[Artemisia] Thought for discussion-

[julia.jackman-brink]

Godwin fitzGilbert de Striguil wrote:
> For persons whose forte is A&S, same statement; is Prowess only gauged 
> by how many A&S events they win? Or how many they enter, or how many 
> masterpieces they have achieved?

It can play a part, but I know of artisans that are and have been 
recognized with Kingdom Awards and even the Laurel without ever having 
entered a competiton. That bespeaks that their 'art' and 'other talents' 
were such that they were recognized outside the conventions you list 
here, nor was the 'entering' of items a factor in the final decision. 
Competition is one of the most concentrated and visible of the methods 
available, but not the only one. What about teaching? Leading by example?

And Morgan adds:
> Lastly [this post anyway], I would ask everyone to remember that, while all
> parts MUST be considered together, the idea of the discussion is to focus on
> each individually, then discuss the whole afterwards.

I think that focusing on one specific quality, while noteworthy can make 
one miss the other finer qualities that a individual posesses. A person 
is comprised of all of the Chivalric Virtues, everyone just has them in 
different orders and different degrees.  These are better shown in a 
'body of work' rather than individual items or individual circumstances. 
Being able to effectively pass along one's knowledge, encouraging and 
fostering others in their efforts also enriches and refects well on the 
individual. It also pulls in another term which has been alluded to: 
RENOWN. One can strive to be the most talented, the most highly skilled, 
the hardest working, but if noone recognizes you....

Godwin writes:
> It is almost a catch-22, because we who are not Peers can discuss this 
> till we are blue in the face, but until we become Peers, we will 
> probably not know just what it takes. I think one of the reasons is, if 
> persons in the Peerages were to say: "It takes 'X' to be a Peer", then 
> you might have people saying "well, I've done 'X', why am I not a Peer?"
> -(conjecture on my part)-

If one feels they "have done all that has been required", maybe it is 
something else that is playing a factor. It may not be skill or talent 
or even effort. Ask someone, ask a peer of that Order, "I'm doing all 
this work and I just don't seem to be getting anywhere, why do you think 
that is? Got any suggestions?"  You won't get the inner workings or 
discussions of the Peer Circle, but one may get a new direction to go, a 
research tip, and a friendly ear.

Ask for some basic theory, there are alot of peers out there that are 
willing to talk theory face to face...maybe they see things differently 
than you do. Maybe you are on the right track but just need to hear it 
put in a different way. Peerage is not secret knowledge it is a 
recognition of achievements. Several of these theory talks have already 
taken place in larger groups...the Chivalry Workshop at Uprising, for 
example.

And Morgan added:
> Many of us know a certain artisan who thinks he/she has mastered his/her art and should be a Laurel,
> but who in fact produces items that are mediocre at best, and not
> Laurel-worthy.

I would point out that no one person knows or can know what another 
thinks.  Self-worth and self-esteem play a big factor in everything we 
do.  Should you be proud of your own works and achievements? YES. 
Absolutley. How you feel about yourself effects your own works. What 
another thinks to be 'mediocre' may be that individual's best effort to 
date.

Every artisan puts their heart out when they create a work. There are 
combattants that turn out to practice every day, and just seem to 
plateau.  Everyone has great efforts that didn't turn out or make the 
effect that was wanted. Are they done? Topped out? NO. They just haven't 
found that key that will open that next box of skills or ideas that will 
take them to the next level. Everyone's timing is different, everyone 
learns at different rates. Some individuals rise high right out of the 
gate, some take different paths and still achieve the same goals. 
Mediocre?  I think not.

Juliana
OL, etc...