Why Is Art Important In The SCA?

Medieval art involved not creative freedom but subjection to rules. Some time after classical antiquity all period creations were done for God's glory. If that's the case how does art relate to you and me in the Society for Creative Anachronism? Especially since the organization is apolitical and nonreligious. Why is Art important in the SCA?
First, what is art? Art isn't easily defined as other things are like biology or math. For this post, I'll begin with the English Oxford Living Dictionary's definition.

The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.

A 16th-century diamond-point
 engraved glass I recreated.

Art then is a tangible medium using creative skills and imagination. In the Middle Ages, those were focused on God's beauty and power. How does that relate to us in the SCA now?

In the SCA today you recreate Medieval things to explore and search for answers about the original maker's skills and imagination. We don't create original works as art is defined today. We recreate.

Through recreation, you learn about the original item's artisan. Whether your chosen item was individually or communally made. Whether it was created for personal, communal, or political use. And the rules or laws they followed.

Recreating period items allows you a close, mindful look at its Medieval maker's creative ways and means. Their available techniques, materials and tools and how they were used. You also learn how your recreated item was used in their daily life.
I engraved this glass for an arts and sciences competition "East Mees West" at Calontir's coronation of Garick von Köpke and Yasamin al-Hadiyya September 11, 2004. Diamond-point engraved glass during the 16th century was often done by artisan's separate from a workshop. Stroke by stroke the tiny lines scratched acanthus patterns onto glass and so did I. The glassware would have been formed in Western Europe; the acanthus patterns originated in the Middle East. East meeting West.

Your Medieval art and science recreation is closer to today's realm of material culture study. It's analyzing period human-made or altered things.

Perhaps you didn't know you were doing material culture study when you decided to recreate that cool item your persona would have used. But it's all but labeled that way in the SCA's mission statement. 

...The SCA is devoted to the research and re-creation of pre-seventeenth century skills, arts, combat, culture, and employing knowledge of history to enrich the lives of participants ...

And the SCA's Minister of Arts and Sciences describes your art as one of the 

...crafts, skills, and technologies practiced in the time period and cultures that our studies cover. SCA participants [That's you.] research, study, and practice these skills and then share them with others. ...the costumes (garb) we wear, the armor used in combat, the scrolls presented in Court, and the recipes used for a feast, just to name a few.

Recreating gives you new ways of thinking and expressing what might not be understood through printed or spoken word alone. It connects something physical to a historic human experience. And it has the power to cross time, age, class, race or gender boundaries to communicate with strangers.

You don't have to consider or know any of this. Just recreate that cool period item. Make that art for fun. 

Related External Source:
New Member's Guide

Related Prior Post:
What's An Award Scroll's Purpose? 
The Scribal Yin Yang Puzzle 

Missing12th Night

I didn't plan to forgo 12th Night. I had handmade gifts for my Lonely Tower friends - lotion bars, lip balm, and chocolate dipped candy canes for their winter coffees. I had the Arts and Sciences competition things prepared and ready to go. Looking forward to my favorite winter holiday.

Sadly a serious out of town family emergency arose. A huge surprise. Now, what do I do?

I called my friend Honorable Lady Astrid and her immediate reply was "Family First". She instantly stepped up and took over my event tasks, although I hadn't asked her previously to be my deputy. She made it happen for me and for the Barony.

Astrid dove to my house. She cheerfully collected the judging forms and prizes plus the Barony's Roll of Arms I had updated. She took them to the event and took over my whole day's event tasks. A huge load off my shoulders. Thank you so very much, Astrid.

In Lonely Tower and Calontir, that's what we do, we help each other. An immense help to me, even though I'm still sad. I missed 12th Night.

Related Prior Post:
Jump Starting 2018: Lonely Tower's 12th Night Event Photos
Photos from Lonely Tower's 12th Night 2017
12th Night 2016: Barony of Lonely Tower's Midwinter SCA Festival

Throwback Criteria

Calligraphy Criteria
 -Novice

While it's not Thursday yet I thought you'd like to see a throwback of sorts from August of 1996. 

Years ago the Kingdom of Calontir had Arts and Sciences's Criteria that were different than those we use today. The other day I was reorganizing some papers and my copies for both calligraphy and illumination resurfaced. 

I'd been looking for them for some time. Of course, they were not in the file I expected held them. But they've resurfaced now. 

I've scanned them and you can see them yourself.

Calligraphy Criteria
 Intermediate

Why do I want you to be able to see them? I believe the "old" criteria practically walk you through the creative process. Their approach is different than the Kingdom of Calontir's Arts & Sciences Criteria used today for calligraphy and illumination. 

I can't say that the current criteria are better or that the former ones are. For criteria, the important thing is that everyone is judged by the same standard. And that people know what they are before they enter any competition. Perhaps even before they create their item. That is why I try to be very specific when I run an A&S competition. I even post how judges will be found and a tie decided if one occurs.

I know these images are too small for you to read. Please click on them and they will enlarge to a readable size. Comparing these to the ones used today will help you understand different ways judging may be approached. 

Calligraphy Criteria
 Advanced

Illumination Criteria
 Novice

Illumination Criteria
 Intermediate

Illumination Criteria
Advanced

"Uncopyright Notice" Notice

Historiated initial of a man citing a
layman by touching him with a staff. 

You may have noticed I now have a copywrite on my blog. Well, it's actually an uncopywrite. I am releasing my rights to everything I personally create here and place them all into the public domain. 

What does that include? That includes articles I’ve written or linked to my posts on this blog since I started it in December 2015. Unless I state otherwise that will apply to any future content I personally create and publish on createme365.com.

What does this mean to you? As much as you want you can use my uncopyrighted work in various ways. You could: 

• Repost it on your own website 
• Translate it into other languages
• Transfer it to different media like your own articles and posts
• Make money from what you create from my work such as selling it in ebook form or linking it to Amazon and make money.
• Develop a scribal workshop or seminar based on my handouts

You don’t need to directly ask my permission to do these or other things. You can just do it.

If you’re not sure about something, consult your inner counsel and make whatever decision you believe is honorable. Don't ask me about anything legal because it's all Greek to me. Plus, I've already put this in the public domain.

While I am giving away the copyrights, if you reuse my work, please give me credit by mentioning my name such as "Susan Gordon known in the Society as Jehanne Bening." Giving attribution is the honorable thing to do and doesn't cost anything. Giving a link to my blog would be nice also. 

Please preserve my work's integrity. You may shorten or simplify it. Or include it within other works. But, please, don't include things that I didn't write. 

It's also fine if you make money from my work. If you bring more people to scribal or SCA activities and find a way to make money more power to you.

Why am I doing this? Uncopyrighting makes it easier to share the scribal and SCA ideas I present here. I'm relying on the ripple effect to spread the information. That's what is important. Sharing the SCA and scribal skills is more important to me than owning my works.

Challenging The New Year

Calendar fragment with wishes for the new year.
Printed in Basel between 1480 and 1490. ow in the British Museum

The New Year is fast approaching. Just two days away. As I do most every year at this time I reflect on the last year. I encourage you to do the same for your SCA life. 

You'll want to consider both things that went well for you and things that did not. What inspired your SCA creativity and what depleted your energy? And how well you used your hobby time? 

After pondering those questions I consider what I learned last year. And, what  I did with what I learned.

And finally, I consider how I might do things differently in this new year.

For the future I set goals. One long-term goal that I chop into several that are shorter. 

Last year my SCA goal was to better connect with the SCA scribal community. Then M. Aidan - the current Calontir Minister of Arts and Sciences - chose to take within the scribal community all Book Arts, not just the skills used for making scrolls. So I expanded my goal slightly to connecting better with Calontir's book artisans.  

As with many SCAdians, the reason for this goal was my restricted budget. I wanted a way to connect and support Calontir scribes that didn't involve kenneling my two dogs for extended periods. The kennel cost limits my participation. You may have limiting budget factors too. Most of us do.

Thus sprang the last year's Book Arts RUSH. A long-term goal I championed.

My smaller goals were based on it. General autocrat duties. Developing a focused class plan. Connecting with instructors to fulfill the plan. Connecting with my Lonely Tower event staff. Promoting the event throughout Calontir. Even the new, simple craft I took up - making the period-style tasseled bookmarks - was to make site tokens.

I used my cell phone's calendar to schedule goal deadlines. And set daily tasks I could check off as I accomplished them. This helped inspire me and keep track of my progress.

To "talk" with everyone, I set up two FaceBook messenger groups. One with instructors and one with the Lonely Tower staff. Another way I could connect.

While I did this for one personal goal I sought to help other Book Artisans too. To encourage their learning and interaction along with mine. 

For the coming year, I highly recommend - whatever your level in the SCA or your chosen craft - set yourself a long-term goal. Then use it for focus and inspiration in your smaller tasks. 

Make it a New Year's priority. Thoughtfully consider the areas you think you fell short last year. We all have them. Then make next year's plan to grow in the hobby you love. 

Related Prior Post:
New Years, New Opportunities
Do You Have Creative Goals?

Merry Christmas All

I'm fortunate my grandkids wanted this Grandma to stay overnight again this year. Waking up and watching them open their presents is my gift from them. There is no greater joy than seeing their dreams come true on Christmas. They won't always be so eager for my sleepover with them, but for now I will enjoy it and be grateful.

I hope you shared your holiday with people you love. And may you also have been blessed with joy.

Christmas Wishes From The 16th Century

With tomorrow being Christmas I thought you would enjoy this 16th-century poem describing what it meant at least to Thomas Musser - the poet of early Elizabethan farm life. Musser wrote about it in his book Fiue Hundreth Pints O Good Husbandry chapter 23. 

Feast from the British Library's 16th-c
 digitized Golf Book Add MS 24098  f. 19

Of Christ cōmeth Christmas, the name wt ye feast, a time full of ioy, to the greatest & least.  

At Christmas was Christ (our sauiour) borne the world thorough sinne, al together forlorne. 

At Christmas the day, doth begin to take length,of Christ our faith, do begin to take strength.

As Christmas is onely, a figure or trope: so onely in Christ, is the strength of our hope. 

At Christmas we banket, the riche with the poore,who▪ then (but the miser) but opeith his doore.

At Christmas of Christ, many Carols we sing: and geue many gifts, in the ioy of that king.

At Christmas in Christ, we reioice and be glad,as onely of whom, our comfort is had.

At Christmas we ioy, altogether with mirth: for his sake that ioyed vs al, with his birth.

Whether you are rich or poor may you feast tomorrow and be filled with joy, mirth and the people you love. As Musser also wrote "At Christmas play and make good cheer, For Christmas comes but once a year.‎" Page xxxvii 

Kris Kinder Market in Calontir

Well, this didn't go well. I'm a delinquent blogger. So many pictures for your viewing, so little time during the holidays.

Earlier this month I went to Calontir's Kris Kinder Market event, again. It's my favorite indoor event. Who doesn't like to shop and visit with friends?

Here are a few of the many photos I snapped while browsing the wares for sale. 






At Avalon Oddiments I found a friend. Along with the SCA garage sale items and knit fingerless mitts, hats, and socks, there at ease in her basket was Buttercup the comfort cat. 

I found Lord Garren of Ashton Tor had added something to the inventory of the many looms he sells. He now makes and sells wood textile stamps. A wonderous idea. You can choose from his many pre-made options or custom order your design. 

The stamped pattern looks smashing painted on whole cloth fabric or to spiff up that boring plain garb you already have. You know, that thing in the back of your closet.











But at Kris Kinder, there's so much more going on than shopping. Besides multiple meetings, you see people working on their crafts.

This Lady is carding fiber. She sells it in her stall.














There are artisans everywhere. Here's an embroiderer in the hall.














And a couple by the Christmas tree busily weaving wire.
















There's even a spinner under the stairs.

Down the hall you find people waiting to speak with Honorable Lady Marie le Favre during her vigil. She will be taken into the Order of the Laurel at the evening court.

Here's something unique, cross-legged seated cooking at a floor grill. He told me it was the closest electrical outlet he found to Honorable Lady Marie le Faivre's vigil table. He wanted to get the food to it as fast as he could to keep it hot.

The aforementioned vigil food for your enjoyment. 

There are now people still sewing on garb for the evening elevation ceremony. I think this is sort of a tradition, at least it happens often.

Then there's the evening court... 

...with Marie le Favre's Laureling ceremony.

And the spinning wheel keeps on turning, even through court. 

Be sure to check out Mistress Dorcas Whitecap's full Kris Kinder Market court report.


Related Prior Post:  
Shopping and Merriment at Kris Kinder - 2015  
A Golden Day: Shopping At Calontir's Kris Kinder Market - 2017

Tips To Preventing Rusty Dip Pen Nibs

Luna protesting.

Oh no. I've done it again! 

I know calligraphy nibs are not made from sturdy, tough metal. And you can't expect them to remain looking brand-new forever. But I wanted to keep using my favorite nib. The one that makes the fine strokes just as you like. So how can you prevent your favorite nib from rusting? Is there any special cleaning you can do to make it last?

Of course you already know leaving an ink coated nib to dry harms the metal whatever the ink type. The best thing - of course - is to wash and dry your nibs carefully then store them safely. Obviously an unattained goal of mine.

There are a few tips to keeping your dip pen nibs usable. 

Prevent water or ink from going any higher than the tiny vent hole above the nib's tines. You can see it on this nib just below the rusty oval well, although not all nibs have that well. Try to dip your nib only up to that hole, no higher. Only have enough water in my water jar to cover the nib's working part keeps me from getting it up into the holder. If the water gets into the holder it can unexpectedly drip onto your work and ruin your scroll's text. (Don't ask me how I know.)

Don't let inks clog the fine channel between the two tines. Acrylic inks are terrible for this. And Sumi and Iron Gall inks are especially damaging because they cause pitting and actually encourage rusting. 

As you write clean off your nib every few minutes or anytime you notice ink drying on it affecting your ink flow. Just swish your nib around in water only up to the vent hole. Letting water get up in the pen holder also causes rust and makes nib insertion difficult.

To clean your nib just swish it around in water up to just above the vent hole Using a non-fibrous cloth wrap the nib between your non-dominant hand's forefinger and thumb. Then squish the nib in the cloth and remove all the moisture. No fancy cleaners required. Traces of ink may remain but shouldn't affect the ink flow as you write. 

If you're putting you nibs away include removing the detachable reservoir to clean away any ink underneath. Finally remove the nib from the holder. Once the nib is dry you can store it safely. 

I keep a stash of my favorite nibs because I confess to committing these mistakes more often than I like. I check my nibs when I get a new scroll assignment and reorder them regularly.

Related Prior Post:
Tips For Saving Money As An SCA Scribe
How To Sharpen Your Broad-Edge Calligraphy Nib
 Finding the Perfect Dip Pen Nibs
Dip Pen v Cartridge Pen

Internet Round Up 5

Again my internet surfing snared websites too good to keep from you. These turn up as I sleuth out information for blog posts. I've been saving them to post in one place. These popped up relating to life-long e-learning. And learning  about Medieval history, its people and its things are what we do in the SCA.

The Medieval History section of Thought Company. This is a life-long learning website with 20 years creating educational content. Each section has its own 'guide' editor highlighting interesting topics and commentary articles. There's a helpful Section Guide with their interests and an email newsletter for you to keep learning something daily.

Khan Academy is a non-profit organization offering you personalized learning videos and an individualized dashboard so you can study at your own pace. Its intriguing Introduction to the Middle Ages is a perfect starting place for Medieval private study. 

Academia.edu is for more scholarly research. It a way academics share research papers with masses of people for free. The company's mission is to accelerate the world's research. But it also allows them to monitor analytics impacting their research, and tracking the research they follow. Academia.edu is widely read attracting over 37 million visitors a month.

Related Prior Post:
Internet Round-Up 1, 2, 3, and 4.

People Of Color In SCA Award Scrolls

With western art books and resources being mostly produced by white people they tend to assume the white European as a human standard. And in Western European illuminated manuscripts there is a dearth of people of color. But they do exist. And all ethnicities are welcomed into the SCA. 

Dijon - BM - ms._0562 f. 181Vcreated around 1260-1270
representing the Holy Land

So how do you create an award scroll for a non-White friend with people that look like them?

Or maybe your scroll recipient has assumed a Saracen persona. How do you create a scroll creating accurate historic art combat scenes?

You seek out original works.

There are a few Western European illuminated manuscript pages including people of color. But they may be inappropriate to use such as this one portraying people in the Holy Land created in the late 13th century. 
Some 13th -15th century popular French illuminated manuscripts feature Christian-Muslim interaction pictures such as the British Library's Histoire d'Outremer. And various copies of the Grandes Chroniques de France and the Roman d'Alexandre en Prose.

But the best place to search is the website MedievalPOC. It is a blog showcasing European works of art featuring people of color from the fall of the Roman Empire until about 1650. Often these works go unseen elsewhere and you might see them differently now viewing them from a fresh perspective. The blog is searchable and even gives you a guide to its use.

If you search digitized manuscripts you'll see the earlier ones appear with dark-skinned Europeans. Later images display more specific ethnicity. To help your technique is a tutorial guiding you in drawing modern heads with ethnic differences. Modern, but will help your observation skills too.

We choose the historic aspects to use for inspiration and should be able to include accurate and appropriate diverse period images in our SCA recreations. The reality is even pre-17th-century European life absolutely included black and brown people. European art history misrepresents that in American classrooms. But you can find people of color in period European art with some research. Take time to look at illuminated manuscript details "because you wouldn't want to be historically inaccurate."

Related Prior Post: 

Nurturing Your Scribal Visual Awareness
Tips To Drawing More Period People


Related External Research:
Monstrous Muslims? Depicting Muslims in French Illuminated Manuscripts from 1200-1420

Happy Friendversary - Almost

Detail from the British Library's manuscript Burney 201  f. 90 

Some of you have been reading this blog since I started it December 9, 2015. I am so pleased you are still with me. It's an anniversary of sorts. A friendversary. 

It's been an incredible journey for me. Seeing my numbers rise is inspiring. And the numbers keep going up. 

I started it as a hobby and a way to stay connected with people in the SCA and other scribes. I've tried to give you meaty purposeful tips, tricks, and information about book arts and the SCA. 

I couldn’t have done it without you. A blog isn't a blog without you the readers.  Especially this one because it isn't my career. So as we celebrate a friendversary I want to say thank you for your support over the years. You’ve helped me make a dream come true. I hope what I’ve shared here has helped make your dreams realities, too.


So here’s to our future together. With a new calendar year almost upon us, too. I hope you’re able to realize even more of your life's dreams this year. Wishing you a Happy Friendversary. May we share many more.

Related Prior Post:
70 Years And Still Counting
Kris Kinder Absence--Family First 
My One Day Pageviews Shot Up Over 1000

Tips To Drawing More Period People

The way Medieval faces, feet, and hands appear in manuscripts varies by era or location, often in the details. Some appear cartoonish others more realistic. What's the best way for you to learn how to draw period-looking people? 

Motifs I traced then transferred to
M. Luciana's Renaissance scroll.

Most of us have been seeing since we were born but learning how to observe details is the important first step. Then if you can draw the next step is repeatedly conveying what you see to your paper. 

The best way I know to learn how to get the proper image to your paper is by tracing. And tracing is period. Some scribes don't grow past this stage. And I prefer it so I create a period effect conveyed on my scroll. 

Begin by goggling for the images you want your chosen era and location. Download a high-resolution version of ones you like. Don't use any from a virtual book for this. Even the British Library's award-winning Turning the Pages doesn't have the detail sufficient or image size for your project. You want images that are larger or that you can enlarge. 

Next trace them. And trace them again. The same ones or at least the same style you want to learn. Over and over until you have their exact look embedded in your mind's eye and hand. You're teaching yourself muscle memory for your chosen style.

My tracing light-box set up.

Then take it a step further. Keep a few pictures with a small sketchpad and pencil to take with you. Draw those images freehand anytime you have a break or are waiting for a bus. Any few moments you have sketch freehand your Medieval-style people's hands, feet, and faces.

Observation, tracing, and practice, but remember to have fun with it too. Make some sketches look like people you know doing familiar SCA activities. You don't have to make the sketches detailed but they should look like the style you're learning.

The trick is observing numerous manuscripts over time, learning the general characteristics people have in the era and location you're recreating and repeatedly making your own. Over time doing this for various styles will allow you to better draw what you see without tracing.

Related Prior Post: 
How To Google For Illuminated Manuscript Inspirations

What Do You See?

Is Tracing Period?

Full Moons And Medieval Prediction

Diagram from the German
Arundel 501 f. 26v  to
determine feast days 
and the moon's age.

Tonight there is a full moon. But if you, as your persona, lived after 1100 you probably considered the moon to be a planet. 

If you thought about its movements at all you thought it revolved around the Earth in a perfect circle. Just like Mercury, Jupiter and even the Sun was thought to do. Medieval thinkers still had facts to learn about the moon. 

Beginning in the 12th-century period astrological writings inspired Medieval people's belief that the location of heaven's bodies predicted future events determining their daily activities' outcomes. They directly influenced the elements and their own bodies. 

Period ‘lunaries’ or ‘moonbooks’ gave predictions for each day between consecutive new moons. They determined whether the Moon's position made it a beneficial day for bloodletting, traveling, finding lost possessions, being born, buying or selling. So many things your persona might want to know

Hildegard of Bingen - the famous 12th-century German abbess - explained bloodletting was best done just before the moon was new. She also reasoned lunar phases helped determine your persona's personality by the day of the lunar phase on which you were conceived.

Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry

Folio 11, verso: November

The lunar phase was also important for agriculture telling you things like when to plant seeds. The belief was a waning moon drew water deeper into the soil, and a fuller moon drew water up then out of the soil. 

Wherever your persona is from you considered lunar phases a serious matter. They gave you insight into God’s galactic design and its influences on earth. The Moon's tidal effect even confirmed your persona's belief it influenced the elements and your daily health.

Research today shows your persona's desire is deeply held through all civilizations both past and present. The desire to cope with future fateful circumstances, predict its course and influence its development. Tonight's full Moon reveals more than the man in the Moon's face, and especially to your persona.

Related Prior Post: 
Can Jehanne Read And Write?
Surviving Winter