I'm so glad I went to the Scribal Day of Play in Vanished Wood. I learned so

much, even just from looking at various people's work and being able to ask

questions.



I love looking at scribal work and illumination online, and often do spend an

hour at a time just gazing at them because they're so gorgeous… but they remain

just gorgeous to me, online. Online pictures are so beautiful, but you truly

can't see all the details, or appreciate fully the sureness of brush and pen

stroke, the controlled flow of paint or ink. You can't see the "imperfections"

that give a piece that human level of beauty, all the things that make a

person's handiwork so elevated above a mere computer print-out. It's impossible

to see on a computer why gold leaf looks so much richer than gold paint, because

of necessity, a webpage or email only shows photographs, which don't convey the

full gorgeousness.



Too, I wouldn't have learned how to make a good sealing wax out of modern

ingredients and with modern equipment. I'm excited to try it out on my own now.

I couldn't have said that before attending this scribal play-date. I'd have seen

it on a webpage, but wouldn't have thought to try it, because I tend to learn

haptically/kinesthetically, from watching hands move and hearing voices describe

the movements in words, both at the same time -- not visually, from seeing

pictures, no matter how well detailed. I'm looking forward to learning from Dame

Jocelyn and her apprentice (Lady?) Elianora what they find out about period

recipes and methods, when they publish their work.



I didn't really write anything, or do anything but converse and watch other

people, but I still feel educated in a way that I can't be educated from a

webpage or a book. I think I'm going to be a better beginner thanks to this

experience, and I'm going to make a point of looking at others' work *in person*

as often as possible.



And I'm really looking forward to the next several scribal nights in Ayreton.

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D'vorah bint Da'ud

Middle Kingdom, Midlands, Ayreton, Tree-Girt-Sea (Chicago, IL)

dvorah@...

http://www.consensualreality.net/sca

Twitter: @DvorahSCA

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