ANST - A&S "skill ranks"...

[RW. Reid]

This subject has ranged far and wide, so I do not think I will include
previous comments, though I will refer to them.

Pug started with the level of an Iris of Merit, but I would start any such
discussion with the Sable Thistle level.  Master Peter of the Golden Isles
(to whom I was apprenticed), felt that you had to have mastered the basics
of your skill area to be worthy of a Sable Thistle.

But if mastery of a skill is required, then there would be few if any
Laurels, and of course equally few Companions of the Iris of Merit.  Setting
aside the question of how we judge mastery for a moment, I would simply say
that mastery is truly difficult, in even the smallest area of expertise.  I
have been honored with the Order of the Laurel, but I am not a master
armorer.  I still have much to learn.  When I look on some of the period
pieces, I despair of ever reaching their level.

So, if a Sable Thistle requires mastery of basic skills, and fully mastery
is an unattainable goal, then where do the Iris of Merit level, and the
Laurel level fall between these two?  First, we must understand that neither
the Iris, nor the Laurel are given for a single skill.  At least in
Ansteorra, the scroll does not say Iris or Laurel for ___________ (fill in
the blank).  This makes the question of mastery even more difficult.

I have always felt that the Iris of Merit was journeyman level.  This is the
level where they have been exposed to all the techniques of their art, and
they actually can use those techniques.  A journeyman should be someone who
knows what to do, and mostly needs additional practice to attain mastery.
They should no longer require large amounts of teaching and training.  In my
own skill, I had attained this level about the time that I got my Iris.
Soon after that my master moved back to California and I was left to pursue
my art, without daily training.

I still needed occasional help, which was often provided by Master Peter at
Pennsic.  He would come by my selling space, and look at my work, and then
he would say a few words, and I would have learned enough to keep me
progressing for at least six months.  An apprentice who requires constant
attention from their Laurel is not ready for the Iris of Merit.

A Laurel should, and I repeat should have mastered his art.  A Laurel should
be able to produce complete pieces, and produce all the variety of pieces
found within their discipline.  As an armorer, I do not feel that anyone
should be a Laurel because they make perfect gauntlets, or helms.  I expect
a Laurel Armorer (which I prefer to Master Armourer) to know how to do
articulation of all sorts, to do breastplates, and chainmail, and arms and
legs, etc.  This is my way of agreeing with Ulf that a Laurel

<should be able to make just about any major kind of potage (wine, beer,
mead,
etc.) of passable quality, and should be recognized for several exceptional
brews in at least one of these varieties.>

Now, to pass to the second point, I must disagree with Lord Mykaru
Kurodachi, about artisans versus technicians.  I agree with much of what
Mistress Aquillane said on the subject.  I feel that Mykaru's opinion is a
very narrow one.  Few artisans in the SCA

<{slavishly?} imitate>

I have seen a few examples of this sort of thing, such as pages recreated
from the Book of Kells, but most of what is produced is an attempt to work
within a period style, which takes more skill, and more time and effort that
slavishly imitating.  I return again to my own art.  I am less interested in
copying any particular suit of armor, than in making one which could stand
beside a period suit and not look out of place.  In other art forms, a great
deal of creativity is required to use modern materials and produce a
period-like result.

<ANY good technical artist or craftsman (non-SCA) can turn out 85% of what
we
see as Laurel work.>

I agree with this statement,  but the " good technical artist or craftsman
(non-SCA)" already has the artistic skills necessary to produce that work.
They need to learn about the styles, and about the techniques needed to
produce that work.  This does happen in the SCA, and that is the reason why
these technical artists and craftsman are not acclaimed immediately as
Laurels.  They still have skills to learn.

<Technical competance comes mostly from patience and attention to detail it
is not <enough. IMPRESS me, show me the love of your work. I will admire any
technical <work for the time involved but unless it has a soul it might as
well be machine made.

Again I agree, though it seems that you undervalue the technical expertise
required to create certain pieces.  I am often impressed with the expertise
required for a piece of artwork.  The time required to learn a skill is a
part of the love for that craft.

My last comment is that when it comes to works that I see, I am often
unimpressed, because I see that the artisan has spent more time making it
look right on the outside, rather than making it correctly.  I am
unimpressed by most shortcuts.  Part of our re-creation is the rediscovery
of skills.  I am always more impressed by someone who takes the time to do
it correctly, rather than just making it look right (and I have often been
guilty of this one).

Conor mac Cinneide
lucetis sicut luminaria in mundo



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