ANST - Judging - a different perspective

[Ace]

Greetings All:

As an Ansteorran artisan who has watched both judges and judging evolve
before my eyes, may I add a word or two on this topic?

To those who have posted tales of discouragement, I am sorry about your
experiences and I fully empathize.  My judging experiences have run the full
gamut:  from less than tactful to long, giddy conversations over technique
and books in the corner of a hall.  In retrospect, I honestly believe that
there is enormous value in both extremes.  However, I do believe the tide is
turning in many areas of judging, and most of that stems from better
communication and better forms.   The key difference, though, is _action_.

In our Baronial C&I Guild (Steppes), we turned frustration and confusion
over documentation into opportunities to discuss with our local Laurels what
was expected of us.  When asked, our local Laurels were more than happy to
take part in "roundtable" discussions on the topic at our Guild meetings,
and Master Fritz wrote an excellent article on documentation for our
newsletter.  And the Laurels have specifically asked our opinions in a
recent A&S Survey.

My perspective changed greatly when I judged an A&S competition for the
first time (with a group of Laurels who judged the competition _in unison_)
.  Whew....where would I begin to explain what it was like in comparison to
what it was like displaying?  Well....I learned that sometimes
interpretation of critique is 9\10s of judging law;  that sometimes it's
really hard getting to even 15 artisans in the allotted judging time
(especially if you really want to spend quality time with everybody);  that
you _have_ to give weight to the artisan's documentation not just on the
things you know, but especially on the things you don't know that much
about;  and.....

I promise you:  judging is more difficult and rewarding that you may think.
I wish that every Iris would have the opportunity to judge with a mentor
Laurel.  It's an eye-opener.

And yes, I know what it's like to have trouble finding documentation.  I've
been banging my head upside a wall for over a year now trying to find
written documentation for period materials used in Arabic scrolls...but I
keep e-mailing museums and libraries that I can't get to, and digging
through books, and more books...

And I agree with Sir Kief:  you really _can_ find unexpected treasures while
doing research (that's exactly how I got into pottery), or you might stumble
over what you were looking for in the first place - even while researching
the 'mundane' stuff.  And I agree with Mistress Gunnora:  if you experience
confusion or are hurt over a judging, find the Laurel and discuss it with
them.  If you are uncomfortable with doing this, either have your Laurel or
a Laurel you are acquainted with speak with the Judge.  I made this mistake
once, and regretted not getting to know a really nice person sooner.

And yes, the bar has been raised and I'm glad.  I can't wait to see where
we're going to be in five....ten.....twenty years!

So, those are my typical lengthy words.  Both the A&S community and our
Kingdom have come so far.  Let's keep it going.

HL Aslyn Crystyn
Steppes, Ansteorra




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