win a ribbon at a County Fair

I entered 6 things in the fair. I won 3 first blace ribbons and 3 second place ribbons. I’m so happy. I’d love to win best of show next year though. =) 4 years ago

The fair is this week. I will admit that I have gotten a participation ribbon at the fair when I was younger but I want to win something more impressive. ya know? I want to feel the rush of seeing a blue ribbon on my entry. I want to be acknowledged for doing something more extraordinary then just something I could find at the last minute. Well I guess I’ll have to beat the rain first. I will be sad if my stuff is soggy. I will post later in the week to tell how I did. 4 years ago

it wasn’t the most worthwhile experience.

I also helped my oldest son enter his art, and then tonight I got to see how devastated he was by the judging there. For years and years, he has been sensitive to have others judge his artwork. But he’s a born-artist and so incredibly talented!

This past school year has been his best yet, as he’s been taking art at the college and really trusts his teacher there. For the first time in years, he’s been proud of his art and let people see it. So I trusted that it’d be a good experience for him to show 2 drawings and his amazing hand-cast pewter chess set there. I thought he’d inspire others and get a little more confidence from people admiring his work.

It didn’t work out well at all. Instead he got 2 red ribbons and one blue. And he looked so hurt, like he wanted to hide his art again. But I do understand that he never wants to enter anything in the fair again. Personally, those judges have got to be crazy or fools! His hand-cast pewter chess set is worth over $300, just for the one side he’s showing there. He is a highly skilled craftsman with pewter and silver. He is popular with his pewter demonstrations for youth groups. And his drawings are fantastic! He even had an offer for someone to buy one of them (right after he finished it).

As for me, I’m a little more thick-skinned. I got a champion (purple) on one of my altered books and an outstanding on the other one. I got one blue ribbon, on an art doll which will be traded almost as soon as I get her back from the fair. I have people all over the world waiting to trade for my art dolls. For me, I just want to inspire people and show them art that they might never see, like art dolls and altered books. 4 years ago