Ok this is an attempt to clear up any confusion. The scope of this post is much wider than this specific thread. It is to address emails and other posts all over the G. My head is starting to spin from the scattered questions, comments, and concerns that are everywhere except my mail (this is a joke - please don't send me letters).
The voting, like last year, went like this. Each of the categories was judged by JUDGES ONLY. It was my request that we include the Grumble Votes in with the final score (doing away with the popular choice) but that was completely and totally overruled. So if you go to each individual thread, you will see the winner of the category as per the three judges. That should clear that up!
Totally separate from that is the popular choice! This required two separate votes from Grumblers. One selected a popular choice from each category. The second selected the best of the best. That should clear that up.
I apologize as this wasn’t clearly posted in this “Official Rules” thread.
I will host up another thread clearly outlining the winners in the Frame Designs section..
---As a side note---
I’m honored to play my part in keeping this competition alive. It wasn’t fun and was so much more work than I ever dreamed. With every post, I keep hoping this is about over. This is worse than the Duracell bunny, even with the TONS of help I have received (thanks again friends). Even now I don’t see the end in sight.
Angie’s hands are full right now and was unable to advise me much. Because of this, I'm thankful for any grace that is due. This was in many ways the first run. I will try to help who ever takes over next year to avoid some of the problems and make it go as smooth as possible.
Finally, I would like to add that this whole thing has always, to me, been for fun. The purpose here wasn’t to “judge framing”. It’s not about the “best” mat or “best” frame or even receiving prizes. It is about seeing more framing and drawing inspiration and ideas from the entries. I would ask that we all keep that in mind. If we get too legalistic, it will spell certain doom for the whole idea.
People certainly feel strong about this and participation was great. These are all good signs! Please speak up next year if there is any changes you would like to see made for the next competition.
