Student Token

Broach made for my student Aibhilin

Necklace for Kelly

necklace made for my friend kelly in requested heraldic colors.

Bead Furnace at Atlantian Royal Easement (Pennsic)

Tinker, Irene, and I had a lot of fun making period furnaces at Atlantia's Artisans Easement at Pennsic this year!! Thank you Atlantia!

Below are a few photos of the furnace built by Tinker that I used to made beads. 

Volcano style bead furnace. This was build around a basket with a small hole cut in the top, and another small hole cut in the side as a bellows port. The clay mixture used was Irene's recipe-- two parts ball clay, two parts sand, and one part peat moss. As you can see, there was some cracking, but we patched it up with clay as we went along.

The channel on the side is likely not necessary. We used it to add in some coal, but dropping it in from the top was easier in the end. We had also hoped that the channel would help create more of a draft, making it possible to use the furnace with no bellows, Tinker read about another furnace design where this worked. However, that furnace was MUCH bigger. Our small furnace did not work this way.

In the future, we could create a removable clay lid with a narrowed top to make adding coal in even easier. I have seen an image of a furnace like this online in the past.

We also did not create a base of clay. The basket was placed directly onto the paving stone, but as the clay dried, it pulled up from the stone somewhat, causing a bit of air to escape from the bottom. 

Making a bead.

Adding and marvering in dots.

Second layer of dots

Final layer of dots.

Completed evil eye bead

Cute picture of me using the furnace!

Demonstrating for an audience!

Having Fun Cooking Lunch!
You can also see Irene's furnace in the background.
Her's uses a beehive shape.  The other two use more of a volcano shape.

********

A few pictures of Tinker making her portable furnace. This one was not used at Pennsic, but it was built to showcase the process. I made this type of furnace with Erica a few months ago using Tinker's instructions (see previous blog post). I can't find my photos of the making of the furnace, so I've included these here below for reference.

Creation of Portable Bead Furnace

In April Erica and I made a portable bead furnace using a handout from Keely Tinker of the Mid (this post has a few pictures of Tinker making the furnace at Pennsic). 

Marion and Thomas let us use their yard and workshop. Below are some pictures of us making the bead furnace and using it. Video of us using the furnace is also included below. 

Drilling several rows of holes in a large food can. Screws were inserted halfway into the holes and acted as rebar to hold clay that was applied to the inside and outside of the can.

To make the furnace we used the same basic clay mixture we used at Pennsic last year (see previous blog post) but with the addition of one part straw. We used the kiln over this weekend, and at two other SCA events, before it started to crack, and then, only slightly.

The finished kiln. A large hole was drilled and a small pipe fitting inserted for the bellows. We used an air mattress pump. The hole should be slightly higher, as we ended up getting a build up of ash inside it. We can fix that next time.

Cowboy brand hardwood charcoal was used as the fuel source. We had to add coal after making one or two beads, but overall, the furnace worked well.

Finished beads. We used 132 Coe glass. We did make one or two beads, not shown with 104 COE glass. It worked, but the 132 was much easier and faster to work with, as it was softer and melted at a lower temperature.

VIDEO

Making a Bead 

Making a Bead With Dots 

Pulling Stringer 

Making a bead with stringer 

mandala beads

Naomi's Laurel Medalionchain

This medallion is different from the others i've made as it has two layers (ivory and yellow) for the laurel leaves.

Chain is size adjustable. I got the idea for the decorative S's from a modern metalworking book.

Necklace based on Birka Grave 1081

Photo of Original 

Note: A better photo is available through the Swedish History Museum at http://historiska.se ,I just cant find it at this exact moment.

Edit: Museum Search Page: http://mis.historiska.se/mis/sok/sok.asp?qtype=f&page=4

Necklace Museum Page: http://mis.historiska.se/mis/sok/fid.asp?fid=363879
Föremål 363879. SHM 34000:Bj 1081

Numbered List of Birka Graves: http://mis.historiska.se/mis/sok/birka.asp?sm=10_7&page=6&zone=&mode=

A&S Display Gulf Wars

Alesone was kind enough to take my display from K&Q's A&S to Gulf Wars. Images from the display are below.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/birdvoyeur/sets/72157666233620132

I received a few pieces of useful feedback such as:

---talk about bead release both historically and related to glass bead experiments
---modify what I say about period v.s. modern glass to be more clear about how similar the two are, and where the differences are.

I will have to update my documentation to reflect these ideas.

However, the judges also thought that I had too much documentation and that I should have only entered one bead string; that 3 bead strings was overkill.They also said that it was interested to see how things were done in the East. Now, I'm not aware I'm following an "eastern A&S model." My entry was specifically crafted for the Artifacts of a Life event, and for an A&S Champions event, both which called for more than one item to be included in the entry. I think this might be an instance of interesting "inter kingdom anthropology." It would be interesting to learn more about how A&S in the East differs from A&S elsewhere. I think other kingdoms have more strictures or structure to their A&S activities.

K&Q A&S 2016 (Queens Champion & My Elevation Ceremony)

On February 6th, 2016, I became both queens champion and was elevated to the order of the Laurel after my vigil at that same event.  It was a very good day!

I've posted a few pictures from the day, as well as links to my documentation below!

My A&S Display

-East Kingdom Gazette Article About King and Queens Arts and Sciences Champions
-Documentation for Kings and Queens Arts and Sciences 2016
-Supplemental Documentation on Early Period Bead Making

Being called into court after winning Queens Champion

Being presented with the Queens A&S Champion's regalia

Giving back my protege apron to my peer

Having Aibhilin (my student) present me with a bead string she made as part of my regalia

Swearing Fealty

Being presented at the end of my ceremony

Photo of me getting my writ on Dec. 12, 2016. I had made my first bead on Oct 2, 2012, and one of the people who helped me make that bead is standing right behind me.

Tokens

Modern beads given out to be used as tokens for the SCA. Lots of fun with dots. Based off of modern beads I found while looking on places like etsy.

Modern Necklace

Anglo Saxon Sword/Amulet Beads

Below are large Anglo Saxon sword (and amulet) beads that I gave away at Mudthaw. These are all likely larger than a quarter (20-25 mm across). And even then they are smaller than the period examples. Below is some really quick research on sword beads, including links to where I got the info for the designs.

• In Anglo Saxon graves some large disc beads are found that are "distinguishable from the beads of normal size" found in graves. (Evison 2008)
• Female Gaves:(Evison 2008)
• "When found with other beads at the neck of a female grave, it is assumed that the function was the same as that of other beads, i.e. decoration with possible magical properties."
• "If found at the left hip in a container with other objects, it is possible that it was functional as a spindle whorl."
• Male Graves: (Evison 2008).When found "in connection with a sword it may  be regarded as a sword bead"
• "to be used with the 'peace strings' (note: what does this mean, is it like peace tying a sword at the Ren. faire?)
• "or perhaps it was believed to have healing properties"
• swords "occurred in only a small percentage of male graves"  -meaning the number of sword beads found in small
• The beads are most of, and first, made of glass ) but can also be made form other materials, such as amber, bone, crystal  (Evison 2008, Evison 1967)
• The beads are "almost always found at a distance of about six inches from the pommel, they almost always occur singly, and are never interlinked (Evison 1967).
• "The beads appear to be functionless as far as the working of the sword is concerned. But "a utilitarian purpose cannot be ruled out" as the beads were "found close to the sword-blade, a few inches below the grip." Because "this is the usual position for the attachment of a strap to the scabbard" it is possible "that a beads was sometimes used for the passage of a strap so that [the sword] could be drawn up tightly and firmly against the scabbard." Evison 1967).
• "May have magical significance in view of the fact that some of the materials of which they were made are knows to have been widely valued for their magical prop (Evison 1967).
• "it is not known precisely how these beads were attached to the sword." One bead was found "with a leather thong still attached and passing under the top of the scabbard. A metal scabbard mouth fitting is the obvious place for fixing it, and a number of such mounts are provided with a small buckle, projecting plate, or a perforated lug on the lower edge at the back....the fact that the perforation was on the lower side of the mount.... is in favor of it being intended for something suspended, such as a bead" (Evison 1967).

 The catalog at the end of Evison 1967 lists some of the following types of sword beads beads found in English graves:

• Green glass bead, diam 1 1/4 in.
• Very dark olive-green translucent glass disc bead, opaque yellow zigzag trail, diam 2.8cm.
• Amber disc, one with a diam. of 2.2 cm, another measuring 2.8 found in a different grave.
• Yellow glass bead (no measurements given)
• Cylindrical glass bead, with red, yellow and green reticella threads, diam 2.8cm
• Large glass bead, disc with zigzag trail in sunflower estrangement (no colors or measurements given)
• Bluish-green glass disk with red trails cable-fashion on circumfrence (no measurements given)
• Translucent mid-green glass disc, with white zigzag trails, diam 3.5 cm
• Black glass bead, one side flat, the other convex, white trails in five-petal shape, diam 4.3cm
• Oval black glass bead, light-blue crossing trails and red dots, diam 2.5cm

 Tillerman beads has a nice list of amulet and sword beads, with grave citations that they reproduce. I copied a bunch of their designs for the beads pictures above, using one or two designs from the source cited above.

This may be a resource to look into later to learn more about the social meaning of such things in Anglo-Saxon society: Meaney, A. (1981). Anglo-Saxon Amulets and Curing Stones, British Archaeological Reports, 96.




Sources: 
Evison 2008: https://www.britishmuseum.org/pdf/0%20Prelims.pdf 
Evison 1967: http://www.amazon.com/Dover-Ring-Sword-Other-Sword-Rings-Archaeologia/dp/0854310614 (Mostly from pages 2-4 of this long document, with a catalog list of sword beads on pages 81-84, and drawings of beads in figure 2-p. 105, figure 3-p. 106)

Viking Beads

Beads given to be part of a viking beaded necklace.

Silver Crescent Necklace

Like the necklace I made for Ysmay upon stepping down as Bhakail's A&S champion, this chain is based on a Roman chain, the design for which I learned at Pennsic during a class. A link to a museum photo of a Roman wire wrapped chain can be found here. 

Silver Wheel Award Medalion

Silver Wheel Award Medallion

Notes for a class

Below are some notes that I will use as a quick introduction to 2 hour hands on demo/workshop.

GLASS HISTORY

·        The first beads were made 80-100,000 years ago. They were made of simple natural materials, such as shells, seeds, or bone.

·        However, early humans did know what glass was, as it can be formed naturally when its basic raw materials are exposed to great heat, through volcanic activity or lighting strikes on beaches. Early humans used obsidian (volcanic glass) to make tools, weapons, and jewelry. Glassy slags are also formed in cremation fires, and in furnaces and kilns when metals or ceramics are being fired.

·        Man  made glass and glass beads developed around 3,000 BCE in Mesopotamia, later spreading to Egypt. The development of the bellows during that time perhaps enabled glass technology, which requires high heat.

·        Ancient glass has the same basic components as does one of the most popular types of glass used by bead makers today, silica, soda (a flux to lower the melting point of silica), and lime (calcium to harden the glass).

o   [silica melts at 3,092 F. [1,700 C.] adding flux allows glass to melt at a significantly lower temperature, about 2,372 F. [1,300 C.]

·        Glass made from these ingredients will naturally be slightly colored (often a light green) due to metal impurities in the sand 

·        Over time, people started to experiment with adding metals (such as Iron, Cobalt, Copper, Tin, and others) to glass to purposefully create color.

SOCIAL MEANING OF GLASS BEADS

Bead may seem like pretty, but inconsequential items. However, that could not be further from the truth. 
Throughout history beads have been traded far and wide, used as religious or spiritual talismans to protect the wearer, and served as symbolic indicators of social rank.  
Like all objects of adornment, beads have a significance that is unspoken, but very real, and which could be read by the people who wore them.

HOW GLASS BEADS ARE MADE

Glass beads can be made in many ways, but the method we will be demonstrating is called Winding. As you will see shortly, this method involves the use of a metal rod, called a mandrel today, around which the glass is "wound" 
What we are teaching you is called Flameworking, the use of a gas powered torch to melt the glass that is used to create beads. 
 It evolved from Lampworking, which began in Venice during the late middle ages (15th c). Lampworking uses a blowpipe to force air into the flame from an oil lamp to make beads. The blow pipe would increase the heat of the flame enough to melt the glass. 
In the early middle ages, glass beads were made either over an open hearth, or in a wood fueled furnace. 

SOCIETY PERIOD CULTURES WHO MADE BEADS

·        There are many cultures and time periods to choose from if you are interested in making historic beads.

·        A few cultures whose glass beads I have researched and made are: Phoenician, Roman, Anglo-Saxons, Early Irish, Merovingian, and Scandinavian. I have also done a bit of research on Islamic glass beads (a very generic term for beads made in the middle east from  600-1400 b.c.e).

·        I have a book which has pictures of beads from these different cultures.

Necklace for HRM

I was asked to make a necklace for HRM to wear at Birka. The necklace was to go with a dark red
viking dress and it was part of an outfit that I was told many people were contributing to.

Inspiration Images: 1, 2

Pictures of two projects

Tokens made for high table at this year's River Wars. There were a total of 12.

Pennsic (fencing field) dirt beads. Transparent dark green glass with opaque green frit rolled in Pennsic dirt.

Videos of Turkish Beadmakers

These two videos were posted to the blog of Lady Isibel inghean ui Bheollain (of the Middle Kingdom). I had not come across these videos before, so I was excited when I saw her post them. One of the authors I've read who talks about evidence fr bead making at the Scandinavian marketplace of Ribe (Torben Sode) also wrote articles talking about what can be learned for modern bead makers who practice more traditional bead making techniques. One of the countries he studied, was, I believe, Turkey. Links to the videos and some notes I took are below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao7h3Z2W7Yc
-mentions using Pine as a wood source. This reminds me to investigate the BTU's of various woods (which several people discussed with me at Artifacts of a Life). Where does pine fit in here.
-they use broken, recycled glass.
-the beadmakers are male in this video and the other. This  video showed teenage boys (reminding me that what we do for fun, others do to make a living), the other grown men. Were men more likely to be the bead makers in period? Something I read a while ago discussed how historically when crafts are commercialized, men do them, but when they based around or in the home, women do them.
-the video noted that this was taught and passed down through the generations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emSU2sYDMNs
-the audio in this one is not in English, but it has better visuals of the bead making than the other. A good place to start watching is 3:00.
---he preheats 2 metal rods, one straight, one hooked at the end
---he winds the glass onto the one rod by dipping in the pot of melted glass (can't actually see inside the furnace)
---uses the hooked end of the other to pick up small bit of glass and press it into the base bead
---marvels with a thicker and slightly flat rod.
---then hits the mandrel a few times outside the furnace to loosen and remove the bead (no bead release is used!)
-Also, something strange. At 1:45- there are beads in side in the side of the kiln. Why? Broken? Annealing?


Additional Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhqArDha1qE  -posted by Tinker to facebook on 5/18/2017

Drawn Glass Beads

After watching a live streaming demonstration from Corning where two glassblowers made drawn glass beads, I wanted to try to make a drawn glass bead myself on a smaller scale using a hollow mandrel I had as a blow pipe, just to see if I could do it. Below are two beads that I made. 

The first time I tried do do this, I blew to hard and shattered the bubble. Luckily, I got a feel for how hard to blow the bubble after I messed up the first time. I was able to get a small length of drawn glass, enough to make one or two beads from.  This worked as long as I did not pull the walls to thin. If the walls of the bead were too thin, I could not cut the bead using my glass nippers, because the glass would shatter. To properly finish the above beads, I would also need to file the ends ends flat. I'm not quite sure how some of this would be done in period, particularly how the beads were cut and polished in period, but, one book that I've seen before that talks about how drawn beads were made, which I could acquire use as a reference to learn more is Asia's Martime Bead Trade.

Because I'm working with such small amounts of glass, this method would never be efficient to make beads in any number, but, I have seen modern lampworkers make modern ornaments and pendants by blowing glass.

My first unsuccessful attempt to blow glass.

The successful creation of a bubble of blown glass. To create this bubble,
I wrapped glass around the end of my hollow mandrel in a way that is a bit similar to
making a hollow bead. I then added more glass to the outside before blowing.
Lesson Learned: do not coat the hollow mandrel in bead release.
The bead release cracked twice and I lost my bubble of glass.

The length of glass I drew out from a bubble of glass similar to the one pictured above.
I did this by attaching a punty to the other end of the bubble and pulling,
much like I do when making cane to decorate beads with.