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writedragon
In your own space, interact with someone. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
Like many others, I've interacted with lots of folks because of Snowflake, and I wasn't sure how to approach this prompt.
So I'll throw it open to my circle: is there anything fannish you'd like to ask me? For example, do you have any questions about any of my artwork, vids, or fics (behind the scenes kind of stuff)? Or anything else you'd like to talk about -- I'm also a maker/crafter, paleo cook, gardener, and an Anthropologist/Archeolgist/Science Journalist by profession.
Feel free to come on over, put your feet up, grab a beverage of choice, and sit a spell.
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Date: 2022-01-21 06:25 pm (UTC)How wrong did SG-1 get it? *G*
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Date: 2022-01-21 06:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-21 06:49 pm (UTC)I expected a reaction a bit like this. *g*
I'm glad they at least got one thing right, lol!
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Date: 2022-01-21 06:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-21 06:47 pm (UTC)I can say that information has become much easier to share with the advent of digital scanners, email, and global movements towards increased transparency and repatriation of artifacts, but politics is always going to get in the way regardless.
Now you've got me curious.
Hello!
Date: 2022-01-21 07:12 pm (UTC)What's your favorite historic craft? I've tried a variety of things including finger weaving and drop spinning, although I'm not highly active in any at the moment.
>> paleo cook, gardener, <<
I like some of the recipes coming out of the "decolonize your diet" movement. My favorite is ground bison and minced onion in a blue corn tortilla, which is basically a modern version of something several thousand years old. I'll say it's a lot easier to make in an electric skillet than on a hot rock.
I'm also into edible landscaping. I like being able to wander around the yard and put things in my mouth. I think it's sad that modern people eat only a few of the thousands of edible species of plants. So I grow things like mulberries, serviceberries, and sunchokes.
>> and an Anthropologist/Archeolgist/Science Journalist by profession. <<
That sounds exciting. I have a good handful of scientists and hobby-scientists in my audience. Do you have a favorite culture/place/period or do you move around? I'm in central Illinois, so interested in Native American civilizations, but I've also studied a bunch of others based on whatever I'm researching at the moment.
Feel free to drop by my blog and see if you like it. I think we have some interests in common.
Re: Hello!
Date: 2022-01-21 08:22 pm (UTC)1) Crafts
I'm not sure if all of these count as historic crafts (depends how far back you want to go I suppose), but I've tried: bookbinding, beading, pottery, weaving, stone-carving, quilting, embroidery, needlepoint, crochet, knitting, macrame, candle making, painting and drawing using natural materials (ground pigments and handmade writing/painting tools and handmade papers), wood-block and linoleum printmaking, leatherworking, making cordage from various natural materials (like sweetgrass, morning glory, maple saplings) and using that to weave baskets and other things.
Of those, weaving baskets from "nothing" is probably the most magical transformation, though I love it all. I think I've tried drop spinning and wheel spinning once or twice but not enough to get the hang of it (respect).
Make All The Things!
2) Mostly-Paleo cooking (I really like the "decolonization" spin on that -- I'll have to look into it).
I make corn tortillas using locally-sourced masa (nixtamalized corn meal) on a cast iron comal (sort of like a griddle but not) over a gas stove. A comal is kind of a hot rock (iron is rock, right?) with the added bonus of controlled temperature.
3) Edible landscaping
I'm fortunate to live where native pecans happily grow alongside non-native bay laurels, pomegranates and other edibles in my neighborhood, including an herb garden filled with both culinary and medicinal herbs. There is a Food Forest and Permaculture movement here that I'm happy to see.
Last year I tried a "six sisters" garden, which is a cousin to the famed Three Sisters Garden: heirloom varieties of corn, beans, squash, amaranth, sunflowers, and sweet potatoes. I had varying degrees of success with it, and it was a fun experiment.
It always freaks my Significant Other out when we go walking somewhere and I pop random stuff into my mouth (wild dewberries, thimbleberries, wood sorrel, aforementioned pecans), which I find amusing. I'm smart enough not to eat something I'm not 100% sure of.
4) Sciency stuff
My professional degrees (M.A.) are in Sociocultural Anthropology and museum studies with a specialty area of First Nations (Pacific Northwest especially, but not limited to that), with Bachelors in Humanities and a minor Biology. Yes I have moved around a lot and I will study / write about anything that will get me paid to do so. I've written exhibit scripts for many museums and parks all over the US, web sites, magazines, books, documentaries, etc. in a variety of subjects ranging from biology to natural history to history and culture. I'm a polymath, or a Renaissance person, essentially. I joke that I should earn a Masters Degree for every new project I undertake, and it's kind of true.
Thanks for stopping by. I'll definitely check out your blog!
Re: Hello!
Date: 2022-01-21 08:51 pm (UTC):D I have a lot of crafty folks in my audience. The Cuddle Party almost always has at least one person bring lapwork and often someone posts pictures of their current project(s).
>> 1) Crafts
I'm not sure if all of these count as historic crafts (depends how far back you want to go I suppose), but I've tried: bookbinding, <<
I've watched a real bookbinder, and made pamphlet things, but nothing bigger myself.
>>beading, pottery, weaving,<<
Done those. Jewelrymaking with beads is one of the crafts I've done more than dabble in, because it's much more about design than dexterity.
>> stone-carving, <<
Haven't got the hand strength for that, alas. I've sculpted polymer clay though, and natural clay.
>> quilting, embroidery, needlepoint,<<
Yep. I'm good at hand-sewing, better than on a machine.
>> crochet, knitting, <<
Sadly, no knack for those either.
>> macrame, <<
Can do, though I haven't done anything fancy with it. Yet. I was watching fibercraft videos as a coping skill earlier this month, and it suddenly occurred to me that I could make a wall hanging with any fabulous art yarn that caught my fancy, and then it wouldn't matter that I'm allergic to wool because I wouldn't have to touch it more than once. :D
>> candle making, <<
We've done this repeatedly for Imbolc, mostly glass candles. I've also done sand candles, ice candles, rolled beeswax, dipped beeswax, etc. There used to be a whole craft where people would do mall stalls at Christmas, making and cutting these many-layered colored wax candles. I haven't seen that in years and it's such a gorgeous craft.
>> painting and drawing using natural materials (ground pigments and handmade writing/painting tools and handmade papers),<<
I'm not very good at most drawing or painting skills. I have made paper a few times. Once I spent half an hour making historic paint by rubbing a nugget of red ochre into linseed oil on a rock. It covered maybe 2 square inches of cave wall. Aaaauuugh no this is why buying modern paint is so awesome because it doesn't take all fucking day to get anywhere. But it's nice to remember the old ways so you can appreciate the new more.
>> wood-block and linoleum printmaking, <<
Well, I've done rubber stamping and vegetable stamping.
>> leatherworking, <<
Yep. One time I made a fur bikini to wear to a friend's book launch party (for an anthropomorphic book).
>> making cordage from various natural materials (like sweetgrass, morning glory, maple saplings) and using that to weave baskets and other things. <<
Oh, that's interesting. Cordmaking was one of the earliest magics. I've done basketmaking, and I made a wreath from wild grape vines, but I haven't had much luck making cord from that sort of source.
Re: Hello!
Date: 2022-01-21 09:27 pm (UTC)Agreed.
>> I think I've tried drop spinning and wheel spinning once or twice but not enough to get the hang of it (respect).<<
A wheel is harder, I've barely had a chance at that. Drop spindle isn't hard if you have a good one and fiber with a long staple length. If the weight isn't balanced or the fiber is short, it'll keep breaking on you.
>> Make All The Things! <<
Hear, hear!
>> 2) Mostly-Paleo cooking (I really like the "decolonization" spin on that -- I'll have to look into it).<<
I highly recommend The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen. I think that's where I found the reference to maple vinegar, which is awesome. We're currently going through New Native Kitchen, which is more like fusion food, but that's where I found a reference to cedar berries as a spice. I want to try that; I love juniper berries. (They're all in the "resinous" flavor category with things like rosemary.)
Anyhow, there are more and more resources coming out, not just for Native American, I've seen African and Hispanic too.
>> I make corn tortillas using locally-sourced masa (nixtamalized corn meal) on a cast iron comal (sort of like a griddle but not) over a gas stove. A comal is kind of a hot rock (iron is rock, right?) with the added bonus of controlled temperature.<<
I've never gotten cast iron to do its nonstick trick for me, even following directions. Hell, even using one that comes loose for other people. Go figure. But I like eating out of it if someone else is cooking.
Re: Hello!
Date: 2022-01-21 09:40 pm (UTC)I'm fortunate to live where native pecans happily grow alongside non-native bay laurels, pomegranates and other edibles in my neighborhood, including an herb garden filled with both culinary and medicinal herbs. There is a Food Forest and Permaculture movement here that I'm happy to see.<<
That is so cool! I'm in central Illinois. It used to be Zone 5b and is now 6a. :/ I noticed this about a decade before the Arbor Day Foundation changed their map, and the government didn't admit the shift until several years later. Most places have shifted half a zone, but some have changed more.
>> Last year I tried a "six sisters" garden, which is a cousin to the famed Three Sisters Garden: heirloom varieties of corn, beans, squash, amaranth, sunflowers, and sweet potatoes. I had varying degrees of success with it, and it was a fun experiment.<<
Fascinating. We tried Three Sisters once but it got kind of chaotic. I've heard cleome listed too.
>>It always freaks my Significant Other out when we go walking somewhere and I pop random stuff into my mouth (wild dewberries, thimbleberries, wood sorrel, aforementioned pecans), which I find amusing. I'm smart enough not to eat something I'm not 100% sure of.<<
I've spooked people that way too. My partner has more faith in my woodslore, though, because to him it's mostly just "oograah."
>> 4) Sciency stuff
My professional degrees (M.A.) are in Sociocultural Anthropology<<
I haven't heard that variation before. I'm heavily interested in sociological speculative fiction myself; it's a lot of what my fans ask me for. Things like, in a world that recognizes superpowers, how does that influence cultures?
>> and museum studies with a specialty area of First Nations (Pacific Northwest especially, but not limited to that), <<
I've visited that corner of the world. I hear they're currently reviving clam gardens, which is good for two-legs and swimming-people alike. And of course, someone prompted for dam removal in the Daughters of the Apocalypse series, that made for some fun research.
>> with Bachelors in Humanities and a minor Biology.<<
Cool.
>> Yes I have moved around a lot and I will study / write about anything that will get me paid to do so.<<
Me too -- fiction, nonfiction, poetry, multiple genres and fields.
>> I've written exhibit scripts for many museums and parks all over the US, web sites, magazines, books, documentaries, etc. in a variety of subjects ranging from biology to natural history to history and culture. <<
Awesome. I'm partial to the movement toward using art to teach observation skills, like for police and medics.
>>I'm a polymath, or a Renaissance person, essentially. I joke that I should earn a Masters Degree for every new project I undertake, and it's kind of true.<<
"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?"
"Last night."
I know that feel. :D
>>Thanks for stopping by. I'll definitely check out your blog!<<
Yay!
Re: Hello!
Date: 2022-01-21 09:58 pm (UTC)1) FUR BIKINI
2) Ursula K. LeGuin. My favorite sci-fi author, and the daughter of a famous anthropologist named Alfred Krober. Her ability with worldbuilding is directly related to her hanging out and learning from her dad, and I think that's so cool.
3) RE: using art to teach observational skills. I had an art history prof who allowed us to choose either writing a research paper OR doing a drawing in a particular art style (in this case Northwest Coast Haida, Salish, or Tlingit styles). I chose doing the art because I thought it would be easier, and boy howdy was I wrong. I had a blast doing it though and learned SO MUCH. I love the idea of applying this same strategy to teach other professions to observe more closely; absolutely brilliant.
Re: Hello!
Date: 2022-01-21 11:33 pm (UTC)1) FUR BIKINI <<
Now imagine a typical hotel room with a short hall created by the bathroom, and a bed in the corner behind that wall, so you can't see it from the door. I'm on the bed by the wall. My husband is at the edge of said bed running the cashbox for my author-friend who is handing out copies of the new book.
A lot of the people coming into the room ask, "Is this the furry book launch? Where's the fur?" Everyone points at me. The reactions were fun to watch as people came around the corner.
And then one guy literally crawled over my husband to get to me. I cracked up laughing. I think the poor kid wanted to die of embarassment.
>> 2) Ursula K. LeGuin. My favorite sci-fi author, and the daughter of a famous anthropologist named Alfred Krober. Her ability with worldbuilding is directly related to her hanging out and learning from her dad, and I think that's so cool.<<
That explains a lot. My parents taught history and social studies (Dad) and science, math, and computers (Mom). So yeah, that definitely shows in my writing.
>> 3) RE: using art to teach observational skills. I had an art history prof who allowed us to choose either writing a research paper OR doing a drawing in a particular art style (in this case Northwest Coast Haida, Salish, or Tlingit styles). I chose doing the art because I thought it would be easier, and boy howdy was I wrong.<<
I would've expected that art to be easier than average, because it uses a very simple palette (black, white, red, occasionally blue or yellow) and sleek geometric shapes. I'd have a much better time trying to copy than than most other types of art.
What was unexpectedly hard about it?
>> I had a blast doing it though and learned SO MUCH. I love the idea of applying this same strategy to teach other professions to observe more closely; absolutely brilliant.<<
Terramagne, my superhero fantasy setting, has a major called Generalist that includes a whole subset of crossover classes like "Art for Observation" and "Anatomy for Artists." I liked the idea so much that I wrote down the details and have a few characters with that specialty now. A description of it appears in the character notes for Denis that go with "Life-Bonding Loyalty."
When I teach, I often cross over things like that. Say, if I'm teaching poetry, I often encourage people to use nature as inspiration because it's easy to find. My online classes usually had practical assignments, some writing, some observation, but others using hands-on activities like crafts. I was trying to fill a set once and had to write a math class for it -- which is so not my thing -- so I did it on megalithic geometry, and one of the assignments was to build a stone circle (tabletop model or outdoors).
There's too much silo thinking today, almost all the training aims toward that, and it's hazardous. I go the other way.
Re: Hello!
Date: 2022-01-22 12:12 am (UTC)As with many arts, the masters make it look easy. It's far more complex and stylized than most people realize until you actually dig in and try to do it de novo.
1) We had to create a completely original work of art using a creature or figure not typically found in their mythos (one classmate did a monkey!). No copying permitted.
2) There are a LOT of rigid stylistic rules and limits about the use of specific forms, where to use them, special shapes and colors and how they fit together, size ratios and relationships within each form, and about how to use relief spaces. We had to learn the rules (and re-learn, and practice them) over and over until we understood the spatial vocabulary enough to create something brand new, but still have it fit within the strict rules. Constructing the drawing was a bit like playing three-dimensional chess, or solving a mind-bending puzzle. If you've ever messed around with Celtic knotwork, it feels a little like that (kinda sorta, but much harder because there's no mathematical grid, just the rules).
Dr. Bill Holm's life's work involved researching this highly sophisticated and stylized art. He wrote a book on it: Northwest Coast Indian Art, an Analysis of Form, if you'd like to learn more about it.
Excerpt from a reviewer of the book: "This is the founding text of the modern revival of North NorthWest Coast indigenous art. The statements by a number of Northwest artists are wonderful; I was especially impressed with the statement by Robert Davidson, who I briefly met when I was on Haida Gwaii a couple of years ago. For anyone wanting to understand Northwest Indigenous art, this is the book."
Excerpt from the publisher: "This book is a foundational reference on northern Northwest Coast Native art. Through his careful studies, Bill Holm described this visual language using new terminology that has become part of the established vocabulary that allows us to talk about works like these and understand changes in style both through time and between individual artists' styles. ... The author presents an incisive analysis of the use of color, line, and texture; the organization of space; and such typical forms as ovoids, eyelids, U forms, and hands and feet. The evidence upon which he bases his conclusions constitutes a repository of valuable information for all succeeding researchers in the field.
By having us learn all the rules of the art, visually demonstrate each one on paper, then make an original art piece rather than just write a paper about it, our professor (devious genius that she is), forced us to learn it at a very deep level.
Interdisciplinary learning FTW!
Re: Hello!
Date: 2022-01-22 06:37 pm (UTC)This is *Amazing!*
Re: Hello!
Date: 2022-01-22 06:45 pm (UTC)https://calisphere.org/item/ark:/28722/bk0016t9t33/
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Date: 2022-01-21 09:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-01-21 10:08 pm (UTC)I also have a whole pinterest board (I'm WriteDragon over there too) where I collect things I want to try; not all of the recipes are strictly paleo but could be converted with a little creativity. The board is called, originally enough, "Recipes", and you're more than welcome to check it out. The hardest things to make, I feel, are baked goods that actually taste good and have a good texture, so I'm still learning about those.
Lately I've been learning how to make Pho and stir fries. For the non-paleo people in my house we put in rice noodles; for paleo diets we might use bean-thread or kelp noodles, or just skip that part.
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Date: 2022-01-21 10:11 pm (UTC)We eat low carb for the most part so I often find paleo recipes really useful.
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Date: 2022-01-22 12:56 am (UTC)What's the thing that common perception of the First Nations you study gets consistently wrong despite how long it's been known to be wrong?
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Date: 2022-01-22 01:53 am (UTC)There's probably a lot of misconceptions, but one thing that I still hear even now are misconceptions about the Potlatch. Many people still mistakenly believe that it was/is only about rivalry and showing off, which it is not (it's also about celebration, redistribution of wealth, and conferring certain intellectual and property rights, among other things). The infamously wasteful ceremonies that were outlawed for awhile a hundred years ago (e.g. burning piles of belongings) weren't typical. Instead they were the result of mass deaths -- caused by colonial actions, policies, and introduced diseases -- resulting in massive quantities of property passing to dwindling numbers of inheritors.
A good article on the history of misconceptions around Potlatch practice is "Deconstructing Colonial Misconceptions. Potlatch Ceremonies of Kwakwaka'wakw First Nations"
Author(s): Hanna Mrozek-Granieczny, 2010.
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Date: 2022-01-22 03:27 am (UTC)