Serena’s Reflections Upon the Work of a Laurel. Chapter Three: Act Like a Peer

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 Three: Act Like a Peer

You may be fantastic at your art. You may be a scholar and share your information freely, and often. You may be a huge, active part of the A&S community and be well networked with many artisans. If you don’t act like a peer, however, you won’t be doing your job as a Laurel. 

Many people have written about being a Peer. It’s quite a complicated subject. Mistress Zsof talks about it here in her series. Mistress Gianetta posted her thoughts on the matter here. You should go read those essays, and any links within them about this subject. Everyone has their own opinion, and that’s ok. In fact, I think that’s good, because it means that there are different ways of describing the same topic. One person’s words may not have the same effect as another’s. Here are my words. 

Peers act like the adult in the room. They don’t just complain, they gently offer solutions when they see problems, and don’t get bent out of shape if their suggestions aren’t heeded. They help where they can but they don’t take on more than they can handle. If they find themselves in a situation where they are overwhelmed, they ask for help or try and delegate their responsibilities. They keep their cool under stressful situations, and help those who they see going through stressful things themselves. They do their best not to embarrass themselves or others. They don’t act like they are better than others, but try to lift up those that they see might be struggling. They don’t blow out another’s candle in order to try to make their flame brighter. They think before they speak. 

All that said, nobody is perfect. Even peers have their bad moments and slip up on these ideals. It’s not uncommon to have one Peer call out another Peer for acting “un-Peerlike”. We can all use a reality check from time to time, and we all make mistakes because we are human. However, those who find themselves consistently unable to uphold one or all of the statements listed above (and the many more Peer-like qualities that others have identified), then they aren’t acting like a Peer. They may be doing lots and lots of great things, making fantastic art, and being a diligent scholar. But if they don’t act like a Peer, then they are giving all the Peers of their order a bad name. They may be the person who makes someone else think “That Peer was a jerk! All <insert Peerage here> are jerks!” 

If you don’t want to act like a Peer, don’t expect to become one. Once you ARE a Peer, do your best to set a good example and act like the Peer that you now are. 

Even though there is much more to discuss on this topic, this concludes my series. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. 

Previous posts in this series:
Prelude: Find Your Art
Chapter One: Be a Scholar
Chapter Two: Be a Part of the A&S Community

:: 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!

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!

Serena’s Reflections Upon the Work of a Laurel. Chapter One: Be a Scholar

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 One: Be a Scholar

In my opinion, the job of Laurels in the SCA is to be the scholars. Laurels should be the locators, organizers, and disseminators of medieval information. As a Society that attempts to accurately recreate the middle ages, scholars are needed to guide people who are just starting out, to teach those who are working on elevating their art form, and to gently redirect those long on the path when new information arises. 

In the past decade, the SCA as a whole has upped its game. People are making, wearing, and doing things in a much more period manner than ever before. This is undoubtedly due to it now being easier than ever to find information (thank you, Internet!) plus our innate desire to raise the bar. A great example of this is Duke Ullr of the Middle Kingdom. His Grace has accumulated extensive knowledge of Norse culture and has used this insight to incrementally improve his garb, fighting kit and encampment over the years. His Grace has inspired others to do the same with what he calls “The 10% Challenge.”

To quote Duke Ullr, “I present the challenge this way; make an effort to improve your kit by 10%. Maybe that’s 10% a year, or war season, or by improving a skill or item in your kit. Ultimately, a small investment leads to a better overall impression of your era in history. It's simple, try to change small things to be historical. Shoes this year, linen cloth instead of polyester next year. Learn how to do a new thing this winter. Teach others in the spring. Little steps to achieve a better Society." 

I think this is a great challenge for everyone to consider, and I know plenty of folks who have successfully met the challenge. Because of their efforts, they are more authentic every year, a little bit at a time. By and large the typical SCA participant today looks relatively authentic and can create some very lovely items in a period fashion. What it comes down to, is that it’s not enough to just look authentic and make neat stuff anymore. To be a Laurel, you must also be a scholar. It’s your job. 

Not everyone has the drive to be a scholar, and that’s ok. It takes work, long hours of research, and a lot of reading and pondering your subject. It takes a creative and forward thinking mind to collect a body of evidence, see holes where no information exists, and then fill those holes with “I think it was probably done this way, based on this evidence and that sample.”  It’s not just reading the available research and memorizing facts and figures. It’s having the ability to connect the dots between those figures that is critical.

A scholar is hungry for knowledge and never stops learning, or reevaluating that which they think they already know. When new information arises through new archaeological finds, or texts, or extant samples, the scholar says “Ah! I see I was close, but I was wrong! This is how it was done! Check it out!” It may be very hard to accept the “I was wrong” part of this equation, especially if you’ve invested many years, and an enormous amount of emotion, into your art. A Laurel, being a Peer, should have the humility to put aside personal feelings and focus on the facts. This can be very hard when you’ve nurtured your art, watched it grow, shared it proudly, and received praise for it. However, artists must try to remember that negative comments on their art are most likely not personal attacks on them as a person. Without a doubt, this can be the hardest aspect of being a Laurel – removing emotion from the discussion. That’s not to say you should remove enthusiasm or passion! But you should try to remain objective and not become defensive when your positions or beliefs are challenged. It’s only through challenging what we already know that our collective knowledge can be furthered. 

Another vital part of being a scholar is being able and willing to share your information. In the SCA that means teaching a class, participating in a craftperson’s faire, or maybe simply bringing (or actively doing) your art to an event. This sharing of information makes all of us all more authentic. It makes the SCA a richer experience for everyone, for both those participating in activities and those observing. 

I’m not saying that ONLY Laurels can be scholars. However, to be a GOOD Laurel, you should be a scholar. So before you get elevated, crack a book, do your research, and study up!

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

Previous post in this series:
Prelude: Find Your Art

:: 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!

Serena’s Reflections Upon the Work of a Laurel. Prelude: Find Your Art

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. 

Prelude: Find Your Art

Most artisans are interested in a variety of different arts (or sciences. For convenience sake I’m using “arts” to describe both arts AND sciences). Or, at least, multiple art forms that are closely related. Take my personal interest as an example. I love raising silkworms, but I also love processing the silk (up to a point; there is one step in the cocoon to usable thread process that I loathe). They are different arts, and different skill sets, but are related. 

I have found many people who like something that they are very good at, but it’s not really their passion. They seem to get the idea that if they make this type of art or do that kind of art they will be noticed for their artistic prowess. That may be true, but there is a difference between being good at an art form and having a passion for it. 

I can always tell when a person is talking about their art. They may excel in, let’s say, embroidery, but when talking to them, I can see a sparkle in their eyes when they start to talk about, for example, children’s hats. When asked more about it, they get animated and could go on for hours and hours about it. Then I ask them why they don’t make children’s hats? They seem to think nobody else will care about THAT, but everyone likes pretty embroidery. 

My advice to everyone is to always follow your passion. No matter what anyone else thinks about your art, an artist’s passion for that art is obvious in the work that they do on the art. Many people find silkworms hard to even look at, much less touch or work with. However, that’s what I wanted to do. I found my art. I did my art, and I loved it. 

So first, find your art. Then DO your art, with reckless abandon and exuberant joy. Work hard on your art, and then share your wonders with everyone. With hard work and dedication, mastery should result. And if for some reason mastery doesn’t follow, at least you’ve filled yourself with joy in the process. 

Next up: Chapter One: Be a Scholar

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

Silk Reeling Info

I decided to upload PDF files of silk reeling info on my web site for all to use. Please be sure to give me (or other authors) credit if you use any info contained in these documents. Thanks! 

The first is my documentation for Demonstrating Period Activities: Silk Reeling 

Demonstrating Period Activities: Silk Reeling Documentation

The second file is a class handout from a silk reeling class that Mistress Nikolena from Calontir and I run together. 

Silk Reeling Class Handout

Please feel free to contact me with any questions! serenasbugs (at) gmail. 

Long time, no post

It's been almost two years since I've posted on this blog.  That's a very sad thing, but it really couldn't be helped.  

I still love bugs, but I haven't actually reared silkworms for awhile.  We had more water problems in our basement, causing me to shut down my bug rearing room.  Then real life got very busy and I just never got around to making my insectary clean enough to rear silkworms in again.  

I will rear silkworms again, but it might be awhile.  Very sad, I know!  But silkworms take time to care for, and if I'm going to raise them I want to do it properly.  

I am always available to help people get started with raising silkworms, however.  I love to talk about it!  That and silk reeling, which is super fun.  

So feel free to contact me at serenasbugs@yahoo.com.  

Polyphemus babies

I got some Antheraea polyphemus eggs, and they hatched today!

They are related to the Antheraea pernyi that I raised last year, only the polyphemus are native to North America and I can have them without a permit.

Adorable!