ANST - Re: Learning Other's Arts

[Ronnie]

>In Bjornsborg in the Ancienne Dayes, our Baroness, Alexandra Tatiana
Feodnorovna of Novgorod (ye gods, what a mouthful!) used to encourage
*everyone* to fetch their A&S projects out to fighter practice.  In the fog
of my memory, I recall every fighter practice as having perfect weather, fun
fighting, and A&S things to work on or learn from when I was too tired to
fight another round.

Wonderful!  That's similar to what I was suggesting. 

>Also, recall that (like any other artist) most Laurels have a big wide
streak of vanity.  You want to learn an art?  Find a Laurel who's doing that
art, and ask them to teach it.  That tells the Laurel that you admire their
work enough that you want to learn from it, which is always flattering.  I
don't take apprentices on a whim, but I will generally teach anyone that I
do not have a total antipathy for.

Well, and that's not only gracious and kind, but a good stroking for the
Laurel as well -- positive feedback, donchaknow?  Most of us will go the
extra mile when we're confident of appreciation for what we do. 

>For that matter, you can ask *anyone* who practices an art to help you
learn it.  Most people are more than willing to share their enthusiasm with you.
>
>The key here is that you *have* to want it badly enough to *ask*.

While seeing these comments as kind of a "given" with which I agree, I hope
the idea of having touch-and-do at A&S (or *any*, including collegium)
events wasn't washed away with "ask a Laurel," Mistress.  The idea is to
give folks a chance to see if, by working for a few minutes on something
that caught their interest, they might want to go further with it -- and
further includes asking a Laurel to invest in teaching them a bit.  

I waited in an airport for an hour for my flight.  While I waited, I started
to work at my cardweaving.  Several people gathered, full of questions.  I
let each of them work a few turns on the piece.  No fewer than 3 of these
(only one was a youngster) asked where to buy the materials.  Two others
were on my flight, and changed seats to sit nearby, shyly asking if they
could work more turns during the flight.  Yes, I had to unweave the entire
bit of work from the airport and flight.  Well worth the ability now woven
into some of these folks' lives. 
Ronnie.  

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