ANST - Looking for the heat

[marsha.greene at mpan.com]

Baron Bors said:
"The new judging forms are nice, but I still see subjective instead of
objectivity in the judging. "

I have had a chance to use the new judging forms 4 times, and it is nice to
see the same form being used at events around the Kingdom.  Having had the
privalege to judge several times, its nice to be familiar with the form,
instead of having to learn a new form with each new event.

Granted, no matter how prepared or detailed the form, there will always be
some subjectivity in the judging of A&S... this is not a multiple choice
test were there is only one right answer.  While I believe there were
earlier attempts,  this is the first formal form Ansteorra has prepared to
standardize judging that have been widely used, and as a beginning, its
great.  The Kingdom Minister of A&S has asked several times of the judges
and artisans, if they have any suggestions to make the form better, please
pass the info along to her.  I have shared at least three ideas for
improvement on the form with the KMA&S.  I believe the KMA&S intends to
update the form, but that will probably not happen immediately, as it is
still relatively new.  It has been encouraged for use at the branch level,
which is only just beginning to happen.   As more people are using it, the
Kingdom will have better ideas on how to improve it.

Bors said:
"I feel that a written criteria produced by the Laurels would
be nice."

Again, while discussing the new form with the KMA&S, the idea of writen
criteria for different artist categories had come up.  Its already in the
works.  I believe that is one of the goals of Mistress Anastassia and her
staff to begin working on next. The development of such a book of criteria
will take some time, and will have to have input from members of the whole
artistic community, not just Laurels and apprentices.  Yes, the criteria
for judging an illuminated page is vastly different from judging a stain
glass panel. (I suspect the folks putting the criteria together will
contact you, Bors, on stainglass, when they get there).

Bors said:
"Any apprentice would have a world of information available on
judging criteria that we non- apprenticed would never have available,
<SNIP>  Would such a publication produced by the Laurel be too much to ask,
or would it reveal to many of their secrets.  I feel that all competitors
in A&S compititions should be on a level playing field."

(OK, even tho I love ya Bors, get your flame suit on!) And where do you get
the idea that the apprentice would have more information at their side when
it comes to competing in A&S than the non-apprenticed... not so.  I guess
it differs with each Laurel/ apprentice relationship, but I don't get any
'secret' information or 'competitive edge' from my Laurels, mostly
encouragement, lots of suggestions, and maybe a sounding board after the
competition. There are lots of Laurels who will discuss the arts with
artisans who are not their apprentices, maybe they just have to be asked.

I only recently became an apprentice, but have been competing for years in
A&S, and if I've had questions on how judging was done, I asked and have
been given an answer.  Most Judges (not exclusively Laurels) are more than
happy to discuss the scoring with artists, but many times are not asked.
When Judging, I have sometimes left messages on my score sheets for the
artisans to seek me out so we can discuss the item together... not one has
done so, yet.  More recently, I have begun seeking the artist out, and find
they know a lot more about their subject than they put on the documentation
sheet, which is often where they lost points.

I fully encourage anyone who is an artist to be a judge sometimes,
volunteer!  It will really open your eyes on how difficult this work is,
especially with the time alloted.  But, more importantly, it will teach you
how to be better prepared with your own competition entry.

Ansteorra is a kingdom soon to be 20 years old, and its arts entries and
documentation have matured along with the kingdom.  If you haven't entered
A&S in the last 5 or more years, you may find the competition of a higher
caliber than in the past, especially at the Kingdom level.  At Gulf Wars we
were complimented on the vast range of our categories of entries and the
complexity of the pieces.  That's what I would expect from a Kingdom our
age.

Bn. Hillary Greenslade, (Thistle, Iris)



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