Posted: 7/21/04
By Barbara Brown
Entering a project in the home activities section of the Chisago County Fair can be a nerve-wracking experience.
A few judges offered to give some basics about how they approach the tasks set before them and how next yearís entrants can improve their chances of winning the coveted purple ribbon.
Judges are selected by the organizers of the home activities building.
They are sought out from recommendations from the fair board, with help from the Extension Service and through past experience as judges.
Katherine Salverda, a Stacy artist by trade, was asked several years ago to judge the artwork entries.
Salverda has a degree in art history and studio arts from the University of Minnesota. She is a member of several art associations and teaches art classes. She also has been an artist for 31 years.
She said sheís seen some amazing talent pass through the building in her years as a judge.
For example, this yearís champion was a Picasso-esque painting by 10-year-old Kristy Carlson of Rush City.
Her painting captured an emotion from Salverda and showed that the young artist had a good grasp of design, balance and contrast of light to dark.
ìMy personal preference doesnít come into it,î said Salverda, whose personal love is landscape art. ìIt has to stand on itís own merit.î
Salverda said she has been moved by paintings by middle-agers, senior citizens and even six year olds doing pencil drawings.
ìYou can see an energy, a vibrancy in their work,î she said.
In the canning section of the home activities building, Sharon Wessel of Corcoran spends her morning judging the quality of home-canned products.
Shelves lined with canned fruits and vegetables, preserved meats and jellies, jams and juices reflect an array of colors as the early evening sunlight shines through the building.
Wessel, who works as a food technician with Marshall Fields, said her personal favorite item to judge is jellies.
However, she uses basically the same criteria when faced with canned products of any variety.
She said the first thing she notices is the type of jar used and whether it is sealed properly.
Next, she said she looks at the uniformity of the product in the jar. Whether it is canned corn or green beans, Wessel said uniformity makes for a better looking product.
Finally, she will examine the freshness of the product. She does not open the jars nor does she taste any of the products, but a visual inspection of the food can show how fresh it is.
For the jellies, Wessel said she checks for the level at which the jar is filled and the color and clarity of the jelly when it is held to the light.
This yearís entries in the canning divisions were sparse, Wessel said, and with only two canned corn entries as an example, she said her job went rather quickly during judging time.
However, Wessel said, the art of canning is not lost. Many people still can their own fruits and vegetables, but this yearís growing season has been rough, she said.
Wessel said she does a lot of canning at her own home, but when her vegetables arenít growing well, she heads to the farmers market.
For hints about good canning techniques, Wessel suggests visiting the local Extension Service office or even checking out the Web sites for different jar companies for recipes.
Next to the canning category, at a special table set up in the middle of the building, sits Joanne Ploetz of Harris.
In front of her is a bread board, two knives and rows of plates of baked goods.
With a background in home economics and experience as an Extension Service agent, Ploetz has the knowledge ñ and the tongue ñ to be a quality baked goods judge.
Ploetzís best suggestion for people who want to enter their baked goods into the competition is to pay close attention to the scorecard shown in the fair book.
She said she and the other judges follow that very closely and it gives a specific guideline to entrants.
ìSometimes itís very, very hard,î Ploetz said of her duty, ìbecause they are all so good.
ìOne thing this county is known for is a lot of good bakers.î
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