[MR] Meet the Laurels!

[Beth Tanner]

To the Artisans and all Other Noble and Gentle Folk of Atlantia,

Members of the Order of the Laurel greatly desire to have an 
opportunity to become better acquainted with you, your work and your 
concerns. To this end, we invite you to a small gathering at 
Atlantian University on June 2.

Some of us will be taking over the registration area after the lunch 
break. There we will offer our hospitality and a chance for 
one-on-one conversation over the course of the afternoon. We would 
esteem it an honor if you would introduce yourself, bring a sample of 
your work, or ask a question or two. This is an open, informal forum.

At this writing, the following companions of the Laurel intend to be 
present as their duties at University permit:

Mistress Deirdre O'Siodhachain will be delighted to chat about her 
favorite subject areas of period legal documents, illumination, 
chivalry and courtly love, and poetry. She also has a passing 
acquaintance with later period women's clothing, and was once reputed 
to have earned her Laurel in croquet. She will bring some of her 
favorite reference books if you care to peruse them. If you are 
minded simply to make her acquaintance and pass the time in lighter 
pursuits, she will be available for a game of backgammon or to 
practice her somewhat rusty skills in reflexology hand massage.

Master Richard Wymarc is willing to consult on embroidery, 
handsewing, early period garb, and documentation. He will bring some 
of his favorite sources along for a "book petting zoo."

Mistress Eibhlin nic'Raghailligh will be most pleased to discuss 
period cheesemaking, dairying, animal husbandry, and food 
preservation. She additionally is very interested in many additional 
and culinary arts topics and enjoys talking food. Please stop by for 
a light snack and some friendly discussion.

Mistress Elisabeth MacAlester would be most honored to speak with 
fellow students on the gentle arts of knitting; typography, printing, 
and bookbinding; Japanese textiles and costume; and/or research. She 
will also bring a selection of books from her library to stimulate 
discussion. Polite inquiries may result in performance of her very 
own Stupid Peer Trick(TM).

Minowara Kiritsubo-no-Ason would be most honored to speak with fellow 
students on the arts of cooking and Japanese research and culture 
(including crafts, costuming, etc.). She will also bring a selection 
of books from her library to share with those interested, to include 
books on cookery, and other diverse arts. As she doesn't really have 
a stupid peer trick, she will demonstrate, when politely asked, her 
great ability to trip over anything in sight!

Dame Olwen the Odd will be available from around 3:30 p.m. to 4:20 
p.m. to bounce silly questions off of with regards to illusion foods, 
novelty presentations and working with marzipan. She is also known to 
have limited and dangerous knowledge of beads in the Viking 
style.  There will be pictures of fun food tricks, samples of home 
made molds made for marzipan work and also a sampling of Viking style 
beads (but are they edible?).

Master Bryce de Byram will be available to discuss SCA composition, 
music, singing, chivalric history, writing, poetry, the history of 
the Military Orders, Outreamer culture, Armour choices both Crusader 
and Saracen for the upcoming Crusader Battle at Pennsic, and Angevin 
culture, assuming he isn't holding some dark and evil ceremony 
somewhere. Proper bribes will ensure dissertations on the correct 
seasoning of babies for consumption, and just how many flails it 
takes to get to the center of a dead horse.

For at least an hour, and possibly more, Eadric the Potter will be 
happy to discuss pottery, ceramic technology, medieval approaches to 
chemistry and alchemy, the manufacture of potable alcoholic 
beverages, the consumption of same, the fine art of parting the 
public from its money, and how to make an inflammatory statement in a 
pubic forum.

Mistress Allasondrea de Fano would be most honored and pleased to 
discuss/exchange information with anyone interested in lacemaking, 
calligraphy styles, and/or period illumination/gilding materials. She 
will have a number of primary source reference books available for 
perusal as well as contact information for her favorite suppliers. 
Now considering herself an ancient Atlantian, she would also greatly 
enjoy discourse with anyone interested in reminiscing about the early 
days of Atlantia when rocks were soft.

Maestra Giuliana Salviati would be happy to speak with anyone wishing 
to geek on the subjects of costuming and sewing, all things 
Florentine, and mosaic history and technique. She will bring along 
some of the harder-to-find selections from her personal library, and 
may attempt to bribe her lord husband to cook something so she won't have to.

Master Findlaech mac Alasdair will happily hold forth on furniture, 
woodworking, life in a livery company, Elizabethan Trayn'd Bands, and 
why plywood in period furniture is just plain wrong, until all within 
earshot are thoroughly sick of the above subjects. Selected volumes 
on said subjects will be available for your browsing pleasure.

Master Eldred AElfwald will take a break from his duties as 
Chancellor between 1:30 and 2:30 to philosophize, hold forth, 
pontificate, learn about and/or simply jaw about calligraphy, 
illumination, 12th century England, brewing, woodworking, the small 
doings of our friends and neighbors, or just about any other topic 
you'd care to bring up.

Master Tristan Alexander will make time to discuss illumination and 
anything else scribe related with anyone interested.

Mistress Ingvild Josefsdatter will be delighted to just sit and 
schmooze about research and textiles as well as gardens and herbs.

Mistress Keilyn FitzWarin, the notorious Peer of Beer is happy to 
discuss poetry, cooking, brewing, things of the 14th Century and how 
to get in trouble without really trying.

Master Herveus will be available to geek about weaving narrow 
wares,  particularly tablet weaving.