Silver Crescent for Gwenllian

So a few weeks ago I received an assignment for a Silver Crescent and I -almost- said no, because I was in the middle of the last of the Winter Backlogs I took on and I was stressing delivering them (I've only had them since middle of February, but still. Five is a lot and I want them out of my desk.)
But I vaguely knew the person receiving it and knew that the event was going to be very special for her and I wanted to be a part of that, even if just in a little way.

Here is the source, and more to the point, this Membrane of the Heptarchy. (Which is now my new favorite word to say.) I felt this piece (close in place and time to what I could discover of her persona) was really appropriate because of how she was to be stepping up that day as the new Baroness of the Barony Beyond the Mountain - taking on that legacy, both of protection of the land (symbolized, to my mind, by the heptarchy/description of the lands) and becoming part of the baronial heritage (the rest of the source is all about the previous monarchs of England)

The original measures in at about 9 inches wide, which was small enough that I was concerned about fitting in the calligraphy for the words I had written (obviously I could have edited the words, if need be, but I was really happy with where I ended up.) that I beefed it up to 12" proper. And then I proceeded to cut an entire poster sheet of Bristol Smooth incorrectly -twice-. I had some large hot press watercolor paper from a previous project and I cut that with 4 inch borders because I was DETERMINED to not mess it up a third time.
And then came a few practice passes at the calligraphy in circles - which was interesting. I made up a very simplified ductus for the hand (which luckily for me was remarkably similar to the last hand I had worked on!) and did what I could. I ended up using my new Windsor-Newton ink for the calligraphy, size 4 nib (pretty sure it was 4 at least... I'll dig through my papers and see if I can find the notes later). 

And then of course came the plotting out of arranging the circles.

The bottom two circles I reserved for her arms and the Silver Crescent badge. After polling my private audience of friends over which way to display the text, it was decided far left, clockwise made the most sense. The original Heptarchy is describing the seven kingdoms that made up England at the time. If you look at the original you can make out names of places in England that (I'm pretty sure) are still around today. I'm still very new to calligraphy, but I'm pleased the piece is tidy and readable. I'm working right now on bettering my spacing and maintaining consistency throughout a piece. 

I ended up rearranging how I'd written the practice piece - so if something seems off in the pictures comparing the two, that's why. I ended up cutting them out so I could use them as shields during painting later.

Next came laying down the miniatum for the gold leaf. I ended up using the Kolner miniatum ink, because I didn't want the large raised appearance that normal Kolner miniatum can achieve, because I couldn't make out much dimension in the original. I'm still new to gold work, but I enjoy the physicality of it. 

(Later I ended up adding more circles of gold for more sparkly, since I didn't have anything clever to fit into the small circles on the border.)

Then of course, began the painting and blocking out. I'm still using a mix of Reeve's and Windsor-Newton Gouache paint (breathe easy fellow scribes, after this scroll was done came Mother's Day and I was gifted much more Windsor-Newton, so now I can phase out my Reeves entirely.)
I chose to change some of the animals to sheep, due to the recipient's work with demos at fiber shows across Barony Beyond the Mountain, and cats because of her heraldry (And really, who doesn't love cats? And sheep just scream "Wales!" to me too, which is part of her persona.) I kept the rabbit because it was adorable. I did changed the faces of kings to her and her husband Mark, hoping to keep some resemblance. It was all so much fun. 

The words read as such - 

"Unto All and Singular, hear these words and commit them to memory: To be chatelaine is to be an ambassador to all, a teacher to those not familiar with our ways, and a warm smile to the weary traveler. The Barony Beyond the Mountain is blessed to have a Lady such as this Gwenllian ferch Llewellyn ap Henry, who is both welcoming and tireless in her service. It is a hard task to work, when the fruits of your labors are not something to be bought and sold, but are instead the promise of a Dream and a Community. Such sacrifice and hospitality by diligent hand, for a harvest that may not come in, should reap reward. Therefore at the request of the Companions and at Our Wish do we, Brennan and Caoilfhionn, Emperor and Empress of the East, do induct Gwenllian into our Order of the Silver Crescent and further do grant her the exclusive right to bear these arms XXXXX by her and her alone. Done by our hand at the Barony Beyond the Mountain Investiture, on the Feast of St Dunstan, the 19th of May Anno Societatis 53."

I added an East Kingdom blue tyger!

Close up of the little minstrel boy...

All together before I added the white work...

My camera and my desk lamp fight and the only loser is the photos I have to take.
So I have to add that the white work is where I feel I could have done better. Oh, it looks nice, but it stops feeling medieval in some parts. I could only make out the white work patterns in a few sections of the original - not enough to recreate it for the whole piece (and obviously changing some of the animals inside would also affect those lines). Some things you get an eye for with time a practice - and this kind of white work in the spaces between is definitely one of those things.

All finished. Gold makes it hard to photography things and my scanner was a bit wonky - but I feel like this gives you a pretty good idea. 

Special shout-out to Baroness Fortune St. Keyne of the Courtesan Courier Service for delivering it for me when I could not attend the event.

Oh! One other thing.
Transporting a scroll is something where a lot of us fall short. Transporting a scroll (especially one with gold leaf on it) can be difficult. In my memory, the scroll, with border, measured about 18 inches square. I had intended to cut up and put together an elaborate cardboard/tissue paper folder for transport when I was suddenly struck with where I had seen large, thin, square boxes before. My local pizza shop. So I drove down, bought some snacks and asked if I could buy their largest pizza box (Sal's Pizza sells 19" pizzas at their largest) sans pizza. The cashier was unclear if she had to charge me so she called over the manager (a very pleasant gentleman I see working there all the time) and he asked me, amused, why I needed one. I told him to transport art. He said I had to promise to always eat Sal's Pizza. I told him I already did, basically. He laughed and handed me the box for free and I went along on my way.
The scroll fit exactly. In between getting the scroll to Fortune and this, I was at my desk when I remembered I was supposed to be filling in a badge on a scroll blank for Master Harold, my Laurel. I began to search my papers for the blank and could not find it. I looked for the padded envelope it had been in previously and could not find it. I began to worry as I suddenly remembered my mother getting rid of the envelope since it was leaning against my desk, next to my rubbish bin, I ASSUMED I had taken out the blank before placing it there. I begin to panic and start digging around everywhere I may have safely tucked a blank away. Eventually, I found it in the original pile, the third time through. This horrible incident inspired me. CLEARLY labeling envelopes and boxes so that there is NEVER any confusion about where a scroll may be hiding is now standard procedure. I taped some paper onto the pizza box, stating "THIS IS A SCROLL. NOT A PIZZA." My dip pen of course dribbled everywhere enough that I didn't take a picture since the calligraphy was horrendous yet still readable. 

The rigid pizza box was an amazing transport box and I fully intend to grab another to transport numerous pieces at once later.

Here's a picture someone else took of it at the event, being shown off by King Brennan. (Facebook tells me Angel Lundell and Bifrost Studios.)

And that's the story of Gwenllian's Silver Crescent scroll.

Vivat, Baroness Gwenllian! May your term be a happy one!

Burdened Tyger

So this scroll, I was lucky enough to have ages to complete, so much so that I almost forgot it was going out!

I didn't get a lot to work with on information, so I had to email/facebook message around until I got enough information to glean down to the needed words. I tweaked a faux Russian hand I found here . My calligraphy is still pretty meh but it gave the scroll the right feeling.

I know that SOMEwhere in my bookmarks is the source for this piece. (I believe it's here, but I -will- locate the folio number as soon as I'm able. I know I wrote it on the back of the dang scroll.)

Out of everything, I'm proudest of the header and how I fit it together. It felt to me like the sort of thing that would be very important to get the right feel, as you see ones like it ALL OVER other Russian/Eastern European manuscripts.

Here's where I'm about to join the East Kingdom's "Team Blue Square"

But eventually it came together.

Ta daaaaa!

Something I'm still working on is making the illumination and the calligraphy all fit, comfortably on the page. I feel like I often have too much text in the wrong size (or too little) and the scroll is off-balance. I suppose that will become easier with experience.

Blanks

First actual gold work, done on blanks and given away. They are who knows where by now.

So I've started calligraphy

Which was like, the one thing Kiaya-From-The-Past DID NOT want to do. I did not want to measure millimeters and learn different hands and play with ink and nibs. Nibs are frustrating! I'd always had bad, scratchy, hard, gave-my-hands-all-the-cramps nibs.

So here's the thing.
There aren't enough calligraphers out there. And if -I'm- not writing on words, I have to relinquish part of my total artist control on a piece of art. And that's HARD. It's SO hard for me. That was one reason I started. The other was because I saw how many scrolls Master Harold had to do. He does SO MANY letters for scrolls guys. And I am nothing if not motivated to help where there is a need. It's a problem. And I love Master Harold and don't want him to be overworked. I know - I ask a miracle. But I like trying.

So I dove in and pestered my apprentice brother, Robert, to teach me stuff (he lives closer than Harold. So it's like I'm learning from Harold, but not, at the exact same time). Robert indefinitely loaned me THIS BOOK HERE (which I returned just last week, when he then GAVE ME MY OWN COPY because Robert is a sweetheart and national treasure unto our Kingdom.) and it was one of the biggest helps to me.

The other huge help was to get an AMES lettering guide (again, thank you Robert) and learn how to use that piece of black magic. (YES BLACK MAGIC. IT'S WHACK.) I direct you all to Master Alexandre's blog, where he explains ALL THE THINGS.

And then you spend time. You spend a lot of time with lines and nibs and practicing doing straight vertical lines and transcribing pop songs onto paper.
Master Harold has me use dip pens for a multitude of reasons that are his and his alone. I will say that while the curve for learning on dip may be steeper as you fuss more with ink flow and all that entails, you get a lot on invaluable practice in while you do it, so that when you come out the other end, you're much further along to your goal than you would be if you started with a fountain pen and then had to relearn when you get to dip pens further down the line. It's all in how you learn. I'm happier working harder, faster, for a carrot, than doing really well with training wheels and then backsliding without them. That's my opinion, both ways of doing it are totally valid and legitimately, as long as you're writing letters well on the art, we don't care!
Or at least I don't.
With that being said, right now, I use these nibs, but I'm wanting to try some squishier ones at some point.

I'm still starting, so I can't really help much. I'm blessed to be in a Laurel lineage with some amazing calligraphers and illuminators - all of whom are helpful to WHOEVER ASKS THEM. My biggest piece of advice is to READ THE EAST KINGDOM SCRIBAL HANDBOOK. It tells you all the guidelines and things to being an East Kingdom Scribe. (If you live in another kingdom, read their handbook! Really! Each Kingdom is a bit different and it's important to follow their rules. When we all play by the same rules, we all play a better game!)
And if you're in the East Kingdom, join the appropriate Facebook groups and say hi! Ask us questions because we WANT to help you SO BADLY. I've been in the SCA my ENTIRE LIFE and my biggest regret is legitimately not talking with scribes more because they are the kindest people I've interacted with.
I mean, they're all crazy from the paint fumes. But they're also super nice.

Oh, and buy an X-acto knife.
You'll figure out why later.

A coronet and scroll for Anastasia

Oh man, I thought I posted this.
Once upon a time there was an amazing lady known and Anastasia of the Oaks. She quietly organized everything behind the scenes for two sets of Barons/Baronesses and is a pillar of Stonemarche.

Once upon a time we asked that she be made a baroness and their majesties said yes, but here's the catch, you only have like, two weeks to get this done.

I was contacted to do a coronet and said 'Yeah, I can do that on top of all my other Birka prep. Sure.' I would embroider and build it and because Anastasia is a weaver, we would weave trim for it. My mother, Mistress Deirdre, is a great weaver. No biggie, of course she would help.

The next morning I was contacted by my Laurel to do the scroll.

Master Harold would be doing the calligraphy, I would do the illumination.
Yeah. Okay. Sure.

[[Note: My phone uploaded these photos before crashing and I am having the worst time convincing Blogger to move the images around into any sort of order. I would reupload them but I can't find where I put the backup SD card. I know I have it, I'm sorry this is a mess.]]

There were issues getting the gold down properly - I put the miniatum on too thick and it wrinkled. I ended up slicing them off the pergament and putting new dots on.

There were issues with the embroidery I did - I thought I was using kloisterstitch properly and due to my tension on the fabric, it totally warped with I attempted to couch them onto the coronet. I ended up appliqueing on linen squares instead. Super lucky for me, I had the EXACT right shade of blue on hand. What are the odds?

 My son is always my head model.

Here is Anastasia and her coronet:

Vivat, your Excellency! Thank you for your work and inspiring all of us!

On Wednesdays we wear Pink.

So I bought a bunch of fabric after 12th Night in Endeweare (Where I was also inducted into the Order of the Silver Wheel -eeeeeee!!!-) and now I'm making cotehardies and attaching all the buttons.

Of Fairies and Consent

People get on my case sometimes for overusing the word 'consent'. I don't blame them, however, every time I use it for something else, it is like a cog clicks into place in my brain and things work better than before.

So G (age 5) has his first loose tooth. And despite it being one of the grossest things I've dealt with as a wife and mother, it's brought up the interesting conundrum of the Tooth Fairy.

Now I adored the Tooth Fairy growing up and I still adore her today. I still want Santa to be real and the first time someone told me Santa Clause wasn't real I wanted to spit on them (funny story, the second person, I did spit at. Totally missed. It did not help my case.)
There are loads of blogs talking about the benefits and downsides to 'keeping magic alive/lying' to your children. I'm merely documenting mine so I don't forget.
G is a very smart little boy. He has the engineering brain from his grandfathers, so I know better than to water down answers for him or try to lie. However. Since gaining an imagination just shy of 4 years old (a late bloomer), he's taking stories and fears more seriously (gaining a fear of the shadowy stairwell (but not of a pitch black bedroom full of boxes)) and you can't belittle that.

I've learned by now it's no good to assume things with Gideon.

"So what do you want to do with the tooth once it falls out?"

And we begin a half-conversation of me not letting the cards show and him not wanting to guess the wrong answer and lose out on something... magical. It's how I know he still needs magic: he wants it.
I tell him a few scenarios about me keeping his teeth. I remind him about the story of Loki and his ship of toenails, teeth and hair of the dead. He can throw them away. We can make him a tooth necklace. He can invite a fairy into our home. She might not be good, I remind him. Not all fairies are good, even in stories.

"The tooth fairy is a good fairy Mom."
"I thought you said fairies weren't real."
"Well. I don't -know-. I know people who believe in fairies and've seen them but... But the Tooth Fairy is a good fairy. And I want good fairies in my life. I want as many things protecting me as I can have."
"And you feel like the tooth fairy will do that?"
"I do."
"So you want to have some magic in your life?"
"Yes please."
"Okay then. Let me know if you change your mind."

G knows that his father and my opinions on the matter only help to shape what will happen in this kind of scenario, they don't dictate it. He asks us what we think about things and we tell him and also remind him that people think differently and we explain their reasons too, as best we can.

[We arrived at 'Santa Clause is the embodiment of Goodwill towards all Humanity' and 'representative of Christ's love for us' and 'We are all Santa Clause' years ago and maintain it as such. That 'belief' is a family one, like a recipe for conduct, rather than an actual belief or tradition. ]

G needed to say yes. He needed to invite in the invasion of his sleeping space and the removal of his body part from his possession. It had nothing to do with his safety or physical health, so I ask for his consent. His input matters and it always had. He knows that if he gets passive, things will happen that he won't like, like weird dinners or Netflix viewing choices. It's a double edged sword. I don't always get what I want and have to model that graciously. -Mostly- I see that it's working. Everyone so often he'll flop to the ground and groan at me that life's not fair.
But it's not. And I agree with him. If there's room, I flop down next to him and groan too. Misery loves company. Being 5 is no exception. Feelings matter. And how we act on those feelings and on situations, matters.
So I asked for consent before I transform into the tooth fairy.