Tales of a Mundane Nature: Continued

Some of you may recall this post I wrote not about a month ago:

Tale of a Mundane Nature

The correspondence continued with this woman to the point where we decided to get together yesterday and record a performance since I wouldn't be able to perform it at her actual class.

So yesterday the woman came over, bringing her young child which was perfect for my son as he now had a play partner so mommy could entertain. What I didn't know was that she wanted to record and interview with me, so she gave me the questions to look over, all which I thought were really good questions. And it began to discussing what the SCA was as well as my persona and why I chose Katrusha. She vaguely knew about the SCA, so I had to explain what we were to her. And it was the first time she had ever heard my full SCAdian name, to which she smiled largely.

The questions, as I recall them, were:

-What is the SCA? And can you tell us a little about your persona, where and when she is from, and why you chose her?

-What drew you to Baba Yaga? How long have you been studying her for?

-Can you tell us about Baba Yaga's stance in slavic culture as a figurehead of embroidery and sewing, a goddess of femininity, the virgin, mother, and crone?

-Can you tell us more about how Baba Yaga is viewed as a Goddess of the forest and protector of the animals?

-Do you find Baba Yaga to be friend or foe and why?

They were good questions. And I feel I gave fairly good answers to all of them. Her actual paper was trying to prove Baba Yaga as being a friend instead of just a villian as she can normally be portrayed. We discussed a lot of the differences in the stories, including how the thematics differ between the rich and the poor in how they tell their stories of her.

When the interview was finished, I dressed up in my garb and we moved outside so I could perform in a more natural atmosphere. I told a fairly general story of two girls, one kind and the other selfish, being put into Baba Yaga's care. The kind girl was rewarded and the selfish one was devoured. This shows how Baba Yaga can be both a friend and even a parental figure.

When all was said and done, the woman expressed some interest in the SCA. I am hoping to keep contact with her so that she can even field questions from her class if any of them are interested in the SCA. She told me she plans to post the videos once she has them edited and spliced properly, and when finished, I will edit this entry and add them.

In either case, it was a lot of fun enjoying being interview on a topic I feel greatly passionate about. I hope others get to enjoy this feeling often as well.

Beowulf

The Beowulf event that I made my viking age Russian dress for as well as the brooches and tapestry, was a fantastic event. I just recently came across my performance in the event.

Here is the link to the performance:
Beowulf Performance

The full performance recordings can be found here:
Beowulf the Event

And reminder links to the dress:
Viking-Age Russian Dress

brooches:
Tortoise Brooches

and tapestry:
Apocalypse Tapestry

Awards of Katrusha the Skomorokh

AoA:
Illumination and Calligraphy by Lada Monguligin
Words by Leonid Pechenyy

Troubadour:

Illumination by Lady Damiana di Crecsienzio

Calligraphy by Mistress Carolyne de LaPointe

Words by Master Grim the Skald

Order of the Emerald:

Illumination by Lady Dierdre O'Roarke

Calligraphy by Lady Elisabeth Greenleaf 

Words by Baron Pierre de Tours

Based on a Facsimile of a 17th Century Manuscript

 

 

 

Apocalypse Tapestry Documentation

Apocalypse Tapestry

Boiarynia Katrusha the Skomorokh

I was approached to create a tapestry for the Beowulf immersion event. I was given a period picture to work off, the"Beatus Apocolypse Manuscript" from San Isidore de Leone Manuscript B31 Early 11th Century Biblioteca Nacional. The colors were bright, the image was worn in areas (which made me think this wasn't as much a 'tapestry' in period as much as a painted illumination), and they wanted the image much larger than I am certain the original was. Here are the steps I took in creating this image.

I purchased a linen canvas to paint this picture on. It was something that I am certain could have been found in period with a simple twill pattern. The paints that I chose were acrylic, unfortunately. Normally I would have chosen an oil paint which would have been used in period. I gave the canvas a quick gesso to make certain that I didn't bleed through the canvas and had a sharper image.

The more I painted, the more I was certain either they had a much steadier hand or this had to be done with quill pens in ink. Either way, this is my rendition of what was given to me.

References

Simons, Gerald. Great Ages of Man. “Barbarian Europe.” Time Life Books. 1968. pg 173.