Tag: Golden

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Getting Medieval with Technology

Recently, there was a call for need of silver level and specialized awards in the East Kingdom. Her Majesty, Vienna, has put out a request and I felt like I could do something to help. My boyfriend, Aegir, and I love to craft and find new ways of making things. So, I put out the idea to him that we should make, or attempt to make, some of these awards.

Without hesitation, we both began to brainstorm. He asked me what were ways of making awards and what was acceptable. I mentioned that it only needed to look period or possibly resemble a period item. We then looked to our 3-d printer and our silicone mold kits and the lights in our heads went off.

Aegir asked me what the awards were and what they meant. I beamed as I got to explain to him the meaning behind the awards and the intricacies that were our tradition and lineage. I bring up lineage due to the fact that a friend of mine, David Poirier de le Loup, was going to be honored at Crown Tournament. I wanted to make him his Silver Wheel. In addition, a good friend of David’s and mine, Anne de Basillion, had mentioned to me that team “Do all the things” was going to pass down her medallion to David. If she did that, she would be without her regalia. That couldn’t be a thing.

So, we worked to get this amended.

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Aegir taught me how to 3-d model while he worked on the designs for other awards. 3-d modeling is not an extremely difficult process for awards, but it was time consuming. I also had picked a more in-depth design to complete instead of the standard silver wheel award. David is part of the Free Company of the Stella Maris, which is a group of Pi-…. Privateers. So, I chose to make it look more steering wheel like. Anne is also a friend of the company so I would make hers to match.

Here begins the process, 3-D Modeling!

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This modeling was done in a program called Autodesk Fusion 360.

From there, we exported the models into a program called Simplify 3d. This is where the data from the 3d modeling was sent for sizing and printing to be completed.

Here are a few of the models we completed:

Lyre.jpg This is the “Golden Lyre”

Wheel.jpg This is the “Silver Wheel”

Silvertyger.jpg This is the “Silver Tyger”

From there, it was mold making time, baby!

We tried a couple different mold processes in the comfort of our own kitchen. Silicone is not the most beautiful fragrance in the world, so I do recommend proper ventilation. Also, marking a proper container to house the mold during it’s 24 hour cure time is key. Chinese food boxes seem to work well for those who are a bit more frugal.

Here you can see Aegir taking one for the team and handling the fumes.

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Here you can see Aegir pouring the mold into our handy dandy takeout box.

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While we wait for this mold to cure, we were trying a new gravity fed two part mold… we may or may not have used a salt lick? (It’s a Himalayan salt grilling block thing… it was cheaper than stone)

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Here is our finished product (with a little bit of sanding/polishing. Flash happens)

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Palio

Palio is known to be an event full of family gathers and olympic style competition. The three contradas make up the entire Barony of Stonemarche, based on region. This year, I would get to participate.

I picked my team on who bribed me the most. Viking. Bling. I would be a member of Sole. I’ll admit I was there not just to compete in the games, but because the current Baronial Bard could not attend, and someone had to run Golden Tongue. It was strange to find myself mostly inspired by a four year old child. He was courteous as well as enthusiastic, and a damned good sport. I lost most of my day following this young individual.

That night, when the festivities were over, I found myself with multiple camping catastrophes. I didn’t bring my tent stakes. My air mattress cover was gone. My food was bleh. I found a nearby household who offered not only an air mattress, but their generous hospitality, all in exchange for song. I was in awe of their unselfishness, and perhaps had found a new home away from home for the weekend.

After I had had my fill of dinner, I was off to go make donuts — I mean, run Golden Tongue. Once again, Ruadh and I had paired up, since we had so much fun the previous year. I was amazed to see only three competitors, so I went around volentolding people. By the time I had finished, our competitors had tripled. We even had someone who didn’t know they were competing!

We had the eight knowing competitors, and then our one wild card, which brings back a fun memory. I didn’t mention this in my prior post, because I thought nothing of it. But the previous year at Harper’s Retreat, there had been loud, thudding noises during my performance. I thought nothing of it, as this had happened before.

This new eide-eyed performer began to tell a tale in eloquent detail, of a Harper’s Retreat where she was essentially playing a handmaiden for her friend. They had been sitting, watching the Bardic Competitions, when during the performance they were watching, they noticed a spider making its way up the dress of her “noble lady.” A silent scream escaped the lady’s lips as she began to panic: she was very allergic to spiders. In equal measures quietly and frantically as the handmaiden could, she tried to make a swift demise for said spider.

The lightbulb in my brain went on, and I finally found out what those thumping noises had been last year.

After she finished her story, I announced that Ruadh and I would step out to deliberate for the Champion. Our wildcard went doe-eyed. She apparently had also just put two and two together that this was a competition.

Ruadh and I made a swift decision and came back to make our announcement; though this time we held the prize until court.

The following morning, rested and chipper, I had gathered vocalists together to create a vocal accompaniment for their Excellencies procession into court. After all, what would the olympics be without music?

With permission, we had rehearsed Oriens Victoriosus by Mistress Aneleda Falconbridge. We rehearsed for an hour, and then they were free until court. I was pretty darn proud of our progress.

Time for court!

I grabbed my choir, even with harp accompaniment, and we sang as their Excellencies and retenue processed in. Once we finished, I remained standing with special permission, that young boy who had brought so much awe into my life deserved to be honored. I called him into court, and presented him a personal token that he so duly deserved. I found out later that his parents had been the autocrats. It was no shock to me that he was of their lineage.

Finally, as if it weren’t enough, I had put her Excellency up to no good. It was a dear friend of mine’s birthday that day, so I had conspired to have her Excellency to have him called up into court as if he had done something wrong. While his back was to the court, my choir members secretly passed out a copy of the Birthday Dirge to all in attendance. When he finally realized what was going on, the entire court raised their voices to celebrate his birthday with the dirge.

I’m really glad he wasn’t armed, or else I might not be here to tell the tale.