Introduction to A&S Competitions… by Maitresse Yvianne de Castel d’Avignon, OL... AEthelmearc Sometime during the course of getting ready for an A&S competition it is not uncommon to ask yourself, “Self, remind me… why am I doing this?” It can be very comforting to have the answer in advance. Here are some of the most common reasons:
Three ways to set yourself up for almost certain failure: If competitions just aren’t the right venue for you… don’t force yourself to enter them. There are many other outlets for artisans – displays, forums, making largesse, teaching classes or just using/wearing the spiff things you’ve made. Don’t convince yourself that winning is the only option. Winning can be the goal, but what happens if you don’t win? Will coming in second or third crush your spirit or inspire you? Don’t use the competition to prove you know it all… none of us really know it *ALL*. How will you accept the comments you will receive? Will a well-intentioned piece of constructive critique cause you to fly off the handle or help you gain new perspectives? Some ways to set yourself up for success: Plan – Take your time and don’t rush. Some entrants start working on projects many months before a major competition. Research – Start off by finding out all you can about your entry. Any well-researched project can become an A&S entry. It doesn’t work very well if it’s done the other way around. It also may help to enlist a “research buddy” or two. These are others who know what you are interested in and will send you interesting little tidbits they trip across. Write everything down – Keep a log of research notes. Many artisans use a spiral bound notebook or folder to keep everything organized. Write down the books you used, what materials you used, the step-by-step process to make your entry, substitutions … right down to what you learned or would do differently. Keeping good notes will make writing documentation very easy. Double check – When you think you are done, have someone else look over your entry and documentation. They may notice flaws you can fix or have questions that aren’t answered in your documentation. Some competitions provide the rules and judging criteria ahead of time. Read them and use them to your advantage. Even using the criteria from another competition or kingdom to pre judge your entry may help you find areas for improvement before you enter a piece. Documentation … the dreaded “D” word Knowing what documentation is and how it is going to be judged will help take a lot of the fear out of documenting your entry. Written documentation speaks for you when you aren’t around. It explains what you made, the materials used and the process of creating the piece. You can include pictures if you like… but most judges will want to see a bibliography (list of the books you used) as well. Don’t get stressed over the format. Just share the information you have. Bibliographical information should include …(Author, title, place of publication, publisher, date) If you are a little unsure about any of this, ask around or look it up on the Internet. Each judge and competitor has their own definition, but to me, good documentation does not mean a formal research paper filled with footnotes and printed out on a ream of paper. A thick pile of papers does not equal good documentation. My ideal of good documentation places the value of content over format. Keep it neat, simple and cover all of the basics.
If you see me judging I often keep track of documentation points on my fingers As an entrant, I use the formula as an outline for writing my documentation. It works for any style of documentation … 3x5 cards, a couple of pages or even a full research paper (whatever the competition guidelines call for) The Competition
Behind the curtain Not all judges use the same criteria! So how do judges know how to assess points? Sometimes the judges are given a sheet that explains the criteria the person in charge wants them to use. http://www.aeans.org/downloads.htm links to several sets of "rubrics" that can be used as either a learning tool or judging criteria.
Unless I have specific guidelines to follow, here is how I judge, maybe it will be helpful to you.... Most judging involves assigning a score of 1-5 in each category. For each category I assign 1 point to anything I think an absolute novice would come up with – 3 points to anything the average SCAdian would do - 5 points is a masterwork. There is plenty of room in between for things that aren't clearly novice, average or master level work. I rarely use zero since it implies no effort.... it’s use is reserved for when no documentation whatsoever is provided The number of categories varies, but commonly in AEthelmearc we use six:
After the competition
If you have had a positive experience, let the organizer know. Start planning your next project and encourage others to try A&S competitions ... If you have had a negative experience, let the organizer know as well. Be specific in your comments. Tell them what made the competition such a success for you ... or what went wrong and suggest what may have made it a better experience for you. Either way, don’t give up on A&S competitions. Keep at it and excel at your art. If you like the atmosphere, but aren't inspired to enter - volunteers are often needed to organize or help out at a competition. Those who remain active in the A&S community sometimes become judges and organizers themselves. They draw upon the experiences they have had, both good and bad, to make competitions better for the next generation of artisans. |
