AIMING HIGH IN A&S
Being my personal view on pursuing the arts in the SCA, particularly in reference to competitions.

"Re-creation necessarily implies research before the craftwork starts. If you haven't done the research, you can create, but you cannot possibly RE-create." Arval d'Espas Nord (Silverwing's Laws 53)

But remember, "Don't let the Best be the enemy of the Good." Cariadoc of the Bow (Silverwing's Laws 35)

The point of the second quote in this context is, don't let a desire for perfection keep you from even TRYING. Striving. I aim high, but I rarely make my target. I find no satisfaction in achieving an easy goal, but coming close to achieving a difficult one is sweet, very sweet.

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It is vitally important to think about design and construction BEFORE you start making your item. The ideal piece will be one that is closely based on period examples, but is not a copy of a preexisting item! Why? Because it takes considerably more skill and internalized knowledge to produce an original piece than it does to create a copy of someone else's work. Remember, this is an ideal, and not a requirement for making an item or entering a competition! Often times copying is a good way to learn a particular art, and in some cases originality of designs or materials was not a hallmark of period crafts.

Things to think about BEFORE you start:

• What is the purpose of your item? Is this a historically accurate purpose, or an "SCA-ism"? It's easy to accidentally combine period things and produce inaccurate items if you haven't done good research at this stage. For example…embroidered purses are period (16th C). Canvaswork slips for appliqué are period (16th C). But are slips appliquéd onto purses during the 16th C??? Many time there's nothing wrong with being creatively anachronistic, but you should know from the beginning if your project is period or periodesque.
• Are the decorative elements appropriate to the item and it's time frame? For example, are you using a computer-generated graphic for your design, or a period graphic? Is the item combining decorative elements from different time periods?
• What were the most appropriate materials for making your item? You need to find out what the appropriate materials were in period before choosing substitute materials if you hope to produce a reasonable facsimile of an object that could have existed in period.
• What were the most appropriate methods of constructing your item? Again, knowing the answer to this first will help you make the best choices when deciding how you're going to make the item.

Things to address in your documentation AFTER project is done:

• WHO,WHAT,WHEN,WHERE,HOW now (i.e., a brief but specific description of your item)
• WHO,WHAT,WHEN,WHERE, HOW in period (shows you know how this type of item would have been done)
• EXPLAIN any differences between a period piece and yours, and WHY you chose to do what you did. If there's something you're not sure about, go ahead and say it. (I.e."I still don't know whether the half-cross or the continental stitch were most used in period because I haven't been able to find pictures of the backs of embroideries, but I chose to use continental stitch because it is much harder wearing than the half-cross.")
• Always attach your BIBLIOGRAPHY and any PICTURES of period items that you might have
• Make sure your documentation addresses the entirety of your piece