It’s certainly been a chaotic time since I last updated this page, and there’s been quite a bit that’s happened on the art front. (Also personal, but let’s not go there.)
Namely, my utter love of glass has been renewed, and I’ve also been doing more research into specific regions. Mostly looking at Northern Europe and Hedeby/Haithabu, but I’ve also been looking at Hallstatt. In general, it’s time to start working once more on the art and research and figuring shit out.
Onwards!
Why yes, it’s been awhile. I have projects to update here, and stuff to talk about, but as it happens life comes up and so here we are some time after the last post with a grump. One related to the SCA, to advertising for events, and to communication thereof.
When I joined the SCA, the way one found out about events was on the Kingdom website, through Yahoo Groups, and Southwind (our monthly newsletter). Facebook existed, but by no means had the overwhelming majority of communication moved there. Now, about fifteen years later as things have changed, I find myself getting more and more frustrated with how information is disseminated about events. (I cannot speak to other kingdoms, so this is limited to my experiences here in Atenveldt. This post is also not about anything other than event listing and information associated with said events.)
Before we go further, there’s something that I think bears repeating. Endlessly.
Facebook is not designed with you in mind. You do not pay for the service, and you do not bring any form of monetary value to the company other than as a pair of eyes that can be sold. Therefore, there is no value in making the platform easier for you to use.
Let us start by saying this: not everyone uses Facebook. The reasons for this do not matter, but those who are posting events/things need to be aware that not everyone will see information pertinent to the event and so you run the very real risk of people not being aware of what’s going on. Even if an event is public, finding it on Facebook without an account can be… challenging.
For those who do use Facebook, it can still be quite hard to find information on events. Upcoming things are not always pushed to those invited/attending (unless you’re willing to pay, and even then) so it can be hard to miss the information as it comes. Additionally, Facebook’s feed moves quite quickly and depending on what platform you’re using what you see could be quite different.
With these basic issues, why keep using it? Honestly, I think that mostly it’s because it’s what people are used to. They’re used to finding events on that platform and having them accessible there. I suspect it’s also got to do with a perception amongst many that events will run themselves, and people will attend no matter what. So sharing the event information is perhaps a secondary concern.
It shouldn’t be, though. Getting the event details out to people is the most important part of making sure they attend. They let them know if the event needs anything (like prizes) or if there are any details that would necessitate changing their plans or schedules (like certain parts of an event being held on certain days). Our kingdom is small, but traveling from one end to the other can be four to five hours, and that requires logistical planning – especially when one has commitments for their job, life, etc to work around.
Now, is there a perfect way to get everything to everyone? No. There’s always going to be someone who complains about not seeing event listings, no matter the location they’re at. But we shouldn’t say ‘well, this hasn’t been used or worked properly for awhile’ and move to a service that limits access to it.
At the very least – having complete information on the Kingdom’s website means that anyone can pull it up and look at all the information they may want or need. Email has the advantage of being able to be filtered so it can be received and viewed as desired. Facebook is going to be the choice for many, so I’m not saying we abandon it entirely, merely make sure it’s used equally with other options to ensure that the information gets to everyone equally.
So, I swear, this isn’t dead. It’s been a weird second half of the year, but I have at least completed some things that I’m pleased with. My Laurel was Queen, so that meant a chunk of brain energy was diverted there, but at least I got some work done. Did her Queen’s Grace scrolls, and worked on clothing for various people, as well as turned out some naalbinding. Must do more naalbinding.
I also went for Kingdom Arts and Sciences Champion. It was… Oh, let’s not lie – it was an unqualified disaster. For a variety of reasons. However, I’m really glad that I did it – even if it means that there’s now a larger plan in the works for the 2019 competition. One sort of started over dinner the night of the competition and that I won’t regret as much (even if the book I’m eying for the matter is currently pushed back for the second printing).
I’m actually pleased with the documentation that was submitted, though – so I’ll be posting that in the next few weeks.
The highlight, though, was that I returned to my first love of SCA art. Lampwork. Gods, that’s so much fun…
And now, the Estrella prep continues.
Atenveldt Coronation is done and behind us, which is good. My laurel, Ian’ka, and her husband, Ivan, stepped up as Queen and King, and so things were pretty busy. When it’s members of your household who are reigning, things are always mostly on.
Okay, really busy. But we made them work and it came together really well. And then I ditched my household at Champions to hit the Iris van Herpen show at the Phoenix Art Museum, which was very much worth it.
Anyway, back to the art and projects. Somewhere in the middle of all of the madness, I decided that I’d like to start making a list of things that I’d finished. After all, it really wasn’t much, right? Last year, I was horrible about making things and getting them finished. The weasels were breeding, and I needed to find a way to help counter them.
It ended up being a pleasant surprise, because so far, here’s what I’ve made this year.
In an effort to make sure I’m talking about more than the actual art I make, and also about process, let’s talk about brain weasels. (which, incidentally, are what’s kept this post in draft form for too long!)
Anyone who thinks there is little of anything but joy in art really has no experience in the field. Yes, it can be fun and rewarding and relaxing and enjoyable, but it’s never always that way. Ever.
Brain weasels (a term I first heard from a dear friend) are a general blanket term/idea for those ideas that sabotage being able to complete work.
(there have been a few edits made for clarity)
I’ve been thinking for some time about what the criteria of a laurel are. Mostly because that’s the path that I’m on, and I feel like having a clear-cut goal is a really good thing. A standard that you can reach to feel as if you’ve made it, and be pleased with yourself.
That out of the way, my criteria are simple: could you have made a living, in-period, out of your work. Put another way (thanks, Wolf!) – ‘would people in period spend the money they need on food on what you make/do?’
I am aware that this is perhaps rather strict, and a narrow definition, but hear me out.
I tend to view my year as Estrella to Estrella. It gives me a nice, solid, easy, timeline that I can follow and helps to make sure that my projects are completed completely in time for when they’re needed. (At least in theory.)
(This is almost a month after war – I am well aware of that fact. But I’ve been both busy and getting some things taken care of, and the Plaurican is now off at Gulf, so… yeah.)
Absolutely nothing was done by me at War. Seriously. It was *excellent*, and while I feel kind of guilty, it was also exactly what I needed here. The brain is still in a state of flux (I’ve learned – though experience and lots of professional help) and so that’s also been the cause of the laziness. Sort of letting everything reset, and realizing it was good.
So, anyway – I ended up spending a large chunk of time hanging out with people I like, talking art and food, my A&S plans, and A&S in this kingdom (and others) in general. I’ve got a rough idea of what I want to do over the next year and some things that I want to put into place. I’m going to try and make myself remember to write about those and work on setting into motion.
So this is just a check-in post, really. A reminder that I’m here, and that I do have work I need to do and plans to fulfill. For now, though… I’ve got a naalbound hat to finish.
It’s been awhile, for those of you who are interested, hasn’t it?
I haven’t been lazy, however! Just working on projects that weren’t my own. The big things were that the husband got Plauricaned (what we’ve determined the combination of Pelican and Laurel on the same day is), and that went mostly swimmingly, and I’ve spent the last few weeks living and breathing the stepping down clothing for Ailgheanan and Amber, who just stepped down as King and Queen of Atenveldt, with a side-trip down the land of a cap of maintenance for a friend’s Pelican elevation.
That last one will get an update when I redo some aspects of the cap. I want to talk construction more in-depth in reverse. It’s modern, all things considered, but I do like it.
This brings us to where we go from here. I really should keep up the momentum and work on things, considering that I took a few days off to completely reset and do absolutely nothing but snuggle the pugs and watch shit on YouTube.
Major fall/winter plans (that don’t include finishing up projects I already have) are:
(note – parts of this post are taken from documentation i wrote some time ago for arts and sciences competition entry. dear gods, i need to work on my writing! if anyone is interested in the full text, though it’s not much longer, let me know!)
Naalbinding can be described as the precursor to knitting, and is the art of knotting or looping fiber together to create usually an article of clothing. I promised Dom a pair of socks years ago, and while there’s a story involving one pair, Mammen stitch, and not putting them on properly… he’s never gotten a set.
Well, if this isn’t a time to make them, I don’t know what is?
When the husband was offered his peerages, a good friend told me something to the effect of I’d get a crash course in project management. I laughed, agreed with her, and didn’t think much about it.
But she’s far from wrong. As I’ve learned. Am learning. And am probably causing the laurel and at least on auxiliary laurel to have headaches.
So, project management, let’s talk that. To oversimplify it’s the art of making sure that everything is done and done on time. In this case, that means coordinating clothing, items of regalia, people for the ceremony, stuff for the plaurican party (location/help/food), and whatever random things show up and get thrown at us. It’s the matter of moving things from one spot to another, and making sure that everything gets done on time.
The biggest thing with this is that I had to realize I couldn’t do it myself. That doing it myself wasn’t even close to sensible and that I needed to step away from the start and delegate. I’ve also had to realize that maybe my initial plans of doing three things counted as a bit ambitious. (Well, more that it was doable, but my sanity may not be.) Mercifully, I have SCA family that will help. It’s not in the least possible to have done this without them, and without the occasional text of ‘oh my gods, could you do this?!’
This post is a placeholder of sorts. It’s a reminder that I need to do a few posts about the projects I’m working on for this, and how things are going.
And now, back to the grindstone for me!
The Viking Apprentice 