Pennsic Thursday 2006-08-17
Got up too late for breakfast (not that camp breakfasts have been happening early enough to be useful) and didn't actually eat anything (besides a glass of OJ) until after rehearsal.
Today's classes:
09:00Culture: EuropeanThe Art of Shopping [cancelled]
09:00Fiber Arts: EmbroideryLaidwork and Couching: the Stitch that Made History [cancelled]
09:00Sewing: BasicsA Very Basic Sewing/Embroidery Class
11:00Health & SafetyMedieval & Renaissance Hygiene
12:00Jewelry: ManufactureChainmail Jewelry Weaves
14:00
Pennsic Choir dress rehearsal
16:00SCA LifePeriod-like Printing with Computers [cancelled?]
16:00Culture: EuropeanMedieval Magic and Mysticism
17:00
changing clothes for concert
18:00
Known World Choir Concert (w/ Wolgemut)
The basic sewing class I took was the same as one I took last year, but it was good to see the material again. Some things were trivial, some I remembered, and some I didn't get last year. (I've decided this instructor isn't quite as good as she thinks she is, because there are some things she does not explain well.) But the refresher was a good idea.
The Chainmail Jewelry Weaves class was - no surprise - swamped. There were materials (cut rings and pairs of pairs of pliers) for 12, and a few extra handouts. Someone suggested that we buddy-up so more people could participate, and I think everyone who really wanted to was able to. Then the class split into 2 groups, most doing the Byzantine weave (which my partner wanted to do - pictured above), and a couple doing round mail (which I thought looked more interesting). Some extra pliers turned up, so my partner and I could both work. I did enough of the Byzantine to get the hang of it, and gave my partner all the materials to finish up a Byzantine-weave bracelet, and then I started on the round mail. There wasn't enough time to get very far with it, but I think I understand what to do with it. The class moved to an empty classroom and kept going past its allotted time, but I had choir rehearsal. Again, wishing I had suitable pliers to keep working on it here in camp....
These hands-on craft classes (sewing, embroidery, weaving, wire arts, metal casting, wood carving, etc) consistently seem to have large turnouts. I can see some effort to address that in this year's schedule, with multiple people teaching some subjects. (There were at least 2 teachers for wire weaving and 2 for pewter casting and some of each doing multiple classes.) The classes still need to be kept small because some (or many) students will need individual attention, and sometimes because the equipment may be dangerous (knives, molten metal, etc). The classes prepared independently by different teachers may not be the same, but they do give more people the opportunity to explore period arts/technologies with someone experienced for cheap - I've done a pewter cast without needing to buy the specialized equipment; I've seen what kinds of pliers and cutters are the best choices for butted chain mail. If I want to pursue these crafts, I know what to buy, what to avoid, what I can scrounge, and what can wait. And if it turns out the craft isn't that engaging (to me), I'm out only a few dollars and an hour or two.
Conflicting classes of interest to me:
09:00HistoryMot Ngan Nam - Medieval Vietnam
10:00ClothingGothic Embellishments
10:00Herbs & GardensHerbal Sallets & Green Potages
10:00GamingIntroduction to the Game of Go
11:00Languages: MongolianMongolian Alphabet and Pronunciations
11:00Clothing: EuropeanSamatian Baroque: Men's and Women's Clothing in Renaissance Poland
11:00Sewing: BasicsMedieval Handsewing
11:00Literature & PoetryElizabethan Fairies
11:00WoodworkHow to Carve a Viking Horse
12:00Scribal ArtsScroll Protection 101
12:00CookeryFlowered Sugars
13:00GamingThe Game of Goose
17:00HistoryHeresies and Heretics
17:00Books and BookbindingEcclesiastes: Making an 8thC Celtic Book
The Known-World Choir's performance was this evening, and I must say so myself that it was terrific. I could tell at my first rehearsal that this group was way ahead of anything that happened the previous 2 years. The pieces that were shaky came into order. Ensemble was pretty good. Tuning was pretty good. Every day at rehearsal there was applause from passers-by after whatever we sang first. (Then I guess they realized it was a rehearsal. ) There was a lot of fast text, but people were on top of it. The concert was REALLY GOOD. And Wolgemut popped in with a Marian cantiga played on harp, vielle, and a keyed Swedish fiddle. The concert was recorded, and we should be able to get CDs eventually. (There will also be a CD of highlights from previous recent years.)
Things are still strange at camp. Our land agent is still in the hospital, and I haven't seen her partner all day. The others are around somewhere. I don't know what dinner was (anniemal, dglenn and I went sorta-shopping after the concert) but there were some fried potatoes left over, and a little chilli from last night, and pasta salad. (We're still vegetable challenged.)
dglenn and anniemal have gone next door to Clan Cambion where they're singing. I'm not much for sing-a-longs. I've been catching up with this journal, and watching the laptop battery drop into the red. Bedtime, so I can get to another 09:00 class tomorrow....