Well I still consider myself a beginner.. been turning for maybe 8 months.. probably 60+ pens and other item
s. Does that mean I would want to compete in a beginner contest? probably not, because I know I have way more skills than I did 8 months ago. I would not consider it fair for me to compete with someone that has only a few pens under their belt. That said, I have seen some pretty amazing pens that people have produced as their 1st or second pens! They either have a natural skill, or paid better attention.. or something.. as I never could have done those things as a beginner.. in fact I would struggle at my skill level.
Will I be able to compete in the intermediate category..... maybe..... but not with every pen...still have.. not so successful pens... but I would...
Prizes?? well as awesome as the prizes are.. the reason I entered any contests this year was to see how the things I did compared to others. I finished at the bottom of the pack, and you know, that was fine. As I said on another thread, if one other person likes my pen that makes me feel good. Would I like to get every vote, well sure, but the reality is that will never happen.
So I guess for me... I think you have to do the honor system.. with guidelines such as segmenting or casting... but anyone who has looked at pics here can determine which skill level they are for themselves.
hello Mitch
Not to beat a dead horse but i thought i saw it move a bit.
Not picking on you or anything like that. So do not take this the wrong way. Maybe we need other so called beginners to try to answer.
But here is what I do not get. When will you drop the BEGINNER title? When do you you move up to INTERMEDIATE?? What is the difference between the 2??? 60 pens seems quite a lot of pens to hone the art of turning something round. Is there an amount of pens or is it time in years you call yourself a pen turner or is the time at a lathe, that dictates the rating system?? When you say you can not compete with the Intermediates or the so called pros, what makes you say that??? What do they do that you can not do??? I am seriously curious. All are privy to the same materials, kits, basic tools (excluding cnc and special tools of this nature but then again you will never compete with them unless you have the money to buy them), finishing materials, casting materials (again you need them to compete) and so forth.
I think we get confused when you see people like Skiprat and others show those amazing pens they make and call them the pros. What separates them from you is a couple things, tools, the ability to see artistically things that are out of the box, and ability to transform them to a pen. If that is what you are judging yourself on then you may never get there. I know I won't because I will never go and buy a CNC machine or lasers or probably a metal lathe either. But that does not make me less of a pen maker than they are. I may do things differently because of my tools and my TALENT or SKILLS.
If it is fit and finish you are comparing to, heck you can correct that with your very next pen. There is enough info posted here both in the library and the threads in the forums that can turn anyone into a good pen maker if they apply themselves and want to learn. You are what you make yourself into.
I think people look at pens with that WOW factor and say I wish I can do that. They surely are a pro. AS a beginner I can not do that. To that I say B--S. All levels of so called pen makers just need to look and observe and trust your imagination and push your talents. Enough with the titles.
As I said maybe we need other people who consider themselves BEGINNERS to answer this question and we all might get a better insight because I surely do not get it. I was a beginner when I first made my first pen and after that I was honing my skills and practicing just like a Doctor does. They will never become pros because they are always practicing.
Again I mean no offense to anyone and I am sorry for beating this dead horse.