Meridian Arts and Sciences Meridian Arts and Sciences Dear Fellow Artisans,
I hope you are all well and making wonderful things and doing fun research. Since it's been awhile since my last letter, I have some catching up to do.
Kingdom A&S Recap: First, let me thank the Incipient Shire of Stagsgate, particularly Sir Michael and Mistress Katrina, for all their hard work on Kingdom A&S. I thought the Fair went very well. Some of the changes we made seemed to work well, so from now on pre-registration of entries will be required and there will be a period of display time after judging to stand with your entries. If anyone has any concerns/suggestions that they would like to share about the running of the Fair, please contact me at the e-mail in the Regnum.
RUM: Also, I must commend the Shire of Glaedenfeld and Mistress Morgina, Chancellor of RUM, for a great Royal University of Meridies event. A new, air-conditioned site (which was VERY welcome) was used – Martin Methodist College in Pulaski , TN. There were a wide variety of interesting classes, the behind-the-scenes RUM organization ran very smoothly and everyone seemed to have a good time – I know I did!
Guilds: Guilds are alive and well in Meridies. We have two new guilds thinking of forming: one for textile arts and one for bardic arts. If you are interested in being put in touch with either one, contact myself or Mistress Bianca, Deputy Minister of Guilds. Guilds are a great way to meet other people as passionate about your particular art as you are.
50-Year A&S Challenge: In 2015, the Society will turn 50. And while that seems like a long way away, there is a Society-wide A&S Challenge being issued that may take some of us the next seven years to accomplish. Basically, artisans around the Known World are being challenged to make or do something special to commemorate the 50 th anniversary, either personally, in groups or as guilds. Mistress Solveig has volunteered to help coordinate this effort for Meridies. You can find her contact information in the Regnum.
I think that about wraps it up for now – I hope you all enjoy the fall season and are busily working on entries/displays for the regional and Magna Fair A&S fairs at Magna Faire.
In Service,
Maysun
I hope to see many of you at Kingdom A&S the first weekend in June at FDR State Park in Georgia.
We?ve made some changes to the flow of the event that I hope will make it fun for everyone ? whether entering or not ? to attend. There will be a wonderful tournament, a chance to view the art and meet the artisans of the static entries and time to enjoy an exhibit of our performing arts entries as well.
I also wanted to remind folks that if you missed the May 2 deadline to register to be judged in the fair, you can still bring your art to display during the art viewing and meeting the artisan portion of the event. You just won?t get a score. Performers who didn?t pre-register will be allowed to perform at the end of the schedule performances, time permitting. So, please feel free to share your art!
I want to thank the Incipient Shire of Stagsgate for all their hard work and excitement preparing for this event.
Hope to see many of you there!
In Service,
Maysun
Greetings unto the Populace of Meridies from Mistress Maysun, Kingdom Arts and Sciences Minister.
This month, I have two big items to promote
• Bring Out Your Pretties at Spring Crown
Spring Crown Tournament will feature another “Bring Out Your Pretties” display of static arts and an exhibition of performing arts prior to court. This is an opportunity to show off your art for appreciation.
It's also a great opportunity to get some feedback on something prior to Kingdom A&S from other artisans.
So, please consider coming and sharing your art.
• Kindgom A&S
The online registration will be available at http://www.artsandsciences.meridies.org
May 2 – VERY IMPORTANT -- Deadline to pre-register is May 2. Deadline to enter any type of paper or bibliography is May 2.
Fighting at Kingdom A&S – in addition to the normal tournament prizes, the A&S Office will sponsor special awards for
• the most period armor,
• the best heraldic display and
• the best death scene (had to work performing arts in there somewhere!)
I'd like to think Mistress Maudelyn for all her hard work coordinating the Meridian and Glenn Abhainn A&S Competition at Gulf Wars. It was a great success. Thanks to everyone who entered, judged and/or came by to admire the art as well.
I remain in service,
Maysun
Greetings!
Did you know that Meridies (And Gleann Abhann) sponsor an A&S Competition at Gulf Wars that is open to anyone in the Known World? Well, now you do!
If you are going to Gulf Wars, please plan to:
AND/OR
This event will take place on Thursday or Friday (at the time of writing this letter, the final schedule had not been nailed down) at Bede Hall. Registration is from 8-10 a.m., the Faire is open for viewing and judging from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., and artisans can pick up their entries between 3-4 p.m.
Documentation is required, although it will not be judged like at a Kingdom Arts and Sciences Fair.
And did I mention the prizes? There will be a number of great prizes:
Both Meridies and Gleann Abhann are excited to host this event at Gulf Wars. We wish to encourage the artisans of the Known World to show off their talents and get to know artisans from other Kingdoms.
The Meridies contact is our Gulf Wars A&S Deputy, Mistress Maudeleyn Godeliva Taillour. You can reach her at maudeleyn@pobox.com .
We hope to see a lot of you there!
IMPORTANT NOTICE : Pre-registration will be REQUIRED for Kingdom A&S Faire this year. More on that next month.
In service,
Maysun
Greetings unto the Populace and artisans of Meridies,
October saw the first “Bring Out Your Pretties” A&S exhibition at Crown List. It was a nice relaxed time in good company. I hope people will continue to participate in the “Bring Out Your Pretties” exhibitions at Crown List. Next one is in May!
Next month is Magna Fair, which offers artisans a chance to enter a regional A&S fair and/or the Magna Fair. You can enter both, or just one. That is up to you. The regional A&S fair will be judged by subject matter experts using Kingdom A&S rules. The Magna Fair is judged by the other entrants in your category. I hope everyone will consider attending and entering at least one, if not both, of the fairs.
So, why enter a competition at all? Just how important are competitions? Why are we as artists even “competing” in the first place?
A&S competitions in the SCA mainly do two things: 1) They get your work seen and shared with others, and 2) They provide constructive feedback in a structured format for improving your work.
Most artists want to share their work in some way with an audience. Competitions are one way to do that (as are exhibitions, salons and guild meetings.) Getting your work seen allows you to share your knowledge with others, as well as get appreciation for your labor.
The other thing that the A&S competitions in Meridies provide is constructive feedback in a structured format about ways to improve your work. And anyone entering the competition should view it as a learning experience. Hopefully, your scores will include some ideas on how to improve your work or take it to the next level.
I have often heard people discussing whether or not entering competitions is “necessary.” I think that depends on your definition of “necessary.” I would encourage artisans to take advantage of all the avenues available for sharing knowledge – whether that is competitions, salons, exhibitions or one-on-one.
Hopefully, I'll see many of you at Magna Faire!
Maysun
Greetings all,
According to Wikipedia, a “salon” is a gathering of intellectuals to meet, discuss ideas and watch artistic performances. While the height of their popularity was in the 1800s, many noble courts had salon-type gatherings, although they were called a variety of things. For simplicity's sake, in Meridies, we use the word salon to describe a gathering of artisans to meet, discuss ideas, work on projects and/or watch performances. There are a number of salons currently scheduled in the coming months, and I encourage anyone that is interested to attend. Here are a few that I know of:
Sept. 22 - Red Tower Embroiders Guild Salon
Oct. 27 - Silver Hammer Embroiders Guild Salon
Nov. 3 - Danelaw Embroiders Guild Salon
Jan. 12 - 12 th Night (Bryn Madoc) Costumers Guild Salon
Feb. - 9 MidWinter A&S Laurels Salon (open to all, not just Laurels)
Anyone or any group (SCA group, household, guild) can host a salon. If you'd like to have the salon included on the A&S calendar on the A&S Web site, please send me or Maestra Clare your salon information.
Maysun
Greetings!
I am pleased to announce that Mistress Maudelyn will be acting as the A&S Gulf Wars Deputy for Gulf Wars 2008. She coordinated a populace choice competition last year hosted by Meridies and Gleann Abhann that went really well. She will be acting as the Meridian liaison with the Gulf Wars A&S staff, will possible organize other A&S competition and will help coordinate the selection of Gulf Wars champions. Thanks Maudie!
Also, I am accepting applications for a Performing Arts Deputy and Guild Deputy through the end of Sept. Please contact me if you are interested in either position.
A&S Reports: Second quarter A&S reports were due July 21. There are a number of groups not reporting – please report! I don't want to have to publish a list of shame in my next letter, or take the drastic step of sanctioning a group for non-reporting. As I mentioned in my last letter, we have new Reporting Deputies arranged geographically. Please see the Regnum to determine where to send your report.
A&S Handbooks: There is an updated version on the Kingdom A&S Web page. After consulting with the Exchequer about the amount of money in my budget, we will NOT be printing and snail mailing them. If you are a local minister of A&S or a group seneschal, please download the new copy off the Web site and print it out for your files. We will be updating it again later this fall and might revisit the idea of printing them at that time.
Types of A&S Competitions and/or Exhibits: Meridies has a number of different formats for A&S competitions and/or exhibits. Here is a quick cheat sheet to the formats whether you are thinking of entering, or if your group wants to host some type of competition.
A juried competition – this is the current format used in Kingdom A&S Fair and regional faire events like Iron Mountain 's Magna Faire and South Down's MidWinter A&S. These are a showing of artistic works that includes commentary and feedback from judges based on established scoring and criteria. The general purpose is to bring items and receive constructive commentary that indicates how well you are doing. It can be important to your growth as an artisan to know what you are doing well, where you are making mistakes, and how to improve you work (if you so desire).
A peer-judged competition – this format allows every entrant in a particular category to judge the other entrants in that category. This is how the “Magna Faire” part of Magna Faire is done, and often the Pennsic A&S competition is done this way. You are able to get insight and comments from someone who is also working in your area of interest.
A populace-choice competition – this format allows artisans to display their art while the populace views it and votes for the pieces they like the best, often collecting beads in a cup. This is an easy format to use for a local competition as you don't have to find judges. It is also used often at Gulf Wars for A&S Competitions.
An informal competition – this format is when a Peer, a household, a guild, or anyone else announces a competition and prize for a particular category or accomplishment. For example, the Embroiders Guild might give a basket of supplies to the best “Textile arts: application” entry at an event. This can also be used at the local level with specific categories. For example, the group will give a bolt of silk to the best Japanese-themed entry.
An A&S exhibit – this format just allows the artist to show their art for the pleasure of the populace. There is no judging. Bring Out Your Pretties displays and performances at Crown List is something I would like to make a regular opportunity for an A&S Exhibit. Right now that is the only A&S exhibit opportunity in Meridies.
Please plan to participate in Bring Our Your Pretties in October if you are able. I look forward to seeing a lot of you there!
Maysun
Hello everyone!
I wanted to introduce myself. I am Mistress Maysun, the new Kingdom A&S officer. I have a lot of news to share in this letter, so please pardon the length.
First, big thanks to Mistress Wynalie Mareschall, my predecessor, for all her hard work. She stepped into the position earlier than she anticipated, handled three Kingdom A&S competitions, improved the categories for the performing arts and has greatly assisted me in getting ready to step into her shoes.
Now, onto the news!
Kingdom Arts and Sciences entries available online: I'm very excited that is the first year that video of all the performing entries is posted online. Big thanks to THLord Iago Gamston for videotaping the performances and creating the Web page. We also have a photo gallery of the static entries. Please check it out on the Kingdom A&S Web page. Artisans in Meridies are doing some fabulous things!
Bring Out Your Pretties Display at Fall Crown: We will host an A&S static display at Crown Tournament after the tournament is concluded. No documentation is required and no judging will take place. This is just an opportunity to bring a spiffy project to show off and informally discuss with people. You may stay with your exhibit or not, at your pleasure. For the performing artists, we will have opportunities to perform for the Populace in the hour prior to court. Again, no documentation required. Crown Tournament is the second weekend in October. Please come out if you can! I hope to make this a regular part of Crown Tournaments in the future, so if you can't make this one, consider the next one.
New Reporting Deputies Effective Immediately: We have appointed three reporting deputies based on geography. Effective immediately, if you are a local A&S officer, please send copies of your reports to (Contact information is listed in the Regnum and on the Kingdom Web site):
• Groups in Georgia and Florida : Please send reports to Master Rhydderch of Caerleon.
• Groups in Tennessee and Kentucky : Please send reports to Milady Andriet di' Pisan (known as Chandra).
• Groups in Alabama : Please send reports to THLady Theodosia Ouranos of Constantinople .
***We have also updated the reporting forms. You should get them by the end of August.
Other Deputies Needed: I am pleased to say that Mistress Clare de Estepa has agreed to continue maintaining the Meridian A&S page, and I'm making that an official deputy position for the first time. She is now the Kingdom A&S Web Deputy. I am also looking for two other deputy positions to fill: A Deputy for Performing Arts and a Deputy Minister of Guilds. If you are interested in either position, please contact me.
Meridian A&S Handbook Updated: And finally, the Meridian A&S Handbook has been updated and posted online on the Kingdom A&S Web page. I will also be mailing out copies to each local A&S officer. If you have not received your copy by the end of August, please contact me.
Whew! We made it through. Thanks for sticking with me.
Maysun al-Rasheeqa
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