Pentathlon Prep

Well, the new year is upon us, and we are only a couple months out from my kingdom's largest arts and sciences event, Pentathlon. It only happens every two years. To vie for Pentathlon champion, one must enter at least five different projects spanning at least four of the seven categories available. These categories are things like "functional, visual, culinary, performance, arms & armor" etc. You can also enter in the "Arts faire" in which you can enter items but are not competing for the Pentathlon title. Most of my entries focus on herbalism, botany, or ancient Finnish culture, surprising no one, haha. I will be writing a research paper, doing some weaving, some sewing, some painting, and of course a lot of work with plants.

I was a 4-H kid growing up, and I gotta say, for me it is super reminiscent of preparing for the county fair as a kid. I would enter stuff all across the board from baking to photography to showing animals. This is strikingly similar, in the best ways. As I go through each of my projects I will attempt to keep the blog updated. The next few weeks will be a familiar flurry of plant leaves and fibers, but also attempts and very, very new skills to me, like book binding and leatherworking. Exciting, and mildly terrifying?

Tonight I was mostly working on my research paper, which takes my documentation from the re-creation of the Nine Herb Salve and dives much, much deeper into the charm itself. It's a fascinating piece that can be viewed through so many lenses. Written somewhere between 900-1000 it provides a look into a time period of rapid change, where infamously, the Anglo-Saxons and Norse were in frequent (often violent) contact. The poem gives a glimpse into the folk beliefs and healing methods of the time, and how the old beliefs and new beliefs could be used together.

I swear this is not a blog JUST about the Nine Herb Charm. Really. I did also get some more seeds started today and checked on my flowers that are pressing! (No time left for molding flowers!) Tomorrow I will be working on my tablet woven band, with tie-downs, a new and exciting technique for me. It seems like Pentathlon will be a bit of chaos, but I do like a bit of chaos now and then.