I recently sent a couple of my quilts off to Quilt Con – the first Modern Quilt Guild National Conference for the quilt show there. I’ve never submitted a quilt for a formal juried show and I was nervous but excited. I submitted two quilts into the show and was delighted when they were accepted to be part of the show.
The first was a small applique quilt I made as part of a swap. It’s one of my favorites!
And the second was a Zig Zag Twin size quilt I designed and made as part of a QAL here on my blog.
I wasn’t able to be at Quilt Con myself. The cost was prohibitive for me and I frankly needed that time to sew. But it sounds like lots of people there had a great time. And they helped keep Austin weird. 😉
I couldn’t see my own quilts in the show and lived vicariously through the pictures people took of the quilt show. It was great fun to see all the quilts.
And then, the awards started coming out. It was quickly clear that I was NOT a winner. That’s okay. Seriously. I was fine. I did have some hmm? moments about some of the winners but I chalked some of that up to not seeing the quilts in person. I put that behind me and focused on my current work and the fun time I was having with some quilty friends in Atlanta that weekend instead.
Today I opened the box with my returned quilts from the show, excited to read the judges comments on my quilts. Excitement quickly dwindled to confusion and then to heart ache as I read what they thought of my work.
Let me preface this by saying I do not know who the judges were and I DO NOT think that they were saying anything about me, Angela Pingel. I feel that they were talking about my work. And it’s awfully hard to distinguish that from myself but I’m working on it. I feel no animosity towards the judges…I’m just sharing my experience with my first juried show.
This quilt… a little piece of me for sure, was unoffensive to them but definitely not their cup of tea. They found nothing extraordinary about it and it was described as being “overly personal”.
Confusion. Isn’t quilting about being personal? Isn’t this about taking a piece of ourselves and putting it out there? Is Modern Quilting just graphic images and straight lines at wonky angles? I didn’t think so before this, but now I’m not sure. There was no mention of the detail or work it took to make this. Did I make it look too easy? lol Because trust me. It wasn’t.
So whatever. Obviously not to their taste. So I opened the letter to read about my zig zag quilt. And my heart sank.
They pretty much hated everything about this one. They didn’t like my fabric choices…thought they should be “more special”. They DID NOT like the binding fabric – apparently it cut off the design of the quilt. ??? The quilting did nothing for them. Apparently it did not accent the design of the quilt. And the kicker. They said it had NO VISUAL IMPACT. They said it was not particularly modern (It was in the modern traditionalism category) nor original.
I’ve got to admit. That was really hard for me to hear. I cried a few tears and tried to understand what they would want. I didn’t EVER think that my zig zag quilt had a chance in hell of winning anything. I even joked with friends that I thought my quilt was accepted in order to make it obvious that their quilts should win (I think I was right on that). But I didn’t realize that by entering it I was opening myself to this type of critique. I want to have a conversation with them and explain that the fabrics were deliberately chosen to highlight the pattern and not the fabrics. That the quilting was difficult and done by me on a conventional machine using 17 bobbins. I thought that the juxtaposition of the large pebbles was interesting against the straight lines of the zig zag.
I wasn’t expecting puppies and rainbows but I don’t want to feel like it wasn’t worth their time. Why did they accept it in the first place? But most of all I struggle with the fact that they (whoever they are) have made me ASHAMED of my work.
I’ll recover. I’ll move on, scarred but stronger. It will certainly take a lot for me to ever enter a competition like this again. I’d like to think I can take criticism but maybe I can’t. I don’t have any other experience with juried shows so maybe this is what they are all like. Regardless, they are not the place for me. I feel less like I belong than ever before.
*shutting down the comments so we can all move on. Please feel free to email me if you have further concerns. I’m doing well and I will be happily sewing in the future.*
douchebags I tell you.
maybe I shouldn't type that in the open comments, but I get defensive like that for my friends.
It's a zig-zag quilt — it's fun and fresh! It seems like they had to work to say something bad about it!
Yep. Gotta agree with you. Maybe Miss Manners would disapprove but too bad.
I've been sewing for only about a year. Your applique quilt was so powerful to me – it was one of the very first quilts I pinned and tipped me over the edge from appreciating quilting to wanting to learn it myself. Don't be too hard on yourself. Your work has been powerful to me.
Nice! And nice of you to leave that comment, because I bet that's worth a lot to her. I'm newer too, and I find Angela inspirational too. In fact, I bugged her to help me with some pillow construction a while back, after seeing that insane swap pillow that has to be on my Top 10 list.
That mini quilt is probably my favorite of all time too !
And YES quilting is all about being personal !
Don't be hard on yourself because you liked those quilts and we all did !
Ouch. That does sting. I like them both.
I can tell you that from some of the pictures I have seen coming from Quiltcon, your quilts (yes both of them) are a lot more visually pleasing. Fabric is beautiful, and your heart and soul are in both of them. Don't be discouraged, your are a very talented young lady. As I have heard many times at beauty pagents, that is one group of judges opinions, on one day. It could be a whole different set of opinions on another day with different judges. Heads up!!!!
I'm shocked – I love both of your quilts! Keep your chin up – you're fantastic!
I am so sad for you, Angela. I have been following your blog for about 2 years now and I just love your work and think you are a fantastic quilter and very creative person. My mom is an amazing quilter as well and has entered a few juried shows and lived similar experiences. She won't enter juried shows anymore. The judges just don't seem to get it. I hope you can learn something from this experience but that you will continue creating and inspiring so many of us.
I know its hard to hear positive things when the criticism is ringing so loudly in your ears, but I admire both of your quilts so much, especially the mini-quilt. It really speaks to me of dreaming and imagination. I can't work out whether the figure is a girl or a woman, but I think that's a really clever part of the quilt – that we never quite forget the things we loved as children. And your zig-zag quilt is great – I don't know what those judges were looking for!
Gosh, the Modern Quilt Police are not very nice. I've heard that traditional judges are encouraged to make at least one positive comment on each quilt. I love your quilts, especially the wallhanging. The zig-zag quilt is a wow. I've been quilting a long time, longarm quilting 13 years, and like all kinds of quilts. Do what you love – it shines in your quilts.
I'm sorry 🙁 In my quilting group comments like that come from people we refer to as "Quilt Nazis" – they have one idea in their mind of how a quilt should look, but there is no room for exceptions. I love the zigzag quilt, but I especially love your applique piece!! Don't be disheartened – you do amazing work. Feel the love!
My goodness! I'm sorry for your pain.
If you need a lift and want to laugh, maybe this will help. Earlier today, while searching around the internet for a zig zag quilt pattern, I found yours and I fell in love with it. I REALLY loved your fabric choices because I thought they were understated and let THE PATTERN speak to me. As I started pulling from my stash, I decided that I had what I needed except for the binding. I love the striped binding and think that it pulls everything together in such a fun way. I haven't give the quilting much thought yet, but I really doubt I will do anything like yours because quite honestly, I just don't want to spend so much time on it.
It's funny, but of all the other zig zag quilts I saw in my web search (and I saw ALOT), yours just popped off the screen and screamed at me. I guess you're wishing that I had been one of the judges, aren't you. 🙂
Thanks for sharing so much of your talent with us every day!
I am so sorry that you had such a negative experience. Your quilts – both of them – were wonderful works and have been so inspirational to many. Like another commenter said, your mini is one of the first works that caused me to look at Quilting in a different light. It IS special!!! I still don't know how you created it – amazing workmanship!
I have been a judge for children's computer/media projects and I have been shocked at the mean things that co-judges want to write on these children's evaluation forms. I quickly devised a plan – sit down and grab that pencil so I could control the message that was being sent to the creators. I always made sure to leave constructive steps to improve the project, but also pointed out the strong points. To this day, I don't know why those women wanted to be so harsh. Perhaps by squashing things that weren't like "theirs", they thought they were elevating their own point of view. Not a satisfying answer.
Keep creating for yourself, your family and your readers. You are so creative and inspiring. I thought Modern Quilting was a reaction against this kind of judging mindset… maybe it should be.
Well, I can go on and on about how inspirational, meticulous, creative, and thoughtful you are. People that do know you in real life think you are amazing, but I know you in real life and know that you are even more amazing than that! This just reminds me of the popular kids on the playground picking on the smart kids.
That should read that "people that do not know you…"
I was excited to see your appliqué quilt " in person" and you should be proud of it. If it isn't modern and personal, I really don't understand the modern quilt world. I saw alot of personal quilts, making statements, so I'm so sorry you were judged so harshly. Quilting should be about personal enjoyment. Keep up your work. You have admirers out in blogland.
I am not ashamed to admit that a whole string of curse words come to mind about this. The whole thing takes away from what I think the whole POINT of the MQG was about. Not to mention the fact that they were clearly smoking crack. When I saw the winners of the show and some of the other 'notables' it was immediately clear to me that the MQG is not going in the same direction as I am. "Taking themselves WAYYYYYYYY too seriously" came to mind again and again. I've never had the desire to put my quilts in a show and this absolutely confirms it. I'll echo that first comment: douchebags.
Your zigzag quilt is wonderful and that applique piece? Still one of my favorites. So wonderfully original and PERSONAL and beautiful.
This is a terribly written comment and gets nothing out the way I want it, but my blood is boiling over this. And I don't even know you! I know if it was me, I would have cried. It would sting. I would want to throw up every time I thought about it. And that bugs the ever loving daylights out of me because it's just so wrong. Both the criticism itself and the fact that they felt they had the right to provide it. They can keep their 'Modern' with a capital 'pretentious.' Me? I just want to make pretty quilts.
Good Lord…I thought that the quilt police had been fired. Forget it. Obviously they were totally full of themselves at being judges at Quiltcon. So full of their important role that they forgot how to be people. Let it go and carry on.
I pretty much just want to echo what everyone else is saying. I think both of your quilts are super awesome and I think it is really cool that you were brave enough to put them out there in the world. I am frankly shocked at the totally inaccurate critiques. I will just say what my Mom used to say of some people, "All of their taste is in their mouths."
Well, I was at QuiltCon–there to see my own quilt hanging and honored that one of the three I submitted was chosen. But I was also there to learn and to be inspired by the works of others. Your little quilt spoke to me and like many others who commented, I return to your blog time and again because there's just so much here to inspire me. I hope that you are able to put this behind you and move on–eventually back to juried shows. (although we would all understand if you didn't for a while)
I haven't unpacked my quilt or read the comments, but I now know to steel myself against the pain. I wish, however, that I could have gotten something different than this pain from your post: that the judges had seen your quilts for what they are–beautiful works that obviously are part of you. It hurts to read these comments. Surely the judges could have given you some constructive criticism or something useful. Again, try to move on: your quilts are amazing and beautiful!
OK, deep breath 🙂 (for me, LOL) I attend multiple quilt shows every year (Road To California on down to locals). I can honestly tell you that I have never (not one single time) thought the "winning" quilt at any show, in any category was THE one that deserved it. Not knocking the winners, AT ALL, but I do think that the judges (very, very) often allow personal taste and preferences into the judging. With that said, when I attend these shows I spend a lot of time looking at the actual quilts. At Road To CA this year I actually heard two judges discussing a quilt I was looking at. The quilts had already been judged and this quilt had no ribbon. They were talking about the flaws in the quilt (color choices, placement of items on the quilt, it was a scenic quilt depicting an underwater scene) and I must have heard each one of them start at least 3 sentences with "If I had done it, I would have…". I often feel like they have no way to remove the personal and simply judge. A little dose of 100% pure honesty here…That little mini is one of my ALL time favorite quilts. Seriously. Doesn't mean it is the best quilt out there or the worst. It means I LOVE it. This is why I could never judge any quilt. Maybe entering judged shows isn't your thing. Maybe an outdoor quilt show? I met the gal who did the art quilt I was looking at. She was quietly standing there watching people soak in her art. I knew from the look on her face who she was. We talked for a while. She came to the conclusion that she did not want her expression of her vision judged. I got an email from her a few weeks ago. She put the same quilt into a non juried show and stood and watched and listened…and did not hear a single negative thing…even though no one knew who she was. Keep your faith in yourself.They didn't like it. I do. They don't have to be accountable for their words. Easy to put your opinion out there when you don't have to answer for it or explain it. Someone (me, LOL) thinks that little quilt is one of their very favorite! Own that.
I've only been making quilts for a little over a year now, and I enjoy your blog tremendously. I love your quilts. I think the judges were ludicrous. Quilts are supposed to be personal. Any type of art in any form is. Anything that you put time and effort into is personal. All of my quilts are personal, so much so that sometimes I have trouble giving them away, even when they were made for other people! So just know that more people LOVE your quilts than those who don't. Those quilts are your vision, and don't let any one else's comments diminish your vision!
I wondered the same thing as you when I saw some of the winning quilts. I'm not sure what exactly makes a "modern" quilt, but you have lots of fans, Angela. We love your style and your designs. You are extremely talented!
I think you were very brave to put your quilts out there, and I'm sad for you that there wasn't any positive feedback at all. I loved your applique quilt from the first time I saw it. I have always thought it was a lovely, fresh, and "modern" approach to applique. If the judges didn't see the value in your quilts, I know you've got a lot of followers out here that definitely did. You belong. You're a quilt-maker amongst other quilt-makers who know the love, time, personality, and attention that go into each of our creations.
I'm really sorry about that, now I know even if I'm ever more confident in my skills, I don't think I'd gamble attempting to enter. Since personal taste is so subjective it's just about a crime that positive comments aren't included for each piece too. I thought your binding was a PERFECT choice for the zig zag quilt, and I sure know that negative criticism without explanation of why they thought what they did, isn't useful or positive for the community as a whole.
I'm glad i follow your blog and get to see your work, because I want to, it's lovely stuff!
Wow, Angela, my heart hurts for you. This quilt, when you shared it in Blogger's Quilt Festival, was so stunning and received so many rave reviews, and then to hear this review is just heart wrenching. Please know that we, your friends, think it is stunning. It is for this very reason why I do not enter contests or even try to sell patterns. Quilting is personal for me and it will always be. Your work is amazing and as you well know, people are mean. You have received so many great and encouraging comments here and on IG…please continue exactly what you are doing because you continue to inspire me and many others.
xoxo
My personal opinion and of course I am no expert nor judge and I'm not just saying this…….
I think the mini quilt is gorgeous! I can tell through the pics how much heart and time u put into designing and making it! It is very unique, original, and beautiful!
The zig zag quilt is beautiful as well! I love how the colors show off the design of the zig zags! I cant really tell too much about the quilting in the pic tho.
Don't let them get u down! Just keep doing what u do and be proud of it! If I ever make anything as beautiful as u I will consider myself a damn good quilter!!!!!
I'm flabbergasted. They didn't say anything positive?? I feel very, very sad. Both of your quilts are LOVELY. The appliqued one wowed me when I first saw it last year. I loved the fact that it was so happy and so PERSONAL I love color and your zig-zag one was awesome — including your rainbow binding. Please don't get discouraged. You deserve to be proud of your work and your acceptance into QuiltCon. We love you!
I'm no judge but I really like both your quilts. I think judging would be really difficult because each quilt is so different and it's just up to personal preference. I think their comments on your quilts were wrong. Even if they felt that way they were not constructive.
I would never be as brave as you getting a quilt judged. I believe quilts are personal and as long as I love it that's all that matters.
You should be proud of yourself taking a big step and putting yourself out there.
I was at Quiltcon and saw all of the beautiful quilts. I was personally was questioning what were the perimeters/expectations that the judges used as criteria. All I can tell you is that there were 2 judges and the comments are those 2 people's opinions. Your quilts and all the others hanging in the show were seen by hundreds of people. These quilts made people think, made people have intense conversations, made people smile, and made people want to create for themselves. Be sad for just a little while, but don't let this one experience ruin your passion of creating and sharing your joy with others.
So right, so right, so right. There are a lot of great comments above this one. Lots of golden nuggets of encouragement and wisdom.
Your quilts, your designs, your voice are very inspirational to quite a lot of people — more than you will ever know. Don't let two people silence that voice. Don't let two humans, imperfect and flawed and opinionated and "educated", affect what you are doing, what you are creating, who you are inspiring.
Like Lisa said, and others above, your quilts have made people believe in themselves as quilters. Your blog has opened up a whole new world for many. If you were to enter those same two pieces in another juried/judged show, they might both win first prize because the judges would be different.
Try not to feel like you don't belong. We all feel that way sometimes — probably even the leadership themselves! Believe in yourself and know that your place is right where you are, touching the lives and creativity of so many.
(PS – I got one of those hateful judging sheets, too)
My best friend is an incredibly talented sketch artist. She can look at any landscape, person, still life, and render it beautifully (and perfectly) on paper. In college, however, she was constantly critiqued by the art professors because her work was a little too "inside the box." One went so far as to say that she would never be a "real" artist unless she learned to let go of her "tragic attachment to realism." Thankfully, she refused to stray from the work she loves, and her work has grown richer and more beautiful for it.
I'd encourage you not to take the QuiltCon critiques too much to heart. We all make art for different reasons. The folks whose work was lauded at QuiltCon have likely spent many years developing an aesthetic that just happens to fit the criteria set by the judges for this show. You have spent a lifetime making beautiful things for the people you love. The fact that your work doesn't happen to fit their predetermined rubric can't take away the joy, warmth and whimsy that make your pieces so special. Nor should it diminish how you feel about your work. Keep doing what you're doing, and loving what you're doing, for yourself and the people you love. That's what really matters. There are any number of standards by which our work will be judged when we bravely share it with the world. If we're lucky, we "take home the hardware" for the ones that count.
OH my!! I think quilting is sort of like figure skating in this regard. A lot of it is about being in the clique. It is too bad. A couple of years ago I entered the Brown Bag quilt challenge. The participants sent each other ugly fabrics from their stash and we had to make a quilt using 90% of the fabric. We could add from our own stash and buy one fabric as well. I received fabrics that weren't "ugly" necessarily but they were not my taste and were difficult fabrics – directional and such. I put together a fantastic quilt with them – it really is, and I was quite proud. I didn't even get many comments on it. Those who won had received current-at-the-time designer fabrics that couldn't possibly be called ugly and they had made traditional patterned quilts. I decided then that quilting competition was not for me. I hope that you can find a way not to let this hurt you so… I loved your applique quilt from the first moment I saw it. So cute, so creative, so much of you in it. And the zig-zag is fabulous too. Not so much my taste but lovely.
My here is breaking for you, reading this!! 🙁 Boo!
I personally would have given you ribbons over several other quilts I have seen that won. You work is: extremely creative, expressive, and your quilts are wonderfully personal. You are talented. I would own the judges comments. Take it as a compliment that you do not meet their style. I believe quilts should have feeling or heart. As in most art, you should be able to see the quilter or artist in their work. I think the modern quilt world is trending towards the more sterile designs. They are more akin to architecture than art. Architecture can be art but is usually not as cohesive with the world surrounding it. My favorite quilts are not at odds with their surroundings. They brighten a room, warms the soul, and belong. That is just my two cents.
Wow! I read all the previous comments and have to agree with them all, so I won't say it again.
I've also read comments elsewhere from people who were almost devastated that their quilts weren't accepted! I think the fact that yours were accepted would be enough for the judges to hold back on their personal criticisms. It almost sounds like they were making excuses for their winning choices.
As you can see, you have many fans. Don't second-guess yourself! Us smart people love your quilts and you should, too!
Hi Angela
I know from my own experience that letting this is go is harder than one would hope. I was at Quilt Con and had a wonderful time, but was totally confused regarding the judging. You are talented and do wonderful work.
Oh HUGS!!!! That is just awful. For the record, I LOVE your work and enjoy seeing your beautiful quilts. What a terrible thing to receive in the mail. Of COURSE quilting is personal, so much so that I feel like I am giving away a little piece of me each time ones leaves my home. xo
Yikes…I may have to leave the country then when my quilt critique from QuiltCon finally makes it here as you are waaaaay better at precision and perfect construction than me. Personally, I'd rather they ditch the critique bit and send me the rather nice goody bag ( that those who went to QuiltCon got) by way of a 'thank you' for sending a quilt as without the likes of us there would have been no quilt show in the first place! Keep your chin up 🙂
Great point!
For the money spent sending the quilt I expected to get one of those nice "I have a quilt at quiltcon" ribbons I kept seeing people with in pics. Instead I got a little to sweet of a critique except for where they commented I should have used more diverse fabrics instead of from one line. It was a Habitat challenge quilt! I was supposed to use the fabrics I was given?! This same quilt was judged at a traditional show and was hung so it drug 1/3 on the floor and criticized that quilt lines should be straight. I organically quilted it and get my ART off the floor. Oh well I enter just to share my work and not for the opinions of judges.
Well, shoot, I and my quilt were there, but no goody bag for me and no I have a quilt at quiltcon ribbon either. I was there two days! What happened? Obviously someone dropped the ball.
you should absolutely have got a ribbon – they were giving them out at registration, and were intending to post them back with the quilts for people who didn't attend. Not sure what happened. As for the goodie bags, they were reserved for super volunteers or those who spent more than (I think) $400 on classes etc.
angela, I am SO disheartened to read this — I loved your mini and have your chevron tagged in my "someday" list of want to makes! I loved following along when you were in the moda challenge and i think you are an amazingly talented woman and quilter!! I'm so sad to have read this and so sad to hear that your first experience was so negative. I sincerely hope this doesnt affect your quilting and your ideas because they are both amazing!! Ironically, when I saw "best in show" I was supposed that such a traditional design, had won it, its different, but not my cup of tea for sure. It's a shame they couldnt be more objective with the jurying process.. To be accepted to quiltcon was an amazing accomplishment, dont let this stop you!!! Keep your head up, i'm excited to see where you go from here, I support you!!!
Thank you for sharing and I hope you recover soon. I love most of the projects you do and so do many others so just do what you love and don't care about those shows.
Angela, you are an amazing and talented quilter. It takes a person a whole lot stronger than I am to get that kind of criticism and not shed a few tears of frustration and hurt.
Honestly, although quilters in general are nice people, there is a certain snobbishness that I've felt. There's the "cool" crowd and then the rest of us. I'm always just a bit behind the current trend, and I don't mind. It still smarts when you're work is deemed wanting by some stranger. And there ought to be a certain level of professionalism. They could try to find something complimentary to say – that's just good manners of you ask me. I'm not saying blow sunshine. But they really couldn't find anything nice to say? Then they aren't real quilters, because REAL quilters are kind and can find something nice to say.
As I am a REAL quilter, I will tell you that I love the thought and detail that went in to your mini quilt. It is like a little mini work of art. As for your zig zag quilt, well, it's on my someday list.
Chin up!
From what I've read from those who I know went to Quiltcon or participated in the show, it was bittersweet for many. I got the impression that it was an overwhelming experience all around (good and bad), but that it didn't always leave a sense of uplifting inspiration that I think many were hoping for. I didn't go, so I don't have my personal observations to add, but I do know that the comments you received were probably not unusual nor unique to your quilts. If I've learned anything from sitting through paneled reviews as a designer and exhibiting my art (not quilts, yet), it's that it takes a lot of bravery to subject your work to such scrutiny and lots of times people don't pull punches. It does boil down to the fact that what were discussing is essentially aesthetics and that's really a matter of opinion. Those critical comments were someone's opinion, nothing more. Your work is truly beautiful and has been inspirational to many people (me included!). Don't let it get you down too much!
This has been my impression of QuiltCon, too. Well put. I ditto everything you said. I always thought Angela was one of the "darlings" of the modern quilting world, and I'm surprised to hear she wasn't treated that way. I'm not sad I missed QuiltCon.
You should be proud that your quilts made it to the show in the first place, don't let the comments of those few judges make you forget that the selection committee thought you quilts were worthy enough to be displayed.
Hi Angela! I know it's not easy but try to forget this bad experience. They were just few persons and we can't know how they make their critics.
Your quilts and other works are fantastic! I love both of these quilts! On the zig zag quilt fabrics are great and the binding is perfect!
Think that even we are not 'professionals' – we are so many, who love your work! The most important is that we have to make what we like and enjoy!
Sunny wishes! x Teje
… forgot to say that I have also been surprised about some of the 'winners'!
unbelievable! the judges should be ashamed of themselves, seriously! I've been a huge fan of yours, mostly quietly over here in my little part of the blogosphere. You are a great inspiration to me, and I LOVE both of those quilts, and probably ALL of your quilts! some people should not be judging ANYTHING!
This is why I don't like entering judged competitions like that. Who are they to say what is best? I love both your quilts, especially the 'personal' one. Being more personal is what makes a work of craft extraordinary, who wants to make something the same as everyone else?!
sadly this is why so many do not enter quilt shows . It seems that some people are blind to what is going on and will wonder in a while why NO quilts are being entered and shows are dying xx chin up and take encouragement from the no-judges who DO like your work x
Stepping out of the lurking corner to hug you! I hear you on trying not to take it personal, that is tough. The first one I love! The quilting, the personality it shows. The chevrons are fresh and happy. And yes who are they to lay the rules? (duh that's what a jury is for but still…). It looks like it's judged the same way as figure skating; no one knows how or why but the judges. Carry on dear!
Those judges should be ashamed of themselves! Why do judges feel they have the right to humiliate and degrade people? This type of criticism makes me so angry. If they want people to enter their shows they should be supportive and encouraging. People enter these shows knowing that not everyone can be a winner, but they certainly don't expect such negative comments as those.
I,too, was surprised at the some of the winners. From the pictures I've seen posted on various blogs my favourites were all overlooked. I really like your style and get so much inspiration from it.
You should be very proud of your quilts. I think we see things in our work others never will. But I all think that the comments hound have been more balanced. They accepted them for some reasons and should have explained that. I attended theDallas quilt show this weekend and was a axed at the beautiful quils, but I did not like the best in show nearly as much as others I saw. And I saw many without ribbons that I thought were superior to ones with ribbons. You need to focus on that you love the quilts and so do lots of us and ignore the mean comments.
Harsh, I don't know that I would ever put a quilt up for judgement- it is so subjective and for me quilting is to please myself, please the quilt receiver etc- I like to see displays of quilting but I find seeing what other people think is 'best' a pretty pointless exercise, they should be displayed with some contextual info and that would be sufficient- each viewer can decide for themselves
Oh wow, that was quite explicit about their tastes, wasn't it?! I suppose part of it is that it's usually a different group of people that accept entries into these things in the first place than the onse that are actually judging it, and in an area like modern quilting where opinions on what constitutes 'modern' are very varied, I suppose the accepters may have loved some entries where the judges apparently didn't (incidentally I wonder about what the feedback might have been on the f*ck quilt, the cancer quilt and the gun one!)
Having seen all the quilts on a per section basis on Hollie's Undercover Crafter blog (she's not done them all yet), I've had a few head scratching moments over the winners versus the also-rans, and I was surprised that your wee girl hadn't got a mention anywhere, I think your art quilt minis are exquisite. The judges do seem to have gone for the graphic look over anything else in the categories I've seen so far right enough, and a lot of solids seem to feature too.
My only experience in entering competitions so far are bear ones – one I sent to Australia that was juried, and I got very detailed feedback which I was grateful for, but that was more around the technical construction, so I could see what I needed to improve on (right enough, he was a rather odd looking bear, but it was from a category where we all made the same pattern up, and they did hold off on mentioning his aesthetics!). The other comp was the British Bear Artists Awards, where I entered an enormous bear with blue fur and red backing – loads of people were telling me during the event that they thought I'd win, but I suspected I wouldn't given the judges – both their ages and then with the 2 bear makers what their own style was, which was very traditional (and I was soooo right lol) The funny thing was, mine was sold before the competition judging happened, no-one else in my category's was, so it really is all down to varied tastes!