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.

Artifacts of a Life

The purpose behind the Artifacts of a Life A&S competition was

Me at Artifacts of a Life

to create several A&S items that were all tied to a specific time period and context. I began planning for  this event as soon as it was announced. I knew I wanted to create an Anglo-Saxon glass bead necklace and connect the necklace to the person who would have worn it. While I was searching for an artifact to recreate, I came across a photograph, found on the Pintrest board of another SCA bead maker, of a necklace in a museum. Using the reference on the card, I ordered the archaeological report form my library, and started working on the necklace. I added two smaller bead strings from that archaeological report to my project, as multiple artifacts were required for the event.

Pintrest museum photo.

Below are some pictures of my display, and a link to my documentation can be  found here.


The event was great! Talking to the judges and the people who stopped by was great. Seeing some of my friend enter as well was great! And I liked that a bunch of us wore clothing connected to our entries. You can see me in my first attempt at Anglo-Saxon garb above. The main feedback I got from judges this time around was a suggestion about my display. Some pictures of the display are below. Basically, I think I want to have each string displayed singly, rather than on the board in imitation of the picture from the archaeological report. I want people to be able to pick up the beads strings. And I want to make the pictures of me wearing the strings larger so they are more evident and make more of an impact. This is something to work on before K&Q A&S in February.

photo of my display

photo of my display

I was privileged to take a very very close first prize in the "traditional" category. I was also honored with a token by the Baroness of BBM.

An account of the event can be found on the EK Gazette

Pennsic Recap

This Pennsic was a very A&S filled year!

1. A&S War Point
I never thought that I would get to participate in a war point, so I was very happy to have had the opportunity to be involved in this one! Happily the East/Mid won the A&S point, and I came in the top three artisans on the East/Mid side. A very good day and a great experience. I hope the war point happens again next year.

Article from the EK Gazette about the war point.

2. A&S Display

3. Artisan's Village
I participated in both the peace week and war week glass Artisan's Village again this year.

4. Classes
Of the 3 classes I taught, all seemed to go well. I taught Recreating Historic Beads as a Beginner for the second time this year. I fixed an issue from last year, where I had too many separate handouts, something with made the class a little disjointed. I reworked my handouts so I only had 3 this year, and the flow of the class felt better.

The class on Reproducing Glass Beads Using Archaeological Reports was an expansion of a previous class. I added in information about how to find these resources based on feedback from my peer, and it was exactly what the class needed, I think. The attendees seemed to find value in it, and I know at least two people who I talked to came because they were having research problems with a specific project they were doing.

The last class Recreating Anglo-Saxon Glass Beads was one I taught for the first time, and it was my first hands on class.  The 45 minute lecture at the start on Anglo-Saxon beads was well received, and made the class useful for those who were not able to secure one of the hands on spaces. It was nice to be able to use the research and documentation I conducted for A&S competitions to teach a class. However, I learned the most from teaching the hands on portion of the class 1) people of widely varying skill levels will attend this class. I had people who just learned to make a bead at Pennsic and people who were intermediate bead makers both in the class. I was prepared for varying skill levels, but I didn't think I'd get brand new bead makers in the class! 2) Get extra helpers or a co-teacher! There ended up being 8 set ups for people to use to make beads, which was more than I thought I would have. This was great, as more people could take the hands on part of the class, but it also meant that I had to help more people at the same time. Luckily, Erica was there and graciously agreed to help, as did another advanced glass bead maker who attended the class. 3) I think that next time I will choose just a few few beads (each of a different skill level) for people to reproduce, rather than letting them choose any bead from Brugmann's book to work on.  I will also demo those beads before letting people play. This way I can focus a bit more on teaching people how to really look at the bead, considering its shape, color, measurements, etc. before recreating it. I talked about this a bit during the lecture, but did not demo it.

SRWC_2015

Another artisan's row style demonstration! Aibhilin jointly demonstrated with me the entire time, and Druetta joined us during the last hour.

We had a few people make a bead for the first time, but the highlight was demonstrating for several young children, and then letting them pick a bead from my stash to take with them. They were so serious and deliberative in their choices! Aibhilin again brought ribbon again to string the beads on, which I think is a great idea.

The main lesson for the day is always tie down the ez-up, as towards the end of the demonstration it tried to escape over the roof of the building!

Also- I entered the firebrick bead kiln documentation (with pictures) based on the experiments Aibhilin, Bruni, and I did into the populace choice competition, where it won!  So, go us :)

Thoughts on additional feedback from K&Q's

After talking with one of my judges at K&Q's I received some additional feedback about what those judging me would have liked to see more of. I was told that the judges would have liked to see more information about "WHY" such as "Why those colors?" or "Why those styles."  I have started researching these questions and putting together thoughts that I already had on this topic regarding Anglo-Saxon beads specifically as this question likely needs to be focused on a particular time period/location in order to answer it well. This information can be added to my already existing documentation on the Social Significance of Anglo-Saxon beads, which talks about what beads signified in Anglo-Saxon society with regards to gender, wealth, and trade connections.

While I'm sure I will find some answers, these may not be easy questions to answer completely. One article about viking beads written by an experimental archeologists states that answers to these same questions are hard to figure out: "Nor has it been possible to find experimentally whether there was any reason behind the use for particular colors at Ribe. When red, white, and yellow are often used to decorate blue beads, but not the other way around, is it only a matter of fashion , or are there good technological reasons? (Gam, Prehistoric Glass Technology, 1990)

I've ordered some books from the library on Anglo-Saxon art, gender in Anglo-Saxon society, Anglo-Saxon color words and color classification, and I plan to look back through some of my older resources to see if there are answers to these questions that I missed. I also talked with the art librarian at the university where I work to get some advice on where to look for information like this.

Some scattered initial thoughts after an hour or two of searching are typed up below:

--Some initial research using the Grove Art Online Database gave me the idea that I will have to look at works on Migration period art (instead of Anglo-Saxon art)

--Polychromy as a design aesthetic/style was mentioned in connection to Anglo-Saxon and Migration period art. An entry on Anglo-Saxon sculpture notes that "much stone carving was painted in accordance with the Anglo-Saxon taste for bright and shining decoration." Another entry on wall painting notes that "Taken together with the similarly increasing evidence for painted sculpture, textiles, window glass and colored tiles, a much clearer idea of the polychromy of Anglo-Saxon buildings is now possible (Grove Art Online)

---One issue that I already have found will make this type of research a bit difficult is that glass beads are not considered by many academics to be important, and thus will likely not be discussed in general books on art of the period. One brief dictionary entry found in the Grove Art Online database notes that "the invading Angles, Saxons, Jutes, and possibly Frisians settled all over lowland England....and little of artistic interest survives from these years. However, missions of the 6th and 7th centuries encouraged a conversion to Christianity which led to the construction of stone buildings and crosses and the production of liturgical books, vessels, and vestments." (The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms). This period where nothing of "artistic interest" lies is precisely when the beads I'm studying woudl have been made. As Christianity spread, Anglo-Saxons stopped burring people with grave goods, and it is from these graves that most of the Anglo-Saxon beads have been found. An article from the British Museum called "Decoding Anglo-Saxon art" also does not talk about glass beads, focusing instead on the metalwork of the period.

-- Some comments that I have seen being made about about the artistic style of the period would be hard to apply to glass beads. The article from the British Museum called "Decoding Anglo-Saxon art"  states that: "The early art style of the Anglo-Saxon period is known as Style I and was popular in the late 5th and 6th centuries. It is characterized by  what seems to be a dizzying jumble of animal limbs and face masks....such designs reveal the importance of the natural world, and it is likely that different animals were thought to hold different properties and characteristics that could be transferred to the object they decorated."  I have not seen any animal bead sculptures from Anglo-Saxon contexts (though I have seen much earlier Phoenician animal beads). The complexity of the designs pictured on the metalwork is not imitated in any way that I can see on Anglo-Saxon beads.

--Art books and sources do mention stained glass, but not glass beads.

Some scattered thoughts on this topic that I had based on previous research I've done are listed below

--blue was in one case associated with lower wealth graves. and that a lot of beads, especially early on are blue/green (which could be because the metals for those colors are easily available??). Glass w/o color will be tinted green due to iron impurities.

--A/S bead styles grew in some regards out of roman designs and were influenced heavily by Merovingian color/design choice (review Brugmann)

--I wonder if some basic design choices were made because well, these are the things you can do with this craft...lines, dots etc. Combining and recombining very basic designs. Some bead "types" even just have squiggles on them, pointing to skill as a factor in design.

--Maybe it has to do with what basic colors contrast well to the eye.

--Annular Twist beads may imitate metalwork in their design, as might Irish interlace beads. A quote on p. 66 of the book Color and Culture  (John Gave, p. 63)" states that the "interlace" on "irish manuscripts" "seems to derive largely from metalwork"
 
--yellow and red beads can be linked to Germanic fashion for gold and garnet jewelry. See documentation from my first bead. Also see Grove Art Online "techniques...were augmented in this early period by the technique of garnet inlay adopted from Frankish jewelers" (6th c) "In the kingdom of Kent greater access to resources has encouraged the development of more lavish and spectaculars forms of ornament. Particularly striking is the use of garnet, shell, colored glass and niello to create polychrome effects."(7th c)

K&Q A&S

Link to Combined Documentation

K&Q A&S was a very good day. I finished in the top 6, and received a Golden Lyre in court for my entry!

I also had a lovely conversation with Clare (Isabel Chamberlaine) the next morning, where we looked at the feedback on the score sheet, discussed the winning entries, and figured what next steps I might take to improve what I am doing. Some thoughts include:

1. Showing process better: I was not sure how to do that for this project, because I had already largely figured out many of the bead making/decorating skills I used to complete this project. However, even though that process is one I already completed, showing it with my A&S entries has value. Others can see what my process was, and showing my mistakes/failures may be useful for newer bead makers. Remembering what my process was like may also help me better teach these skills to others. I plan to make very brief documents that explain how I learned each decoration technique used in the next A&S project I complete. I will also include some of my first attempts/less than perfect beads with my display. My next project is a recreated Anglo-Saxon necklace, so I can also show process and depth by including the Anglo-Saxon typology in a display with that necklace, and linking the two projects. Eventually, I should even create my own period appropriate necklace, using what I learned form the typology and from recreating several existing Anglo-Saxon necklaces.

2. Arrange some information in my documentation & also my display more visually: I will focus on doing this first for the document "Consideration for Reproducing Historic Beads," as this document also talks somewhat about my process. Clare suggested using tables. Perhaps I can include some of the beads discussed in this document physically in my A&S display. Any other physical items I can include might be good (stringers/twisties perhaps?)

3. Focus on experimental archeology: Make beads using a fire/kiln. Also focusing on using period tools and period bead release. This is already something I was planning to do, but I will focus on documenting that process and including some of that documentation with every A&S project I do. Hopefully I can also include some beads made with period techniques in my display, even if they are not part of my actual project. While I will likely never be able to complete a large project using a period heat source, there is a lot more I can do and show people in this area.

The idea of doing ALL THESE THINGS seems overwhelming, but I just need to remember that everything does not have to happen at once. I have my work for the next year or so all planned out!

St. Eligius

So St. Eligius happened. It was a great day, but it also made me think, a lot!

I loved that fact that having to judge other entrants gave me the opportunity to spend  time with them and talk with them about their project. I was able to learn a lot more from this experience than I have in the past where I am a simply a spectator. The enthusiasm of my fellow competitors is also wonderful to see, and one of the joys of the SCA!

When talking about my work, I was able to teach a few people about how glass beads are made (both modernly and in period) using photos I've taken of me making and decorating glass beads. I'm going to continue to bring this document with me to competitions/displays, as it was useful and helped when people had questions. I was also able to talk to a few people who make beads themselves, or who know the Anglo-Saxon time period, which made this a great opportunity for me to learn as well!.

My entry for the "experienced" catagory. I won this catagory (just barely!), and also received the populace choice prize.

Finally, this was also my first time judging an A&S competition. Having had this experience, I like to think that now I will be much more understanding of those who  judge my entries in the future, because it is not an easy thing to do!! I found that I was not very comfortable judging the work of others, for a variety of reasons. I could not spend as long as I wanted to on each entrant's work, the environment we are judging in is very chaotic and not supportive of deep thinking, and not every entry fits neatly into the evaluation criteria we were given. All in all, I came away from my experience wishing that I could have done a much better job than I think I did. Perhaps having more conversations with people about judging will help. Perhaps I also just need more practice to get good at it. In the end, this is something that I will want to work on, so I can participate fully in A&S in our society.

Artisan's Progress Entry (I received the prize for this catagory as well)

Pennsic A&S

Artisans Row
There were two days of glass bead making at the Pennsic Artisan's Row this year. Below are pictures from the first day, where Bruni and I spent the whole day making beads, and where I got to share documentation with people!

Arts and Sciences Display

 

Bead Kiln
Using Bruni's extensive knowledge of pottery, and some research articles we found (particularly this one, and the citation mentioned in this online article), we made an experimental bead kiln. After talking with Bruni, I've included a few thoughts below, but hopefully we will get more written about this later!

From Bruni I learned about building with clay. We used coils, which was a common period method, and we scored the coils to get them to stick to each other better. The article listed above discussed another person's experimental bead kiln, where they used clay, straw, and sand. We included some straw and sand in our kiln, but not as much as the article suggested, so that is something to play with in the future. When making the hole in the side of the kiln to blow air into, we extended that small pipe into the center of the kiln. This was a suggestion made by a camp member, so that the kiln would heat evenly. During our previous try at kiln building, the side of the kiln with the air hole got hotter than the other side, and cracked.

We dried the kiln for several days before firing it. I learned that firing wet clay causes it to pop and shatter. Our bead kiln popped once or twice when we fired it (Pennsic was damp!), but it held up pretty well.  We added coal (with no lighter fluid). Once we got a fire going, we used an air mattress blower to increase the heat. This worked, and the kiln was able to soften the glass (which you see above).  It did not get as molten as when using a torch, but it was definitely soft, and that is enough. The air mattress blower worked to increase the heat of the kiln, but it was a definitely too strong (even holding it at a distance from the air hole). A bellows, or manual air pump would be better.

This is me trying to make a bead. Next time, adding more coal and letting the fire heat up for longer (as well as getting a more regular source of air flow into the kiln) might help get the glass a bit softer, making it easier to shape and work. I don't think the bead held onto enough heat to let me shape it much outside the kiln.

The finished bead. Coil marks are still visible, but they are also still visible on some extant beads I have seen. I had to use cutters to cut the piece if glass off the rod, as the kiln was not hot enough for me to flame cut the glass rod as I would do with a torch. If we can get the Kiln just a bit hotter, using a better air source and more coal, I think this will work well.

K&Q A&S 2014

I entered projects that I had displayed before, but I updated some of the documentation, particularly for my older projects, for this event. Below is the documentation as I entered it.

Buckland Documentation
Mucking Documentation
Castledyke Documentation

Title: Recreating a 6th century Frankish/Anglo-Saxon Bead

Link  to  Documentation: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B6FxAc78rj92VzJnY2pTaWpLbEk

Purpose: The goal of this project is to recreate a common early medieval Frankish bead found
both on the European continent and in Anglo-Saxon England. The original inspiration for this
project is the bead pictured above, but Appendix A contains multiple other images of similar
beads from both England and the continent. This style of bead was chosen because of its simple,
yet striking color combination, the interesting trade and cultural relationship it represents, and
because its creation required a specific skill set (working with stringer) that I was eager to learn.

Images: (Top) Bead from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, (Bottom) Reproduction bead