[Sca-cooks] A & S question

[AEllin Olafs dotter]

First - Gunthar, please congratulate Selene on her victory! Her works 
sounds wonderful -  and if the Flemish dress is what I think it is, it's 
not just a dress, it's practically a wardrobe in one outfit! And the 
skates sound fascinating.

That said, there is something I've been wondering. I've asked about it 
elsewhere, and I'm not really getting anyplace - I think people think 
I'm speaking Sanskrit, and don't understand the question. So I thought 
I'd ask here, where we do have wonderful artists and artisans, and you 
all already know me and that I think strangely...

Why is there an A&S Championship? Is this the only way we can get 
recognition from non-arts people, by having someone we can point to as 
the Best of the Best?

I don't even really understand the emphasis on competition. I have been 
told that it is the only way to have your work seen, though I gather 
there are exhibitions, also. I've also been told that, because of the 
judging, it is the only way to have knowledgeable people give you 
feedback about your work. But I have also heard people discuss the 
difficulty of being a judge, and finding oneself faced with a medium one 
is not knowledgeable about. And I don't really understand why it would 
not be possible to have exhibitions where there could be critiques, but 
without the ranking.  It seems to me that, too often, one is comparing 
the proverbial  apples and oranges... I am also told that, as you need 
documentation for competition, it's the only way to ensure that you 
learn how to document. Again, wouldn't one document for exhibition? At 
least have that as an option?

And, in the East, at least, I gather that many competitions are closed 
to Laurels, because of the valid concern that they would dominate and 
therefore discourage people still learning the art. But then, the people 
learning don't have occasion to see the Laurel's work, and read their 
documentation,  and *themselves* compare their work to it.

Now, I'm sitting in my own geographic backwater (in SCA terms) and don't 
get out much. Maybe I'm missing an entire category of things. Maybe I'm 
misunderstanding the way competitions work - I haven't actually been to 
one. I have, when I was quite new here, been to an exhibition (at least, 
I think that's what it was) which did seem to provide the opportunity to 
display, document, and get feedback.  But that seems to be unusual? I've 
been feeling dense, and when I ask, I just get these blank looks... Am I 
making any sense?

Thank you for comments or suggestions.

AEllin