Phoenix Feathers

Bonus generational points if you get the title reference.  Someone on the SCA scribes group recently asked what folks work spaces looked like so it's time for some studio pictures.  One of the requirements of buying our house was that my lord needed his own office and I needed my own studio space. Scribing is - by no means - the only art I work on and so having space where projects can get laid out, left out, and worked on without interference from furry felines or the rest of the world is extremely important for me.  This first one is my main work space.  It's a little cluttered looking here but mostly that's poor lighting as it's late afternoon in these pictures. This is my central desk with light coming in from a side window, an overhead fan light, and a desk lamp. I also have an ott lite that isn't shown here. Love the rolling chair and the laminate wood flooring (great for spills).   The phoenix on the wall was painted by me and is a stylized design given

There's an interesting phenomenon I sometimes encounter in the SCA - and in the mundane world as well - wherein the idea of self-satisfaction has been completely removed from the individual and placed upon others. This sometimes plays off mildly with moments of cranky and sometimes seems to lead to intense dissatisfaction with almost everything. There are two key facets to this I've been contemplating.  The first is that someone else doing something they enjoy does not reduce or depreciate the thing you enjoy.  We all have vastly different interests and its important that we give ourselves - and our populace - the opportunity to pursue those interests.   Events do better when they are open to any number of those interests and offer activities that hit more than one area. We've seen this again and again with "specific" events that cater to only one subsection which then do substantially better if other interest areas are pulled in in various ways (Art Sci and Sco

This one's a bit rambling but is something I'm contemplating. Courtesy tends to be a double edged sword. We seek it as a laudable quality but the practitioners of it who value it the most are sometimes then caught by it as we try to maintain it around those are acting discourteously. I have a pretty strong stance on addressing issues of rudeness or discourteous behavior. I am strongly in the camp of "if it's not addressed it will continue to happen" but I struggle with how best to do this, both as a person and as a peer.  There is, in the end, no one right answer I suppose which is why its something we always struggle with.  I have realized I don't like the internet for these purposes - FB and email and other electronic forums lack the force of having a face to back an opinion and make it easy for arguments to spiral out of control with name calling and commentary, often from parties who have nothing to do with the original problem.  On the other hand, d

I've been painting with period replicated materials (or as close to it) for the last few years now, not all the time, but certainly for various bits of research or commission work or what not.  I generally also try to extend that to other areas of interest; at the moment that happens to be embroidery but the extension applies to most of my crafts and arts at this point. There's often a question of *why* I do this, particularly when I clearly have no aversion to modern materials and in fact get quite a kick out of using many of them (3-D plastic pens? awesome.) The answer to this was never clear to me until recently.  Part of it is simply because I *should* as a re-enactor and studier of history and, more recently, as a laurel.  But that was never really what got me hooked on period materials, their complexity, the endless variations and books. It didn't hit me really or really gel until recently when the husband and I took a trip to London. On a side trip to Glastonbu

I was actually all set to write this before this weekend and had been pondering it since several moments and discussions at the Bay Area demo. Then my entire weekend rather stood on its head by my elevation being announced at court and its taken me a few more days to really be able to articulate this concept. The peer like quality of helping others be better people. Not many people really mention this as a peer like quality. I suppose it might fall under courtesy or chivalry or grace but I prefer to think of it in more in this mundane phrasing because it is, to me, the main purpose of peers. Yes there is advisement to the crown and teaching and service and inspiration and leadership and a bunch of organizational fu but it really struck me that all of that lends back to the purpose of helping people be better. Maybe it's the teacher in me but this concept is pretty darn important to me. Sometimes it happens by simple leadership by example - providing a good model for behavio

Please note that this post is me mulling over concepts rather than stating "this is what it takes to be a peer" or even establishing that I have mastered any of this. I'm always hesitant to open this topic as it sometimes gets seen as pretension but it's not meant in that spirit in the least. I have been quietly mulling this concept over for the better part of a year, ever since James and I first heard the "it just takes time," expression from several peers. It was not meant as a criticism of ourselves - which we realize - but was just part of the conversation surrounding this topic.  We both have very open and healthy dialogue's with our own peers and are comfortable with our actions and the joyful path we are on. We're both - myself more than him - A type personalities, however, so we do better with stated goals and concrete expectations than we do with nebulous statements. I am certainly not the only protege/apprentice in that wagon either. I