Baroness Beyond the Mountain invites Artists to Plan for Artifacts of a Life III
Submitted to the East Kingdom Gazette by Eloise, Baroness Beyond the Mountain
Ah, February. It feels like winter has stretched on forever, and like spring will never come. Some parts of the Kingdom are grey and cloudy, and others are wondering where to put the snow. It is enough to crush the spirit. What is one to do, to revitalize the soul and sustain us until the return of warmth?
The wise suggest exercising one’s artistic skills, which warms the fingers through activity and nurtures the mind through use. And what better application of winter survival skills than entries for Artifacts of a Life?
Artifacts of a Life III will be held in the Barony Beyond the Mountain (New Britain, CT) on September 30. Artifacts is a different sort of arts competition: entries must be “themed” – the theme is things that would have been used/owned by a single individual sometime in period. Possibly they are the items that would have been left in a will, or even just the day to day paraphernalia of life. They do *not* have to be items owned by *your* persona, but they do have to be linked to one person in one time/place.
There are currently anticipated to be three categories: Typical, Elite, and Village. The Typical category must include three to five items from a single culture and time. The Elite category will include six to nine items from a single culture and time. And for the communally ambitious, the Village category will allow you to work with others in a team to collaboratively create six to nine items. To flog the horse, all of the items in an entry must be placed within a uniform time and culture.
February is grey and quiet. Isn’t now a perfect time to work on your entries? You know that the closer we get to Pennsic, the more you will think about those deferred projects. The ones you were going to work on over the winter. You know as well as we do that you’re not going to do those jobs until July. It’s tradition – why fight tradition? Instead, take these snowy days, and immerse yourself in the artifacts of a life in period. Now is the perfect time.
And prizes! Did we mention the lovely prizes? As at the first two events, we will be bestowing hand-made wooden chests stuffed with materials to make the fingers of even hardened artisans twitch with avarice.
The event announcement is here: http://www.eastkingdom.org/EventDetails.php?eid=3108. The event website, with information about the rules, and pre-registration is here: http://sca-artifactschallenge.blogspot.com/. Please watch both spaces for updated information, as details about the event itself are always changing.
PLEASE NOTE: Entry in the competition REQUIRES pre-registration with Mistress Elizabeth Vynehorn. If you have not specifically notified her of your intention to compete, we will not be able to accept your entry. This is for the benefit of the contestants. Knowing at least roughly what you plan to enter allows us to recruit the best possible judges to give you the best possible feedback. Without pre-registration we will not have sufficient/appropriate judges. Speaking of judges…
If you are available and interested in judging for Artifacts, please let us know. Recruiting judges is by far the most difficult aspect of the event, and if you can assist we would be most grateful. Contact Mistress Elizabeth via the website or event announcement, and we will contact you if your expertise matches our needs.
Come to Artifacts! We would love to see you.
Eloise, BBM