Not sure about other fairs, but the ones I've entered do ask for level of expertise. I assume that information is factored in by the judges in some way. I usually put down "advanced lacemaker" but I might add "new to this technique" or some such descriptor.
Something that might be a bit of an oddity at our regional fair is that multiple first place ribbons are awarded, and the same for the other cometitive positions. I think that the judges are judging specific techniques together -- all Beds, all Bucks, all Milanese, etc. Or so it seems to me. None of this is mentioned anywhere in the premiums booklet -- and this is true for all the classes of judging. Our lace group is going to try to address some of the anomalies in awards, but if the judging criteria is not transparent, then there isn't much anyone can do to try to improve it. Julie mentioned in another post that the reason that she enters competitions is to get handmade lace in front of the public. That's my reason as well, but I've found over the years that it is has also been a very helpful experience in terms of improving my lace. At our fair, the one really great thing is that the judges make an attempt to comment on the lace, with some positive and some "constructive criticism" (and they succeed in being very constructive). I've mentioned the judging being opaque, but that isn't entirely true. There are check-offs for the following catagories (which I think the fair stipulates, as they aren't lace specific): Selection of appropriate materials Design -- Effective balance; proportion Color -- Effective balance; harmony Techniques; Workmanship; Skills Condition -- Neat, Clean, "New" Creativity as in Original, Adaptation, etc. Mounting; Framing as applies to project Appropriate "weave" structure So you might see why my Binche mat mounted on very antique, handwoven linen, might have been penalized -- it didn't look "new" at all (although I must hasten to say it certainly didn't look old and scruffy -- I only wish linen like that could be produced today!) But it seems to me that many of these catagories don't apply much at all, at least among the pieces that are submitted locally. Carolyn > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf > Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 11:48 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [email protected] > Subject: Re: [lace] Judging Criteria > > In a message dated 12/12/2007 11:31:04 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > What may not be challenging for someone who has been making lace for > ages may be a massive challenge for a beginner. Unless you know the > level the maker is at how can you tell whether it was much of a > challenge or not? > > > > The one thing that the fair insists on is that the name of the person > be > hidden, so that you are not influenced by knowing that information. > But, I guess > what I mean is that, since you are judging many pieces of lace by many > people > against each other, rather than assessing whether a piece is a > personal best > for the individual who has made it, how much credit should someone get > for > choosing a more challenging, in a universal sense, piece of lace. The > Dianna > Stevens scale includes 10 points for complexity of the piece. So you > might > pick up some points for complexity while losing some for workmanship. > > Of course, one variation that has occurred in our contest is that the > local > group has devised a bunch of special categories, like "best piece for > persons > making lace for less than a year" so that the same people don't win all > the > prizes. I think this is an excellent idea. It encourages more people to > enter. > > Devon > > > > > > **************************************See AOL's top rated recipes > (http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004) > > - > To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: > unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
