[MR] St BARBARA Project (KASF 2009) - Something new and interesting for our Artisans. (Long)]

[chagankhulan at clan-whitewing.org]

Greetings Atlantia,

    Below is the announcement for a new competition to be held at KASF
2009. Kindly share it with any who you feel would be interested.

Chagan,
Autocrat, KASF 2009

** Apologies for any duplicate sendings as well as an earlier ill-fated
attempt at sending this out. ***


Subject:  THE ST. BARBARA PROJECT
Deadline:  March 7, 2009
 
Dear Artisans of the Kingdom of Atlantia,
 
We have been offered the chance of a Medieval lifetime - Father John Vass
representing Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church (Baltimore, MD) has
requested that a contest be held to craft a holder in the Medieval style
for two of their most sacred objects, both related to their patron saint,
St. Barbara of the Tower.  I have agreed to sponsor this contest and
judging will take place at the 2009 Kingdom Arts and Sciences Festival.
 
The objects are her icon--a painting in the Russian Medieval style--which
has a silver halo crowning her head, and her relic, a bone sliver,
which is in a small closed silver box.  The holder crafted by an SCA
artisan must contain both these objects and will be lightweight, yet
sturdy, as the set must be carried in religious processions several times
per year and both must be visible to the congregation.  A permanent (but
cleanable) clear covering (glass or Plexiglas or some such material) will
protect both elements from the weather (non-Medieval but practical for
today's world).  At other times, the holder with the icon and the relic
will sit on a table in the nave of the church, to be always available to
members of the congregation for contemplative worship.  The holder may be
wood or metal or a combination of the two.  (More than one artisan may
combine skills to craft this object.)
 
The holder will be in a style within our time period although the martyr's
story takes place much earlier.  Now who was Saint Barbara?  You can find
her (sometimes contradictory) stories on the Internet.  To greatly shorten
the Medieval tale (as told in Father John's letter) of the martyr become a
saint, she lived in Syria during the reign of Rome's Emperor Maximiam
(305-311 AD).  She was a beautiful daughter in a rich pagan family.  To
protect her, her father had her live in a tower.  She looked out the
windows at the beautiful world and began to think of the creator of all
the beauty.  Her father let her meet girlfriends; she met a priest and
secretly was baptized a Christian.  The father directed workmen to build a
luxurious marble bathhouse and to place two windows up high on the south
side, then left on a trip.  Barbara directed the men to add a third
window, to form a Trinity of light.  The father came back; Barbara
admitted why she wanted the third window; the father tortured her and
finally beheaded her since he could not make her renounce her
Christianity.  Many miracles occurred with the bath water and while
Barbara was in vile duress.  In Wikipedia, I learned her symbols are many,
but especially is she connected to towers, which includes masons who build
them and artillerymen whose cannons knock them down.
Father John, our church contact and a religious art historian, has
provided photographs of the two objects and of the inside of the church to
show its style.  The holder needs to fit in with the other religious
objects. I will forward the photos (.doc files) and his explanatory letter
containing all the specs (.pdf) to any interested person who will provide
me with an email address.  The Bright Hills Listserv does not accept
attachments and I am running into problems in posting them on our Yahoo
Group photo page. I hope to solve that problem later.  My email is:
Ingeborg_sca at yahoo.com.
 
THE CONTEST RULES: 
* If at least a minimum of 3 SCA artisans will endeavor to create the
holder in a Russian Medieval style in time for judging at the 2009 Kingdom
Arts and Sciences Festival (the first Saturday in March at the Ag Center
in Westminster, MD), then Father John or his representative of Holy
Trinity Russian Orthodox Church will decide whether the crafted holder
meets their need.
* Artisans may join together in a team to jointly create this object if
they wish (such as woodworkers and metalworkers).
* If a holder is chosen by the church representative, then that object is
freely given to the church.  The church will provide the winning artist
with a letter (suitable proof for a tax donation) attesting to the artist
having crafted an object that will be used in their church on a daily
basis, just as was done in Medieval times by our ancestors. 
* Documentation is required to show the object created is in the Medieval
style (with the exception of the "glass" cover over the 2 religious
objects), and meets the specifications in Father John's letter.  Basic
rules: The holder must hold both icon/painting (Inches:  16 1/2  H x 13
15/16 W x 1 1/2 D, plus silver halo 1/2" H) and silver relic box (2 1/2 W
x 1 7/8 H x 1/2 D); be covered with glass or a glass-substitute, fit on
the church display table (30 W x 29 D), and be crafted light enough yet
strong enough to be carried in processions.)  See Father John's letter for
all details.
* The artist (or artists) must be present at KASF during the day to talk
with the church representative.
* Whether or not the object crafted is suitable for Holy Trinity, the
artist (or artists) will receive the prize I will give to the winner in
recognition of his or her artistry.
 Artists of the SCA -- Here is your chance for a little bit of immortality:
 
"...the beautiful icons that adorn our church and the many ones on display
during the festival represent for us not art, but "windows to heaven."
They invite us in to stand in the presence of God and be touched by His
Grace" -- Fr. John Vass, Pastor [bulletin for the 2008 Russian Festival]
 
Please pass this letter on to any crafts people you know that would find
this of interest.
 
Yours in Service,
 
Lady Ingeborg i Trondheim
Sponsor: St. Barbara Craft Project
The Barony of Bright Hills
Kingdom of Atlantia 
Email: ingeborg_sca at yahoo.com
 


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