Page 13 - Wood Review Dec 20

FEATURE
JUDGE’S TIPS
• Don’t be disheartened if you didn’t win – it is no comment on the quality of your work. There was so much good work in there, it was truly an impossible task for the judges, and in many instances we were comparing apples with oranges. The shortlisted work by each of the judges was widely different, which just goes
to show the varied and ultimately subjective nature of the process. – Adam Markowitz
• Overall, there was a pleasing number of entries, and the standard was
very good. I also hope that more enthusiastic amateurs, and emerging professionals, who have been a
bit shy about entering this time, draw encouragement from realistic comparisons and enter any future competitions. Entering benefits everyone in the woodworking community. – Robert Howard
• Remember there are three variables when it comes to successfully winning in competitions or other competitive rounds, and only one that you have control over.
1. The strength of the field
2. The expertise, area of specialisation,
preferences and biases of the
judging panel
3. The quality of your submission
In a competition like this, where the standard of submissions is so high and the judging panel is diverse in both experience and background, point three has to be the focus and comfort.
To this end, my advice would be to concentrate on one idea and do it well, remembering that often less is more. Be the Coco Chanel of wood design, she advised that ‘before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.’ I think the same should hold for object design. – Laura McCusker
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