The Argent Scriptorium

Years ago (has it really been YEARS now?), our Barony had a scriptorium, a guild of scribes who gathered on a regular basis to work on projects and generally hang out and be supportive. And then various Real Life circumstances interfered, and the scriptorium ceased to meet. I have been wanting to see if it could be stirred back to life, so I started poking people. I was met with a great deal of enthusiasm, and I'm very pleased to say that the Argent Scriptorium will have its first meeting tomorrow night after shaking off its dormancy.

A work in progress

 

I unfortunately do not know the source of this lovely B, as it was a printout given to me to try without further background. If I ever find more information, I will add it here. It is proving to be a nice learning piece, though.

I finished a thing!

 This bar and vine piece has been lingering in my scribal box for awhile...since before the pandemic, in fact. Today I dragged it out and finished it. It only needed the whitework and lining. My hands shake much worse than they used to, but I'm still happy with how some of the whitework turned out. I love the little arrows and half stars; the little leaf highlights look a bit clumsy here and there, but they add some interest and were worth trying, I think.

Chamfron

 We attended our first in-person event since the pandemic began, and it was Crystal Chamfron, the event I started. As with all Chamfrons since I lost Aziza, my feelings were mixed; I want to support the equestrian community, and I hope to take part in it again someday, but being around horses tears my heart out all over again. On the positive side, it was absolutely delightful to spend time with friends, especially those from outside the area. A rider and SCAdian I admire sought my input on a personal matter, flattering me tremendously, and later Wylle was called up in court (twice!) to receive awards (including one that utilized one of my scroll blanks, funnily enough). Despite it being a soggy Saturday, the event was a great success. It was my favorite Chamfron in a long while.

I rode enough to keep my authorizations. I had intended to spend some time on the archery range, but that got rained out. I did, however, get my bows inspected, including the "new" Pony bow that I haven't even gotten to fire yet, so when Wylle gets the range at the farm cleared, I can resume practice. I'm looking forward to it. I am not a good archer by any stretch, but I do enjoy shooting. It is one of the more medieval/immersive SCA activities for me. There is a fundamental satisfaction about archery buried somewhere in my lizard brain, I think!

Our Barony has been meeting in person for a short while, and if things continue as they are, we will likely start attending again soon. I'm eager to return to fighter's practice. Between that, archery, and my scribal interests, I definitely have enough to keep me busy for awhile.

The Right Direction

Today, with Wylle's help, I managed to gather all of my scribal gear in one place for the first time in an age. It is still a manageably-sized pile, and now contained enough to take projects to meetings and events once they begin happening once more. In the meantime, just handling the pads of paper and tubes of paint made me itch to work...perhaps in the next few days I'll find myself a corner of the table and play with some designs.

Intrigued

This crossed my feed elsewhere today:

Historic Skills Challenge

I am intrigued by the idea, and while I know I wouldn't be able to complete a bingo card as it were, I still like the idea of laying out challenges this way. So I am saving the link here for myself for later, and if anyone happens to see it and wants to try it, as well, then all the better!

In the meantime, I am entertaining the idea of entering my Barony's upcoming poetry challenge. I've previously written one poem in an attempted Middle Eastern style, but I would also like to write one specifically for the occasion. I have less than two weeks. Wish me luck, ha!

Ups and Downs and Sideways...es

Real life has been interfering with my A&S projects for a little while, but seems to be settling a bit. I had to drop uke lessons for the time being, but that doesn't stop me from working through lesson books on my own at home. I have a lovely little sopranissimo that's just begging me to finish learning some early 20th century songs, but also a laminate pineapple that I'm hoping will work well as a portable, not-too-obviously-modern instrument for playing at events. It already has a checkered past-- I will likely never order from the seller again, in spite of a stellar reputation-- but I am hoping to make new, better memories with it. I was fortunate enough to attend Known World Cooks and Bards this year, which I quite enjoyed, and took the class "My Guitar's Persona is a Lute" with Lord Drake Oranwood. While guitar doesn't translate exactly to ukulele (baritone ukes aside), I still found the class useful and look forward to seeking out some of the music discussed.

Latest Efforts

I have a few projects going right now, and one of them is actually exciting! (To me, at any rate.) My best-fitting-- but oldest-- kamis was showing its age. My second and third, made of linen, are holding up pretty well, but the old cotton one had accumulated some marks and frays. But since it fit better than my others, I decided to disassemble it to see how I had deviated so far in my measurements over the three. I've taken what I hope are careful notes and over the next week I'll be cutting the pieces for two new ones. I also have a research paper that I'm hoping to write and polish up as an actual faire entry within the next six months or so. Whoo!

Even better than that, though, this week I started ukulele lessons. While the uke isn't period, there are arrangements available of medieval lute music for the uke. I don't know how long I'll be able to take lessons, but the first one went well and I'm hoping I can stay with them for awhile. There's a particular piece I would really like to be able to play at an event come November.

"I'm not a musician!" but...

I'm not. I'm not a musician. I have no sense of rhythm, I have difficulty sticking to anything, and I hate performing in front of people. But a variety of circumstances have compelled me to pick up my cheap, impulse-buy ukulele and start practicing on it.

Its origins are medieval, though its distinctive sound places it firmly out of period; but the lingering thought remains that with a minor (no pun intended, I swear) string swap, it can pass relatively well within the SCA setting. I have no idea if I will ever be comfortable playing it in front of the real musicians in our local groups, but it is a fun notion. As with so many of my endeavors, I will just have to push forward and see what happens!

Wow the projects

It's possible I've over-extended myself. Again.

Crystal Chamfron, our Barony's annual equestrian event, is coming up in a few short days. I'm co-autocratting, casting the site tokens, helping make signs, and illuminating four scrolls for the Baronial champs and one tourney winner. Craziness!

Even crazier, I'm hoping to try out for Baronial archery champion. I'll be going up against some VERY accomplished archers, and I've gotten to practice once since last summer. And I wasn't much good then. ;D  Still, it'll be fun, and any excuse to ping arrows at a target is a good excuse. I really enjoy archery, and I look forward to the day I feel competent enough to do it from horseback. And being able to shoot well at a canter? That's a dream. Not quite the level of dream as having a horse again, but it's up there. And that starts with standing on the ground, pinging arrows at a target. :)

Archery, Pt. II

I think I have material for my first attempt at a belt quiver. Whoo!

Archery

I think I'd like to name my bows. I haven't yet come across anything showing that Bedouins did so, but I've just dusted the surface of my archery research. At this point I just think it's a fun idea and I want to do it. (I'm not alone in this:  I asked the SCA Target Archery community on facebook, and a lot of people are responding with their bows' names. It's been very entertaining (and encouraging).

I have an idea in mind for a belt quiver based on one I saw at Mounted War Games last year that incorporates a piece of tack hardware. I also have a lovely short sword I've had for decades that I was told was based on a Persian design; unfortunately, its scabbard has no hardware for hanging. If I can figure out how to attach straps or rings without damaging the scabbard, that might be a fun project, as well. Because I need more projects. Because the SCA.

Scribal Inspiration

From The Morgan Library & Museum site:

"An Aristocratic Smithy: Part of a Persian prince's education included gaining proficiency in a craft. For example, Ibrāhīm Mīrzā, the nephew of Shah Tahmāsp (r. 1524–76), excelled in carpentry and made musical instruments. Here a youth in a bright orange robe and henna-stained fingernails is making a horseshoe. This painting and three others in the Read Persian album appear to be copies of lost works by Ḥabīb-Allāh al-Mashhadī, an important painter at Governor Shāmlū's court."

My 100 Days of A&S challenge master post

Day 1, July 18 - needlebook class
Day 2, July 19 - finished a scroll
Day 3, July 20 - mixed paints from pigment
Day 4, July 21 - finished mixing pigments, then promptly upended the palette because I am that gifted
Day 5, July 22 - organized my scribal printouts more efficiently in prep for choosing my next projects
Day 6, July 23- scribal research

I've decided to participate in the 100 Days of A&S challenge. Participants work on something A&S-related for at least 10 minutes for 100 days in a row. If you miss a day, you start over. I expect my pattern to be something like this:

Monday

Day 23 - Worked on my banner

Tuesday

Day 24 - Research for my paper

Wednesday

Day 25 - Finished a scroll

Sat

Day 1...

But I'm doing it anyway. I may give up before I get 100 days in a row, or I may make it to the end, but either way I'll have accomplished more than if I hadn't tried at all.

If you want to participate, you can pick any start date you want. If you want to be part of the Facebook group, you can find it here:

Facebook 100 Days of A&S Challenge

Good luck to you!