carmenbeaudry | memememememe

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Questions from

ya_inga

1. I dont know much about your early years in the SCA. When did you start playing and why?

When I was 16, my mother helped to run an arts festival in Burien, Wa. The SCA was invited to have a demo as a part of that festival. That was my first exposure to the SCA and I felt like I had just come home. I had a chance to make those Arthurian-based pre-Raphaelite costume that I loved and actually wear them somewhere. Most important, the concept of a place where people didn’t laugh at you for thinking honor and chivalry were worthy goals was exactly what I needed. This was in 1977, and since then I’ve been in and out of the SCA for various reasons, but I always come back, and I’m always happiest when I’m playing. I met my husband because, and most of my good friends, because of the SCA. Duke Frederick of Holland wrote a song years ago called, “When I Was a Little Boy” that describes being young and dreaming of Knights and Honor and Ladies Faire, and finding them in the SCA. I came for the dream, and stayed for the people, and the history.

2. You have an incredible SCA wardrobe - what is it about late period attire that you love?

I don’t know that it’s late period clothing that I love in particular. If it were just the clothes, I would have gone Elizabethan and not had so much trouble with the whole “Cavaliers aren’t period” thing. What happened is that I was looking for something new to keep me interested in the SCA after a bad case of burnout and started Rapier. In order to do this, I began what I thought was going to be an alternate person just for fighting. Well, she had a mind of her own, and I fell in love with the persona and everything about the period, and, well, that means clothes to match. Don’t get me wrong, I love the clothing, and the fact that there’s so much documentation and existent items, but I really am persona driven.

3. What one thing in the SCA have you not done that you still dream of achieving?

I don’t know that I have this kind of goal right now. I joke about wanting to be a Countess, but you have to be Queen first, and that’s dependent on someone else winning crown. J All of my awards and achievements in the SCA are things that happened to me while I was doing other things. I really like teaching, but I have no particular goals inside the SCA in that line. It’s one of the things that I’m very seriously searching for: What do I want to do next?

4. I know you have just jumped back into school. What is the best part about this new adventure?

Seriously? The on-line scholarly databases. All of the articles and sites that were denied to me as an independent costumer researcher became mine as soon as I had a student access password. Also, since I’m a student, American museums will actually take me seriously when I ask them for access to their collections.

5. You have sewn tons of lovely garments for the SCA and otherwise - what is your favorite project and why?

The next one, unless it’s boring stuff like shirts and more tourney clothes for myself. I’ve got a long-term bodies/stays/corset project in the works, trying to document the changes in corsetry from the 16^th through the end of the 17^th centuries. The research on that is fascinating. As far as actually sewing, I’m in the process of building myself a historically correct wardrobe from 1884, and that’s a lot of fun. I also REALLY like creating dance costumes, although I haven’t had much opportunity the last while.