Not your typical SCA A&S nerd

[gurdymonkey]

Really. I don't think of what I do as "A&S" the way most people in the SCA think of "A&S". Competitions are not only a non-motivator  inspirationwise, they make me insane, and not in a good way. (You spend 20 years riding green-broke horses in shows, you get all competetive instinct ground out of you because you're there to give Baby mileage, not to win.)

Display? And deprive myself of the use of something I slaved to make in the first place by sticking it on a table?  I love music but don't enjoy being in the spotlight, which is why the one-on-one of street performance appeals to me a lot more than standing up on a stage, be it feast hall or bardic circle.

And yet, I just emailed the A&S coordinator and asked for a spot at the Artisan's Display at Estrella. Yes. I am voluntarily chaining myself to a spot for 3 hours to see if anyone in attendance gives a rat's backside about the Tosenin Kosode project. Why? Well, it's a little thing called giri. There are probably thousands of people in our Society doing fingerloop braiding. Or tablet weaving. Or calligraphy and illumination. Or blackwork embroidery. The big fad craft in the West  is/was making lampwork beads for Viking treasure necklaces. I even made one damn bead at risk to life and limb and then told the person who insisted I give it a try that I was going back to paper and glue and getting the hell away from that oh so period hothead torch, thank you. (Ooh, note to self, pack kite-making supplies....)  Anyway, my point being that there are a lot of people producing a lot of like works.

How many are doing painted fakes of Asian textiles? How many of those are doing it because they saw mine first?  Trust me, they're out there, but there are not thousands.

 As some of you may remember from my adventures last year, there are people in Our Fair Society who believe that non-Western personae have no place in it. As Saionji, I represent a minority. I have a duty to my fellow SCAsians to portray my persona in a positive light. I am obligated to be at that table a week from Sunday doing so. 

Comments

[gurdymonkey.livejournal.com]

Things become fashionable in different places for different reasons, including everything from appropriateness to climate/event venues, ease of obtaining research information/materials/accessories, and of course, What The Cool Kids Are Wearing. I'd never SEEN Viking stuff in the part of the East I was playing in - though we had early GeneriCelts in abundance. No 16th c. Germans, but plenty of Elizabethan. And a handful of Japanese and even a couple of pretty good Mongol impressions.

It is what it is. Doing Japanese in the West Kingdom sometimes feels like being the Littlest Sumo Wrestler. You throw yourself at an opponent three times your size who yawns, scratches his balls and pushes you effortlessly back out of the ring. If I am poised to start a fad, it's more likely going to be via the 'net and spread out of kingdom than here. Then again, you never know....

[aureellia.livejournal.com]

Ok, fair enough. My reason for not doing Japanese is that it looks like it is going to cost me an arm and a leg to get into it. I want to do it at the level you are doing it at. Heck, I can even fake the Japanese. Can my budget afford 16 layers of cloth? If I wanted to do a proper outfit, how long will it take? Will you help? What do I need to go with it besides the black teeth?

[gurdymonkey.livejournal.com]

Lesson Number One: Small steps. This goes for walking elegantly in Japanese dress and for wearing it.

I started with an informal court outfit, four garments total: nagabakama (trousers), kosode, hitoe and uwagi. I estimate about 23 yards of fabric went into that. (For semi formal, add five layers at 6 or 7 yards each, for full formal karaginu mo add another 4 for the karaginu and six for the mo.) I wish I had more opportunities to wear this stuff, but it's not exactly practical. Know that going in.

Cosmetic-wise, I use a paint-on tooth black (which tastes vile for a couple of minutes when it's going on), a white theatrical foundation, and good old drug store eyeliner, mascara and lip color. I would LOVE to get my hands on real geisha/kabuki cosmetics, but I cannot rationalize the expense in doing so on my budget when I only do the makeup at indoor events.

I did the wig thing too for my first outing, but my hair is long enough and dark enough I can mostly get away without it now.

Another option is the later period samurai-class things, which what you'll see me in at outdoor events. That might only be two or three layers - and I fake under-layers with false collars in hot weather. ;-D

If you really are interested in doing this, let's chat when I get back from Estrella. In the meantime, go take a spin through the Kyoto Costume Museum and see what in there makes you go, "I wanna look like THAT!" http://www.iz2.or.jp/english/