Category: Non Musical

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Elevation Speech for Corotica-Rose

The Coronation of Brennan IV and Caoilfhionn IV

When I met Corotica, they had barely set foot into our kingdom and yet, it felt like they had been here since its inception. I walked into their life and they bounded into mine. They shared themselves, their art and their shoulder. I would see them soaring from working on their art to adorned in full armor as if invisible wings would carry them effortlessly, but with expediency. I saw fire in them around them. The true passion of the artist and the fire of a fighter, emblazoned in battle. The fighter that is the protectorate with the playfulness of a goblin… nay… a cryptid paladin, ready to fight for the downtrodden, the ignored and forgotten. They were ready to fight the good fight.

However, I am not here to speak of Corotica and how truly amazing of a human they are. I am here to speak of the inspiration that Corotica has bestowed. I would be remiss to only speak of my experiences. When you stand on the dias with other champions, you start to build new bonds. One of those bonds is with the person we are championed to. Inspiration is not just about words, it is about actions as well. Ryan MacWhite shares the story of an arrow. It was a super heated match, if you had not had seen it. The only noise was the sound of bows loosing and arrows making contact with the target. Ryan’s second to last arrow shattered into what felt like 1000 pieces. Only a small section survived. When the round was decided, he took the arrow fletching, which had survived, to her Excellency, Indrakshi and the tip to Corotica. He stated “This is just the first of many arrows I would break in your name”. The finals came and another arrow was shattered. This time, Ryan had presented the fletching of the arrow to Corotica to make their arrow whole, so to speak. Corotica advised how this moment of the event had made their day. Later, after safe travels home. Corotica sent a picture of the arrow parts in a vase in their home. Most folks would say “oh, a broken arrow” and throw it in the garbage but it MEANT something to them and that’s just rare and special.

I bring words from the co-populace, Lady Seigne Ruadh, Woman of the SCA, Archer, artisan and friend. Seigne spoke to me as a woman of the SCA. She spoke, with joyful tears in her eyes, of Corotica, who is female presenting. Seigne spoke of Corotica as a fighter who is a voice for women in the SCA. Corotica has  spoken out for the underprivileged genders and continues to speak out for them. Corotica has made it known that things need to change for women and those who do not fit the mold for the male gender. Corotica has spoken publically about how male presenting fighters were treated and the disparity of the treatment Corotica received when they said the same thing just a moment before. When Corotica became consort, they stated that a change was coming. That our world would change. That is influence. Seigne states “ I am not a fighter, I but am an archer and I am a woman. I think it’s really important that Corotica made it known that you need to listen to people, not a gender and I appreciate them for doing that. I was inspired to create a coat to make them stand out. I did a large documentable piece of research because they had a stunning personality, a warrior and who would appreciate a warm gift.” This is power. This is inspiration. This is the voice that Corotica has given the populace.

To all those assembled today, Corotica is a Rose with thorns. They are a defender of the weak, inspiration for the artist, muse for the warriors. They have long since been a peer. I, a member of the populace, was given a voice today thanks to Corotica. I can recommend no one more than I do them. 

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Love for my Laurel-Ican

Several months back, my Pelican reached out to me and asked if I wanted to create tokens for my Laurel as she was going to be asked to join the Order of the Pelican. At that time, I was unable to complete the project so I said no. More covid struck the world and the event was moved to a much later date. I wanted to do something more special than just tokens. I wanted to do something that meant something to Sabine. Her full SCA name is Sabine de Kerbriant and she is a 14th century french woman. What better way to capture that than to do a 14th century brooch. Her badge that she marks all of us is a heart. So, I found a heart shaped brooch. I wanted to something truly accurate to her persona. Luckily, l found this. See the below link:

Link to museum where brooch is housed

The original brooch said “Without being parted” which wasn’t what I really wanted to convey, so I did some research and found a 14th century french phrase which seemed to be more fitting. “Here I am Yours” IOSV IEI ATI VCI.

From there, I did my work. I 3D modeled this in fusion 360

This is the image after many many hours of modeling

From there, I made a mold out of high temperature silicone and cast it

After it was cast, I cut off the sprue, cleaned it up, ran it through a rock tumbler.

To make the brooches functional, I took silver plated copper, cut them to length, wrapped them and filed the edges to make them sharp. I made 75 of these for Sabine’s elevation. My hands were cranky.

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Words for Onana Frizzell- Lamp of Apollo

Words for Onana Frizzell- Lamp of Apollo
By Solveig Bjarnardottir
Inspired by Oedipus

Auspicious Onara Frizzell, stretch the skilled hand
The delicate digits, until they embroider and paint for us
Fine Tapestries and illuminations
Athena, Artist
Make with prism of colors upon the fabric!
Oh, amethyst virtuosa, O fine crafter of brush and needle
O Stonemarchian-Rhapso not be belittled to Nike
Inspire on and share with all you can
Come with outstretched palm as you raise
yourself and others
Baron and Baroness of Stonemarche
Keziah and Deidre, inspired by your skill
Elevate you, an order to join
Apollo, Lamp, golden bright
This Palio, Anno Societatis 57

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Demo at the New Hampshire Renaissance Faire

One of my jobs, as it has been for the past year is to serve as the Chatelaine of the Barony of Stonemarche. For the previous year, it has really just been an administrative job due to the nature of events and COVID. However, at the Aisles of Marche, I had set up a mini demo for any possible new comers to be able to see what we had besides shopping. I wanted something that was more visually pleasing than just some folks, standing around in garb and answering questions. I wanted something interactive.

For the NHRF, I started off with a new, revamped booklet, which was not as intense as what we have on the SCA website, but has some key information that a new comer would need walking into their first, second or third events.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1quyibfNwdMUSnwOxnH4hwkdgSateUS5r/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=105255312117189439983&rtpof=true&sd=true

From there, I also created a form with pictures of all the main folks in the Barony, as well as the Royals. This was accurate at the time of it’s inception. This will get updated as officers and royals change.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mND-AeuMKRuFKDMQosknxJdEkfRBMiFy/view?usp=sharing

From there it was grabbing weapons, crafts, books, arts and SINGING! I cannot have an event without singing. I brought a few copies of my rounds book and as folks had time, would encourage them to sing. We also had live crafting demonstrations and board games. I picked a few of my favorite medieval board games and set them out to teach people. On the games, there was a copy of the barony and sca information as well as the rules. I figured this might be a better alternative to business cards. Also, for the hip crew, we had a QR code to scan so I could email folks directly. I know I don’t want to carry a card with me if I don’t have to.

The rest of the day I spent answering questions for new comers, herding my amazing volunteers, scheduling breaks and just having a blast welcoming new comers.