Love is Strange

The Goddess and her cronies.

In 2011, Ginevra and I traveled to the wilds of Tirnewydd in Columbus to attend the Known World Dance Symposium where we had a fantastic time dancing, singing, and acting. Ginevra was a principle player in then The Honorable Lady, now Mistress, Felice’s production of The Masque at Coleorton and I had a small part in the production which forced me to learn, without hesitation, War Bransle. But enough of that, the masque deserve(s/d) a post of its’ own when it was more fresh in my mind.

At any rate, one of the classes that we took was an intensive course of Negri’s Bizzaria d’Amore. We had a fun dance set – Lelija from AEthelmearc, a friend we had met at Northern Oaken War Maneuvers during a dance class, and Jlona from Cynnabar. (Yay, new friends!) We made our way through the exhausting class (it was late in the day) and even had our own special version of one of the steps to help our tired-selves through it at the ball that night. Lelija’s lord, Sionn the Lost, was kind enough to document it for us during the evening’s ball.

As it has been about two years since I took the class, my knowledge of the Bizzaria has, at best, faded. Whenever I am feeling especially motivated I say I will learn the dance and teach it! (TEACH ALL THE VERSES!) So I will say it publicly – I will re-learn Bizzaria. I will teach it. When? Not sure exactly, but perhaps Pennsic if I can get a good format down.

There. Fancy-pants dance-gauntlet thrown.

References

• Renaissance Dance Database: Bizzaria d’Amore
• SCA Renaissance Dance Homepage: Bizzaria d’Amore
• YouTube: Bizzaria d’Amore [Credit: Alla Danza.]

Red Dragon 2013

As previously mentioned, Red Dragon is one of my favorite yearly events. It takes place in the Marche of Tirnewydd in Columbus, Ohio which is just over two hours south of my home in the Cleftlands. The event site is gorgeous, the weather is wildly unpredictable, and the food is amazing. (The people are pretty awesome, too!) This year had the extra added bonus of being Midrealm coronation for Their Royal Majesties Cellach and Vukasin.

When these stars aligned, Ginevra and I quickly sent in our early registration for the event, only later to learn that our four would be two due to last minute conflicts that prevented our respective Lords from attending. Undeterred, we planned for a 6:00 AM (!) departure on Saturday to the event with a brief stop to pick up an item for a field court, then a stop at Waffle House where bumped into two of our Furies Keep sisters. What are the odds of that?

We arrived on site with 30 minutes to spare prior to court, so we quickly dressed and made our way in to watch the coronation, which was fantastic. Afterwards, we checked in, then caught up with our beloved Patron and other Sisters. Around noon, we tried to make our way to a honeycomb pleatwork class taught by Genoveva von Lubeck of German Renaissance fame, but the class was already packed. (We will, of course, still DO said honeycomb pleatwork, but on our own time.) Undeterred by our failure, we proceeded to look at the A&S displays and then prepare for the 2:00 dance class.

Ginevra was asked to teach the dance this year, Caroso’s La Castellana*. The odds were definitely not in her favor, to borrow the near-reference from The Hunger Games. The lodge was packed with four other classes, it was humid and hot, and there were well over twenty students of varying degrees of expertise in attendance. Master Philip White summarized the entire class best:

Her circumstances were dire! It was humid. And hot. The room was crowded. Four other classes were going on and good was being served. It was loud. I could barely gather the energy to stay in the same room! But she was cool and calm. Soothing for the 25 or so students she ended up with who were of varying skill and experience. She was bright and helpful! Tentative and well paced! And somehow had boundless energy! Her students clearly had a great time and learned a lovely dance. Well done!

And all the while wearing our court clothes (see also: layers! intense heat!) I give Ginevra credit a thousand times over as it is deserved. I partnered with the lovely Sally of Red Spears at the far end of the hall and we had a grand time dancing for the hour of the class. During the half hour break before the competition, I continued to DJ the music for anyone who wished to practice, and practiced with anyone who wished to dance. Emine (bint Istani) was a pleasure to partner with, too!

Around 3:30, His Majesty Cellach, Her Majesty Vukasin, and His Majesty Trimaris Yoan arrived to proceed over the competition. Sally and I danced in the first group of performers and did well, then we were up again in different arrangement for the third run-through. Each group of five or so couples and performed twice, on the second positions were switched for faced the presence. The panel of judges conferred, then let us all know that the winner(s) would be announced during evening court.

Fast forward to evening court (see authors note below) where TRM called forth all the children, gave praise/thanks, then asked the parents if they would be allowed to go out and play with Gebhard Rauten, squire to the King and Deputy Kingdom Youth Minister, because court would be lengthy. I’m not sure if it was a precedent, but it was definitely a first for me to see. Classy!
Court ran through the usual paces, and when it was time for the dance competition winners to be announced, I was surprised to hear that Sally and I had been chosen. Yay, us! And I’m excited for next year’s challenge!

After court, we proceeded to the feast hall to have, quite possibly, one of the most amazing feasts I have ever been privy to, stewarded by my old friend Malachai and Team Anubis. Course after course of tantalizing dishes made it near impossible to pace ones self until the end. We closed out the night with a grand ball and live musicians.

A picture-perfect end to a picture-perfect event.

A family photo: Colette, Luther, Felice, Ginevra, Crespine,
Philip, Genoveva, Gianna, Zsof, and Elizabethe.

* La Castellana is one of my/our favorite dances. After a dance bender, feeling particularly distraught with our lack of Italian step knowledge, we tasked ourselves with learning not only the dance, but the terminology. It has become one of our signature demonstration pieces.

• Renaissance Dance Database: La Castellana
• YouTube: La Castellana [Credit: Etienne de Clermont and Adele Desfontaines dancing Caroso’s 1581 dance, La Castellana. Filmed at Musician’s Day, Grey Gargoyles (University of Chicago), October 2003.]

Authors Note: I wish I had summarized the event within less than 30 days of the event. The epic tale has been slowly fading out of memory as time progresses. Such is life! (This post is slightly back-dated to make things flow a little better than my writers block allows for.)

A Tale of War

To say that Pennsic was a blur is to put it mildly. I’m not sure if the blur was primarily before or primarily after, but as per usual I overloaded my schedule with things I wanted to accomplish and managed about a quarter of them. (Up from years past, though. Two thumbs to me!)

The thing that makes PW42 more surreal is the fact that it was my first time teaching at War. Nevermind the fact I hadn’t taught many classes before; very little could have prepared me for the nervous rush of teaching at such a large venue. I taught three classes: Whose Partner am I Anways?, Italian Dance for ECD Feet – Contrapasso en Due, and Mimed Bransles. They were more than enough (from a stress perspective) yet not enough because I would have liked to round out my four allotted classes as well as provide a little relief for the other teachers who had multiple classes. Best to start small, though.

Whose Partner was the first of three and had the most students, although I will shamefully say I invited half of my camp to attend to make sure at least someone was there. The dances were relatively simple, spirited, and fun. The version of Cuckolds taught was one that Ginevra and I had worked on through the long and cold Cleveland winter. Explaining the last verse (with pousettes) was made especially classy when you let the ladies know they can hit their partners over the head with a rolling pin as they chase them. Think about it… One of my house sisters recorded a video of Cuckolds for us – tilt your head to watch it.

Contrapasso was a well-attended class, although it seemed that the students were either already familiar with the dance (yet not ringers) or the steps translated exceptionally well to ECD (English Country Dance) terms. The dance was taught in pieces, starting with the chorus (figure 8’s or chevrons), then adding each of the verses, then a chorus, then repeated the process for each of the eight verses. We ended up with time to spare, so switched partners and danced it a few more times before class was adjourned.

Mimed Bransles was a lightly attended class, partially because it was up against Mistress Felice’s Gracca Amorosa flash mob and partially because the subject matter had been covered several times by then. It was a great opportunity to work with a small group of dancers and to practice listening for music queues to identify the dance. Which oddly enough…

… came in very handy during the Grand Ball! There were a small group of us willing to participate in the bransle challenge which consisted of randomly played bransles, dance til you drop, so on and so forth. Months of reviewing bransles really paid off! Towards the end, Ginevra and I were calling them as we went along. One of the funnier moments was during Bransle Aridan and the infamous bunny kicking giggle-fest, but you kind of had to be there.

Here are the class notes (etc.) for Pennsic 42:

• 7/27 - Whose Partner am I Anyway?
• 7/28 - Italian Dance for ECD Feet – Contrapasso en Due
• 7/30 - Mimed Bransles (Appendix)

A Box Without Hinges

A box without hinges, key, or lid, Yet golden treasure inside is hid.

It was serendipity when Bilbo and Gollum discussed the riddle dedicated to the incredible edible egg just as I was peeling a dozen for my latest culinary adventure. My initial exposure to a pickled egg was at a feast in January of 2009. A friend who specializes in medieval mustard and sauces provided mustard pickled eggs for the feast and since then I have been hooked. They definitely take a moment or two of texture analysis upon consumption, but if you can get past that then you are golden! (No pun intended.)

My take on the pickled treat went slightly askew when I stumbled upon a purple pickled egg fondly known as the Pennsylvania Dutch Pickled Egg. The coloring agent is none other than the offensive-to-some yet beloved-by-others beet. I looked through a number of different recipes and settled on a blending of the traditional sweet-acid mix plus spices. We'll see how it turns out later this week for the Cleftlands Cook's Guild egg-themed challenge.

From an SCA/medieval cookery perspective, I have been halfheartedly looking around the internet for methods of egg preservation during the middle ages. I have seen references to eggs being boiled and stored during Lent since the consumption of animal products (milk/eggs) were forbidden during the High Holy time. Also, the pickling of eggs in Greek, Roman and Persian cultures. I'll come back in and flesh this particular section out, though! It's definite food for thought. :)

Spiced Pickled Eggs

• 12 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
• 1/2 sweet or yellow onion, sliced
• 1 14 oz can of sliced beets, liquid drained and set aside
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 2/3 cup white sugar (what I had on hand)
• 1 T whole black peppercorns
• 1 t kosher salt
• 3 t Penzyes Tsardust seasoning (salt, garlic, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, marjoram)

Prepare hard-boiled eggs per your favorite cooking method. In a large glass container, place onions, beet slices, and hard-boiled eggs. In a non-reactive pan, combine sugar, spices and seasonings, vinegar, sugar, bay leaves, and the liquid from the can of beets then bring to a boil., then pour into glass container with remaining ingredients until they are covered. Seal, shake, then place in refrigerator to brine. Eggs will be ready to eat after 24 hours, but preferably within 2-3 days as each day will deepen the color/flavor of the egg.

The Sisterhood takes Candlemas

Ginevra and Gianna.

On February 23, Ginevra and I traveled to the far away lands of Barony of the Flame for Candlemas, one of the premier fighting events of the Midrealm and surrounding areas. As neither of us are armored combatants, we had never quite braved this level of road trip for our own pleasure, but when Felice let us know it would be the host of her elevation to the Order of the Laurel, we made short work of preparing ourselves for the adventure. Felice's persona is late period English, so team we consulted our wardrobes and our friend Sarra's to accomplish a late(r) period look. Overall, we approved!

Once we arrived, we were ushered into the vigil room to assist with the final touches for Felice's elevation outfit. I think that this is going to be a trend with the Sisters and elevations - last minute finishing touches. This craft circle did afford us the opportunity to touch base with Master Lorenzo Petrucci of Meridies. Not only is he an amazing dancer, but he's one heck of a tailor, too! Overall, we had a lovely time in our travels and celebrating the elevation of our dear sister.

The Sisterhood Sweat Shop,
featuring Master Lorenzo!

Preparing the vigilant for her
elevation to the Laurel.

Order of the Willow

A Regular Event in the Cleftlands

On January 12 at the Regular Event in the Cleftlands event held at the Medina County Fairgrounds I received the Order of the Willow, specifically for the teaching of dance in the Middle Kingdom. I was especially flattered that Mistress Milesent created the scroll for this award and His Majesty Dag commented that the resemblance was uncanny. It was of note and slightly humorous that while the face matched mine, the dress was spot on for the one that Milesent was wearing that day heralding behind the thrones. Well played!

Scroll by Mistress Milesent Vibert

Greetings unto all and singular know by these presents that we AnneMarie Queen of this Middle Kingdom and patroness of the arts and Dag our King are well pleased with the skill and teaching of dance displayed by our subject Gianna Vettori and hereby enter her into our Order of the Willow.

14th Century Largesse Chest

The onset of fall 2012 brought forth a new challenge to the populace of the Cleftlands - a largesse gift exchange. Upon receiving my name, I realized I would have to up my game just a little. The recipient for this exchange was an avid lover of all things 14th century and an amazing scribe to boot! The plans quickly changed from just "a box" to A BOX!

As found on St. Thomas Guild: Chest
TR-NR 409 (ISN Ba 83). Made of oak,
dated 1375 and of Braunschweighter
construction.

I found the inspiration piece on St. Thomas Guild in a post titled Unconventional photography of medieval furniture. The first image you see is of a lovely 14th century chest from Kloster Isenhagen and would work perfectly for the project.

With a $20 limit on materials, the project was not made of oak, but made of pine and stained a light honeyed color to mimic some of the lighter tones in the wood. I wanted the chest to be functional as both a chest, as a seat, and as something more - a gaming surface.

Meinhard and I worked together on the design of the chest in Solid Works to get an accurate cut list. Once the pieces were cut, they were glued together, sanded, then stained.

Please disregard the fellow on the left.

I decided use a gaming illumination as inspiration. The board size in the original was a little smaller than I needed so I found regulation chessboard guidelines and made the board on the box top according to spec. After those were laid out, I transferred the two original figures playing chess, the whitework border, and the landscape.

For durability, the artwork was painted with acrylics. Once everything was dried, a light coat of wipe on polyurethane was applied.

Front view of the completed box.

Front detailed view of the inset cut work.

Aerial view.

The chess board in use.

Red Dragon 2012

Red Dragon in the Marche of Tirnewydd is one of my favorite yearly events although I'm not sure why precisely. I imagine most of the fun comes from day tripping with close friends. There is often stories, many of which can be repeated... others, not so much. I will spare the details to protect the innocent or the guilty.

One highlight of the event is the annual dance competition sponsored by THL Felice Debbage and Sir Cellach macChormac. To provide a little background, the first year Ginevra and I studied hard for Gracca Amorosa. By studying hard I mean talking a lot about it prior to and doing very little due to intimidation, then deciphering the steps from the Terpsichore handbook and finger-puppet dancing over lunch while trying to watching a video on my iPhone.

The second year, we vowed to study ahead with Candida Luna, but didn't have the music and were otherwise busy with life.

This third year, the dance was Alta Regina and as I'm sure you can imagine, we SRSLY vowed to go over it at least once, but it didn't happen. Life interrupted Ginevra's trip, but I went ahead as planned.

Mistress Alina was instructing this time as THL Felice was under doctor's orders to stay off her twinkle toes. The dance was similar enough to Gracca Amorosa and La Castellana to throw me every so often with the muscle memory. Two reprisa followed by two trabuchetti means you spezzato then cadenza without question, right? No... not in Alta Regina!

While far from perfect, I was able to compete later that day with the lovely Baroness Angharad ferch Tangwystl as my partner and we earned second place!

Renaissance Dance Database: Alta Regina

The Sisterhood Takes Coronation

Master Philip, Colette, Ginevra, Felice,
Gianna and Mistress Crespine!

On September 29, our dear sister Crespine de la Vallèe was offered membership into the noble Order of the Laurel. Ginevra and I traveled to the wilds of Michigan followed by our required stop at IKEA for meatballs. (Yum!) The vigil was lovely and, as expected, we assisted with some last-minute sewing... into the dress.

Another lovely gathering of the Sisterhood!

A Banner Weekend

I have had an interest in silk painting for a number of years, primarily due to the absolutely stunning banners I have seen displayed at Pennsic. Earlier this year, I decided to bite the bullet and stop stalking the art form and picked up a silk painting set from Dharma Trading and got promptly to work! Wait, that's not right. I got promptly to work... moving in to my new home. As you can imagine, there were a few other pressing things that needed to be addressed before I could get comfortable with my kit including getting everything moved and arranged, preparing for Pennsic, going to Pennsic, then coming home to a time-consuming disaster at work.

Thankfully, the dust has settled.

A member of the Philippian Sisters of Perpetual Scholarship is being elevated to the most noble Order of the Laurel at Coronation this year. As part of the pageantry, I tasked myself to stop procrastinating and start painting! Our patron saint is known by the arms: Azure semy of oak leaves inverted Or, a bend wavy argent. Using those arms combined with our own badge, (Fieldless) An acorn gules charged with a bend wavy argent, I was able to create a design that would be both challenging and classy, yet not so difficult I couldn't finish it in time.

I used several references to teach me the proper sequence of events, including 20' Up! Making and Flying Silk War Standards and How to Paint Silk Banners: A full Achievement for an SCA Pelican. The tools used an 8mm Habotai silk scarf that was 15 by 60 inches. I washed it with Synthrapol as recommended, then let it air dry. When I was ready to begin, I ironed it on a silk setting and set it aside for the design phase.

Using my cutting board, I laid out a length of MÅLA drawing paper and started constructing the rough shape of the banner. From the top, I left a few inches of material for the seam allowance, then proceeded to place the acorn wavy and the wavy dividing line. I created a semy of oak leaves out of printed pictures and tiled them down the main part of the banner until the end. After the design was complete, I laid the silk scarf over the top of it and proceeded to pin and stretch the material so I could trace the design with a pencil. The process wasn't as time consuming as I had feared, so I laid out a second scarf just in case the first was somehow damaged.

The process of stretching the silk was a bit more entertaining. A few weeks prior, my Lord and I built a frame out of 2x4 material and placed upright nails every two inches along the side. I initially used binder clips and rubber bands to stretch the silk, but since I was going to be painting to the edges (design change!), I replaced that with cotton thread along each point. Once the scarf was fully strung to the frame, I began working with the resist. I tested the pressure needed on a paper towel and went from there. I found it somewhat awkward to hover over the leaves so I used my yard stick rested on the frame as a means to keep my hand steady.

I was a little worried to begin the process of applying the dyes, but after several checks of the gutta outlines I bit the bullet and started with the red acorn and gold leaves. I used the Jacquard dyes and the bamboo brushes to apply the dye. My observation with the process is that it took a little more dye than I thought and it worked best if you painted slightly away from the gutta line and let the silk wick the color to the edge so as not to overpower the resist. While applying the red, a small flick of red dye landed in the wavy line, but it was barely noticeable so I proceeded with the gold a bit more cautiously and less energetically. After the red and gold dried, I moved on to applying the blue dye. I found the process to be a bit daunting due to the amount of detail work needed in the negative space around the oak leaves. I worked from the wavy division down to the end as quickly as I could to try to (unsuccessfully) avoid drying lines. I decided to go with it and use the same pattern around each of the oak leaves which created a subtle dragon scale pattern.


Overall lesson learned -- work quickly in big areas. I have read in several accounts that a wide sponge or brush should be used to cover large areas and I may try that for the next application and just accentuate the leaves with a narrow line of dye. I may also try using just the clip method, but I have to admit I kind of enjoyed stringing it to the frame. When applying the blue, there was a noticeable sag of the materials and I wonder how the rubber bands would have worked instead. I can't wait to start my next batch of silk painting projects!

Finished banner still attached to the frame.

The banners in use for Mistress Crespine's elevation.