Updating my SCA resume

Since I am restarting my blog again, I thought I would update a couple of my old posts. Here is an update to my SCA resume. I think this is pretty accurate until the about 2008 or so. I was able to go through our local newsletters and reconstruct most of this history. However in the last few years we have went to an e-mail type newsletter and my information is more sketchy for that time period. SCA General ------------- First SCA meeting Dec. 1981 Shire of Westvale (group attempting to form at University of Michigan-Flint) First Event: Crown Tourney Spring 1982 Authorized as Fighter June 1983 Attended First Pennsic 1984 National member 1983 have remained current to the present Authorized as Fencer June 2001 Offices Held ------------ Pursuivant Westvale 1982 All offices following are for Stormvale except as noted Exchequer 1983-1986 Castellan/Chatelaine 1983-1986 (Prior to it being a Kingdom recognized job) Pursuivant 1984-1985 Seneschal 1985, 1987-1988 Pursuivant 1989-1991 Group Knight Marshal 1993-1994 Chirurgeon 1993-1994 Opinicus Pursuivant 1994-1996 (MK College of Heralds) Pursuivant 1999-2000 Group Knight Marshal 2001-2004 Web Minister 2001-2003 Pentamere Regional Seneschal 2007-2011 Group Knight Marshal 2015-present Other Responsibilities ---------------------- Co-Founder Shire of Stormvale Oct. 1982 (Genesee County Michigan) Co-Founded Stormvale Militia 1984 Event Staff St. John the Baptist 3,4,5 1988, 1989, 1990 Co-Founded Stormvale Armorer’s Guild 1988 (In existence on and off as needed to present day) Shire Steering/Goals Committee 1988-1989 Autocrat St. John the Baptist 6 1991 Event Staff Feast of Samhain 1991 Event Staff Vikings go Home 1,4 1992, 1997 Event Staff Fall Crown Tourney 1992 Shire Steering/Goals Committee 2 1993 Shire Goals and Direction Committee 1996 Event Staff Harvest of Souls 2, 4,5, 6 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006 Event Staff Toys for Tots 1999 Baronial Exploratory Committee 2004-2005 Co-Founder Stormvale Artisans Guild 2007 Awards Recieved ------------------ Award of Arms 16 Aug. 1987 (for local activity) Award of the Purple Fret 17 Oct. 1992 (for local activity, specifically offices) Order of the Dragon’s Heart 06 Dec. 1997 (for Opinicus Pursuivant) Award of the Purple Fret 08 Oct. 2005 (for local activity hosting revels/guild/meetings)

I decided I should go back to updating my blog as it helps me stay focused on my SCA activities. By listing my goals and activities it forces me to be more accountable and less likely to put things off.

Stormvale Meeting

Tuesday I dropped in on the local SCA group, Stormvale. I met a couple new members and dropped off some rivets for Jaysin. With the weather warming up I need to get backt to attend some of the fighting practices.

Tuesday night fighter practice

I attended the Shire of Stormvale’s Fighter practice this last Tuesday. There were three authorized fighters and one in training. I need to attend practice more often and will be trying to make it as many Tuesdays practices as work will allow.

I had to stop earlier than I wanted when the leather ties keeping my legs attached to the C-Belt snapped. So last night I changed the leather cord out for a nylon that that should work better in the long run. Its hidden under a couple layers of padding and armor, so it should be fine.

In addition I was testing out a new padding system for my helmet. I had been getting headaches when wearing the helmet for more than an hour, so I completely stripped out the padding and liner and reworked it all. After a wearing it for well over an hour, I did not get a headache . I hope the problem is fixed but will find out more after a longer time in helmet.

Badge Update

This is going slower than I had expected. I am learning how to do this beading, mostly making it up as I go. This is a little smaller than the original, but I think this size will be better. I may end up putting this on a livery collar, which is my current plan. I started backing it today and hope to finish tomorrow.

Many years ago, when I was awarded the Dragons Heart, the award came with a beaded representation of the badge. I liked it so much that one of my friends bought me a similar badge for the Purple Fret that I had previously been awarded. Those two badges became some of my most cherished SCA belongings. A few years ago both these badges went missing. I do not know if they got left at an event or simply misplaced at home, but I have not been able to find them.

I think I will try to reconstruct them, I know it will not be the same, but I have given up on them turning up around the house.

I tried to do the Purple Fret badge by freehand but was not satisfied with the results, so I set up a loom. This is a little smaller from what I remember the old one being but its as big as the loom will allow. After this is done I will sew it down onto fabric and make a pendant or I may make a heraldic mantle and put this and my own badge on it.

Well it took 4 coats of paint but my banner is now correct for my registered Arms!!!

I was so convinced that my first change of my Arms would go through that I had a Banner made. I should have known better, but I was positive it would pass. First it was lost and then when it was resubmitted it did not pass. It was too close to a couple other designs.

After it failed, I made a list of all the possible permutations of the device I had originally submitted and double checked every possible conflict. As I found conflicts, I crossed them off the list. When I was finished I had a small a very small list left over. After looking at them for a couple weeks I picked the one I though looked best and resubmitted it.

This time the work paid off and the device was passed. I now have to repaint part of the original Banner. After two coats of paint the blue is still coming through so it looks like it will take several more. I will try to finish tonight, if the paint will dry fast enough.

Well I won’t go into all the details but I have been semi retired from the SCA for most of 2011. I was able to keep up with the paperwork for the Regional Seneschal job but only ended up attending a handful of events. I think I have only been in armor twice this year.

In August I was able to hand off the office to Baroness Giovanni from Cynnabar. I am glad the office will be going to someone who can devote the time needed for it. I was really a little two pinched for time for the last few months of the job.
It’s been getting slowly better since October, I have had some time to look over my SCA kit and start making improvements. I should be able to get back in the swing of things with the new year.

One noteworthy item from this fall, the design for changing my Coat of Arms passed the College of Heralds and my old arms were released. I kept my old badge but now my Arms are: Quarterly Argent and Gules, A mullet quarterly Azure and Or.

Since I am not a great artist, this will be far easier to paint on my shield and make clothes with my Arms on them than the old one. Since I retained the Panther as a Fieldless Badge, I can still use it when I want.

Regional Seneschal

On August 1st I handed off the Regional Seneschal job for Pentamere to Baroness Giovanna from Cynnabar. I would like to thank her for volunteering and stepping up to take this job. At almost four years I had reached my sell by date!!!

In 2008, I had made a goal of attending one event for each group in the region and a business meeting, if it was close enough and the schedule permitted me to attend. In the first two years on the job (2008-2009) I was very successful in this endeavor. I attended a business meeting for all the groups on the East side of the state, a couple on the West side and events for both. In 2010 things changed a bit at work and I only attended “problem” business meetings. On top of that I only attended four events in the Region. I kept the paperwork side of the office flowing well but getting out and attending events really suffered.

2011 started out even busier between work and a couple family health issues. So far this year I have only attended two events and a small handful of business meetings. It was time to hand over the job to someone who would be able to be more active.

I must admit that it was a little bit of an eye opener being Regional Seneschal. In the past I had held a couple jobs in the College of Heralds but they were paper pushing type jobs. Having to talk with members and groups who have problems and dealing with the larger SCA bureaucracy over the last four years I have changed many of my SCA assumptions. I think there are some fundamental functions that the SCA should be doing to remain healthy that are broken.

Now that I am no longer an officer, I may expound on this in future posts.

Tuesday night at the Stormvale Art Guild

Last night I attended Stormvale’s Arts Guild. Lady Teryll’s having her annual Ukrainian Easter Egg making session. I worked on my revised Coat of Arms and colored in the new drawings. I am going with Quarterly Argent and Gules, Quarterly Azure and Or a Mullet. This seems the catchiest design from the Heraldic event last weekend.
It was nice seeing everyone and checking out their egg designs.

Heraldic Event

Well my friends have been yelling at me to either cancel my blog or update it. I think I will work on the updating part.

I attended the Canton of Weldlake’s Herald Pointe and Scribal Collegium today. It was a nice event and they were very helpful in looking over my proposed device change. My last attempt had failed in that I had forgotten that a 5 pointed Star and a 6 pointed Star would conflict from a Heraldic perspective. So it was time to try again.

Duncan Cameron the Fenris Herald and Master Kondrad Mailander the Rouge Scarpe Herald along with the Event Steward Lord Aindle ODiarmada all helped with one aspect or another of looking up some possible ideas. In the end it appears that counterchanging the Star should be clear of conflict. I will make examples of both Gules and Argent and Azure and Or and see if either grows on me.

The drive home was quite nasty with several cars off the road on US-23. I hope everyone else from the event made it home fine.

Helmet Almost Done!!

Well I really should try to keep this more up to date. I have worked on this helmet a couple times in the last few weeks and have everything roughly fitting now. I need to have Robert over to do a final fit and then rivet the cheek and face pieces on. Maybe one more session and at most two too finish!!

P.S. Don’t mind the workbench clutter. I was cleaning out a couple cupboards and it's usually not this bad.

Helmet update

I worked on Robert’s helmet again tonight. I had miscounted the number of rivets needed to finish the top. Instead of 15 it was actually 24. I am down to 12 left and I did a little shaping on the other parts for the helmet.

Robert's Helmet update

Well I did some more work on Roberts helmet last night. I closed two rivets and then started shaping pieces. All the parts for the top of the helmet are now shaped and either riveted together or bolted waiting to be riveted. 15 bolts will have to be replaced with rivets to finish off the top but I will wait until Robert can attend again before doing those.

Since the top is shaped I decided to continue breaking my rules and started shaping the pieces to attach the back slats and also first cheek plate. I would like to shape and fit the pieces ahead of time so we can concentrate on riveting for our next get together. This way it may be only 2-3 sessions before the helmet is finished.