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Posts: 8I am brand new to the bear community and feel lucky to have found this chat. I was wondering, am I the only person who had a problem with the URSA contest that was held by the Bears and Buds magazine? I am not saying that the people who won didn't have nice entries, but honestly, it would take a blind person not to see that some of the entries that didn't even make the final cut were far superior to the overall winners. I thought it would be such a fun contest because I could follow it online and live, but I was terribly disenchanted with the overall results. As it turned out, this seemed to be a popularity contest for the individual artist and whoever had the time to campaign for votes are the ones who won. I'm sure a lot of artists just don't have time to spend hours a day asking (begging) for votes, so this certainly didn't seem like a fair contest at all. Sadly, the overall winners were the ones who got the most votes, and not the best pieces of work. The way they ran this contest was just a thinly veiled promotion to steer as many people to their site as possible, not to pick an overall best work. I've had so many of my bear friends feel the same way, but I don't see anyone talking about it. It's so sad! This seemed like nothing more than a cleverly disquised way to get all of us to promote their site instead of promoting the best work. If you look back at the entries, some of them were beautifully and professionally executed pieces of art and they didn't even make the final cut. The whole thing has certainly left a bad taste in my mouth and that should never be when it comes to something as wonderful as teddy bears! Maybe someone out there can explain it to me where it will make sense and my faith teddy bear people will be restored.
Posts: 8,574While it is a contest,
and the one with the most votes wins
there is another way of looking at this:
Valerie, like so many web site owners in the teddy field, has come up with a webzine that works for her. But she puts a lot of work into it. And she makes money from it.
As do most of the other popular bear sites.
And, what is wrong with that?
Quite simply, nothing.
Because they run a business that we subscribe to that keeps us connected to other artists, collectors and enthusiasts all over the world.
We all benefit from these sites.
About the popularity:
I for one did not ask anyone to vote for me-no time and not into that part of it.
BUT by entering my gollies get more attention-just participating helps build my own little business.
Therefore, I benefit for participating, even if I don't win.
Exposure, all over the world, is good for the artist-you never know what will come from it.
Valerie also does nice artist profiles and other things that help expose the artists to new collectors.
So I guess, my feeling only, would be that the exposure helps, it is worth the entry and/or membership fee and I will continue to participate as much as I can, even if I know I don't have a chance of winning.
And yes, there were such wonderful entries, so adorable, so talented, so creative are these artists that it is difficult to choose between them.
I have been known, when two entries are equal, but one is a personal friend, to choose my friend. Is this not understandable?
Since you are new let me welcome you to TeddyTalk. May I encourage you to try as hard as you can to perfect your craft, and get as much exposure as you can, meet as many Talkers as you can, share as many creations as you can. We simply love pictures.
And I also encourage you not to be too hard on the contests, any of them, and all of them, as they do generate interest and enthusiasm,
and in a time when the US and therefore the world is teetering on the brink of a recession, our artists need that interest from the collectors to sell their art, to pay the bills, to feed the kids and so on. Many of our artists in this field literally do live on their proceeds.
Lets do whatever we can to keep the interest high or the collectors might go over to the........
gasp.....................
doll sites.
good golly, we can't have that, now can we!!!
Welcome again,
hugs
dilu
Posts: 8Hi Dilu,
I guess I can see why the artists would enter in these contests. The exposure is very good for them. I am not an artist, but am a collector. I just recently started collecting bears after years of collecting dolls, so this is all new to me. Your example of 2 equally wonderful bears in a contest and you would vote for your friend of course makes sense. What didn't make sense was that almost to a bear, these were not the winners - at least not in the sense that they were the best of the group. So, it was a contest to see which artist could bring more people to the site and not a contest for the best and most well done bears. That's my only issue with it. It was touted as "vote for your favorite bears". The fact that the same artist won in 5 categories as well as the overall pretty much summed up the real reason for the contest. I was just shocked that it was so obvious, but again, as I am new to all this perhaps it's just something I need to get used to. I don't know. I guess I'm a little upset because I figured all would be peaches and honey and maybe I need to lose my Pollyanna way of looking at things. But, I can't help but feel very sorry for those artists who entered and didn't win when they know they had superior work. The reason I say this is I've seen several blogs posted by those very same artists who expressed their keen disappointment and my heart really goes out to them. But, thanks for the explanation and good luck with your work!
Linda G
Hi Linda, 
Please don't lose your Pollyanna way of looking at the bear world. I personally subscribe to the Pollyanna way myself.......and wearing rose colored glasses as well! 
Warmest bear hugs, :hug:
Aleta
Edited to add: Welcome to Teddy Talk!! 
Newcastle, OntarioHi Linda,
I don't enter many contests and you may not have seen results from too many of them, if you've only been collecting bears for a short while, but almost all of them are decided by the voting public. In most of the contests there seem to be some artists that take more than one award. If I've learned anthing by making teddies for almost 12 years, it's that everyone's taste is different. I've been to shows where certain artists have sold out, yet they are not the style of bear I would buy. It has always stumped me, but it has happened much too often to be chance.
So, I'm not so sure that the results you mentioned were because of trolling for votes - it's more likely that certain styles appeal to more people than you think. Just because you don't care for that style, doesn't mean it's not a legitimate win. The "cute" style, as is "whimsy" and many other styles that might not be your cup of tea, are extremely popular. I hope I'm not upsetting you - that wasn't my intent - in fact, lots of my favourites weren't included in the winners. My favourite style is traditional, and the older, tattier looking the better. I just want to help you understand, that it takes all kinds of bears to make this industry, whether we enjoy them all or not. Take care.
hugs,
Brenda
Posts: 8I love the positive attitudes I see in most artists and am encouraged by their welcoming posts. I will try not to be so jaded about the contests and perhaps I'll ignore them altogether and just gather up all my bears about me and keep purchasing from artists who's work I admire. I must say that I am glad I took the plunge and voiced my opinion. Apparently, I was correct in assuming that there were artists out there who took the contest entirely too seriously and were now questioning their own talents. What a shame! Never, ever do that! You artists know you do good work and as long as you strive to perfect your own craft, it never matters what others are doing. Put out your best work and then stand back and be proud knowing you did your very best. Wait a little while and along will come someone who will see your work, smile and insist on taking your bear home! Believe in yourself. And just so you know you're not alone - here is an excerp from one of my private responses received from an artist:
Hi Linda, yes I am a chicken, for fear of being looked down upon, and possibly hurt my reputation. I don't want to speak out publically regarding your URSA post.but I am one of those artists that can't believe the caliber of the winning bears! It makes me not want to enter anything. I entered but would rather just forget about the whole thing. It's not my fault that I would rather work on my creations than spend my whole day out campaigning for votes, and I won't send emails to friends co workers and such who have nothing to do or any intrest in my work just to get a vote count
Thanks again for your post, and I agree with you 100%
So, you see? You're not alone in your feelings and thinking so please don't put too much stock in the contests. Your collectors vote you a winner every time they adopt one of your creations. So, let's hear it for everyone - YAY!!!
"Apparently, I was correct in assuming that there were artists out there who took the contest entirely too seriously and were now questioning their own talents. What a shame! Never, ever do that! You artists know you do good work and as long as you strive to perfect your own craft, it never matters what others are doing. Put out your best work and then stand back and be proud knowing you did your very best."
Linda, I for one truly appreciate your sentiment and thank you for voicing it. My own feelings about competitions are mixed, but in the main, I believe the best of them strive to play a valuable role in promoting our bear art and for that reason, I am happy to participate, whatever the outcome. Of course, on a personal note it's only too easy to feel disappointed when we work hard on an entry only to have it discarded and sometimes it can be hard to pick yourself up, dust yourself down and start all over again, but as they say, 'what doesn't kill you only serves to make you stronger!' 
I don't want to get into publicly picking holes in this competition, but I agree that in the main I think perhaps there has to be a more satisfactory way of picking winners, not because I think those who won are not deserving, but I do think that there is the possibility , out of sheer power of pulling in numbers who vote for a particular entry that work that better exemplifies excellence in design and creativity may lose out.
I think Bears and Buds is an excellent showcase for artists and I for one whole heartedly support Valerie in what she is trying to do, and in questioning the voting system I am not casting doubt on it's worth as a competition, because the standard of entries was exceptionally high.
Just for the record I never expected to win a thing, mainly because I did very little canvassing. I don't deny that it's nice to win these things but I never think that winning is my sole purpose for entering, I do it to push myself.
As my husband alway says "That's why they paint cars different colors". What appeals to some may not appeal to others. I haven't entered many competitions but I did enter the URSA competition. I didn't make it to the second round but my entry sold to a collector half way around the world -because of the exposure.
I think Teddy Bear artists, as a community, cheer when one of us wins something.
Posts: 8Hi Nancy,
I was happy to hear you sold your work to a new collector! That's terrific. Yes, it's true that there are different strokes for different folks. I followed the Golden Teddy contest as well as the Toby awards and agreed with some but not with all. That's normal. It's just that this particular contest seemed so skewed and I have heard from so many artists who don't want to come out in the open that I felt it would be a sort of balm to the hearts of the artists who took it to heart to see that most aren't taking this contest seriously and they shouldn't be hurt. You are absolutely right in that in a perfect world everyone should be happy for the winners. They should and so far the bear community has been very positive and supportive as I have been able to sense. But I believe in my heart of hearts that an injustice took place with the way this contest was run and as a result, people were hurt and disillusioned. Were it not for that, it wouldn't matter one whit to me who won and who didn't win. Now I am seeing that just bringing out in the daylight has helped several artists get over their hurt at not winning or placing when they thought for sure they would at least place. I'm glad I've been able to help in this way and they can stop doubting their own talent. Since I don't have a horse in this race, I can do so without worry of retribution. I am not fortunate enough to make my living my my own hand. So, please keep up all the good work and we collectors will keep voting with our checkbooks - hooray!
Posts: 8,574Hi back atcha Linda
I am Gladyou found us, and as in "real" life there is good wherever you look. And you just had 5 stellar examples of goodness welcome you here. Nothing wrong with peaches and honey, one of my favorite combinations....to eat as well as find in life.
As far as you being a collector and not a creator? Hang around enough and you just might get itchy fingers and want to try something....and you would have the very best teachers in the world right here at your fingertips.....And making is very much fun....
BTW what kind of dolls did you collect? I can't decide which is better dolls or bears, my hubby says I say this so that I can continue collecting both. while i do make a bear or two as a gift or for fun, i learned early on that the talant here is so vast that I was much better off collecting bears from the artists here than trying to make myself a bear artist....
I hope you have time to check out the other forums here, as the work these talanted artists create just takes one's breath away
On the other topic, all view points are welcomed....btw, did you go to the new member area and introduce yourself? Shoulda told you earlier....I forgot. :redface: But no matter, you're here, and we hope for a good long time...
gollyhugs
dilu
Mikki, Cripple Creek CreativeI agree w/ a lot of the comments regarding the URSA Awards.....It's definitely a popularity contest. As long as you're aware of this going in...there's absolutely no reason to doubt your talent.It does get a lot of attention for all involved and Valerie does an incredible job. It's not my favorite approach to voting but the end benifits are worth participating and hooray for anything that generates interest.
Mikki
Bears by EdieHi Linda, and welcome to Teddy Talk! I didn't get a chance to even check out the URSA awards this year so can't address that contest specifically but I do feel that a lot of the contests that rely on voting by the public can be a bit skewed towards being a popularity contest as you say. And as Brenda pointed out what one person thinks is the best bear in the world and definitely the winner won't appeal to another at all - even if the contest is being judged by a panel rather than by public votes. I love entering bear making contests and have done so off and on for 20 years now. It is a thrill to win but at the same time artists do have to realize that the win only means that a certain group of people liked that bear best - definitely not that there is anything wrong with their bear if it didn't win and if it had been a different panel of judges theirs might very easily have been the winner. If I am lucky enough to win a contest (and yes, I do feel there is as much luck to it as there is skill in bear making, and expertise in photography - since so many contests are judged from photos) then I do not feel that I am the best bear maker or that I am better than anyone else who entered - next time it could just as easily be them! I enter contests to stretch myself - especially if it is a themed contest and involves trying something I haven't tried before, and for the exposure I get from it. I don't think they should ever be taken completely seriously or as any kind of reflection on the quality or appeal of your work. It would be nice if there was some way to judge contests that was perhaps fairer but I really have no idea what that would be!
Cat Gabriel CraftsAs it turned out, this seemed to be a popularity contest for the individual artist and whoever had the time to campaign for votes are the ones who won
I agree with this, but unfortunately that is something that can't be controlled. Most of the entries I voted for didn't win, and I feel bad for those artists as I think they were the best, but as others have said - it's personal opinion and everyone likes different styles.
Having said that, I think the URSA contest is great for the industry and should be supported. I'm planning to enter next year and see how I go!
FenBeary FolkI voted in the awards, some of them winners and some not.
I think that it is difficult to say whether some bear or some one won out of popularity or canvassing, as Catherine above, I voted for what I liked, you could say that one of my votes was biased due to the fact that she is english (she did not win but should have) I voted for her because I absolutely adore her work and she inspired me months ago to give it a go, BUT it was my choice with no influence, everyone has their favourites and I presume that the bear maker who won several catagories is hot property at the moment, I feel that they did deserve to win and if I was them I would be pretty upset to think that I had not got there on talent, I also voted for them to win in some catagories. I would also presume that due to the volume of votes that they receive it would be difficult for one artist to generate that much votes for themselves
I hope that this has not offended, it is just my opinion, typed very quickly as need to go to work :hug: sorry
I voted in the Ursa's and it did cross my mind as to how the votes were going to be counted.
Maybe someone could put me straight but did people have the facility to vote more than once from their own computer or was the vote registered to the computer some how?
I know with some magazine competitons you need a coupon so only get one vote I think?
Reading through all the messages it's interesting that all the artists generally have the same views.........but it's a collector who has been more frustrated by the whole event.........
Isn't it nice to know that the collectors feel so passionate about artists achieving success . If it wasn't for the collectors we wouldn't be here.
I do agree that entering competitons pushes you and that's not a bad thing and the exposure cannot be ignored either.
Shelly.
puca bearsI talked about last year's competition to several friends, and we all agreed that it was TOO big. In all other competitions I know of, the initial selection is done by an "expert" jury.......then the public are invited to vote on the nominated bears. Personally, I didn't go canvassing for votes thisyear, partly because I felt it would have been something of an imposition on people who just didn't have the time to trawl through pages and pages of bears.......yes - those of us who LOVE the bears will spend forever drooling (not literally ) over them.
I wondered if perhaps the initial selection should be done by the B&B members? Just my two cents worth....
Having said that, I would hate any of the winners to feel upset by the comments on this thread - I was thrilled for all of them. And yes, Valerie does a sterling job, and exposure on B&B is only GOOD!
I must admit to being a bit of a competition addict, and I've learnt that the one thing you can be sure of is that you NEVER know how they will go...it's very interesting to enter the same bear in a couple of competitions, as I did last year - total ZERO in the first, and awards in the second.
So I continue to enter...it's fun, a challenge to myself.........and hugely exciting if you are lucky enough to win....
and I'm SURE that luck plays a big part in it
huggies
Maria
Maria..I think voting should be done outside of B&B..because otherwise people will..naturally.. vote for themselves. However I think a panel of unbiased experts is the best bet for competitions whatever, at some stage..be it initially..or in the finals. Because they know what they are looking for. These could be nominated by the members..or the entrants..and then randomly selected to ensure fair play.
But leaving it to vote canvassing to me takes the credibility away ..in my opinion at any rate..from what is an excellent showcase for incredible work and is up there with the best in terms of the entries it attracted.
Shelly, you couldn't vote on the same computer more than once because it had a system where that was barred!!
Thanks Jenny
I did wonder how they would get around that.
Shelly
puca bearsGood point, Jenny - yes, an impartial jury is always best. But however it's done, it will never be a perfect system - however impartial the jury is, they are bound to have likes and dislikes.
As you said tho' - at best , the competitions are a showcase and celebration of some incredible art
huggies
Maria
Posts: 8I'm pleased that all you artists have embraced us collectors to this site and welcome our input as well. It's nice to know we're appreciated too! As far as some people being able to vote more than once and others not, from what I heard from another collector friend is you just had to clear your cookies or history (or maybe both) and the site allowed you to vote again. It put a cookie on your computer that it recognized when you tried to vote again. But, if you removed it you could vote again. It was a good effort on their part to try to avoid duplicate votes, but most people are more saavy than that now and it wasn't hard to figure how to get around the problem. So, all an artist needed was time and a large mailing list. I do feel that many of the winners in most of the categories were legitimate reader fav's as some of the best work came in 2 and 3. However, some of the best didn't place and that's the shame.
I like some of the ideas of having an impartial panel do the judging. The magazines do it that way and it seems to result more in the favor of the pieces than the artist. I had sooooooooo many emails from artists who don't want to come out but who felt put upon that they were required to campaign for votes. They wanted their work to be judged on its merits. Many artists also consider it an imposition to bring friends and family into their business by asking them to vote. And lastly, many feel its just plain tacky to ask their collectors for votes. Most artists are humble and some are downright shy by nature, so this wasn't a good venue for them. They are the ones who can get their feelings hurt the most and are certainly the ones who can start doubting their own talents. So, all in all, I would call this contest a flop from the point of the artists. There should be no bad feelings in teddy bears!! As a collector I've followed the contests for fun, but it didn't sway my purchasing decisions. Some the loveliest pieces I own are from artists who have never entered a contest or been in a magazine. So, keep heart all you wonderful bear makers! WE love you all!
Terries BearsWelcome Linda, it is nice to hear your thoughts and concerns from a collector's view point.
I liked the URSA contest BECAUSE you get to see all of the entries rather than just the final 4 or 5. Whenever there is a contest, there will be controversy, and I think that it is nice that they are not all run the same way.
I sent notices to my mailing list and to a few friends who had never seen artist bears other than mine and I received several "thankyou" emails back from people who also enjoyed viewing all of the entries and some were amazed that they were all so different and unique. I didn't feel that I wanted to canvass for votes, so I urged everyone to vote for their favorites and I was thrilled that 1 of my 4 entries made it to the finals.
My whole list of emails was well under 100, so I would like to thank the ones who were able to generate a lot of traffic through the site and who knows, maybe one of their contacts noticed my bears.
First off I would like to say WELCOME TO TEddy TAlk!! It is so great to hear things from a collectors point of view.
I agree with Maria and Jenny, that competitions for the first round should be judged initially by the panel of judges, and then moved on to public voting for any rounds after that, but I guess when we enter we understand how they work and jump in with two feet, I thought out my entries long and hard, got the best photos I could as I am sure the rest of the entrants did as well.... but I did not or would not ask people to vote that have nothing to do with bears. however I did send out to my small mailing list, but then realized that some of the people on my list probably had the same email from 20 different artists, and felt bad for putting them in a position where they had to choose their favorite artist not necessarily the best work....the publicity and the work that Valerie put into this competion was amazing though and the intrest it generates for the bear world is imense. I am still undecided as to whether I will enter again next year...still feeling a bit hurt...not to mention I stayed up all night many nights to meet the deadline just to wake up the morning of the deadline to an email saying the deadline had been extended...whats up with that?!!!
I don't want to take away though from the winners, Congratulations to all who entered for having the confidence in your work to put it out there on public display for all to view, that in itself makes everyone winners in my eyes.
Hugs,
Krista
Posts: 1,836I've been reading along here for the past 24 hours, initially wanting to jump in and then backing off to regroup my thoughts. I'm a sap, a real bleeding heart, so my initial gut reaction in most of these public "call outs" is to run to the defense of the person/persons who are being taken to task for one reason or another. Let's be frank the thread is focusing on one individual, and whether right or wrong...cheating or simple "campaigning"... the person is being taken to task in a way that not a whole lot of us would personally appreciate. Ok, so saying all of that...that's me, my personality. I rescue cats no one wants and I stuck up for the fat kid in grade school...that's me.
When the initial Ursa competition was presented and threads were created about the competition there was no indication that there were obvious winners or gaps in caliber of work. No one posted or talked of this. We cheered all of the entries, talked of the fantastic works, and cheered every entrant. But now, after winners are announced the tides have changed. And that...when standing outside looking in...casts the subtle aroma of stinky grapes.
I voted in the Ursa awards (this year and last year). I scanned the pics and noted each piece like I would GT & Toby. My vision is 20/20 and I saw no pieces out there that were obviously poor construction, lacking in attention to detail, or overall poor workmanship. Each piece out there was obviously created by an artist who put thought, time and care into each piece. To have all of those artists who won be cast in this light (not just the one this thread is about)...but all of the artists who won this year is such a shame. Many many times we've seen newbies and others out here on TT post a pic of their work and ask whether they should enter into a contest. These persons might not be top sellers, industry leaders, or person creating for years, but they wish to enter a piece they've put their time and heart into. I've never seen a reply of No, you're not there yet hun. Save your entry fee for next year. You work obviously won't win. Don't bother trying. So what's the real story?
If the overall goal is to suggest positive ways to improve upon the Ursa Awards we, as a community of artists and collectors, must collectively do this without the innuendos, anonymity, and references to anyone particular person(s). That seems like fair competition and play, to me at least.
:hug:
~Chrissi
I think that at the bottom of things, the truth is, all competitions are in one way or another, "flawed" -- for want of a better word. And there's simply no way around their imperfections, no matter how beautifully constructed and well intentioned they may be.
A few examples --->
++ A contest which hand-examines bears for perfection of technique and construction might not reward stark raving originality and superior design concept, if the stitching is a little bit "off".
++ A contest which focuses on stark, raving originality might overlook a wonderful (and equally deserving of notice) traditional styled bear in favor of what's fresh and new, purely on principle.
++ A contest which allows public vote at any stage will, of course, on some level, always have a certain "popularity contest" element. Additionally, it's well understood, with teddy bears and otherwise, that in general, people like what they know. Human beings are in most cases far more likely to embrace (and vote for!) what's familiar (whether a friend's entry or a well loved style) vs. something unfamiliar and unknown.
++ A contest which uses panels of judges to choose nominees or winning pieces will, no matter how objective and well-meaning the judges, always be affected to a certain degree by their personal preferences.
++ A contest which chooses finalists and/or winners based on photos only will always fall victim to accusations that "only the WELL PHOTOGRAPHED bears ever get nominations, or win!" True, true! So, people... if you want to participate in such a competition, take good pictures. That's part of the process in this one.
++ A contest which chooses finalists and/or winners based on in-person presentation and examination will always fall victim to accusations that "only the bears and artists THAT COULD MAKE IT THERE ever get nominations, or win!" True, true! So, people... if you want to participate in such a contest, be prepared to travel. That's part of the process in this one.
I could go on and on... which actually is fairly typical of me :)... but I think you all see my point. There isn't, I don't think, any ONE way to make a "perfect" competition.
I think the best any contest sponsor can do is, with integrity, call a spade a spade. If the URSA competition has morphed into essentially a vote-gathering marketing campaign, that's fine! Great! I hope they'll say so quite explicitly when disclosing contest rules from here on out; then everyone will know and understand the voting concept BEFORE choosing to put energy and cash into participating, which is only fair and would represent truth in advertising. There's nothing wrong with a contest that rewards bears which garner the most votes via an eMail campaign, but the contest should, in my opinion, be described as such, so artists know what they're getting into, and collectors know what they're seeing when outcomes are announced.
Bearmakers who enter the URSA contest get exposure and notice, and you know what they say -- all publicity is good publicity! And those people who are asked, "VOTE FOR ME <HERE>" -- people who might not otherwise know about B&B, or even about artist bears -- will be introduced to both B&B and artist bears -- maybe even YOUR bear! -- in the process of this vote gathering.
Ultimately, if more people know about artist bears, more people have the opportunity to get interested in, and maybe purchase, artist bears. In the end, that's good for each of us as artists and for the industry as a whole. Right?
The TOBY and Golden Teddy contests are clear in their presentation that they are a photo-based competition. Great! If you think photo-based competitions lack validity, don't enter them! If you take great photographs, or your work photographs well, then this might be your chance to shine, because photography IS a part of these contests!
If you're a master at construction and never fail to create a gorgeously well balanced, perfectly symmetry, beautifully weighted bear, then find a competition that judges entries "live" and go for it! That's the contest for you!
And last, please remember that it's perfectly valid NOT to enter or win competitions at all. I have been absolutely charmed by a huge amount of gorgeous art in this world, created by absolute NOBODY's, in the sense that these people haven't ever "won" anything. This has really challenged my sense of what matters in art. Is it the accolades one gathers? Or, in the end, is it the art one creates? I'm pretty sure, for me anyway, that it's the latter.
I'm certainly very proud and happy to display my awards and honors on my website, my eBay auction template, tattooed across my forehead. Kidding -- just wanted to see if you were listening closely.
:)
But... I don't ever look at the LACK of nomination or win as a sign that my bears suck eggs. Or that if I DO garner a nomination, it means my bears are "better than" someone else's bears. And certainly, I never, ever think that if someone misses out on a nomination, they must be absent talent or merit or worth. Because, you know, that's simply not true.
I think our job as artists is to KEEP SOME PERSPECTIVE!!!! It's important not to allow ourselves to fall victim to the completely flawed and inaccurate thinking that awards = value and honors = job security, because neither is actually true. Yes, in the broadest sense, all publicity is good publicity, and awards and honors keep our work "top of mind" with our collectors so there is absolutely something to be said for a nomination or win; they do have real value in raising awareness and keeping an individual artist's work "top of mind." Plus, in most cases, all bias issues aside, there's real beauty and merit in the pieces honored, most times; let's not forget that!
Still, contests are what they are. Namely... a measure of ONE moment in time, when ONE set of circumstances led to ONE particular bear being noticed in ONE particular way. That's worth something, for sure. Different things to different people, of course. But it's certainly not the be-all, end-all of what we do here.
Right, folks???
Linda, thanks, truly, for bringing up this thought provoking and very important topic. As we approach what is, in the US anyway, viewed as "competition season" later this year, it's good to chew on this stuff in advance.
Edited to add: Chrissi, we were posting simultaneously. I appreciate your comments and thank you sincerely for your post. And I agree with what you wrote. Let's celebrate one another's successes and achievements as artist, because that's something to be celebrated! After that, if we feel ORGANIZATIONS or EVENTS need amendment, let's focus on positive and tangible suggestions for improvement that we might propose to those in charge. I personally won't color the entire URSA competition this year with one single brush. So one person swept many of the categories, possibly due to assertive vote gathering. Many others, however, did NOT push for votes, and won their categories anyway. Let's not take away the joy of that achievement because it's something to be proud of. Somewhere, someone showed up and voted for ALL of these uniquely worthy pieces. That matters.
