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Final Fair Results

6/29/2013

Today I was back at the San Diego County Fair where I was volunteering some of my time in the Volunteers for Minerals booth.

Before I went to work in the booth, I first went through the wood exhibit and then went past my case to just say "Hello" and my heart skipped a beat, literally.

My exhibit was awarded the Anne Schafer Award for Best Exhibit ($100).

(yes again, all together) YIPEEEEEEEEEE

That means the exhibit has earned the following:
* Award of Merit. $50
* The John Dalley Memorial Award for Best Educational Exhibit. $100
* The Anne Schafer Award for Best Exhibit. $100

Next Friday, I have to go back and take it all down. In October I will be giving a presentation on Chasing & Repousse, based on this exhibit, to the Fallbrook Gem & Mineral Society and possibly one other club in the area later in the fall.

Fair Update

6/9/2013

First a correction.
The educational exhibits do not have a first, second or third place awards.

That being said, I have since spoken to BJ and have found out that I was awarded the
Educational Merit ($50)
and.........
wait for it..............
John Dalley Memorial Award - Best Educational Exhibit. Rosette and $100.

And not all of the independent awards have been announced so there is a chance for more but word is they will be done by Wednesday for Exhibitor Appreciation night.

I will be posting pictures.

YIPEEEEEEEEEE

San Diego County Fair Results

6/9/2013

The Fair opened yesterday and I could not get a hold of BJ who was down at the Volunteers for Minerals booth in the Hall of Gems & Minerals to find out how I had 'faired' in the judging. BJ had sent me an email on Thursday stating that I had won an Award of Merit - which is a good start.

What does Award of Merit mean; we will get to that in a minute.

Let's start off explaining the judging process. Every entry is judged on a scale of zero to one hundred (0-100) and those who get the highest points in their category win first place and a cash award of $35; those with the second highest score win second place and a cash award of $25; and those with the third highest score win third place and $15; a rather logical process. Since the entry fee for the Jewelry category is $10, you get your fee and a little extra back, if you place in your category, which is a good thing.

For educational displays, you are judged on educational value (40%); Presentation (30%); and labeling (30%). IF you earn a minimum of 85 points out of 100 points you receive an Award of Merit. This earns you $50.

And I have "at least" earned the Award of Merit. Whew.

How did I place? I don't know yet

When BJ sent me that information all the OTHER awards had not been awarded YET thus until I go to the fair to see the result or someone tells me I have no clue as to the final results.

What other awards can I win?
Well there are awards presented by the fair and there are awards presented and funded by individuals and groups these are determined by those funding the award. These privately funded awards are for Jewely, Gems/Minerals, or Education and have specific criteria such as "Best Self-Collected Mineral" are more general such as "Best Exhibit" and could be awarded for any of the categories. Below are those that I think I am eligible for for.

There are the special awards presented by the Fair:
John Dalley Memorial Award - Best Educational Exhibit. Rosette and $100.
Coordinator’s Award -  Rosette and $100.

These are the privately funded awards by individuals and groups:
Kenneth Cilch Award for Best Educational Display, $50
Thomas M. Schneider Award for a Jewelry Exhibit, $100 gift certificate.
Gregory Anderson Award for the Best Display, $50.
Irv Brown Award for Best Case, $100.
Courtenay McGowen Award for Creativity, Single Item or Display, $100.
Anne Schafer Award for Best Exhibit, $100.
Anne Schafer Award for Best Showmanship, to be selected from full case exhibits, $150.
Volunteers for Minerals Award for Best Case, $50

I will be going to the fair on Wednesday evening for Exhibitor Appreciation night and it is here that I can talk to the Judges and find out not only what my final score was, I can find out what they liked and did not like.   Note: Last year the Calamari Cuff won it's category so I am familiar with the entire process. Once I know my final score, I will write another post about it.

Evolution of a Display Case

6/1/2013

When I decided to do this display case for the San Diego County Fair, I knew it would time consuming but I had no idea how much time it would really take.

But, as my father taught me, if you are going to do something, do it well.
In other words, don't do it half assed!

In mid-March I contacted my friend BJ, who has done cases at the fair before, and she lent me her case liners. I set them up on my dining room table so as I worked on the sample pieces and started to type up the text, I could see it all come together. This is the first picture of the display. As you can see it is some hammers, tools, pieces I made, and a few text panels.

Start of the Display

Then as I started to finish the samples, I added them and more items I made and printed out some pictures of repousse through history....

Start Placing Items

I then added some risers and used my web color guide to find a good color that would coordinate well with the beige/fleshy color of the liners. Once the risers were made and covered I started to play with the arrangement and text that would explain it all.

Add Risers and Start Arranging

I trimmed down the text more and shrunk the over all size of each text/image page. I purchased some glasses to hold the tools and put wedges behind the copper samples. This image is the layout I thought I would go with but BJ was on her way over to do a look-see and appraisal.

(Almost) Final Layout

This is the aftermath of the appraisal with BJ, we discussed flow, eye focus, typos and word changes, a few more risers and the final printing.

Appraisal Changes

After the appraisal, I printed it all again and worked on the positioning of each piece. A few more typos were corrected and sentences changed. The pedestal risers were made but had to be covered.

Almost Done

Then the final printed could start. I did this on photo paper so the colors would be more vibrant and give a more professional look. I did one final change to the title banner and bought smaller glasses to hold the tools. All I had left to do was break it down and take it to the fair.

Final Layout

This is the final and I mean final setup. It took 3 hours to do. I found out during my packing last night that the back and bottom panels were switched and the left and right panels were rotated by 90 degrees. So when I got the fair I had to un-pin and re-pin everything. Then because the case has light in the top and that large top border in the front blocks the top 5", everything on the back and side panels had to be moved down. Once the back items had been down, the finished pieces on the pedestals on back riser now blocked a good amount of text. So all those items had to move and I removed one finished piece.

It's Really, Really Done!

The case has now been locked and will remain this way until July 5th, when I go back to take it all out and home again. The judging will be on Tuesday and I will know how I did by the weekend. I have spent over 150 hours on this but I think it is fantastic and when you go to the fair and see it, you can say "I KNOW WHO DID THIS!".

Final Fair Results

Fair Update

San Diego County Fair Results

Evolution of a Display Case

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