[Steppes] Artisan considerations.(long)

[Sue Rogers]

Actually, we did have Artisan in combination with 12th Night one year, the
year Cairenn won it.  It was a major malfunction.  We had fewer entrants
than many other years, it was very crowded, and there was inadequate time
for the judging with all the other activities going on.  And I believe
there were no peerages made at that event.  All of which suggests that is
not a good combination.

The reason Artisan is a separate event is that it does not work well with
other events, at least for the Artisans and the judges.  Other spectators
might be interested in other activities at the event, but for those who
come for the A&S, it is awkward to do anything else.  Having a Baronial or
Regional collegium would combine well with Artisan, if there are not a lot
of A&S classes (probable lack ot instructors being the reason), if the site
permits.

Artisan has been on calendar some times, off calendar others.  Some years
awards have been given (at all levels, I believe, including a peerage one
year, though my memory might be faulty as I get older), other years we have
not had major awards.  Some years we have had royalty, other years not. 
These things do not tend to have a major impact on the size of Artisan, in
my observations over the years...

Artisan does not combine well at all with Warlord, due to the previously
(frequently) mentioned over-abundance of activities already scheduled. 
Further, the hall notwithstanding, Warlord is primarily an outdoor event,
Artisan is emphatically not.  Artisan has most often been held in high
summer to offer an indoor event in an air-conditioned space during a season
when fighting activities are often curtailed due to the heat.

The year we combined Steppes Champion with Artisan (due, as I recall, to it
being rained / flooded out at Warlord), it was to the detriment of both
events.  So again, I don't think this is a suitable combination.

And I don't see how Artisan would combine well with Fall Court, the only
commonality having been mentioned is that they would both be off-calendar
events.  Fall Court traditionally has fun but uncomplicated things going on
during the day and a potluck feast at night.  We quit having potluck feasts
at Artisan when there were not enough dishes to feed the people there, and
someone had to make a grocery run before the evening meal.  A luncheon or
evening simple sideboard makes more sense, since most artisans do not have
time to make a potluck dish as well as preparing their entries.  This is
especially true of artisans from out of town...

Both 12th Night and Warlord need to remain calendar events, if for no other
reason than the sheer volume of court business that occurs at both.  And
Warlord is our money-maker.  12th Night sometimes makes money, Artisan
almost never.

I suspect that the reason Warlord gets so over-scheduled, especially on
Saturday, is that many people are paranoid about getting rained out on
Sunday (which seems to happen about every 6 or 7 years).

As far as having a combined A&S event with Elfsea, that has been suggested
before.  However, Elfsea has its own tradition of Artisans, and I suspect
it would be difficult to merge the traditions, duties, and responsibilities
of the 2 titles.  This might be a possibility, though, to look at in
future, as a Central Regional Artisan.  Would it have the same cachet`?  We
would need to work on that.  If a suitable site could be found, so that a
regional collegium could also happen at the same time, it might become a
large A&S event in its own right.  But it would take a lot of work...  It
would NEED 2 baronies and their cantons to put something like this together.

Just my 4 cents worth...

HL Suzanna, herbalist
Steppes Artisan III
Elfsea Artisan

Sue Rogers
suzannaherbalist at earthlink.net