[lace] Re: state fair exhibit
Hi! Although I am mostly a lurker on Arachne, I feel compelled to put in a plug for our state fair! The Rocky Mountain Lace Guild many years ago became frustrated with the lack of knowledgeable judges for the lace competition at the Colorado State Fair, and since then has been providing the judges for this event. Only the winning entries are displayed for the public, and they are in locked cases. To further decrease the risk of loss, a guild member (other than the judges) hand delivers and picks up entries each year. There is also a special ribbon with a handmade lace center awarded to one lucky (or rather, skilled) entrant each year. Oh, and I should also mention that the Colorado State Fair is one of the few in the country that allow entries from anywhere! We encourage everyone to consider entering - entry fees are low, and this helps us to convince the fair organizers that we really do need at least 10 categories of lace! There is more information about the lace competition on the guild website at www.rockymountainlaceguild.org The premium book with information about entering will be online after May 30 at www.coloradostatefair.com happy lacemaking! Trudy in Colorado - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] Re state fair exhibit
- Original Message - > Since then I always turn in my entries in a frame so that no one > can actually touch the lace. Oregon state fair rules specifically state that entry cannot be framed. Having a separate Framed Lace category might be a good idea. I'll have to suggest it to the fair. Alice in Oregon - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
[lace] Re state fair exhibit (was Handmade)
- Original Message - I am not willing to put hundreds of hours of work on display on a table where the public can touch (and in the worst case, pilfer?). I am not convinced that the jurors in state fairs know anything about bobbin lace ... -- I have to put in a good word on our state fair. All lace exhibits are in locked glass cabinets. There's no way for a viewer to touch or pilfer. Our fair also works very hard to get qualified judges in every category. Our local lace makers have no qualms about entering their items in our fair. In the case where someone has a most outstanding item, and it doesn't get the top award, it's usually because our fair has a rule that the same person can't win the top prize two years in a row. (We have a fabulous male tatter who usually wins every other year. The other years, he has to settle for a first ribbon.) On a direct lace note I have finished a lappet/scarf that has been in process for several years. The pattern came from the Prague OIDFA pattern booklet, and was worked in black thread. It think it turned out very well, and I look forward to showing it off. Alice in Oregon ... where we're supposed to have the warmest day of the year, so far, and I have some plants to get in the ground. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
[lace] Re: State Fair Exhibit (was Handmade)
Our state fair has had glasses display cases for as long as I can remember, at least 30 years. They provide cash prizes and shops who supply for that particular medium, also up the ante with cash or store gift certificates (usually around $50, give or take). I only go rarely, just to see the needlework (and paintings in another building), and feel that the work is judged astutely - even more so, over the last decade or two. There is a separate section where they demonstrate how to do the various "crafts" but I don't remember anyone demonstrating bobbin or needle lace. It is a nice way to get people interested and especially children, (who tend to be very interested when I am doing any form of needlework in public). More should be done to expose people to the medium as so many people go through there, often having no idea how it is done. Here, the demo section is essentially cordoned off in a way that there is full view, yet encourages people to show respect in not touching. Best, Susan Reishus - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
[lace] Re: State Fair Exhibit (was Handmade)
There are ways to mount your creation with glass on both sides, which illustrates so nicely a beautifully done piece. It is more expensive and not all framers qualify. It means nothing if the object is to be submitted unframed, of course. Best, Susan Reishus - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
[lace] Re state fair exhibit (was Handmade)
The IOLI competition rules allows lace to be framed but without glass or acrylic in front. I remember my very first entry where I did not know that frames were allowed. I mounted my piece on some matt board but the convention was in a hotel where air conditioning was not available in the display room. That summer was unusually humid and my piece started to curl up at the corners, releasing any tension I had on the lace as I had only tacked it down around the edge. Disaster. Ever since then if I make a flat piece I put it in a frame if I can, just to make sure it arrives flat and is displayed that way. The judges can easily remove the backing to see how it was mounted if I have covered the back. I remember a piece being disqualified one year because it was mounted between two pieces of acrylic and totally enclosed lace is not allowed. I have not entered my local county fair as it always seems to coincide with the IOLI convention, but the piece I mentioned above did win Best in Show when I entered it. By then it was in a frame. Janice Janice Blair Crystal Lake, 50 miles northwest of Chicago, Illinois, USA www.jblace.com http://www.lacemakersofillinois.org - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] Re state fair exhibit (was Handmade)
In the North Carolina state fair the lace is not exhibited in glass cases. It is simply placed on a table. The table is placed out of reach of fair visitors and is watched by a fair volunteer. However that does not prevent damage. I picked up a lace edged hankie for a friend who had won a ribbon. Someone had looped the string from the ribbon through one of the picots and badly distorted the lace. Since then I always turn in my entries in a frame so that no one can actually touch the lace. All that being said I always turn something in. I want people to know that the lace hobby is still alive and well in North Carolina. I don't want the fair to have so few entries that they decide they don't need a lace category anymore. Liz Redford Raleigh, NC, USA lacel...@frontier.com wrote: > I have to put in a good word on our state fair. All lace exhibits are in > locked glass cabinets. There's no way for a viewer to touch or pilfer. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] Re state fair exhibit (was Handmade)
Dear Liz, Since then I always turn in my entries in a frame so that no one can actually touch the lace. Then if I were judging your lace, I would have to disqualify it, for much of my judging is done by viewing the rear of the article. One show I judge at does indeed have a section for framed pieces and that's just fine. David in Ballarat - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
RE: [lace] Re state fair exhibit (was Handmade)
In our area we have had a very creative lacer, who over came the 'must see the back' rule in 2 creative ways: 1- a butterfly was inserted into one of the acrylic frames molded at an angle to be free standing, 2- a Rib & Roll piece was mounted at the very top to a lovely matted background in a frame (no glass, that would be inserted when she got the piece). Both pieces took awards and the R&R piece received Grand Champion of all the Lace items entered (plus a nice check). Both pieces were easily judged and easy for the Fair Clerks to handle and display. Items at this fair are all displayed behind glass. Just put on your thinking caps. Lorri > > >Dear Liz, > > > Since then I always turn in my entries in a frame so that no one > > can actually touch the lace. > > Then if I were judging your lace, I would have to disqualify it, for > much of my judging is done by viewing the rear of the article. > > One show I judge at does indeed have a section for framed pieces and > that's just fine. > > David in Ballarat - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] Re state fair exhibit (was Handmade)
I understand that I may not know what I'm talking about (or view things in a very different way, because I do that for sure), but I have to wonder: Re: judges not touching the lace Are people afraid that the judges are going to be so rough with the lace that they are going to tear it or destroy it or something? I'm not talking about random passersby, here. I'm talking about the judges. Most fairs I've been to (which, granted, haven't been in a lot of areas, only Tulsa, Winston-Salem, NC, and Colorado) have, at the very least, something keeping the general fairgoer away from the entries (and this is all entries, breakables, fiber, eatables, etc). I understand that some aren't as secure as others (putting up a rope 4' away from the displays isn't necessarily going to stop a child who's parents aren't paying attention to them), but they do have something up. Note: All of the competitions I've ever been in are SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) related. I have always had the judge pick up and look at my work (usually they asked permission, but I went into all competitions I did with the expectation that they would have to pick up my work to look at the stitches closer). They also have always treated my work with respect, handling it the least amount they had to, and NEVER roughly. Also, please note that in the SCA region that I'm in, the way a person's work is judged is with the person sitting right there, giving information and answering questions about the item(s) they've entered. Even so, I've also left my lace on my table (with children running about) and never come back to a piece that's been tampered with in any way. So I guess I wonder if there is really such an issue about judges messing up already finished lace items? Bronwen On Thu, May 5, 2011 at 10:11 AM, Lorri Ferguson wrote: > In our area we have had a very creative lacer, who over came the 'must see > the > back' rule in 2 creative ways: > 1- a butterfly was inserted into one of the acrylic frames molded at > an > angle to be free standing, > 2- a Rib & Roll piece was mounted at the very top to a lovely matted > background in a frame (no glass, that would be inserted when she got the > piece). > Both pieces took awards and the R&R piece received Grand Champion of all > the Lace items entered (plus a nice check). Both pieces were easily judged > and easy for the Fair Clerks to handle and display. Items at this fair are > all displayed behind glass. Just put on your thinking caps. > > Lorri > > > > > >Dear Liz, > > > > > Since then I always turn in my entries in a frame so that no one > > > can actually touch the lace. > > > > Then if I were judging your lace, I would have to disqualify it, for > > much of my judging is done by viewing the rear of the article. > > > > One show I judge at does indeed have a section for framed pieces and > > that's just fine. > > > > David in Ballarat > > - > To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: > unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to > arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: > http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003 > -- Per pale argent and purpure, two phoenixes counterchanged sable and argent each rising from flames proper. "It is sometimes the most fragile things that have the power to endure and become sources of strength." - May Sarton "Only a life lived in the service to others is worth living."- Albert Einstein "Out of clutter, find Simplicity. From discord, find Harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." - Albert Einstein "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." - Anais Nin "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." - Henry David Thoreau - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
RE: [lace] Re state fair exhibit (was Handmade)
It's not the judges touching the lace that puts me off, it's the "arty" know-it-all display people who put the items out for display with pins and sticky tape and the like. They might be good at window dressing, but sometimes they know nothing about how to handle fragile items. Noelene in Cooma nlaffe...@ozemail.com.au > Re: judges not touching the lace - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] Re: State Fair Exhibit (was Handmade)
Our State Fair doesn't want anything under glass because of the possibility of breakage. We can mount on poster board but only partially so that the back is accessible. Lauren in Snohomish WA - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] Re state fair exhibit (was Handmade)
Branwyn, In my particular situation I was told it was one of the judges who had attached the ribbon to the lace through a picot and distorted the lace. So yes, I am concerned about letting the judges touch the lace. Our fair is pretty good about preventing fair goers from touching the lace. And there is an armed guard in the building when the fair is not open, although I have a hard time imagining someone breaking into the building to steal lace! Liz Redford Raleigh NC, USA Branwyn ni Druaidh wrote: > Re: judges not touching the lace > > Are people afraid that the judges are going to be so rough with the lace > that they are going to tear it or destroy it or something? I'm not talking > about random passersby, here. I'm talking about the judges. - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
Re: [lace] Re state fair exhibit (was Handmade)
David, If you were the judge I would know that my piece was in safe hands and I would not worry about framing it! Liz Redford Raleigh, NC, USA David C COLLYER wrote: > Then if I were judging your lace, I would have to disqualify it, for > much of my judging is done by viewing the rear of the article. > > One show I judge at does indeed have a section for framed pieces and > that's just fine. > > David in Ballarat - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
