Anonymity? I've changed some things on this here blog and declined to link it to any of my other blogs so I can discuss some issues I have with my hobby. Okay, one of my hobbies. And by discuss, I mean rant.
I'm a member of the Society for Creative Anachronisms. It's a medieval/renaissance reenactment group which mostly focuses on Europe from... what am I doing? Here's the link:
http://www.sca.org/
Basically, it gives me the perfect excuse to make custom gowns, both fancy and utilitarian, and hang out with my friends, gossip and quaff (y'know, when you drop the second "f" it means something completely, and alarmingly, different? yeah, me neither!) booze.
As a byproduct of my sewing madness, I've attained the rank of Mistress of the Laurel. This means I've been recognized as a master of my craft, tailoring. This leads to a couple of things- I am expected to share my knowledge (teach) and stand as an example of the peerage (don't be a douche). I don't have a problem with either of those things, in fact I kinda like leading people along the glorious path of "research" and part two keeps me from drinking too much at events.
My one bone of contention is judging. I mean, judging A&S competitions. Most frustrating are the judges themselves. If someone is entering this particular contest, they deserve feedback and constructive criticism not pretty lies because you're not willing to address some pretty obvious issues. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe you should use your status as judge to be a complete asshole; however, I also don't think everyone should go home with a trophy.
One major perk? Artisan Forums!! Love them! I get to speak with the artisan about their stuff. Face to face. No scrawled commentary written on the fly, actual conversation about something they are (hopefully) passionate about. I can't wait for Pennsic:)
So now I rant a rant of rantiness. I spent most of my day yesterday judging for our VERY IMPORTANT A&S competition. I saw some crappy sewing, some crappy research and some crappy attitudes. I seriously wanted to bash some heads in. With my goblet. But it still had rum in it:/
So yeah, research. The twisty, lovely backbone of recreation. Well, not for some of the entrants. I really, really loved the two entrants who went out of their way to document their entries using pieces that had nothing to do with their actual entries. Awesome-sauce was the judge who gave major props for something completely WRONG. Sweet! If you don't know what you're talking about, why are you judging?????
Luckily, there was an entry from a novice sewer who made a fabulous Eastern European men's ensemble. For this entry, I left my only comment- "I very much look forward to seeing your future projects!!" Seriously, this woman made a thing with a fur collar and the fur was from a specific type of rabbit used in the region of her project, which she raised! and tanned the hide herself using period techniques! and, whoa, cool and gross at the same time!!!!
So what?
So, I'm entering next year. I want to be on the receiving end of this particular process. Not sure what the entry will be, but it won't be clothing. I've already checked to see if my Laurel bars me from entering- it doesn't. Having never entered before, this should be... interesting:)
So now I rant a rant of rantiness. I spent most of my day yesterday judging for our VERY IMPORTANT A&S competition. I saw some crappy sewing, some crappy research and some crappy attitudes. I seriously wanted to bash some heads in. With my goblet. But it still had rum in it:/
So yeah, research. The twisty, lovely backbone of recreation. Well, not for some of the entrants. I really, really loved the two entrants who went out of their way to document their entries using pieces that had nothing to do with their actual entries. Awesome-sauce was the judge who gave major props for something completely WRONG. Sweet! If you don't know what you're talking about, why are you judging?????
Luckily, there was an entry from a novice sewer who made a fabulous Eastern European men's ensemble. For this entry, I left my only comment- "I very much look forward to seeing your future projects!!" Seriously, this woman made a thing with a fur collar and the fur was from a specific type of rabbit used in the region of her project, which she raised! and tanned the hide herself using period techniques! and, whoa, cool and gross at the same time!!!!
So what?
So, I'm entering next year. I want to be on the receiving end of this particular process. Not sure what the entry will be, but it won't be clothing. I've already checked to see if my Laurel bars me from entering- it doesn't. Having never entered before, this should be... interesting:)
