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[Varju@aol.com]

> Why enter A&S competitions?
<snip, snip>
 We are the luckiest people in the Society because
>our skills are sampled by so many people and we get so much appreciation
for our work.
>Gunthar
>(Who may finally have the chance to see just what's under that rock.)

I think you have a very good point, but I will address the question
anyway.  I think the purpose of the competition is to give ourselves a
venue that tests our knowledge and ability to produce the best, most
authentic, and most workable artifacts possible (I know, calling food an
aritfact doesn't sound too tasty, but you know what I mean).  I don't
enter an A&S competition for the recognition.  I do it to see just how
close I have come to what is perceived as the "real thing".  I put a lot
of time and research into a project, produce it to the best of my
ability, and put it out there for it to be judged, critiqued, and
otherwise studied in it's minutia.  I use competitions as a yard stick of
my ability to adhere to the standards as the SCA puts them forth.  This
goes for Performing Arts as well as food.  If I want recognition, I will
do a feast, or perform in front of a crowd, or whatever.  (I'm not shy, I
have no problem calling attention to myself).  However, an appreciative
audience is not going to give you much constructive criticism.  There are
a few people who know me and know I want to hear what they REALLY think,
and they will come and tell me what they liked, what worked, what could
have been better.  But for the most part, the comments you get are "That
was great!",  " I really enjoyed that!" (as the bad comments are rarely
said to your face :))  Nice to hear, and good for the ego, but not
helpful if you are trying to fine tune your craft.  By entering into a
competition, you are willingly opening yourself up to constructive
criticism (I won't even go into nasty comments and underqualified judges,
we have talked that one to death).  The comments you receive from a good
panel of judges allows you to go back and refine your work, and produce
better things the next time around.    So, I pick and choose the
competitions I want to enter (not costuming, I'm not interested in going
without my sewing machine, I'm much more interested in being
comfortable), and do my best to apply what I learn to my future
endeavors.  

Mistress Christianna MacGrain, OP
(A Laurel? Oh, no, I don't want to go to any more meetings, either!)

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