Scrolls in 2023
Laurel for Marlein Eberlein. This was a scroll I had promised to do for the recipient as and when she became a Laurel (recognised master in the field of Arts and Sciences in the SCA). That finally happened this year. It was inspired by 16th century "Citizen Portraits"... that is, portraits commissioned by well-to-do bourgeois, something that really only began to happen in this period. Previously portraiture had mostly been the monopoly of royalty or nobility. Such portraits often (though far from universally) feature the sitter's accomplishments or source of their wealth, and because the sitter will not be armigerous, any heraldry will be typically that of their trade guild. In this case I featured the clothes Marlein has made (being worn by her), a sprang hairnet and some pottery, three arts in which she has distinguished herself. As she often sells her produce, I have put her at a trade counter, implying a successful merchant. I used the symbol of the Laurel Order