Thoughts and Updates

I've taken a longer than anticipated break from this than I was initially expecting. I don't have any new, exciting research breakthroughs or events attended or other real related SCA updates to share in terms of anything that pushes along what I've been doing.

That's not to say I've not been through changes when it comes to the SCA, and my place within it.

First of everything, I've officially, if quietly, stepped away from House Strangewayes.  I had wished for it to have been a more amicable break than it turned out to be, but the maturity with which my leaving was handled was outside my control.  I wish no ill will on the current members of the House, even now, and I have no intention of spread gross and dirty rumor through this (or any other) channel.  Just rest assured, whoever may still be reading, that it's been about 8 months since I'd moved on from the House and I am much happier for it.  I hope the House and the members continue to pursue their goals.

As you may have put together, this was around the same time that Trimgate happened, which was one of the last things I had updated on.  Trimgate, as it's come to be known as I understand it, had a rather profound impact on me.  The timing of it -- being essentially coincidental to my reassessing where I sat within the Society being a "free agent" -- gave me a lot of pause.

It turned what was going to be a few months of break while I got my head about me and figured out what I wanted to really do on my own, into the break you're seeing now.  Frankly, the way it had been handled by the leadership within the SCA was a huge turn off at a time I was vulnerable.  An open comment period, where I did write the Board, and then 7 months of no official statements regarding the incident, the issue of racism in general, and some of the problematic policies/practices which allowed for such an incident to occur.  I was disappointed and, frankly, as a gay man with racial minority children, did not at all feel like I could be safe within the SCA.  The threads of apologism that kept percolating up also didn't help.

If I'm going to participate in a hobby which expects me to show up, be counted and be seen in order to be considered a part of it, then I want that hobby to strenuously work to be a safe place for me and people like me.  The SCA failed in that task.

I had kept a low, outside profile for the following months.  Pennsic came and I was starting to feel a pang of nostalgia and want.  I wanted to do it again.  I wanted to figure out how to best go about participating in a way that I could presume my own safety.  How I could make a mark, while also keeping my family safe.  That, maybe, this was something that could be pushed for change, and that I could find a way to forgive the poor actions of the Board of Directors downward.

Then the Trimaris Order of Defense incident happened.

As a result, I dropped myself from all contact within the SCA.  I cannot, at this point, associate myself with an organization so inept at the basics of racism and racial bias as to do nothing in the face of what is clearly a rising tide of white nationalism and white supremacy within the rank and file.

I didn't lose the SCA; the SCA lost me.  I cannot and will not be associated with white nationalism, white supremacy and this kind of white ignorance.  No hobby is worth that.

I may continue to do the research I love on my own, but I've not really decided what I'm going to do in regards to all of that.  Right now, I've been focus on other passions in my life which I'd not been able to pursue because of the demands of my life, and the demands of the SCA.

I have a new job, at a new company.  I have my two boys, who're my entire world.  I have projects at home I've been putting off that I'm finally starting to tackle with the attention they deserve.  I want to make my life more ecologically friendly -- from my consumerism to my landscaping and garden.  All of these things I've been passionate about, but back burned to hobble along in the SCA as a persona no one really felt comfortable having.

I'm going to keep this blog up, because I think what I've already uncovered may be of some help to someone, but I am not going to make a concerted effort to continue my research, at least for now.  Instead, I've been toying with starting a blog for my landscaping, gardening and sustainability efforts. I'm not totally sold on that, yet, because there is already a glut of those kinds of resources and voices, but it's on the radar.

Until next time.

Excitement

I took a big step this weekend.

This weekend was the Market Day at Birka event here in the East.  It's the largest event that the Barony of Stonemache (New Hampshire) does and I make it a point to get there every year.  It always a source of inspiration for me when I see what other people do.  The A&S display inspires me to get my hands into things more, there are always a few peerages earned (because it is work and dedication to get there), the fashion show where we all get to peacock just a little bit; it's just a great event that I really enjoy.  It breathes some life into me after the long slog of the holidays and just getting through the tough, New England winter.

To take a step back, I've been doing my various research projects for a while now, as life has allowed.  I'm getting to a point where I need to have some help in how to overcome some of the challenges I'm reaching. That tells me I need the assistance of someone who's been there before, or at least can help me  move through, around or over those walls.

I'd talked about how I was feeling the need to have some additional help with some members of my house.  One of my housemates, Elvira, had been taken on as a student of one of our friends who is a Laurel, Baroness V.

Over the course of many months, Elvira and I talked about how the student-teacher relationship functioned, what it means, how it changes the way she approaches the game, as well as general pros and cons of the process.  It gave me a great deal of insight and a reassurance that I did need to find someone who could me overcome my research troubles, while also respecting that my life is hugely chaotic and dynamic at times.

Baroness V and I have been getting to know each other more and more over the past year, when she kind of burst onto my scene (even though she is well established in her own right).  We have a similar outlook on life and understanding of the importance of valuing real life over the SCA.  In addition to that, before her current persona, she earned her Laurel for doing ground breaking and difficult deep dives in the creation of a Indian persona. 

So, in addition to being a great personality fit, she's also a great research fit, have blazed a similar trail with a different culture.  

At the event, I got to really be able to talk to her at the event regarding my research.  I'd been trying to get the opportunity to do it, but life got in the way.  We talked through the major points, where I'm at, an elevator version of this blog, too, and she was really digging it.

So, I asked if she could taken me on as a student.  It was a bit bold on my part, as I don't know the decorum, but I did it.

She said yes.

I now have a peer to work with in a student-teacher relationship and I couldn't be happier with the step.  I'm excited to see where this takes things, as I've already got a research source direction change out of the conversation to help things along better.

I don't think I've been this excited about my research in a while.

A Little Off Topic -- King's and Queen's Equestrian Champions

I want to take a few inches to update on things that aren't about my research, but are relevant to this as an SCA blog.

I've mentioned before, most notably in my Birka posts, that I am a member of a robust household in Society -- House Strangewayes. We started out as a group of friends who played together, dipping our fingers into the different parts of what the SCA has to offer and, over time, we've started to take flight a bit, as well as grow.

I was part of the first real expansion of the House, and there's been a steady expansion since I came on board, almost 10 years ago.

Yesterday at KQ Equestrian Tournament and Champions, was a big day for the House.

First, one of our newest members, Gritta (who I don't believe has a blog, yet, for her work) received her Award of Arms.  She's still very new into playing -- having attended her first event closing in on a year ago.  In that time, she's really come right into making some quite exceptional German garb.  Her sewing skills floor me, as I'm not the greatest craftsman at sewing.

Gritta is on the bottom right-hand side in the feathered cap.  At Birka 2016 (this photo), she won a special award for having the most historically accurate dress, by the eye of the judges, in the Fashion Show.  It was well deserved and it was her first German garb ever!  From there, she's been upping her skills and looking around at more examples of German.

I'm excited to see what else she does as the continues to wade into the SCA, and especially the Arts and Sciences.  She's also become a fast friend of mine, specifically, so I was overjoyed to see her recognized by the Crown for the great work and even better conduct example she's been setting.  She is a true asset to the Society and I'm thrilled that I get to call her a friend.  I'm so proud of her recognition that I could gush for ages!

Fortune also received an induction into The Order of the Burdened Tyger.  I've linked to the awards page for the East Kingdom, but it's a service award that is granted for exceptional service, typical for an event that required a huge amount of logistical rejiggering to work.  Fortune, Lord Aleksei and other gentles I don't know in any way, received the induction for their work during Coronation.

Fortune outlines all that went into the event here, and it's a really great run down of how she in particular, and her leadership team overall, earned the Burdened Tyger.  It's a "wow, awesome, big deal" kind of award.  Fortune and I have been friends for over a decade now, before either of us were SCAdians.  She's jumped into SCA and really has blossomed, both personally and skills-wise, since joining up.  To see her receive an Award of Honor made my heart smile.

Between the two awards, it was a great day for good friends, for the Household, and I had a tinge of pride myself at knowing these people and helping to support them as they grow themselves, which is really what SCA is all about -- helping each other pursue our interests and growing together as humans.

Vivant to you both, and to all the recipients of awards, including the Shire as the first recipient of the Company of Fellowship for our willingness to come together as a community.  Her Majesty, in her description, said beautifully that it shows the Shire is a group who thinks of the "we" instead of the "I" (and may be a tinge on the nutty side). I think it's a great testament that the Shire got awarded this new honor on the same day others received Burdened Tyger, which wouldn't have been possible without that same "we not me" attitude.

It was a good day yesterday for all of us -- Shire, and House.

Birka 2016

It all started with a garb challenge.

This year's Birka Queen's challenge was Pixar inspired.  I immediately glommed onto it as one of the ways I like to challenge myself when I'm idling thinking about garb is to convert characters into culturally appropriate inspiration.  I may be a nerd, but I'm a multifaceted and creative one.

As a Household, we decided to go with Toy Story as our main inspiration. A bunch of us participated in the challenge -- we had Jesse and Buzz, Etch-a-Sketch, Bo Peep, the Claw Machine Aliens and Partysaurus Rex.

I did this guy:

I thought the colors were nice and in the range of what I like to wear generally, I had an idea as to what I could do for the slinky part and, additionally, I had an idea of what I wanted to do for headgear (spoiler: that was a miserable failure and I think I interpreted the entire hat incorrectly).

But, first, let's see what I did come up with, and was wearable, shall we?

There I am!  All strutting my stuff down the runway at the fashion show.

Here is a less elegant photo of me so you can see the pattern better.

I'll start with that pattern as it seems, on first glance, to be the most obtrusively modern part of the whole thing.  It actually isn't.

I chose Slinky Dog because I had thought of an example of a Mongol on horseback from the Shahnama (book of Kings) credited to Abu'l Qasim Firdausi at the Met:

The print I found didn't exactly match, but it was close enough to pull the inspiration.  You also may have noticed I did some alterations from what's discretely pictured in the source material.

My persona was not yet part of the nobility, haven't had received my AoA at that point in time.  From what I've been able to tell, the long-under-short seems to indicate someone of relative wealth and importance, the first step on the ladder up.  To accommodate for that, I ditched the specific under deel and went with the the weave pattern of the over deel.  Acting above your station was punishable by death to the Mongols at the time and, I take to heart making sure you think with your persona in creating your looks.

Another detail I want to point out is that the sleeves are lined with an embellishment.  I've seen this often enough that I typically do it for all my deel.  It adds a splash of additional interest and I, frankly, enjoy it.

Pulling back to how I applied these to the challenge and the way everything relates together, I'm going to refresh your eyes.


 The chain link pattern on the main overcoat is the slinky part of the dog. Additionally, the brown is to reference the body, both front and hind, of the toy.  My favorite detail I included at the last minute was to add the little bit of brown at the end of the belt.  If you look at Slink, you can see that he has a spring for a tail that is capped in the brown plastic.  I wanted to keep that to further drive home the inspiration as, on its face, the deel is a bit abstract.

The hat, on the other hand, was an unmitigated disaster from start to finish and I'm taking it as a huge learning opportunity, but for construction and methodology fails.

Obviously Slink is based on a daschund, with his big floppy ears and low profile. It made me think of this hat:

There are several things about this image that are misleading, not least of which is that it looks like a droopy set of dog's ears.

The true problems I had were with fit (too small!) and understanding exactly how the hat was worn (the image is angled).  It was a big ol' fail and I've since figure out how to correct it, finding other examples.  That would need to be a different post as it's not exactly related.

For good measure to end, here's a photo of most of us in the household.

Birka Garb 2015

Within the last few weeks, here in the East Kingdom we had a large event called A Market Day at Birka. It's a merchant-centered event, as the name suggests, at a hotel in Manchester, NH. Among many events, including an intensely popular armored, heavy combat tournament, is the annual fashion show where those who wish to can show off their duds to the oohs and ahs of the populace. My household, House Strangewayes, has been running the fashion show for the past several years and it's a big success. As a member of the household, I volunteered to help keep everything running smoothly from registration through the event itself. This means I'm in the background of a good amount of photos around Facebook. What that allows me, though, is the ability to show you the latest garb I've made and break down my inspirations and documentations for the decisions I made to construct it.

There I am holding the clip board after collecting entries to the fashion show.  I have no idea why it is I'm making that face, to be honest.

So, let's break things down, shall we?  I think it's best to start at the bottom and work to the top, since the hat is what you're probably looking at first.  It seems most people do (And it's super fun, and I love it).

The shoes is the least documentable part of my entire kit.  I needed a pair of shoes which would work in looking period-esque and Mongolian.  A few years back there was a vendor at Birka who's not been back since, named NYC Mongol.  They carry hand made goods imported from Mongolia.

The slippers are hand made and they are incredibly comfortable and warm.  I enjoy them, but until I get to make some gutal, they will do for now.  It's a stop gap, but beats the inauthenticity of wearing my steel toed boots or sneakers.

The pants are where I've been struggling the most with construction.  There are a few different patterns I've found on Pinterest.

These are the two best examples (direct link in alt text for attribution).  The top is directly traceable to Mongols and the bottom pre-date the Golden Age by a couple centuries, dating to the 7th-8th century in Sogdiana.

The black pants are modeled after the lower pair of trousers and the construction is simpler and the detailing is hidden.  They are similar to the Thorsberg Trouser and modern pyjama pants, so there is bountiful resource when I was making my very first pair, which busted in the crotch due to poor allowances for my not being waifish.  The Sogdian trousers above has crotch gussets, which I did also put in.

I do, eventually, want to make what appear to be the overall style pants, but I haven't gotten up the courage yet.  I'm a handsewer and I don't know if my skills are up to the task yet.  I'm especially concerned about the ballooning I'm seeing out from the waist.

The jacket, I have to say, I am the most proud of in certain regards, but is not completely where I would like it to be.

It's based off of what I have found out of China for Mongols during the Yuan dynasty.  The length is derived from it as is the cut to the opening at the top.  Here is a good example from the Met:

A couple things to note from the image.  First, the man in the center is hunched over, which gives some false length, so the man in white is a better show there.  The man is white does appear to be moving, however, thus the wrinkles.

The collar appears to be sewn into the body of the deel to create a standing collar that travels the length of the enter seam of the neck area.  This appears to be common across social class and location.  I've seen it in Persian miniature, Chinese landscapes and Chinese portraiture.

I constructed it by experimenting a little over a couple different overcoats I have made.  I found that making a double-wide strip, sewing that to the body of the deel, then folding over the "right" side to reinforce the seam and make a tube.

Now the hat.  I love that hat.  I can't take full credit for making it as I'm in no way a milliner. Iulia Agricola had constructed it for me for Birka 2014 when out household theme was "unusual but documentable".

It is based on this:

It is a hunting scene.  I've not been able to directly attribute it to any on collection, sadly, but I can tell it's most likely Yuan and depicts a royal hunting party, probably for Kublai Khan, but that last part is pure conjecture.

You can see that there are two men wearing hats made of snow leopard, center left and center right.  At some point, I do want to make the hat for center right with the "pouf" on top.  That was not in the cards for me last year, but I do have enough of the faux fur to make another hat on my own.

I did base my hat off of center left.  I substituted the black for brown as I can't tell if it was brown in the original and aged into black, or if the fur was black when created.  Brown also was cheaper when I went to the fabric store and so it won as brown fur is common on all continents and it's plausible.

And, there you have it!  The head-to-toe breakdown of my garb from Birka 2015.