Thursday, December 1, 2016

Serena’s Reflections Upon the Work of a Laurel. Chapter Two: Be a Part of the A&S Community

Serena’s Reflections Upon the Work of a Laurel

This series will focus on MY opinion of the job that you agree to take on when you accept the accolade of The Laurelate. Being a Laurel is not just an award, regalia, or a title which is bestowed upon you. It’s a job. A good candidate will already be doing the job before they are elevated. 

Disclaimer: I am not, in any way, pointing fingers and saying “You are a bad Laurel” to anyone. At some times, I feel like I am being a bad Laurel by not being able to fulfill my own expectations. That’s just life, and I’m okay with it. You should try and be, too. 

Chapter Two: Be a Part of the A&S Community

One thing that they don’t tell you when you get elevated to the Laurel is that you’ll actually be doing MORE work than you were doing before your elevation. It’s not as much work on your art, but it’s work in a different sense. In most Kingdoms, the Laurelate is a polling order. The Order receives a poll and each member must then give their opinion on all the candidates. If a Laurel is not a part of the A&S community, then how can they know the candidates well enough to have an opinion? 

In order to be able to have an opinion on the list of candidates, the Laurel should know the players. They should go to Artisan’s Faires at local events, and attend classes to see who is teaching what, and at what level. They should go to at least their own Regional A&S Faire, if not surrounding Faires too, and judge if possible. Or simply go through and look at the entries. They should travel to different regions of their Kingdom if possible and see the A&S displays. This will give them an idea of who the artisans are, what they are making, and the quality of their work. 

If a Laurel is not a part of the A&S community, filling out a Laurel poll can be very difficult. Of course, a Laurel can decline to comment on any candidate on the poll that they do not know. If they don’t know most of the candidates on the list, then how helpful is their input? To support the order, Laurels must be able to assess the candidates and give counsel regarding them. They should interact with as many of the candidates as possible (discreetly, of course!). Many Kingdoms have various platforms where this kind of interaction can easily be accomplished. It’s not just the aspiring Laurels that should be getting out there, but the Laurels, too. 

A Laurel should also be someone who encourages those in the arts community. Simply saying “I love the beading on that veil!” to someone could make their whole day! Or one comment to an artisan could lead to an entire conversation about some new art for that the Laurel has never been exposed to. Getting excited about the arts, and publicly showing that excitement, is infectious. 

I’m not saying that all Laurels must travel extensively to be part of the A&S community. However, to be a GOOD Laurel, and a great candidate for the Laurelate, you must understand the A&S community and know who’s doing great stuff beyond your local group and region. So it’s best to get involved in, and be and active part of the A&S community before you’re elevated. 




Next up: Chapter Three: Act Like a Peer


Previous posts in this series:
Prelude: Find Your Art
Chapter One: Be a Scholar


:: Questions? Comments? Feel free to comment here, comment on the Facebook post (if you got here from Facebook), or email me at directly at serenasbugs@gmail.com. Thanks for reading!

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