Otto Spilman

File:Device Idea 2.jpg

About me

File:Tudor gown.jpg

Thanks to Allen, What I will wear at the upcoming coronet.

Hello. My Name is Otto Spilman. I Hail originally from the Kingdom of Alantia Where I frequently would spend my time with Barony of Tir-Y-Don in Virginia. I was never an active SCA'er but I did enjoy hanging out with the members of Tir-Y-Don as well as pigging out on some of the best Bread Bowl Chili and Stew I have ever put in my mouth.... My mouth is watering now just thinking about it. I look forward to studying in the Bardic Arts as well as light weapon, Rapier fighting. I gave my shot at heavy fighting and have determined I'm too old, he he. I'm also interested in learning more about the SCA and taking up various Arts and Science projects throughout my stay in the Battle Rock. I'm a "Retired" Magician and performer where I would entertain throughout the Virginia and North Carolina Area. I say retired because I havn't performed a real show in almost 8 years now. I hope that I can start practicing again and incorporate magic into my Character Persona of a 1500's German Entertainer.

My Arts and Science Projects

Waffenrok

This is my 16th Century German Waffenrok or otherwise known as arming gown. It was warn my the officers of the Landskneckt army in the 1500's. I Used the Reconstructing History Patterns. I used a 100% Cotten velvet for the outer material and 100% linen for the lining. The Embelishments are all 100% Silk Brocade red and silver. Very beautiful piece of Silk. The Sleeves, skirt lining and the embelishments are still not complete. More pictures to followining are still not complete.

File:Waffenrok design.jpg Reconstructing history Pattern for Waffenrok	File:Sewing Waffenrok.jpg Sewing on a piece of bias cut linen over skirt seam	File:More sewing.jpg working on bias some more	File:Little more left.jpg Finishing up the bias strip
File:Sewing bias done.jpg Finished up with the bias strip	File:IMG00046-20100308-2230.jpg Before I added the trimmings. The sleeves are actually not even attached yet. I just tucked them in to check fit.	File:Waffenrok.jpg Finally got the sleeves sewn on and the trimming. Sleeve trims sill not complete.	File:Waffenrok ruffles.jpg I added the cut and slash puff around the shoulder and arm. Also button hole stiched the lacing areas in the back.

Turnshoes and Pattens

I made these turnshoes over the weekend. I put about 36 hours hours total in to the shoes alone and another 8 hours of work into the Pattens. The pattens are designed from a meseum piece I found on the internet and made from a piece of oak 4'X4'. Oak was a commen wood in Germany so I chose this as my wood. The turnshoes are made with a 5oz leather for vamp and a 10oz veg tanned piece for the souls. Everything was hand stiched using a waxed lined thread. The Leather for the patten used the same leather as the soul. It was hand carved and tooled with my SCA device and a border pattern

File:Cutting turnshoe pattern to stiff board.jpg Took Take off of sock material and stuck it to board to cut a pattern	File:Patterns board.jpg Patterns are cut from stiff board	File:Patterns transfered.jpg After cutting the pattern out of cloth to test size and fit I then transfered the pattern to a piece of leather
File:Otto Shoe Pattern.jpg Turnshoe Pattern cut so not starting to punch the holes for lacing	File:Stitching vamp to soul.jpg The fun starts as I sew the vamp to the soul. This was very time consuming....	File:Turnshoe trim.jpg I punched the holes here in order to start to add a lacing trim around opening of shoe.
File:Turnshoe trim added.jpg Finished adding trim to the first shoe	File:Otto Shoe.jpg First Finished Shoe	File:Turn shoe and patten before finishing.jpg Completed shoes and wooden pattens cut and sized
File:Patten tooling closeup.jpg First Patten finished. Tooling displayed.	File:Turnshoes and patten angle.jpg Angled Shot of completed pattens and shoe	File:Shoes and Pattens front.jpg Completed Shoes front

Illumination

This illumination took me about 3 hours to draw and around 8 hours of painting to complete. I used a hard stock paper and acrylic paints that came with an illumination kit. Normally this would have been done on vellum or parchment but didn't have any readily available. I used several sources from german manuscripts between 1400 and 1600 to get ideas for my project. I placed an order for Gold Leaf but it hasn't arrived as of yet so for the gold areas I used a gold paint that came along with the illumincation kit as well

File:Sketched illumination.jpg Started with a simple sketch of my idea	File:Filling in the green.jpg Started to paint my sketch	File:Illumination more color.jpg As you see its starting to come around.
File:Illumination botom complete.jpg Starting to work around the sides now.	File:Red illumination.jpg added the red in side trim	File:Sleepy scribe.jpg Its almost midnight and I am dead tired... not stopping until I am done!
File:Back to work.jpg ok, got to wake up and finish....	File:Illumination Gold.jpg Starting to add the gold. Didn't have gold leaf so using the gold paint that came with the kit.	File:Illumination top.jpg Starting to fill in the top colors for my device and that of the Far West.
File:Almost done.jpg not to much more to go.	File:Finishing touches.jpg Added finishing touches. Glad to be finished although 2:00am was just plain crazy.

Paper Making

Well This was actually the first of my projects. I experimented with paper making using recycled paper, flower petals, lint, a blender and a small kitched strainer. I was surprised that it actually worked. So I decided to do some research and found out that the screened frame is called a Deckle while the wooden frame that sits on top of the screen is called the mold. Below you will see the deckle and mold I made using an oak frame, piece of screen, copper trimming and brad nails to hold it all together. Also after you make the paper the individual pieces are placed between pieces of felt then put into a paper press in order to squeeze all the water out. The water actually is 95% water when you first make it. Although there are many subtleties which affect the quality of a paper, papermaking in essence is a simple process. Whether using recycled materials or fresh organic matter, the process starts by shredding the material into small strips and soaking them overnight to loosen the fibres. At the time this would have been old clothing scraps that was beyond recycling for clothing. Next, the fibres are boiled for 2-6 hours, being turned every so often. When finished, the fibres are washed with fresh water to remove impurities and then small particles or specks are removed by hand. The fibres are beaten in a blender (modern way) or by hand to a creamy pulp. In our period this would have been spend 20 hours in a hammer mil being beaten. At this stage, dyes can be added to create coloured papers. The pulp is poured into a large tub and the fibres are suspended in the water. The artisan dips a framed screen into the water and with great skill, lifts it to the surface catching the fibres onto the screen. The screens can either be left in the sun to dry, or be transferred to boards, pressed, smoothed and then dried. History of writing mediums Clay ca. 4100 - 3800 BCE. Papyrus ca. 3000 BCE. Parchment ca. 150 BCE. Chinese paper, rice or mulberry wood ca. 105 BCE. Linen paper ca. 900 CE. (in Europe ca. 1150 CE) Linen wood pulp paper ca. 1800 Wood Pulp paper ca. 1850 After Paper is made it needs to go through a process called Sizing. Sizing is the process of using alum in order to reduce the papers ability to absorb moisture. This was important because inks would blot out and characters written would look like ink blotches instead of letters. ALUMINUM POTASSIUM SULFATE Aluminum potassium sulfate had been imported into Europe since antiquity for application in various trades such as fabric dyeing, and it was the first alum used in papermaking. It could be obtained from minerals such as alunite which occurred in sulfur-containing volcanic sediments. Mining sites were sometimes located in volcanic crater bottoms where the stones were extracted with naturally heated water, alum crystals forming in the evaporating solution. A.1 Alum Production In the mid-15th century, the first European alum mines were exploited at Tolfa, a volcanic area north of Rome in central Italy. This particular site is of interest to us as the source of what appears to have been one of the best varieties of alum in papermaking: the so-called Roman alum.1 Known for its high quality until the 19th century, Roman alum was recognizable by its distinct reddish appearance, which was a result of dusting the alum crystals with a pigment--probably iron oxide.2 The pigmentation served as a trademark of Roman alum. Before use, the alum could be rinsed under cold water to remove the pigment without dissolving significant amounts of the alum itself. Slate and shale were other minerals which yielded alum when subjected to several production steps which can be summarized as follows: the aluminous rocks were piled up, roasted, and subsequently extracted in water; potassium hydroxide was added to the resulting solution; the crude alum crystals which formed in the evaporating solution were rinsed and redissolved in boiling water to purify the alum; the solution was transferred to large wooden casks where the alum crystals formed on the inside walls; and finally the casks were dismantled and the crystals removed.3 Alum could be contaminated with byproducts of its manufacture, iron oxides and iron sulfates. Iron compounds significantly impaired the performance of alum as a mordant of textile dyes and were more likely to discolor gelatin-alum sizes, as is indicated by the concern of 18th-century papermakers for good quality alums. The repeated recrystallization of the alum effectively freed it from iron contaminants. A.2 Historical Gelatin-Alum Sizing In Europe, the use of alum for hardening gelatin sizes is recorded during the 16th century. In 1579, Samuel Zimmermann in Germany wrote in a treatise on so-called secret arts, which included papermaking: "The printing and other paper. . . is drawn through alum-water and dried again."4 This quotation apparently refers to the separate application of gelatin and alum, a practice which was continued until the 18th century.5 In the process, the paper was first gelatin- sized, then steeped in a vessel containing the alum solution, and finally pressed for removal of excess size. Gelatin solutions already containing the alum were more economical to use. They offered the advantage of preventing the rapid spoilage of the size during storage since the alum crystals were added to the freshly cooked gelatin sizing solution. Despite these advantages of the latter method, both sizing processes appear to have been used contemporaneously

File:Deckle Supplies.jpg Two oak frames and a screen for making a Deckle and a mold for papermaking	File:Sizing screen.jpg Checking the size of cut screen	File:Screen fits.jpg ok, it fits, not to attach it.	File:Adding staples.jpg starting to connect with staples
File:Screen attached.jpg ok, the Screen is not attached. yay!	File:Side view deckle.jpg Here is a look from the bottom. Its important to have the screen very tight.	File:Flattening staples.jpg This is where I have to flatten the staples so I can add copper embellishments.	File:Mold on deckle align.jpg Here I am checking that the mold sits on top of the Deckle square. Looks good
File:Mold on deckle2.jpg make sure the screen is on top when placing the mold prior to dipping in your pulp. Don't make the mistake of turning deckle upside down.	File:Deckle copper trim.jpg I decided to add a copper trim around the outside to give my deckle a nice look as well as to cover up the unsightly staples holding the screen on.	File:Copper nailed Deckle.jpg first piece added and nailed. just have to cut to size.	File:Copper trim deckle folded.jpg Here I am folding the access under the bottom.
File:Deckle Corner pieces.jpg Making corcer pieces to cover up the copper trim edge. Rolled the copper to remove sharpe edges then folded around the corner of Deckle.	File:Corner trim flatten.jpg hammering the edges flat on corner trim using brass hammer.	File:Deckle bottom.jpg Adding nails to bottom of trim.	File:First Corner added.jpg I added the first corner and it looked pretty good.
File:Deckle closeup.jpg Closeup of the copper trimming on the deckle	File:Deckle and Mold.jpg Deckle and mold	File:Paper press.jpg The Paper press can also double as a book press and a book binding jig all in one.	File:Press Stained.jpg Put a coat of stain for protection of the wood

My Bardic Stuff

<poem>

A Champion's Poem

A Champion's Poem

His shield held fast

the mighty blows

his sword struck last

upon his foes

Five man down

lay upon the field

as a watchful crowd

sees another one yield

A crusader's strike

was way too fast

and laid to rest

the fighters past

let's hear three cheers

for a champion born

with honor and chivalry

he laid down their scorns!

Hip Hip_____ Huzzah!

Hip Hip_____ Huzzah!

Hip Hip_____ Huzzah!

Otto Spielman (talk) 2356, January 14, 2010 (UTC) </poem>

My contributions

• User contributions

My favorite pages

Costume Merchants and Information Sites Links

• Revival.us
• Daisy Viktoria
• Gipsy Peddler
• Native Earth
• Hat Crafters
• Medieval Designs Medieval Re-enactment Equipment
• Pendragon Costumes (Leather Doublets Men and Women)
• Medieval Patterns and Designs Information
• By the Sword (Costumes and other Various Medieval Items)
• Some Photos of Various Landskenckt and other Costumes
• Mysticum.de (Costumes and other various Medieval Supplies)
• Calontir Trims (great selection of trims)

Musical Instrument Links

• Chinese Lute (Pipa) Chord List
• Master Kits (Lots of Medieval Instruments that you can build)
• Handmade Hurdy Gurdys
• Jean Baptiste JB100HT Herald Trumpet
• Lark in the Morning (Folk instruments)

SCA Links

• Delbert von Straßburg SCA Dance information
• Far West Wikia Battle Rock page
• West Kingdom Thrust and Throw Weapons regulation
• Far West Yahoo Group
• Kingdom of the West Yahoo Group
• SCA Garb Yahoo group
• [of th West Rapier Yahoo Group]
• Kingdom of the West Cookerie Guild Yahoo Group.
• Kingdom of the West Needleworkers Guild Yahoo Group
• Kingdom of the West Heraldy Consults Yahoo Group

Favorite SCA Wikia's

• http://farwestbarony.wikia.com/wiki/SCA_Far_West_Wiki
• http://scabardic.wikia.com/wiki/SCA_Music
• http://sca.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
• http://scalyric.wikia.com/wiki/SCA_Lyrics_Wiki
• http://bardic-circle.wikia.com/wiki/SCA_Song_Lyrics_and_Music

Armor Links

• http://wholesalearmor.com/index.html
• http://www.linenarmor.com/Linen_Armor.html

Heraldry Links

• http://www.heraldicclipart.com/catalog/index5.html

Brewing Links

• http://homebrewheaven.com/

Fabric Links

• http://www.bennett-silks.co.uk/index.php

Book Binding Information

• http://www.aboutbookbinding.com/bookbinding/Binders-Main.html
• http://blog.bookbindersworkshop.com/2008/10/25/the-lost-gutenbergs-15th-century-style-binding-project.aspx

Bardic Arts Information

• http://www.folksongcollector.com/rounds.html
• http://www.malvernminstrelsy.co.uk/
• http://history.westkingdom.org/Bardic/GerhardtVonNordflammen/Gerhardt_Folio1.pdf
• http://history.westkingdom.org/Bardic/GerhardtVonNordflammen/Gerhardt_Folio2.pdf
• http://home.kpn.nl/ooije006/lgs/homepage_f.html
• http://www.fpa.ysu.edu/~labuch/

Illumination Supplies and Information

• http://www.lagoldleaf.com/product_info.php?cPath=23&products_id=50&osCsid=qn24i3cpm0o20rirla0i353vc5

Leather Working Supplies and Information

• http://eleathersupply.com/kits.shtml

Medieval Feast Supplies

• http://www.masterstouchmfg.com/
• http://www.ragtime-france.net/Ragtime/indexUS.htm

16th Century Furniture Making Information

• http://www.bloodandsawdust.com/Blood_and_Sawdust/Blood_and_Sawdust_Home_Page.html
• http://midtown.net/dragonwing/col0011.htm

Banner Making Merchants and Various

• http://www.yesteadyhands.com/index.html

Medieval Camping

• http://www.florilegium.org/files/CAMPING/SCA-camping-lnks.text
• http://www.pantherprimitives.com/index.html

My Library of Books

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