> I am really enjoying the thread on competitions and judging and often > wonder > why we need competitions. Do they not stem from the time where a > woman's > value was measured by her competence in the home???? What alternatives > are > there to reward people for exceptional handwork?
Jeanette, Your lace meeting certainly sounds as if it was interesting! One value to the competitions is that it is an invaluable opportunity to expose the public to the fact that lacemaking is alive and well. We have a chance to try to interest people in taking up the hobby/craft/art. I would hate to see these competitions disappear, but since I see every year a smaller group of entries, I fear that will someday happen. I enter (force myself to enter) each year in our regional competition. I must admit that sometimes I feel that the sum total of judging is contained in the quality of one's picots (can you tell that I have picot challenges?). I join the others on this list who think it would be very helpful to have the judging criteria published -- not only would this help one to determine whether or not to enter, but more importantly, it would help to interpret the judges' results. And although I can certainly see the points made by various people for not revealing the identity of judges, I for one think it is valuable to know who judges our work. Frankly, I judge the judge. If I can't know the judge's name, at least I would like to know his/her qualifications as a judge. I have on occasion made historically-accurate reproductions of laces, going back to the 17th century. Of course, some techniques that are used in these laces are not very often, if ever, seen (much less taught) today. One thing I find is that judges are not typically well informed about this kind of lace. In an ideal world, I think we would have judges for different types of lace, just as we have different judges at dog shows for different breeds. That's my two cents worth for today, Regards, Carolyn Carolyn Hastings Stow, MA USA - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
