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"Kathy Creger... goldsmith... botanical illustrator...

After six years of intensive training, she's now an official orchid judge,
currently the only one in the state certified by the American Orchid Society...

Q Becoming an orchid judge seems like a big commitment. Why did you sign on?

A I balked for years. I mean, not many people want to be an orchid judge.
You have to have a certain temperament, you have to know a lot about the
plants you're looking at. You have to remember what its parents looked
like, how long its dorsal sepals should be...

Q What was the training like?

A I spent three years as a student and another three years as a
probationary judge, writing papers, giving slide shows, and attending at
least 10 judgings a year. The nearest training center is in Chicago, so I
was traveling three weekends a month, crashing at other people's houses.

Q When you're judging an orchid, what do you look for?

A You want the form to be symmetrical and balanced. You want clear, bright
colors. In hybrids, colors start to get muddy. Size matters, but it's only
10 points out of 100. We look for mechanical damage, for color break, check
to see if both petals are the same size. We really scrutinize these plants.

Q Sounds like it would take forever.

A It can be really quite cut and dried or it can be contentious. I've seen
shouting matches break out. You've got five judges on a team and someone
will love ... Phalaenopsis and someone else will hate them. But you've got
to be objective [can you be subjective, too ? / smile...]. You can't just
say, "Oh, this is a beautiful... Phragmipedium."

Q You don't get paid for this, do you?

A Umm, no. But it's not about money. I really enjoy the plants and the
people. I'm not a botanist. I don't have a science background. I look at
the plants as an artist.

Q How many orchids are judged at a show?

A That depends on the show. For a show the size of the Winter Carnival, we
may look at 400 plants and hand out anywhere from three to a dozen AOS...
ribbons. At a big show in Miami, we might judge thousands of plants."

article URL : http://www.startribune.com/418/story/952491.html

***************
Regards,

VB


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