November 01, 2001 - 11:54 a.m.
Well crown tourney is a mere two days away and it seems to be the popular topic of many diaries of late. People making things, people packing up all manner of things, people that are filled with anticipation, with ainxt, with worry and with plans.
Me, I am not sure that I fit into any of the above. There are no grand projects of heraldic display, no new garb or surcoats being fiendishly sewn, no new armour to be assembled (though chuck has spent the week checking straps, cleaning and doing good maintenance things). On the other hand, I did carve the site token for this weekend.
Piece of trivia about my carving and casting. It is relatively infrequent that I actually like the pieces that I create. I suppose that it is the typical response of the craftsman ... you immediately see the flaws. I have spent countless hours with other people teaching them to look beyond their flaws as they create costumes, or carvings, or any kind of art ... why don't I take that advise too. The good news is that over time many of the pieces "grow" on me. Looking back at them they bring me much more joy then they typically do when they are brand new. It must be something about seeing them later, sometime years later, hanging from a bead necklace, or off a fighter's belt, or most joyfully ... treasured by a child. Really, how can you not like a piece when it is so obviously beloved by another?
So, the token for this weekend. I decided to actually flip open the books and recreate a medieval piece. Too frequently I make something that is medieval-oid. This may be because I am working within a theme, or am restricting my detail because I am doing mass numbers in finite times. This can be frustrating. So this time ... I pulled out Mitchner (a wonderful book filled with tokens) and really thought about the piece. I found one that met my needs. That really captures the spirit of crown for me. "I serve" Every person that attends will be getting a symbol, a royal symbol that captures it all. Perhaps it is the warped viewed of having sat in the chair, but I feel so strongly that it is all about OTHER PEOPLE. Being monarch is a job, and a hard one. Hopefully one that I did well. Hopefully one that I will have the opportunity to do once again. Enough musing ... I like this token.
Two days to crown. I am excited, I am looking forward to it. There is never a time that Ragnarr takes the field with my arms on his shield and my favour on that I don't look forward to it. Win, loose or draw, I am proud. Proud to be loved by an honorable man, Proud that he thinks enough of me to try once more to win a crown, for me. I am truly blessed. Thank you Chuck, thank you for being in my life. It may not show in my clothes this weekend, it may not be fluttering in the breeze from a new pennant, or in the form of a shiny new surcoat ... but it is new. Every time he steps out onto the field I see the ideals. Wow, I am lucky.
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