Block Printed Scrolls

Like many of us, I can suffer from a) chronic overcommitment and b) squirrel brain. What this means is that sometimes you end up committing to something that only sort of fits into your schedule and you also end up going down a rabbit hole that sprawls into places that you didn’t really expect. (you also take almost six months to write up the project, but details.)

This project was also known as:

– four types of paper available
– three types on ink
– three types of lino block
– two colors
– two types of clotheslines
– two styles of clothespins
– one CNC carver module
– two sacrificial dish scrubs from our sink
– one agonizing last-minute order of a press that needed to arrive the day before I ordered it 

Way more ideas. 

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Glass Beads for Calontir Clothing Challenge Prize/Queen of Doom

Cleaned and ready to go!

With glass, I firmly believe that you can’t completely fall in love with anything you make until it’s out of the kiln. It’s a sure fire way to curse your work, and part of why I love glass so much. Beads in particular fascinate me, and so when the Calontir Clothing Challenge opened up, I decided to make some to give as a prize. What follows is some more information for the Queen of Doom’s Prize.

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Handsewn Viking Clothing from Birka

The second of my 2019 Kingdom Arts and Sciences championship entries was clothing.

In the documentation, I make note of the fact that I am thinking about taking apart some of the overdress. That is currently taken apart and in the pile of things to do when I have the brain to do it. This whole Covid situation as rather sapped my will to work!

I must also thank Lady Dominique de la Mer, without whom my documentation would not be nearly as nicely worded.

 

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As with much of my life, pug stalkers are a think.

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Birka Gaming Pieces

When I planned for Kingdom Arts and Sciences 2019, I decided that I’d keep to a theme. For (something akin to) sanity, I decided on working with items from Birka. The following is my documentation for small glass gaming pieces based on finds from that site.

Looking back over it, I definitely need to work on the flow of my writing, and there are some changes I’d want to make. (I swear, when I talk about it, I sound less like a middle-schooler writing a paper.) The project is one that I’m pleased with, but definitely there’s room for improvement. I’m putting serious thought into getting a period-ish furnace up in my backyard as it cools, and then seeing how different it is there.

Of course, I could also just buy new ceramic sheets and use my hothead…

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Thoughts On the Standards for a Laurel

(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.

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Naalbound Socks!!

(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?

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