More scrolls

And still more scrolls.

Another three scrolls complete. One of these three is for an assignment, the other two will go into the Big Book of Scroll Blanks For a Rainy Day. 

I had started these right before Fall AEcademy and painted these, and others, at the event. It continually surprises me that other scribes do not work on multiple scrolls at the same time. I keep explaining that it is more efficient: Mix up the ultramarine blue and paint all of the scrolls with one layer of it; by the time you finish the last scroll, the first one will be dry and you can put on a second coat or move to another color. Apparently other scribes only work on one scroll at a time.

Now, I can fully understand concentrating on one really, really complicated scroll, but for smaller, more simple, scrolls (such as the one on the far left, above) there is no excuse not to work on two or three at a time. One for your assignment and one, or more, for a rainy day. I am occasionally asked if I could take on an assignment a week or two before the event. If I have a private stash of blanks, I can "work a miracle" and produce a scroll right away. Also, if my Kingdom calls for blanks, or if a friend needs help with one of their assignments, they can call on the Candyman. [1]

At AEcademy, someone looked me in eye and told me that I shouldn't do any scroll blanks: all scrolls should be custom made for the person and that it's disrespectful to hand out a generic scroll. 

What?

The scroll, above, on the far left can be used for anyone's AoA scroll, regardless if I know anything about the recipient. It's nice to receive a scroll with art custom made for me. but I do not see any disrespect if I am given a scroll with a random image. It's the scroll text that should be custom written for the recipient. If it is an award. A tourney scroll will most likely never be custom made for the winner.... Well, you could hedge your bets and make one for Duke Maynard for the annual Summer's End Duke-Maynard-is-the-winner-for-the-umpteenth-year-in-a-row tourney. But, someone will be really disappointed if  his Grace doesn't compete that year.

Scroll blanks are a great way of building one's skills in illumination. I've done a few hundred and I attribute my current level of skill to all of the practice I got while making a buttload of scroll blanks. [2] If I only made scrolls if I had an assignment, I would not be half the scribe I am today. There are more illuminators than calligraphers. Logic tells us that the bottleneck will be finding a calligrapher with free time. If the shire, baronial and Kingdom signets have a stack of scroll blanks, they can be handed to calligraphers to complete when needed and we can eliminate the illumination bottleneck for tourneys and entry-level awards. 

Now, there are scribes who need to take weeks and months to make one scroll. But, if every scroll took months to paint, we wouldn't have enough scribes to produce the volume required. It's 1 week before Pennsic, five top tier scribes are busy trying to finish peerage scrolls. Everyone else is busy packing and doing their own assignments. Their Majesties discover that Lord Babar the Elephant will be at Pennsic: his first event in 3 years. Their Majesties want to induct him into the Noble Order of the Sycamore for his mad A&S skills [3] and no one knows when the next event he will attend. So, here are our options. 1) Induct him and tell him that the scroll is a work in progress. 2) Find an illuminator, wordsmith and a calligrapher to knock something at the last minute. 3) The Kingdom Signet reaches into the Big Book of Scroll Blanks For a Rainy Day, pulls out a nice blank and tracks down a wordsmith and a calligrapher. One third of the work is done.

Scroll blanks are good for every Kingdom, every Principality, every Barony and every Shire. They are good for every illuminator, every calligrapher and every signet. 

[1] First scroll blank is free.
[2] A buttload is a measure of volume equaling two hogsheads, or 108 imperial gallons (490 l) for ale or 126 imperial gallons (570 l) for wine.
[3] His skills do indeed pay the bills.

Rest in peace, my friend

A Eulogy

Today, we held the funeral service of Maestro Augusto Giuseppe da San Donato. I was asked to give a eulogy for my friend and I would like to share it with as many people as possible. I honestly did not know what to say until I stepped up to the podium, and I just started speaking. This is my best recollection of what I had said:

I met Joe 17 years ago (Monte's phone went off at that point with what sounded like Linus and Lucy.) Joe always wanted his own theme music. I met Joe almost 17 years ago. I was running a large and complicated event called Ice Dragon and Joe showed up to make sure that Colleen had not joined a cult. Once he saw that we weren't a cult, he wasn't satisfied with standing around watching. Joe and Colleen showed up the night before and helped move tables and chairs. Hang banners. Joe even went out and hung street signs. Joe and Colleen worked until well after midnight. The following morning, Joe was there with a snow shovel and a bucket of salt and he cleared away the snow so that no one would slip. From that day, Joe made the SCA his second home. Learning how our organization operated, becoming an officer and eventually the president of the Niagara County chapter. (I used that phrase for Joe's family, who were outnumbered 7 to 70 SCAdians) He made banner poles, pavilion poles. Found canvas for a new pavilion. Gates, trailers, fire rings. He fell in love with the SCA and made it his mission to make it better for everyone.  

That was Joe. 

Not only did he bring his skill and enthusiasm, he brought his network. We always said, "Joe knows a guy." Need someone who can fix an Edwardian stained glass windows because your Mom dropped a vacuum cleaner on it? Joe knew a guy. Need 200 pounds of rebar for a project? Joe knew a guy. Looking for a 30 year old bottle of scotch for that perfect birthday present that won't break the bank? Joe knew a guy.  

And we all knew Joe. He was our "guy". Dropped your keys down a storm drain? We knew a guy who would show up with a heavy fishing line and a magnet. Broken water pipe in the middle of the night? We knew a guy who would show up with tools to fix it, then help you with the clean up. Stuck in the middle of nowhere with a flat tire and a 5 hour backlog at AAA? We knew a guy who would show up with a floor jack and an impact wrench. Need help tracking down a strange smell in your kitchen? We knew a guy who would sniff down that smell.  

And Joe knew us. We became part of his network. Someone looking for a musician who can play at a wedding at the last minute? Joe knew one of us. Someone looking for help with silk screening? Joe knew one of us. Need a roofer right away? Joe knew one of us. And Joe used his network to introduce his friends to new friends. That was Joe.

Joe could never let something stand as "good enough". It was never "good enough" for Joe. Over the years, that was a source of disagreement between us. If something broke, and we were on a deadline, I had no problem with using baling wire and duct tape to get it "fixed" enough so that last until a proper repair could be made. Joe hated that. He always said that if you don't do it right the first time, you will never go back and fix it properly later. That was Joe. 

 Joe could never leave something alone without trying to improve it. He was that way with his welding, woodworking and metal working. He was also that way with his friends. He tried to have a kind word of encouragement for almost everyone he met. Or, at least, a snarky comment to light a fire in the belly. He tried to see the best in almost everyone and tried to make people see it in themselves. 

I will grieve for the passing of my friend, but I will not let it diminish me. I know that I am a better person because I was a friend of Joe.

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Dani said in her eulogy that when he was depressed, Joe would pine that if he died no one would care or show up. Over a hundred people showed up to the viewings and the service to say goodbye. I have been told that the news of his passing spread through that Facebook thing like a wildfire. SCAdians, absent for too many years, showed up to say goodbye. We will be holding a proper wake in a week and we are expecting a packed hall.

We have cried an ocean of tears for the unexpected, meaningless and unfair taking of our friend. But we will not let each other drown in our grief. We are united in the fact that we all knew a guy.

https://aethelmearcgazette.com/2017/10/31/in-memoriam-maestro-augusto-giuseppe-da-san-donato/

A look at all of the scrolls that Joe was blessed with.