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Tuesday 14 August 2012

Hits and Misses

The Showcase of the Arts is now over.  I went yesterday to pick up my entries.  I had an EPIC FAIL in photography.  lol  One of my photos of an abandoned building scored a roaring 5.  5 out of 40!  lol  Gosh, what can you do but laugh?  I got one out of ten for composition, one out of ten for creativity... oh my.  OH WELL!  Some other photo entries of mine scored very high, but no ribbon.  Onward.

I'm very proud to announce that my Prairie Postcards got an honorable mention!  I take that as very honorable.  It was a bit of a headache as they were re-categorized three times.  I entered them into quilting.  They ended up in home sewing.  They weren't judged per se since they aren't articles of clothing with seams and such.  Still, the judge wrote a very nice comment on the back of the form.  That made my day.  I love my postcards.


I put in 2 thread paintings in Creative Stitchery and 2 into Fine Art.  I didn't get a ribbon on my favorite piece, but it was judged against traditional hand embroidery like stumpwork and cross stitch, etc.  My work didn't really fit.  Actually - I was told a number of things by various people here and there.  "You shouldn't put things like that in a place like this," and "that's not art," and even, "you can't call that a thread painting".  sigh  So I opted to not enter anything next year and sit on the organizing committees.  I suggested a Fibre Art category that would include non-traditional stitched / felted / quilted / hooked wall art that is original and not from a pattern.  I think they liked that idea.

The refreshing news is that I got my first ever red ribbons.  Not one, but TWO!  I've been honorable mention since I was thirteen years old.  No kidding!  Here they are...

1st Place, Fine Art in "Multicultural" and 1st Place, Fine Art in "Mixed Media"

My stitched scene from Wanuskewin won a big red ribbon in the Multicultural category, and my photo/canvas/pencil crayon/thread piece of my bird Pippin won in the Mixed Media category.  One of the judges even gave me a full 50 out of 50 score and left a sweet note on the back of the form!

So - what a week.  Major hits and major misses.  I lived through it and I learned a lot.  : )

10 comments:

sherry said...

ok wow two ribbons.. and red at that...impressive...as for the 5/40 who knows what was in those judges heads that day

Lynette said...

Congratulations! And wow, what strangeness, that they felt you shouldn't have entered your things, and for sure to call it not art?? It's amazing art. We love seeing it. It's too bad they chased you out from entering next time. Kudos to you, though, for getting them to consider new categories. It's a fail on their part that there wasn't some type of miscellaneous category for artwork like yours that they didn't want in existing categories.

elle said...

Seems like many of these exhibitions need a bit of educating as to what is happening in the whole craft and hobby arena. It is always about learning new things. So good for you!

monika@mysweetprairie.ca said...

It's all good! I hope my post didn't come across as negative. There were LOTS of fabulous compliments. There are misc. categories too... but yeah, fibre art throws people for a loop.
: )
Thanks everyone!
Monika
very happy

Anonymous said...

nope - the post wasn't negative at all...(just the facts, ma'am...) and in some ways i'm glad you've opted not to enter next year, since you've decided to sit on the organizing committee. you'll be able to perhaps add a category or two and make the competition a little more broad-based. and besides - it will be another new experience for you!
cheers
molly

Kit Lang said...

I'm still spluttering over the idea that someone told you your thread paintings weren't "art".

!!!!!!!!!!!


Congrats on your wins (of all kinds).

!!!!!!!!!!

In stitches and seams said...

your work is always blue ribbon in my books ;)
in stitches
& we'll see you tomorrow

Mary Ann Tate said...

Congratulations on you wins and honorables:)

Dahn said...

Having never personally attended a quilt show (yah, I know!), I cannot imagine how fun, scary, exhilarating, humbling and encouraging it must be to enter one. Then to have constructive feedback AND ribbons? Way to go Monika. I personally love your work and you deserve the kudos.

PrairiePeasant said...

Kudos to you for being a ground-breaker! Hopefully being more behind the scenes will help bring some positive changes in the future. We all have to keep in mind that 10 judges will judge one item in 10 different ways, and it looks like you got quite a mixed bag of judges this time. Keep up your beautiful and inspiring work!

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