As part of the A&S display this year there will be an opportunity for consultations!

A & S Consultation Tables
NEW THIS YEAR!


Entrants can voluntarily request feedback based on the higher degree of expectations that happen at more competitive levels.


The focus is on extensive research, historical understanding, and exemplary execution. These are all important for A & S Champions entries, but also for other activities throughout the Society. Even if you never plan to enter A & S competitions, you can use these tables as opportunities for feedback.


Entrants: After you have gone through the registration table, you may sign up at the A & S Consultation Tables for constructive feedback. (This is in addition to your other A & S Display activities and is no way required.)
You will not receive a score and there is nothing to win.

You will have a chance to talk to experienced judges and walk through their thought process as they examine your entry.


We can give you directed feedback and we can also walk you through example judging rubrics. It depends on what help you are requesting.


We will attempt to accommodate as many entries as possible. We will visit you at your table to view your display and talk to you. We can also work with you on scheduling a specific time.


Judges: We also welcome volunteer judges. Want to help? Let us know! It's you who will help make the A & S Consultation Tables successful.


We'd welcome you for the full four hours; two hour shifts would also help. Let us know what you can do and we'll work with you.


Never judged before and want to learn? Let us know. You can be a shadow judge. We'd welcome the company.

We also hope that this will make the judging experience more constructive and more enjoyable.


If you are interested in helping, please contact The Honorable Lady Kataryn Mercer.

http://www.pennsicwar.org/penn46/DEPTS/AANDS/DISPLAY/index.html#consult

(Warning, this is a very preachy post, you can avoid it if you prefer.  None of us are perfect, but this is, in part, also a reminder for me to think twice as much as it is anything else.  Further, this is NOT about clear cases of someone mistreating others at events, it is merely a commentary on the importance of not assigning motive to those behaviors.)
 
One of the most important things that I learned in conversations with my Laurel was how dangerous, and detrimental, it can be to apply motive to someone else’s actions.  Of course, all of this actually makes sense when you think about it, but I guess I had just never really spent the time on it until a couple of situations came up and we discussed them.  It never actually occurred to me how damning (for all parties involved, including the person making the assumptions), that applying motive to someone’s actions can be. 
 
Over the years I have seen it commonly come up in forums, these situations where people are assuming that someone shafted them for some reason (which they do not ACTUALLY know, in most cases) venting about the injustice of it.  I have also seen it in person.  I know someone who loved to vent about how she was garb snarked at an event once.  That a certain Laurel saw her kit and made nasty comments about it.  Well, the reality of that situation was that that person was behaving like a total ass at that moment, and she merely got an eye roll over the very poor public behavior (the garb in question was actually wonderful stuff, lol). 
 
So, I want to put an example out there, about how damaging applying motive can be.  Here is an example:
 
At an event Shapoopee (thank you to one of my dear dance teachers for that example name) and Shapeepee are talking to Lady Artisan about their garb.  Shapoopee and Shapeepee have only been playing a couple of years and have not yet been awarded an AoA. Lady Artisan has been around a bit longer and has her GoA for her costuming work. They know each other in passing, but not well enough to truly consider each other friends yet.
 
The three women are all in the center of a room chatting away.  Lady Artisan seems a bit distracted a few times but is carrying on her end of the conversation. 
 
Across the room, in full view by all three, is a door and note here that the room is getting more crowded as more and more people enter (perhaps this is the social area of an event, or maybe dayboard is about to start). Eventually through that door comes Laurel Costumer and Laurel Feeder-of-Masses.  Shapoopee comments on their entrance because she is in awe of Laurel Costumer's new dress. At that very moment, Lady Artisan cuts off her conversation rather abruptly, and with a quick excuse, makes haste towards the doorway.
 
Now, Shapoopee and Shapeepee are somewhat stunned by this (rightfully so) and immediately turn to each other and in hushed tones are asking each other “What the hell was that?” They are both a bit hurt about being suddenly abandoned.  They come to the quick conclusion that Lady Artisan ditched them in favor of the pair of entering Laurels.

They might tell this story to others, about how they were snubbed because they have no awards, or how Lady Artisan was trying to suck up to the Laurels.  The end result is some very damning rumors about Lady Artisan that some might hear (and wrongly) take to heart.  Another result of the chatter is that Shapoopee and Shapeepee end up looking quite petty to others.  And beyond that even, Shapoopee and Shapeepee might start avoiding Lady Artisan, which could ruin a potential friendship, or they might lose out on some wonderful information because they will now not take her classes.
 
Now, the question really is - what actually happened here?
 
Lady Artisan was distracted during the conversation because her young daughter was across the room near the door way playing with some other children.  They were all getting a bit rough and rowdy and were getting closer and closer to creating some sort of inadvertent child disaster.  At the moment that the Laurels entered the room, she saw the kids romp into a nearby table, spilling the contents of several goblets on it. Lady Artisan was dashing off to do damage control and was more concerned about the idea that the children might have damaged someone’s property than making polite excuses to other adults for abandoning a conversation.
 
The reaction Shapoopee and Shapeepee had was a natural one to being abandoned, and they missed what else happened because they were (rightfully) a bit stunned.  But the point is that, however natural the reaction might be, the assumptions they immediately came too were wrong.
 
What else could have happened?
 
Maybe Lady Artisan was just not feeling well that day.  Maybe she felt as though she was going to be sick and needed to make a hasty exit.  Perhaps, even as she was dashing out of the room, Laurel Costumer did indeed grab her attention to complement her on her work for a split second (before she could once again finish that needed retreat to the rest room).  Maybe Shapoopee and Shapeepee saw that and it confirmed their “theory” (which was still, in fact, wrong).
 
Or perhaps this?
 
Lady Artisan was actually waiting in the room within view of the door because she had been asked by Lady Costumer to make something special for a Vigil that was happening that night.  Lady Artisan should actually have left the event much earlier, as she had to get home after getting a call that the babysitter needed to leave early for some reason.  She wanted to make sure that the item got to the proper person and was distracted because she also worried about being late.  When Laurel Costumer arrived, she wanted to pass off the item and leave.  She was not snubbing anyone, and her only possibly wrong was the lack of grace she showed in her hasty exit.
 
Or what about this one?
 
Lady Artisan is at a bit of a loss on some social situations and had more than her fill of peopling for the day.  Shapoopee and Shapeepee had a habit of cornering her at every event and talking for hours (often about things well outside an SCA context).  Lady Artisan likes these women, but is not very close to them because she feels their personalities do not mesh well.  She is getting to a point where she cannot cope with the chatter and attempts (somewhat ungracefully) to make her leave to go see Laurel Costumer, with whom she is actually friends in an effort to calm down and resort her own thoughts.
 
I could go on. 
 
I could make up these scenarios all day. 
 
I could go on so long I would run out of plausible fictions and I resort to tales of alien abductions or time travel or trips on the Enterprise.  And the reality of it is, that unless Lady Artisan actually tells me what happened, I will likely never, ever know the reality of it.
 
I know that in the SCA, especially on forums where people can ask Peers questions, as well as in conversations amongst Peers about candidates that we love to discuss PLQs.  To me, it is critical to try to remove “assumption of motive” from any of these conversations, and from any angle.  It is not always possible, and sometimes, yes, there is a long standing pattern of behavior that might offer more insight.  But the reality is that we are all doing a disservice to not only the Society, but to each other and ourselves by assuming the worst when we, in all reality, cannot actually guess at the underlying cause of a behavior.

If you are a regular around here you will have seen my numerous posts on over-embellishment by reenactors (and know that at one time I too fell into that trap), but you will also see my rationale for NOT employing things such as lavish embroidery to a period kit.

This topic is typically heated in online forums and is accompanied by every Woulda/Coulda/Shoulda that one can imagine.  

Well, I discovered yesterday that these conversations even happen in later period forums (though, I have to say, with far less vehemence than some I am used to).  I am going to link a thread below for the Elizabethan Costume group on Facebook because the conversation is educational, civil and very, very similar in context to the things earlier period reenactors should be considering when planning a kit. The conversation includes discussion on social status, expectations of that, and more.  (Also, poke around this forum if you have any interest at all in later historical costume.  There are WONDERFUL samples of people's work and many engaging discussions!)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/29374273995/permalink/10155428435723996/

Facebook reminded me today that I made my first Viking outfit a decade ago.  It was crafted hastily after returning from a vacation to Norway, using a pattern diagram from one friend and a sheet on "embellishments" from another.  I bought my brooches and pendant and strung the beads at Pennsic that year.  

Since then, I have done copious amounts of research.  I have upgraded my brooches 3 times, replaced my swag with reproduction beads (and far less of them) as well as more period appropriate pendants, when I use them at all.  I have added additional accessories such as bracelets and period shoes, as well as headcoverings.  This aprondress is covered in herringbone stitches, so it has been passed on to someone else and I am using more period embellishment when I chose to add accents (which is not that often).

Most importantly, I have learned, from the ground up, how textiles were made in period.  I have learned to spin and weave.  I have put together classes on how wool now differs from period wool and what types of textiles you can look for when shopping so that might get you a more period look and drape.  

And there is still so very much more to learn, to experiment with and to too keep carefully, and thoughtfully, upgrading my kit.  Yes, it took a decade to get here, but I am pleased with what I have learned and with how I can implement it (as well as how I can share it with others).  

I cannot wait to embark on another decade of this wonderful journey!

For those who have missed it, Registration has been extended till June 23!  That means you have one last chance to register and get that land allotment!

Also, this year the site book is being published BEFORE war online.  That means you can take a peek now.

http://www.pennsicwar.org/penn46/PW46EventGuide.pdf

Links to the papers for the International Medieval Congress gatherings.

http://www.distaff.org/?q=taxonomy/term/15

I am very much enjoying working on this scroll.  I like it better now that I am adding some shading and the outlines.  I could see me doing another... but not till after Pennsic!

Right now I am trying to focus on my new, late Viking Age garments, materials for my classes, a master (annotated) bibliography and I will soon by putting up additional information here about the type of cloth that is often associated with women's headcoverings in the Viking Age.  

But in the meantime, the bottom corner is finished.  I painted some areas the wrong colors (oops) and made a few modifications to other things, but I am not unhappy with it right now.
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For some time there has been a rather comprehensive thesis available online about clothes from the Netherlands in the early Middle Ages.  I saw that the book, Clothes Make the Man: Early Medieval Textiles from the Netherlands, that came out of that project was finally published last month and I posted a link for it on my FB page.  A friend then shared the open access link for the work and... well... go right now and pick this one up.

This book has VERY detailed information on the textiles from the finds (many of which, while not Scandinavian, are still Viking Age).  The later part of the book gives detailed analysis of what the costumes of these people might have been like, including drawings for male and female garments.  If someone was interested in building out a persona/kit for this time and place, this document is likely the best resource you could hope for.  It is pretty amazing.

Oh, and as a side note, if you want hats with "seam embellishments", this area actually has evidence of that practice in the Netherlands on high status items (note though, there are still no sprawling, giant herringbone stitches... this is compact narrow work comparable to Sutton Hoo and Mamman pillows).  Just thought I would toss that out there ;-)

https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/39627

I love this event.  I love camping at this event even more.  It is so much smaller than Pennsic, but there is a wonderful vibe.  I love walking (weather permitting) in the Pennsic grass in my barefeet and visiting friends I usually only see at War on cool nights.  This weekend was no exception.

The weather ended up amazing (unlike the last two years). A bit of rain Friday, pretty much perfect Saturday. Cool temps (I could wear WOOL!) and crisp evenings.  I got to get my Beast and Boar mug early, and had a pre-Pennsic dinner with them. Only breezed through the merchants on a walk-about (which was fine as I was out of money, lol).
Sorcha and Seamus were great camping buddies. Sorcha delivered piping hot cinnamon rolls to us Saturday morning, followed by Scotch eggs. We all dined together that night on grilled fresh keilbasa and perogis.

Friday I got to take a class on basic enameling. The instructor was lovely (Dasani from the Middle Kingdom). I have only done it once before and this was two different techniques than I tried then, so it was fun. I don't think this will be my next hobby, but it is nice to experiment.  I am highly tempted by her cloisonné class though.  Maybe at Pennsic I can try that.

That night I went to (now) Mistress Gwen the Graceful's vigil. It was a lovely affair, with wonderful food and it was great to chat with people I usually see at War.  We almost did not make it to WP, but was delighted to be able to attend after all, if only for my ability to go to the vigil.  It was my first time speaking with a vigilant as a Peer, and I was honored to be able to do so.

Yes, I will point out now (again, lol) that I love the pomp and circumstance of the SCA.  I love the traditions and the pageantry.  I enjoy the processions and Court and was happy to try to live up to my role by taking part as an an advisor as did so many who chose to come to my own vigil.

Saturday started with the above mentioned breakfast and then a meeting, and then I made my way to the Artisans Playtime. I had a great time looking at the displays and talking with a few people and was really impressed with the Scribal area. I loved seeing everyone working on things, and new folks trying things out. I was talking to Lady Shirin about her display (which had some very nice work on period pigments, along with a fantastic chart) and then was asking some questions about what I would need (bare basics) to try my hand at Illumination and she sat me down with a blank she had already started and showed me how to paint it, and then send me home with the paints, the scroll and a brush!  I immediately ordered the Finetec gold to finish the scroll and that has already arrived at my office.  Hopefully I can sit down and paint some more tonight.  Not sure it will work up well enough to give out, but I am beyond excited to try my hand at this!

Later that afternoon I walked out to the battle field for a bit, and then went to retain for TRM then on to our little in-camp feast of Polish food and then Court.  So funny because I went from long-ago being someone who ran from Court to someone who very much enjoys it.  I was honored to welcome our new Fleur and Laurel and to retain, if only briefly.

After that was the best part of the evening, a walk-about to the lake to visit my Lusty Wench and Chalkman friends. Sitting there with my drink and friends that made me laugh till my sides hurt was wonderful. The walk back was brisk, but I swung by "home" (E17) and am just amazed at how sleepy it all seems right now, when I know how it will bloom to life in a few months.​

I wish I could have an event just like this every couple of months!  I think my soul would constantly be renewed and I would continuously feel inspired!

As it is, I will now lay low and catch up on the many projects (mundane and SCA), while I wait for Pennsic.  I need to finish my class materials, craft new garb, experiment with patterned beads and paint this scroll.  I think that should be enough to do between now and then!
​

Unfortunately, I have been far to busy to write about Crown before now (and even today this will have to be brief).  Suffice to say, the event was lovely (and the weather even managed to sort it self out before the tournament).

The event was full of pageantry, good fights, and closed with a lovely Court. One of the things that I found to be rather fantastic though, was how quickly people were willing to step in and help.

When I arrived on site with the goods for the hospitality tent on Saturday, Master Morien McBain was there to assist as well as a newcomer and her daughter. The truck was quickly unloaded and we were able to get things set up so that the first round of coffee could be ready for those in need.

Later that day I was enchanted to listen to Mistress Morwenna explaining Crown (and many SCA traditions) to another newcomer, who had also pitched in to help that day, and her daughter also spend much of the day helping in the kitchen.

Petra (a fairly new SCA member from my household) baked a huge amount of what was served at the hospitality tent. She helped set up and worked there all day AND was helping in the kitchen. Once we closed up that tent for the day, she dashed off to the kitchen to help clean up there. This was only her third (I think) non-Pennsic event. (I also know she spent her entire first event helping with the Queen's Lunch and then all day in the kitchen!)

Lady Rosamund also contributed wonderful baked goods and sekanjabin, as well as her camp coffee expertise to the day.

Finally, when we went to break down the hospitality event we had all the assistance we could have wanted. People who had come by several times for beverages and snacks made a point of coming to help us break down. I also had people who I never saw there stop to assist. It was very smooth. I thank everyone for the help (and that goes for the awesome Sylvan Glen set up crew as well).
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This willingness to pitch in and volunteer (especially from newcomers!!!) is really what makes the SCA an amazing place. Thanks to everyone who made the weekend spectacular!