[Steppes] Telling someone that what they are doing is not period

[Catalina Elvira Osorio Lopez de Xerez]

I try to approach these people from a different angle and admire their 
quality of workmanship, and their enjoyment of what they did. Then I suggest 
something along the lines, "Have you ever seen this painting/manuscript. I 
bet that would be right up your alley and I think you could actually make 
something like that." I try not to criticize any individual piece. I'm sorry 
the young lady left the SCA over the double-knit, but that's more common 
than a lot of people think. I think the issue evryone is tiptoeing around 
with that is, on one side they are told that it is ok to substitute 
materials for a reason, and then the other side tells them that it is not.



Catalina
Sanguinem dumtaxat causam virtutis pendate





>From: "willowjonbardc at juno.com" <willowjonbardc at juno.com>
>To: loch-ruadh at ansteorra.org, 
>northern at ansteorra.org,ansteorra at ansteorra.org, elfsea at ansteorra.org, 
>steppes at ansteorra.org
>Subject: [Steppes] Telling someone that what they are doing is not period
>Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2006 02:05:55 GMT
>
>Greetings everyone
>
>I have a special request of you. How can we tell people that what they
>are doing is not correct? That it is not period, but at the same time
>not make them feel bad. Many newer people are telling me that they are
>living in fear because they think their costumes, art, performances or
>behavor are going to be criticized and they are going to be told that
>they are not in period.
>
>  Now as a citizen of the SCA I feel it is my duty to inform people
>that their work may be better if they would stay in period. I have
>tried to tell them in a nice way. I have failed many times. Sometimes
>I am too soft. There was the young lady who was planning on beading a
>piece of polyester double knit. I warned her that taking that much
>time on double knit meant it would not get the best scores at the A&S
>competitions. She said she liked the design and she didn't plan on
>entering A&S. Of course 3 years later she did enter it and got points
>knocked because it was double Knit. She left the SCA over it. I failed
>with my own husband. I told him his work was not period and he is
>still mad at me. Sometimes I have helped people. There was a lady who
>in the everyday world won many awards for her needlework, but she was
>getting nowhere in SCA. I suggested she change her designs to
>something period and she received many awards for her work. When I
>told her that her designs were wrong she cried, but a year later when
>she got her Thistle she hugged me.
>
>We need to tell people the rules of the game, but we need to do it in
>a nice way. Does anyone remember a time when someone set you on the
>right path and did in a way that made you feel good? I would like to
>hear about their techniques. Courtesy is one of the pillars of the
>magic that is Ansteorra. We are smart people. We need to figure out
>how to tell people things without hurting their feelings.
>Duchess Willow de Wisp
>
>
>
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