Being Judgmental

Today I was an awards judge for the Lincolnshire Art Festival, along with two other artist/judges. We were to grade all exhibitors, 180 of them, based upon several criteria. After all of us were done, we met to total the points, and awards were to be given to the highest scores in 6 categories. The weather was hot and sunny, and the judging process took me close to 5 hours to complete. I talked to most of the artists, many of whom I knew from shows that we had been in together, and though it was time consuming, it helped me to learn much more about their work.

Here's what I learned in the process:

• The quality of the art in this show was superb.


• The photography was the hardest to judge, as I know very little about the process, but I was greatly impressed by the artistry and technical skills required to be a good photographer.


• Most of the artists are so devoted to their work that they cannot be doing anything else.


• My favorites were the creations that were previously unknown to me.


• It doesn't hurt a bit to talk up the judges, it's like making a sale. I must learn to do this when I am being judged as well.


• My booth display could use some more curb appeal. This entry formerly contained the word "pizzazz", which needed to be changed. I just changed it.