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(Updated July 19, 2004)
clare_de_estepa AT hotmail.com |
As a little girl, I always found history interesting. I loved the Renaissance and the Middle Ages. As many others have also done, I fell in love with the story of Camelot. When I discovered the Fantasy and Science Fiction genres, I was ecstatic! I learned about the Society for Creative Anachronism when I was seventeen. While I enjoyed the SCA from the very beginning, college and life demands forced me to temporarily quit.
After I re-joined the SCA, I discovered that I adored Renaissance and Medieval Embroidery. I became an Apprentice to Master Saher Faux at Silver Hammer in 1997. Master Saher taught me to declare that "I must die instead of the Laurel" whenever he raises both hands into the air. After successfully defending my Laurel for several years, I was elevated to the Order of the Laurel at Glaedenfeld's 12th Night in 2002.
I chose Clare as an SCA name because St. Clare is the patron saint of embroidery and television. Isn't the combination amusing?! St. Clare used to have visions. The Pope who made her the patron saint of embroidery thought that someone should be looking after television because it was a tool with so much good and bad potential. I thought Clare was the perfect name because I love to listen to television as I embroider. Estepa comes from my mundane last name of Estep. There is a town named Estepa in Spain. Apparently my family originated in Spain quite a long time ago. I had no idea of this when I decided to become a Spanish teacher.
Baronial Historian, Thor's Mountain May 1997 - July 1998
Record important events happening within the Barony, including making court reports and submitting them to the local newsletter, the Whetstone.
Arts & Science Officer, Nant-Y-Derwyddon January 1999 - January 2004
Organize and conduct A& Competitions for local events, Submit Quarterly Reports, Assist the shire's members with documentation, research questions, and other tasks.
Steward, Meridian Embroidery Guild. October 2000 - Summer 2003
Create and maintain guild web page, organize meetings, maintain member roster, encourage embroidery among the populace, and complete other needed tasks.
Group Rapier Marshall, Nant-Y-Derwyddon, July 2002 - present
Assist in training new rapier fighters, supervise fighter practice as weather permits, organize and conduct rapier fighting at local events, and file paperwork. Rapier Authorization Marshal since Fighter's Collegium 2003.
Autocrat for Boar Hunt 2000, Spring event for the Shire of Nant-Y-Derwyddon
Autocrat for Fall Crown List 2003, Kingdom level event for Meridies
Group Webminister, Nant-Y-Derwyddon, January 2004 - present
Maintain and update the homepage for the group. Moderate the local list-serve.
Argent Plume, Barony of Thor's Mountain, December 1997.
Baronial Award for contributions to the local newsletter, the Whetstone.
Award of Arms, Kingdom of Meridies, February 1998
Ram's Horn - Arts and Sciences, Barony of Thor's Mountain, October 1998
Baronial Award for accomplishments within the Arts and Sciences
Argent Tower , Barony of South Downs, February 1999.
For assistance with Midwinter Arts and Science Competition
Meridian Cross, Kingdom of Meridies, Summer of 1999
Meridian Majesty from Duchess Katrina, Kingdom of Meridies, June 1999
Order of the Velvet Owl, Kingdom of Meridies, August 1999
Order of the Laurel, Kingdom of Meridies, January 2002
Argent Coment, Kingdom of Meridies, September 2002.
Order of the Argent Lily, Kingdom of Meridies from Duke Ailgheanan and Countess Ashildr, Spring Coronation 2005.
Order of the Guiding Hand, Kingdom of Meridies, Kingdom Arts and Science Faire 2005.
Order of the Broken Bow, Kingdom of Meridies, Border Raids 2005.
Order of Compostella, Kingdom of Meridies, 2005.
Order of the Argent Lily from Count Gunther and Countess Kora, Kingdom of Meridies, Spring Coronation 2007.
First Competition Entered, Thor's Mountain May Tourney 1997
Blackwork pouch with original geometric design. Entered in Kingdom A&S and Border Raids.
First Place Open A&S Competition, Thor's Mountain Holly and Ivy 1998
Entered Lampworked Beads: Blue Eye Beads and Yellow Tabular Beads. Entered in Midwinter A&S 1999, Kingdom A&S 1999, and Border Raids 1999.
First Place in Domestic Arts, Nant-Y-Derwyddon Viking Raids 1998
Populace Choice Champion, Border Raids Border Raids 1999
Second Place in Textile Arts, Iron Mountain Magna Faire 1999
Noah's Ark Assisi Pillow. Awarded a Masterwork at Midwinter A&S 1999.
First Place Open A&S Competition, Thor's Mountain May Tourney 2000
Populace Choice Champion, Border Raids Border Raids 2000
First Place in Textile Arts, Iron Mountain Magna Faire 2000
Premier Entry, Iron Mountain Magna Faire 2000
Elizabethan slip completed in tent and double-running stitches. The slip was also entered in Kingdom A&S 2000. For Magna Faire, it was appliquéd to velvet and couched with gold cord.
Regional Competition, Magna Faire Magnifier 2001
Spanish Reserva Altar Frontal. It received a perfect score of 20.
Clare's Medieval Embroidery Page. First uploaded in 1999.
http://www.planetc.com/users/derwyddon/index.htm
"Assisi Work" Swallow's Tale, January 1999.
"Documenting Arts and Science Entries" Swallow's Tale, August 1999.
"Spanish Historical Highlights, First Series" March 1999 - March 2000.
This series contains twelve parts and are published in both the Whetstone and the Swallow's Tale. Published in the Horn of Narval 4th Quarter 2000, the newsletter for St. Petersburg, Florida.
"Flowers and Herbs in Embroidery" Swallow's Tale, April 2000.
"Spanish Historical Highlights, Second Series" April 2000 - present.
This series contains six parts and is being published in the Swallow's Tale. Published in the Horn of Narval 4th Quarter 2000, the newsletter for St. Petersburg, Florida.
"Weddings in Renaissance Italy" Tournaments Illuminated, Autumn 2000 Issue # 136.
This article was also entered as a research paper in Kingdom A&S 1999 and received a score of '3' on the old system of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 5.
"Assisi Embroidery: Cross-stitch Period Style" Seasons A.S. XXXV, Autumn 2000.
The article is an updated version of the earlier Assisi article in the January 1999 of the Swallow's Tail.
"Embroidered Elizabethan Bed Hangings" Seasons AS XXXVIII. April 2004.
This article was generated from research completed for the Elizabethan slip entry.
Early Spanish History: Class presents an overview of Spanish history from the very beginnings until the Arabic Invasion in 711. It also discusses the importance of this invasion. A handout including bibliography was presented to attendees.
This class was later converted into articles for local newsletters which have been published in the Whetstone (Throe's Mountain), the Swallow's Tale (Nant-Y-Derwyddon), and the Horn of Narval (Shire of Narval Dorado in St. Petersburg, Florida.)
Elizabethan Embroidered Slips: Class presents an overview of Elizabethan slips. It includes a description of common themes, usage, and teaches two stitches frequently used in this style of embroidery. The hands-on component teaches the tent stitch and the double-running stitch. This class was registered with the Page School for Black Gryphon 2001.
Historical Embroidery Sources: Class defines the difference between primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. It then demonstrates how to evaluate embroidery books for reliability and includes some actual book examples. An annotated bibliographic handout is available.
(Copyright 2007 Katherine Estep Stephenson)