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Sunday, Jan. 09, 2005 - 9:55 a.m.
Twelfth Night review
First of all...I updated the Gown Gallery album, and my glasswork album in Picture Trail. I also added an album of pictures from Twelfth Night.
Twelfth Night was....well, I wonder why I went, actually. The early morning of getting breakfast, packing the car and driving up to Manassas was actually fun, but once we got onsite, it started to slowly unravel.
There were no available handicapped spaces for parking, which resulted in us having to park in the back-40 of the lot. At least we could drive up to the front of the building to load and unload, though.
Then I went to put my glasswork into the Arts and Sciences competitions and displays, and there were no spaces left. None. In fact, the organizers were trying to get another glassworker (Aelienor) to move her stuff because it apparently was not located in the right spot, or there was some issue with the table, or something. This whole shebang turned into at least an hour and a half of wrangling around, with nobody really helping me figure out where to put the glass, and no clear plan for what happens when the A&S area runs out of table space. Sigh. What ended up happening was that we moved Aelienor's display down the table a foot, so I could put mine up next to hers. So, now my glass was jammed into the end of a table, in the absolute BACK corner of the A&S display area, right where the table intersected at right angles with the heraldic consultation table, which meant people were sitting in front of my work all day, doing heraldry. Sigh. To top it all off, the beautiful panel I did for Bryce's knighting, which is red and yellow and black, ended up being displayed against a dark red curtain, making it nearly impossible to see. Thankfully, my Laurel came to the rescue with a white linen napkin large enough to place behind the glass. That made a big difference.
By the time all this was said and done and my pieces were set up and my A&S entry paperwork was done, I just wanted to go somewhere and cry.
It was not a great day. And very frustrating.
I did get some positive comments on my work, though, and Aelienor won the "Best Documentation" portion of the Tempore Atlantia, so I was really happy for her.
I talked to Thjora a bit, and I felt better after that. She always makes me feel better about stuff like this. I also got to chat about glass beads with Tegan, and she told me about torchworking plans for Tourney of Ymir, so you can bet I'll have my torch and supplies there! I also showed off my first hollow beads and my other stuff, and she was excited for me. She gave me a fabulous idea for a series of glass projects, based on something she did about a year ago, and I'm currently trying to figure out how to make it work in flat glass. I need to get some ruby red glass rods before Ymir.....
Anyway, I guess I just wanted to unload some frustrations. I love to show my work, and I love to teach people about stained glass -- what it is, how to make it, how it was done in medieval times -- but I wonder how much I enjoy doing these kinds of competitions or displays. I'm not really concerned with winning anything; I just love to show what I can do and teach people about it. Glass is a *terribly* misunderstood medium at times, and all I want to do is educate folks about it, so they could see and appreciate what I and my fellow glassworkers do. That's my opinion, though, your mileage may vary.
Other bright spots in the day included wearing my new green gown, watching my friend Mistress Guiliana take her first apprentice, and seeing and chatting with love2fly, who I'd be willing to bet is going to have that baby this weekend. There was much chocolate and food sharing (beef sticks!), and I got smooched on the cheek by my favorite king, Cuan, who I wished I had had a chance to talk to, but missed all day.
The day ended with us dragging ourselves home while court was still going on (they made 2 peers, so it was a long one), running thru the Wendy's drive-thru and then parking ourselves on the couch with beers and the movie Dodgeball, which was HYSTERICAL, especially with a few beers.
I slept, and now I'm planning to take down Christmas at our house, and figure out how the Girl Scout cookie sale is going to work.
But first, I am going to go into work with Travis and hang out while he reboots an ornery computer....
