[Namron] Letter regarding Laurel's Prize

Jennifer Couch okwldflwr at gmail.com
Thu Aug 18 07:30:13 PDT 2011


Greetings!!

With Laurel's Prize quickly approaching, I received an email with an article
regarding the perspective of one person who has set on both sides of the
table at a Laurel's Prize.  She approved of me forwarding this, so that
there may be conversation about this topic.  Here it is.

In Service,
Lady Antonia de la fuente
Autocrat for Laurel's Prize


Laurels’ Prize Tournament – A View from Both Sides of the Table

Hanna von Dahl, OL Send Comments or Questions to: dmcovel79 at yahoo.com

The experiences I’ve had as an artisan and a Laurel at Laurels’ Prize
Tournament (LPT) are
among my favorite moments in the SCA. After finding people who misunderstand
what LPT is about, I
decided to share some of my experiences to help explain what the event means
in Ansteorra.
In a society known for strong tournaments and competitions, LPT is a
refreshing change. The
biggest irony of Ansteorra’s LPT is that it is neither a tournament nor do
“The Laurels” offer a prize. Then
why is it called Laurels’ Prize Tournament? When first created it was more
like a tournament and the
name stuck. Now individual Laurels offer small prizes to the artisans that
impress them with their
works. These are often unannounced prizes, so artisans cannot compete for
them in a traditional
manner.

So what is LPT? The event is the perfect showcase for those who do not like
to enter traditional
competitions. It is a place where artisans display their work to receive
feedback. This feedback comes
from Laurels and fellow artisans alike. The work displayed is what the
artisan wants feedback about. Be
it their entire body of work, or the project they have worked on just in the
last year, or even a single
piece. Each artisan uses LPT differently, to create their own experience.
The comments, feedback, and
one‐on‐one time with other passionate artisans are the true prizes at LPT.

My first LPT was sponsored by the Shire of Seawinds, which was seven hours
away. The drive
down with a friend and our SCA mentor was fun and educational. My friend was
to showcase her
collection of hand sewn gowns that highlighted her progression over several
years. As a newer artisan, I
had a limited body‐of‐work, yet was excited to show it off for the first
time. My collection included an
embroidered Viking apron dress, an unfinished painted banner, a few random
class projects, and my
first few card woven bands. I was happy that LPT welcomed artisans of all
levels to display.
Friends reassured me that at least three Laurels would be assigned to talk
to me that day. Why
three, I asked – so that each artisan would hear several perspectives on
their work. By the end of the
day, I could not tell you who had “officially” talked with me. It seemed a
hundred people had stopped
by to talk, ask questions or give suggestions. The three stand outs were two
Laurels and a lady who was
a newer artisan like myself. She was interested in learning to weave and we
must have talked for 20
minutes solid. We shared experiences and suggestions both about books and
tips to overcome
problems. I really regretted not getting her name.

The two Laurels were Mistress Talana the Violet & Mistress Kasilda Kubasek
who I meet for the
first time. They both struck me with their grace, kindness, and good advice.
Mistress Talana shared
some weaving and general documentation advice. She even followed up after
the event with some links
to information we discussed. Mistress Kasilda liked my apron dress. She
gifted me with comments and
a string of amber beads that I still wear with pride. We did not talk long,
but she made a lasting
impression on me. The experience really humanized and individualized “The
Laurels” for me.
Last Edited: Aug. 15, 2011

As a new artisan, I was disappointed that few people read or commented upon
my
documentation. Now I understand why documentation was overlooked. Outside of
judged
competitions, there is simply no time to give a paper the full attention it
deserves at events. There are
too many noises and people pulling at your attention. So at my first LPT as
a Laurel, I told the artisans
that wanted me to comment upon their documentation to email it to me.
Outside of events, I could
give it my full attention and provide the feedback they wanted.

The trip to my first LPT as a Laurel was vastly different. It was a shorter
3 hour drive with several
friends: a fellow laurel, a displaying artisan, and a friend who wanted to
see everything. Yet the trip was
just as fun and as memorable as the first one to Seawinds.

As we arrived artisans were already setting up and the Laurels were soon
called to their morning
meeting. Now was my turn to be on the other side of the table. It was a
surreal moment. The number
each Laurel officially speaks with varies based on how many attend verses
the number of displaying
artisans. After all the artisans were “claimed” by two to three Laurels, we
left the meeting room to begin
the day. I was to formally speak with three artisans; none were doing my
primary art of weaving, yet
each was working on an art form(s) I felt would benefit from my research
background.
All of “my” artisans showed enthusiasm for their arts; this made me excited
for them and about
their arts in return. One artisan liked to make tools, but did not want to
enter competitions. So we
talked about how he could further his research to improve his craft. The
second had an obscure art he
wanted to excite people about. We talked about ways of making his work more
approachable. The
third artisan had a more traditional body‐of‐work display. She wanted
feedback on taking her work to
master quality. That conversation was a very different sort than the first
two. After talking with these
artisans, I spent the rest of the day wondering the event talking more
casually with other artisans and
event attendees until the Laurels gathered for their afternoon meeting.

The biggest difference between attending LPT as an artisan vs. as a Laurel?
– Movement. As a
displaying artisan, you are at your table all day – talking to people. As a
Laurel, you are always moving
from table to table – talking to people.

The biggest difference between being an artisan vs. being a Laurel after
LPT? – What you
remember. As an artisan at the end of the day, I remembered the best tips,
more than the people who
gave them. As a Laurel, I remembered the people and still feel a sense of
connection to the ones I
officially spoke with that day.

Like other SCA events, your expectations of LPT affect your experiences.
Know it takes effort to
set up a display, be it one item or a full body‐of‐work. Know it takes a
different sort of effort to talk to
people all day. Also realize it takes another sort of energy to give
constructive comments all day. Yet at
the end of LPT, each person walks away with a unique and satisfying
experience. Event attendees see a
snapshot of many arts and possibly leave with the desire to start a new one.
Laurels leave feeling they
have helped someone. Artisans leave with many tidbits of information or
tokens of appreciation. All
these experiences are the real prizes of Laurel’s Prize Tourney. Come to the
next one and learn this
firsthand

-- 
If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready,
we shall never begin.--Ivan Turgenev
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