked' had previously gotten a great deal of praise from someone who was expert in that area.
The documentation issues are just frustrating and annoying.  I can and have written every detail about an item and been asked a question that was already answered in the documentation -- why on earth did I spend time writing that if the judges can't be bothered to read it?  And yes, I've heard the 'oh they have judge 100 pieces in 30 minutes, they didn't have time.'  First, I've never seen that large an A&S competition (other than maybe Pennsic) and if they 'don't have time to read it' then don't require it!

Lady Marsali Johnston   Barony of Stierbach  Kingdom of Atlantia   

--- On Sat, 12/3/11, Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com> wrote:

From: Stefan li Rous <StefanliRous at austin.rr.com>
Subject: Re: [MR] A&S issue
To: "Atlantia maillist" <atlantia at atlantia.sca.org>
Date: Saturday, December 3, 2011, 12:51 AM

Lady Marsali Johnston said:
<<< Have been told (anonymously, of course -- they didn't have the intestinal fortitude to sign their name to it!) that my work 'sucked' and I was wasting the time of the judges entering it into competition. >>>

Was this what the individual actually said? Unless they were referring to period bellows or drinking straws (yes, I have info on both in the Florilegium :-) ) such comments are not only rude, but non-useable. So they should be ignored as best you can. Judges volunteer to do that job. You are not 'wasting their time' if you are entering in good faith, no matter how good or bad your entry is.

<<< That I had 'too much documentation,' or 'not enough documentation' (from the same piece!) >>>

Those kinds of comments are personal opinion and are quite possible to get, unless the particular contest has specific rules on the amount of documentation that should be entered. Understand that, and consider who the comments are coming from. If possible, see if you can get further comments on this from other judges/experts even if they didn't judge your entry, and draw what you can from it.

I probably have at least half a dozen to a dozen articles in the Florilegium on writing good A&S documentation, and they don't all agree on all such details.

<<< After awhile, it's not fun any more. ?Since I do my work for my own enjoyment, I no longer feel the need to be 'judged' on it. ?Which is why I don't bother with the A&S competitions. >>>

Agreed. That is why many kingdoms (and events such as Gulf Wars) have A&S displays to go along with all the A&S competitions. Hopefully these allow you to show off your work, show others what can be done and teach without the pressure and non-periodness of modern A&S contests.

Stefan

--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
   Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/marksharris
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****






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