Not your typical SCA A&S nerd
Feb. 8th, 2008 03:25 pmReally. 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.
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.