On Aug 23, 2004, at 13:51, Elizabeth Pass wrote:
It appears that quite a few Arachnes have judged at various fairs and competitions. What do you look for when judging?
I almost hesitate to add my bit - everyone else has said it, and some of the ideas I've collected for my own use. All the same, here goes:
We do get some directions from the Fair organizers, as to what we're supposed to be looking for (that will vary, from fair to fair, I expect). Some of those do not apply particularly well to *lace* entries, having been designed with *all* the craft entries in mind. We try to ignore those, as much as we're permitted.
I think we're somewhat unique (lace judges at the VA Fair), in that we do not have individual score-cards, but go together, as a group (when there is more than one judge... <g>), discussing merits and demerits, and deciding what comments to put on the entrant's ticket. Then we have one final look over all the entries - yes, we do compare them - before deciding what to award to which entry. If anything; while I agree with Robin on principle - you should apply a scale to what you *have*, not to some imagined ideal - our fair's rules also specify that a 1st-place ribbon will be awarded only if an entry merits it. It has been a "way out" for us in the past, when the entries were truly bad; we could award it a 2nd or a 3rd, while still writing comments which were encouraging enough (we hoped) for the entrant to keep on plowing...
Judges in a discussion panel format seems to work for us; we seem to be able to achieve a reasonably good balance between personal appeal and technical detail that way, both in the comments, and in the final decisions.
What I look for, personally.. First, the overall impression - is it pretty? Unfortunately, that's the whimsical part of judging crafts, and that's why I like to have someone else (preferably more than one person) to counter-balance it, with a different perception.
A nicely-mounted piece is nice, but I prefer one which allows me access to the wrong side, to see how well the hard part (finishing) has been tackled. OTOH, in a collection of motifs, such as someone mentioned, it's the mounting (arrangement) which is likely to make - or lack - a visual impact, so I'm 50-50 on those. I do not like - at all - pieces which have been mounted and are presented under glass; it does not allow me a closer look, which might be an essential element in the final decision re: ribbons...
*Clean* and crisp look comes before technical proficiency to most of us, I think; I remember all of us (4?) *agonizing* once about a piece of tatting which was v. fine and difficult and technically faultless, but which had been stained with something that looked like CoolAde. Reluctantly, we didn't give it the first it would have - otherwise - won by a mile.
Supplying info on the thread used had been a requirement in our fair for a long time - that way, we can say "try thinner/thicker/less fuzzy" in our comments, sometimes even being able to suggest alternatives. When I had the chance to meddle with the rules, I asked that info about the *origin of the pattern* should be requested (it now is); to me, it matters, whether the pattern is an original, an adaptation, or a staightforward copy/reproduction. IOLI has two separate categories - original pattern and technical proficiency - we do not. I judge an original pattern somewhat less stringently than an adaptation or a copy one, simply because I know - from my own experience - how much effort can go into producing such. So, for me, the overall appeal (and yes, the balance of "thick" and "thin" is one of the main factors) counts far more than the missed twists in individual stitches, when it comes to an original pattern. But an original pattern, which is botched in evey other way, still stinks, and a perfect copy is likely to steal the laurels... :)
--- Tamara P Duvall http://lorien.emufarm.org/~tpd Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland) Healthy US through The No-CARB Diet: no C-heney, no A-shcroft, no R-umsfeld, no B-ush.
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