On Dec 12, 2007, at 23:06, Adele Shaak wrote:
We seem to have several judges on the list - I wonder, what would be
your thoughts if you were faced with:
1. a superb original artistic vision and fantastic original design, in
either a simple lace well made, or a difficult lace not expertly made
or
2. A tour de force of technical skill in making a pattern that is
available to anybody who has bought the book.
Which would you choose?
This particular question is not something that comes up frequently,
because, usually, there's a separate category for "original design" and
"technical proficiency". Our State Fair doesn't have that split (we
have beginners versus advanced/professional), so I might run into this
problem but never have so far. We do require that the origin of the
pattern is given, so I do know which is which (always assuming people
are truthful, which is not always the case; when it comes to
competitions, the desire to *win* often outweighs simple decency <g>).
I tend to favour originality over technical proficiency myself but not
overwhelmingly; it's more of the tie-breaker, when all else is equal...
Regarding the question not posed but inherent within the first
description: simple but well made versus difficult but not well made,
I'd have to go for "well made". Partly, I suppose, because I myself am
of the "more ambition than skill (or patience for detail)" kind of
lacemaker and consider it a fault. I think, before one submits a piece
for judgment by others, one should judge oneself. Assessing oneself as
objectively as possible is a skill too and a helpful one.
That way of thinking goes against the grain of Polish history, where
the Romantic "measure your skills to your goals and not your goals to
your skills" (ie it's better to die trying something great than to
achieve something small), but I've always been more of a pragmatist
than a romantic :)
--
Tamara P Duvall http://t-n-lace.net/
Lexington, Virginia, USA (Formerly of Warsaw, Poland)
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