[MR] Announcing a "From the Ground Up" Contest

[David Wendelken]

Greetings,

I have just returned to civilized lands after a decade of wandering in the
wildernesses of Mundania.
Years ago, whilst living in the fair Realm of Meridies in the Barony of the
South Downs, they held a contest that always pleased me.

It was an Arts and Sciences competition in which the contestant was judged
upon the number of steps in manufacturing the item that the entrant
performed themselves.  For example, if one composed a poem, it would count
as one step in the manufacturing process.  If, however, one also made the
parchment it was written upon, that would count as two steps.  Make a quill
pen and some ink, calligraph the poem and illuminate it, and we are up to
six self-manufactured steps.

Here's another example: Buying a board, some dowels, glue and screws, then
turning them into a tablet-weaving loom only counts as one step.
However, if you took trees turned them into boards, that would count as an
additional step, as would gathering horsetail reeds to use as "sandpaper".

==============
Contest
==============

So, to further enhance the already flourishing arts and sciences in this
Fair Kingdom of Atlantia (and for my own amusement), I am sponsoring a "From
the Ground Up" contest.

==============
Prizes
==============

For the first place winner:
----------------------------------
Fifty dollars and two full sets of "Early Period", an Arts and Sciences
"how-to" journal that my wife, Fuiltigherne and I published over a span of
eight years in the distant past.

For the runner-up:
----------------------------------
Twenty-five dollars and one full set of "Early Period."

For those who amuse me or whose work otherwise pleases:
----------------------------------
Other prizes, depending upon how much time I get in the shop between now and
Kingdom Arts and Sciences in the spring.


==============
Rules
==============

I don't particularly like rules, but they are useful for communicating the
intent of the contest.  Here are the contest rules:

1) This contest is for my personal amusement and the advancement of the Arts
and Sciences of Atlantia.  Contestants who are grumpy do not amuse me and
are immediately disqualified and dismissed from my thoughts.

2) Documentation listing the steps performed is required.  If a step in the
process can not be exhibited, photographs are accepted.

3) Documentation of the techniques themselves is strongly encouraged and
will be considered in the judging process.
Excellent documentation of a manufacturing step produced/written by the
contestant counts as an additional manufacturing step.
Minimal documentation gets much less consideration, but can still be useful
as a tie-breaker.

4) Judging will take place at the Kingdom Arts and Sciences Festival (March
2nd, 2002), wherever that event may be held.

5) The constructed item must be of a period style and utility, somewhere in
the time period of 100 BCE thru 1650 CE.

6) The judge acknowledges a bias towards items representing "Early Period"
items, herein defined as pre-1066 CE.  "Early Period" items receive bonus
credit of one manufacturing step.  (If you don't like it, sponsor your own
contest!)

7) The "final" item in the manufacturing process must have been completed in
the last two years.  Supporting tools and components may have been made
previously.

8) The item can be entered in any other contest and can have won any other
contest.  Victory "officially" takes place after the Arts and Sciences
Festival ends, so as not to interfere with any other contests there that
disqualify items that have won a prize.

9) All other situations and considerations I deem reasonable and proper,
such as "changing stupid rules" or "acknowledging a better way", are within
the rules.

10) The one with the most steps in their manufacturing process, as described
above, wins.

==============
Advice
==============

You could approach this contest several ways.  One would be to start with an
item that you want to make and work backwards through the individual steps.
The other would be to choose a manufacturing process and work towards the
finished item.

Here is an example, from Fuiltigherne, of how she has approached contests
like this in the past:

"The first year, I had just completed my warp-weighted loom.  Since we built
it ourselves, we had a good start.  I needed some yarn, which I could spin
myself on my purchased spindle -- but if I made a spindle ... so I did.  I
used a found brass piece for the weight and carved a bone shaft.  Then I
spun the yarn.  This is rather time consuming, and time was short, so I
decided to make something small -- a pouch.  (It did look a little like
overkill -- that little pouch hanging on that big loom.)  Once the fabric
was finished, I cut it from the loom and started to sew it up when I
realized -- I could make some needles!  Bone needles are not difficult to
make and about 30 minutes later, I was on my way again (we keep a supply of
cleaned bone for experimental purposes so it might take you a little
longer!)"

Here's another example from her:

"The next year I decided to make a felted-in-one-piece Scythian cap.  I
felted the hat base and while it was drying I felted several thin sheets for
decoration.  I dyed the sheets with natural dyes (henna, walnut shells I
gathered, and red onion skins from my long-suffering grocer).  I also dyed
some hand spun yarn for couching around the designs.  I needed to sew the
cut out felt designs to the cap and so I made another needle (actually, they
were rather small and I ended up making several as the project progressed).
I tried my hand-spun yarn for sewing but it wasn't spun tight enough.  We
were working on some sinew for making composite bows at the time, so I
decided to try it for sewing.  It worked great, and all the steps involved
in processing the sinew for use counted."

==============
Contact Info
==============

If you have questions about the contest, or just want to make friends, you
can reach me in a variety of ways:

Andras Salamandra
c/o
David Wendelken
818 Azalea Drive
Fayetteville, NC 28301 USA
910 677-0495  (between 10am and 9pm, EST)
davidwendelken at earthlink.net