Unfiltered

[threadwalker]

Unfiltered like usual because, IMO, once you post it here it might as well be unfiltered. The only stuff I filter is work-related just in case one of my erstwhile colleagues is skimming LJ for key words.

Cut for your protection. Unfiltered opinions.

Work is not fun, which is why we call it work. There's a lot of BS at work and I bring my game face most days. I don't mistake work as a place where we brush each other's hair and plan potlucks, so I try to be prepared for the politics and the egos.

Why do I have so much trouble with that in the rest of my life? Because I don't expect to have to have a game face when I'm with friends and doing my "fun" stuff.

I think the current state of the "arts" in the West Kingdom is super-callous-fragile-suspiscoius-expel-us-out-eedoshus. It pisses me off when I think about it.

1. Cancelling a Kingdom Collegium? I cry. Autocratting Collegium is a job that requires project management skills and the ability to draw people in. I've done it so I can speak to that. But I'm not finger pointing at the autocrats, I'm pointing my finger at the arts community. Its your event; step up and own it. I spent years helping or autocratting these events and they reflect the community they serve. However, I'm not surprised that the event has withered; this is what happens when the community doesn't come together. Everyone is empowered to make this event better, you need to open your eyes, have some passion and step up. Here's an example: Mari and her crew offered to organize a library at one of the one's I held. They came to me, had the idea, the tools, the books, the copier and even organized it as a fund raiser; the coins they collected for using the copier/scanner were donated to underwrite the event. All I had to do was say "wow, that's cool. Here's a room you can have all day."

How important is Collegium to the community and what are YOU going to do to make it better?

2. I heard rumors the K/Q were thinking of lowering the bar on the Golden Poppy. I was pretty pissed off about that as well; HRJ was a patient ear for my fury. What's the point of having something challenging to do if you're going to dumb it down so that it's no longer a challeng?. I couldn't think of a good analogy to help the fighter-centric culture wrap their eric-party-warped brains around at first. However, the opportunity for "new" Kings has withered away, so lowering the bar for becoming a Duke by winning a single Crown or even a Coronet isn't all that different than lowering the bar for earning the Golden Poppy. So why don't we just dumb everything down and make it accessible to everyone. Then, when we're all special, no one is special. I'm so freaking pissed off about this that I've been toying with sponsoring my own arts event/activity. Like Lodema used to. grrrr.... We'll see... June Crown is a good time for sunshine and arts.

So what am I going to do?

I unsubscribed from SCA West shortly after Eilis and whats-his-name stepped up. Its a source of angst and I don't want angst in my life.

I serve the Kingdom, not these people who are sitting on the throne. I spent a lot of time thinking about that and what it means to be a peer. I'm not quitting; I am a peer regardless of my fealty to the K/Q. However, I cannot support them personally and cannot bring myself to respect them, so I no longer consider myself in fealty to them, just to the Kingdom. This was a hard process for me because I've been in fealty to a lot of jerks who've sat on those thrones without being pushed to this point. They have done too many wrongs.

I have been refocusing on MY arts. I'm pulling together an outline for a class and a work shop on late Italian Ren clothing and clothing embellishment. I'm doing research and testing my theories with finished projects right now. I offered something similar to the West a few years ago, but they were uninterested, so I'll float a class proposal to IKINs next year in order to teach in at IKINs the following year in Caid (2011).

I'm sorting out my encampment stuff to make it easier for me to camp with the kids next year based on the assumption that F will continue to work weekends at the least opportune time. Flying light, but effective.

Instead of relying on the Royals to leave their clumsy mits off the areas of West Kingdom Arts that I like, I'm just going to do my own thing regardless which is to promote arts, to teach and to learn.

I'm percolating on working through the guilds (as long as they, too, haven't been disbanded).

I've been thinking about organizing a small collegium, though I'm not sure if it would be an SCA event or a private "arts day" of classes. I'm very jaded with the SCA politics so the potential hurdles of having to deal with sucking up to someone's ego to get permission to organize something I've done successfully before would just piss me off. I'd either need the green-light for my blue print from someone who trusts me or it would have to be private.

I am working on my "class in a bag", which is a concept I floated to my apprentices. Basically I'm putting together a class outline and kits/hand-outs that I can take to events and teach on a moment's notice.

I have some other ideas percolating, but I need to see how my class shapes up and how camping works out this year.

Comments

[falzalot.livejournal.com]

I love your small collegium idea! I can't really teach anything, but I'm a great audience and can be support-o-girl. :->

[hrj.livejournal.com]

Sing it, sister.

[joycebre.livejournal.com]

I would teach and attend classes.

Fighter Centric

[learnteach.livejournal.com]

Hey, quibble here: Can we get a better phrase than FighterCentric? I ask here because you, a fighter, might have a better idea. It's not the fighting culture that is drowning out the Art Culture, it's the VictoryatTournament that's overtaking them both--or so my theory is. Thugculture? No culture? I'm not sure.

In regards to a small collegium, it's a great event for a local group to host, or if that's too difficult, a household. I've done subevents both separately and in conjunction with other events as well, as you have done. The 14 cen. cook's playdate was a fun subevent at Coronet, as have all of Genvieve's salons. Given your level of work business, I'd recommend getting a co-autocrat, or handing this off to your students.

[hunrvogt.livejournal.com]

I really like that you have identified that this is an "arts community" issue in that the solution needs to come from the arts community. Along those lines if you do a small collegium or specialty event, I would really encourage you to have it open to the SCA as a whole. Run it through a local group or something.

Increasingly I see folks drawing inward. While I think that lets you create a really strong sub-group, I fail to see how that strengthens a greater community.

[sarahbellem.livejournal.com]

I'm pulling together an outline for a class and a work shop on late Italian Ren clothing and clothing embellishment. I'm doing research and testing my theories with finished projects right now. I offered something similar to the West a few years ago, but they were uninterested

WHAT???!

*choke*splutter*cough*

Based on the enthusiastic responses I hear whenever anyone offers to teach anything on 16th c. clothing (especially Italian) that's crazy that you were turned down for offering a class on that topic. I know at least five people off the top of my head who would sign up for it, and probably twice that would easily attend.

Craziness!

[theiadora.livejournal.com]

I agree with a bunch of the comments listed here. The other thing that IMO was killing A&S's and Collegium is the not publishing/advertising the classes Months in advance. This last Collegium, there were 2 classes I was interested in, both got cancelled at the last minute, and luckily I found something else to attend (one class). But not knowing till a couple of weeks before the event What was being taught and when (so you could schedule your day) is very frustrating, and IMO unprofessional.
One of the things I miss about the ones that you (and your students/household) ran.
I love the idea of a small collegium.