[Tom Edgerton]

Jimmie--

Don't worry about it. Competitions are odd events in any case. I've juried a few, and I can tell you that the process that determines how everything shakes down is very capricious, even under tightly controlled circumstances. I know that sometimes if I had gone to lunch and juried the show an hour later, I might have gotten a different result when picking winners. Often, you just go with your gut at the time.

So I just figure that if I'm juried into a very solid show with great work overall, it means my piece is great too, and beyond that, the awards are just the luck of the draw. It's great if you get one, but it doesn't diminish your work if you don't.

That said, the DRAWING is a fabulous piece too. I just think you overlooked this fact in your excitement around having fought a battle with the pastel and won. You have nothing to apologize for.

And if you were made to feel undeserving by the crowd there, shame on them, not you. It's their bad manners, not yours.

Nobody on this forum is blowing smoke at you...you should believe you're a terrific talent even when there's no one in the room but you. That's all that matters in the end.