It really doesn't take much to connect your creation to the Theme of the Show but it is important to let the judges see into your head as to what inspired you and through your eyes to see how you carried that inspiration into a wonderful piece. 

A reminder to each of you that I do not have anything to do with the judging.  These are only my thoughts and hopefully they can help you to in participating in our new Theme Shows for this year.  

If you have missed these conversations, join me and the IADR Dollmakers either here in the blog or on Youtube.  Here on the website you will see Conversations on the right side of the screen where the past blogs are archived.  To view on Youtube, click the link below:
 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIMbFhVnZWKVDqnevEv3Mbg 
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Did you know that a third of the voting for a Jury Show is... Did the artist capture the meaning of the theme?  This is where you envision the judges to see what you see by explaining to them your vision.  AND... did you know that another third of the judging is... How well did the artist render their interpretation of the theme... overall appearance?  

That is 2/3 of the voting on just the theme.  The other 1/3 goes toward the level of skill the artist displayed in their creation.  Therefore, being clear in your interpretation will be important since it isn't being narrowed down to a type as well as following it through with the visual of your creation showcasing the theme.

So, when voting for a theme, don't look for a specific type like fairies or mermaids or zombies... but look to the theme that challenges you and inspires you.  If, like me, doing character type faeries are what you enjoy, then pick a theme and create the character that tells that theme/story.  Don't create a character and shove it into a theme, hoping it fits.  A theme should bring art to life.  The themes listed in the polling for 2023 with the most votes will be the selected ones for our Juried Shows.  Click here to go to the Polls.

In the December 2022 newsletter I will send out some show theme ideas for you to vote on as I would like to offer two (2) Juried Shows each year for members only.  The first show's deadline will be April 30th, 2023, (theme to be announced after the voting), and the second show's deadline will be August 31st, 2023.  There will be four Best of Show award opportunities at each of these two shows.  The categories will be Novice, Intermediate, Advanced and Professional.  When there are two or more entries for a category, then there will be the opportunity for awards.  If there is only one entry for any given category, then by definition, no competition exists, and the entry moves to an Honorary Award.  All award winners from each of the events will be posted on the IADR Award Winners page on the website also!  ​

What the winners will receive is a choice of: (1) A physical Embossed Award Certificate only (which includes the cost of shipping) sent to them... or (2) A downloadable digital Award Certificate (suitable for framing) with a $75 (USD) cash award placed in a PayPal account... or (3) A downloadable digital Award Certificate with a $75 (USD) gift card at the online store of the winner's choice.  Honorary Awards will receive a downloadable digital Award Certificate (suitable for framing) and the judges commentaries with scoring.

Then we will have our third big event for the year!  This will be the Public Christmas Event with a deadline of October 1st, 2023.  There will be no cash award for this event but that is all explained in an earlier blog (click here to read the blog)  This event will be all about who will be the center point of the marketing event through the People's Choice selection.  We are planning on expanding the voting pool by setting up a public voting link you can share with family, friends, and even your favorite cousin to encourage them to come vote for their favorite doll.  This opportunity will give each entry more exposure if all of the membership will share the voting link! This will also expand the viewing and hopefully encourage those to come to the event.  (And to our Judges - this will be an event you can join in as well since the judging on this event will be done by the People's Choice *smiling*).  This event will be open to all mediums of dollmaking as long as it is a One-Of-A-Kind and the artist is a member of IADR.

Then to wrap up 2023 will be the final show which will be our End of Year Show.  Now this is going to be a little different.  This will be scheduled for a December 31st, 2023 deadline with the winners being announced in January, 2024.  Since this is a juried show on an artist's accumulated work, the first requirement is that of the three (3) dolls an artist is submitting, one (1) of them has to have been in one of the three previous events announced for the year.  Meaning that one of the three submitted dolls has to have been in either in the April show, the August show, or the Public Christmas Event.  The other two (2) dolls to showcase the artist's work must have been made in the current year since this is hopefully a YEAR-end type of award.  Also, if one of the artdolls is a new piece done for the End of Year award, it will be judged with the accumulated work as the End of Year Show will not have any Best of Show awards.  

The End of Year Awards will be awarded in the categories of Best Artist of the Year,  Best Doll of the Year, and Rising Star of the Year.  Each category winner will receive a downloadable Certificate (suitable for framing) and a cash award of $150.00 (USD) to be placed in a PayPal account or as a Gift Certificate with a online store of the winner's choice.  All award winners from each of the events will be posted on the IADR Award Winners page on the website also!  

I hope to entice you to join in our events this coming year, but please keep in mind that anyone that enters these events will have the opportunity to have their submission receive the comments and suggestions from the judges.  This is a valuable tool to help give the artist a different point of view to grow and learn.  IADR is a group of artists who are here to help support and encourage each other to be the best we can be.  These shows are just one way of doing that.