Friday, November 20, 2009

Hospitality as Art and Science

Her Stellar Majesty, Elizabeth, asked me to provide some kind of A&S opportunities at the Tournament of Chivalry, held in Coille Stoirmeil on November 14. We had an A&S competition at last week's event (Stellar University of Northshield) so I didn't want a simple repetition of that, though I did provide space for display.
With permission of their Majesties and the event staff, I undertook to provide an opportunity for artisans to simply come together in the solar, where musicians might be practicing, ladies were spinning and embroidering, and merchants plied their wares. A herald was there for consultation, and many books were available to provide inspiration. There was ample opportunity for informal teaching, particularly in the domestic arts and in the history and culture of the SCA.
My thanks to all who participated in this gathering, and to Her Majesty, who inspired "outside the box" thought about period A&S.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Stellar University of Northshield


November 7 was a big day. I planned to teach two classes, but ended up with three: numbers, ABCs, and colors -- a veritable kindergarten!

The Numb3rs class was a rerun from Bardic Madness in April of 2008. Karyn and Kudrun compare the way we use numbers in a typical day.

"Now I Know My ABGs" was a repeat from June 20, 2009. I assumed that the audience in Madison WI would be different from the one in Sioux Falls SD.

"A Rainbow of Rainbows" was originally conceived for Bardic Madness in 2006, but I completely revamped it, using PowerPoint instead of color slides (remember slides?). This is an exploration of color theory and uses of color in period, beginning before Aristotle.