One of the pleasures of being an artist is being exposed to the work of other artists. And a real joy is being the juror of an equine art competition. RESS (Realistic Equine Sculpture Society) http://www.ress.org/ recently hosted a quickie finish work competition using a 2 in x 3 in horsehead medallion by Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig http://www.mink-studios.com/The divisions were split by experience (novice and advanced) and by media (acrylic, oil, mixed, pastels, and faux finish). It was very challenging to view each entry via jpg and then write a critique of each piece. It's rather like being a teacher, where you have to understand what you are trying to teach before you can even begin to try to instruct someone else.
Being a juror is also rather like being an NFL owner. On any given Sunday the rankings can change. So I spent some time writing a rough critique on each entry and then going back a few days later and doing another critique. I looked at the individual components (horses' coloring, background, frame), then at each medallion as a whole and how the media chosen worked with the medallion. I also looked at how the medium was applied and if the application style enhanced the overall effect that the artist stated they were going for. Lastly, I then combined the two crits into something I could stand behind and explain to the artist if they had any questions. And so the results were announced today http://www.ress.org/content/events_2008summerfunresults.aspx
I have great admiration for the jurors who handle the RESS original sculpting, whole body finish work, Bas Relief medallion, and custom glazing competitions. All I had to critique was one top view of a finished medallion and that was difficult enough!
Being a juror has opened my eyes to other techniques and to how to improve my own work. It has also helped in my growth as a teacher and artist. Cheryl
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