It has been my privilege, for the past two years, to judge the Marquetry exhibits at the International Handicrafts Exhibition, and the observations I have to make, may I hope; be of some assistance to members when entering future exhibitions. Generally speaking the standard I have been set to judge has been terrible. This I know is a bold and bitter statement, so in this short article I will mention some of the more general faults - and give some idea of the remedy.

The majority of Marquetarians appear to be under the impression that hardboard is the ideal baseboard - how wrong they are! This material is flexible after veneer has been glued to it, the reaction is twisting and warping unless of course it is nailed or screwed to a frame (and this I have seen) - nothing can stop it.

These same remarks apply to using a solid as a baseboard. My own opinion is that nothing less than seven ply is at all suitable for pictorial marquetry, and unless ply of this nature is used the piece of work in question is ruled "out of the running" for recognition.

The above is the most common fault I have come up against, so now to the second - the laying of the picture. Eight people out of ten do not give nearly enough attention to this very important matter. If a piece of work is not absolutely flat it is not worth submitting to an exhibition. Blisters can usually be traced on such a picture and these can be detected by the craftsman (?) concerned by lightly tapping with the fingers, the blister makes itself known by sounding, hollow.

Thirdly in the line of faults comes the appearance of the picture. Bad examples l have seen are, the use of old secondhand frames, badly made frames, the edges of the picture painted and passe - partout used to cover the edges. I do not care whether a picture is framed or edge veneered, but it must be well executed. The rear of the picture also comes under this heading. Again bad examples - paint and/or brown paper used to cover up bad joins between picture and edge moulding. Always remember that a marquetry picture is a "wood picture" - the whole work must be carried out in this medium - otherwise it is "out."

Now to the actual picture itself, choice of subject, veneers used and the cutting and polishing. Suitable subjects for marquetry are great points to be considered; to my way of thinking aeroplanes, trains, the local gasworks and suchlike should be cast out of mind,­ nature can provide us with more pictures than any of us will ever cut, and I will add, Mother Nature never uses a ruler!

Regarding the choice of veneer, dyed woods and natural woods do not mix and only go to make a piece of work look cheap and nasty. Allied to this is the use of Indian ink to fill in the small detail - on this I would say "if you can't cut it out, cut it out."

As far as the cutting of pictures is concerned I have little to criticise, except to offer one small hint - do not cut too close - when the veneers come into contact with moisture (the glue) they swell, and expansion must push something out of line. This is also often the cause of blisters - personal experience has taught me that.

Deciding on the correct finish (polishing) is part of the judge's work, many a good piece of work has been spoilt by smearing on wax polish. This can only be used after the veneers have been sealed by French polish. Again may I offer my advice and say you should wholly French polish your picture, leaving either glassy or matting down as you prefer.

These then are the main faults which I have encountered in your work -- there are other minor faults, but I am sure that the experience gained over the past twelve months will have put these in order.

To end I would say to you all, after your countless hours of work, pack your picture well before sending it to an exhibition. After all, an organiser cannot really show a picture - no matter how good -- if the frame has been ripped off or a corner knocked in.

"JUDGING" – REJUDGED

I suppose I am no different from any other member of the Society, in short, when the postman pushes "The Marquetarian" through the letter box, you're happy. Someone has sent you something, something you want, something you've been looking forward to. The envelope is familiar, and although it is buff coloured you recognise the shape and you notice with a deep sense of relief that it hasn't got Inspector of Taxes printed on it. Receiving it has put you in a good frame of mind and you don't care two hoots if the wife says she wants a new hat or something that wives do ask for, because you have got something which is going to interest you for the next half hour or so. You're going to read of other people's ideas and what they have to say. Well! That happened to me when the April issue of "The Marquetarian" came through my letter box.

I was happy and to show it I turned the dog out of the most comfortable chair we have and settled myself just as cosily as the dog had; whereas the dog had been asleep --- I was all awake.

You see, our journal - not like newspapers which come every day - only comes once in three months and that wait in between only increases our interest. Well! I was interested, I looked at the covers and then read page by page enjoying everything as it came along. Then I came to page fourteen, and what did I see? "Judging Marquetry by E. D. Vickers." If I was interested before I was doubly so now. I said to myself - Ah! This is what I have been waiting for. Someone to tell us what the judges look for after we have worked, slaved and put everything we know of into the making of our picture.

I settled myself more comfortably and read on. I read everything that was written in the article, from beginning to end, I read it again - I wasn't happy - I hadn't that sense of satisfaction I thought should have been mine. Frankly, I was disappointed, and why? Well, so little of the article - a matter of five lines was given to the picture itself. The other points mentioned, lay, framing, etc., one accepts as necessary, but surely they're secondary, without the picture they wouldn't be there to judge.

No! I would have liked Mr. Vickers to have enlarged on what constitutes a good picture. One which would attract the judge's eye. He mentioned that "choice of subject" and "suitable subjects for marquetry" are great points to be considered, and that "Nature can provide us with more than any of us will ever cut."

Sure, Nature does provide plenty of material but how many win­ning exhibits have been pure nature studies? The article says aero­planes, trains, the local gasworks and such like should be cast out of mind, but it doesn't matter what the subject is providing you know how to present it, and that I imagine is what most members would have liked to have read.

One point which did sit me up with a jerk was the backing of the picture. My face was very red. Not with anger, Oh no! With shame. I read "always remember that a marquetry picture is a wood picture - the whole work must be carried out in this medium other­wise it is OUT", and there was I who have always backed my pictures with brown paper. "OUT", the word stared at me, it had such a note of finality, no reprieve, but condemned out of hand. I could feel the scales of justice being weighted against me. There's my picture -- one side with the paper backing - bad, so it's no use looking at the other side - the picture - to see if there were any good points.

I must be careful in future - or must I ?

In conclusion, there is one question I would like to ask. Do some pictures appeal to judges more than others ? And could they - the Judges - be biased ?

I know I am sticking my neck out, but believe me there's nothing behind the question. I have no cause for grumbles because I have had my fair share of the prizes. Yes! even in spite of brown paper backings, but I have asked this question before and I don't think it has been too well received.

Just think a minute. We have already been told that there may be anything up to 200 pictures for the exhibition. Imagine all of these in front of you, and you have to decide which of them is the best. You are the sole judge. It's a big undertaking and in my view grossly unfair to expect one person to do it however willing. I should have thought that a job of this magnitude was one requiring the services of at least three persons, and even then, I for one, would not envy them, but it would at least save any thoughts one might have after­wards had one been the judge. Doctors don't like nerve cases you know!

 Anon. (I’m afraid!)

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