Re-enacting history has a long history of its own in my family.
This photo of my mother with her granddaughters Lisa and Jessica was taken at Theatiki in 1993. My mother was 65, the same age as I am now.
This is me at this year's Feast with Lisa and three of my grands - Lukie, Ian and Mila.(Check out Lisa's hat - it is her grandmother's, the one in the first photograph.)
Juxtaposing the two photos engenders a deep family connection back through time for me.
The question has been asked, "What is the difference between cosplay and re-enacting/living history? Aren't they basically just the same?"
No. Not at all. Basically, the difference between the two is the purpose behind recreating the character, living, dead, or even fictional. Here are some photos that might help explain it.
This is cosplay.
Captain Jack Sparrow is a fictional character created for the film series, Pirates of the Caribbean. The man portraying him here has recreated Jack Sparrow's costume beautifully, but his intent is not to teach history - it is simply to recreate the character and then pretend to be him. (This guy 100% accomplished that - he was fantastic!)
This is re-enacting/living history.
Frank and Carol Jarboe spent months researching early American parsons and the lives of indentured servants in America, then created the characters of Parson John and his indentured servant, Maggie Bennet. They portray those characters as a way to teach history to those who attend living history events.
Cosplayers and re-enactors do have some similarities, one being the length they will go to for accuracy in the details of their clothing and props.
For example, Parson Brown has acquired a genuine 1726 Anglican Bible that he carries with him as he preaches sermons in the style of an 18th century preacher.
Here is another couple that are a good example of re-enacting.
Mike and Phyllis Dotson have created characters from the mid 19th century and use them to teach people about that the mid 1800s in our history. (Mike gave several lectures at the Kalamazoo Living History event.)
I cannot remember this lady's name, but she and her husband are portraying the Regency time period. (She was another lady whose sewing skills were incredible!)
Like re-enacting, cosplay is a lot of fun - I've dressed up as Deanna Troi before and had a blast! But my purpose was simply to have fun with friends, not to teach anyone anything.
Living history is also fun, but when I participate in that, the teacher in me is very aware that I am providing a learning experience for others around me.
Clear as mud? Email me at horsiemama8@gmail.com if you have questions.
Happy Daylight Savings Time! I'm an early morning person, so this time change doesn't bother me too much. (The time change in the fall, though, is another story - it takes me several days to adjust.)
To start off, enjoy this little Daylight Savings Time ditty that one of my former principals sent me. (The tune is an old one but you may recognize it from Cat Steven's song, Morning has Broken.)
Dan was a high school band director before he became a principal and he is also the music director at his church. Knowing Dan, it would not surprise me if they sang this tongue-in-cheek "hymn" in his congregation today!
It's been a busy weekend. Daughter-in-love Vanessa came over and shot some photos and videos of me for a project we are working on together.
I'm getting ready to vend at a living history event in Michigan and so I spent some time with my sister Leslie pricing pottery and going over inventory.
Late Saturday morning, Cowpoke Ian (here with his Aunt Lisa) finished his basketball season with Cheetos, cookies, and a medal.
It was a taxing game for Ian - the other team was short players so Ian played all four quarters, two for his team and two for theirs.
After the game, our family went out for a late lunch.
To keep Cowpoke Lukie occupied while we waited for our food, he and I played Pac-Man using the tile pattern on one of the tables.
Lisa came over after lunch to try on a Civil War riding habit that Leslie is loaning her.
Lisa's coming to Michigan with Leslie and me and will be interpreting the 18th century one day and the 19th century the other.
I love the hat that goes with the Civil War era riding habit!
And the cut of the jacket is gorgeous. This was a very complicated and difficult habit to sew.
More basketball later in the day - Craig and I watched Purdue win over Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament. They play later today for the championship. Boiler up!
The snow has melted and the herd is fine (albeit muddy.)
Left to right: Sultanna, Abby, Dolly, and Hokey.
Needless to say, as busy as we were yesterday, I did not finish taking those photos of Cooper's issues. Today looks to be busy again with more family and church activities, but I will get them taken and a blog entry posted about them ASAP.
I may not have a cool 18th century riding habit (yet) but I do have my own 18th century period clothing. When my children were younger, I sewed and sold period clothing to re-enactors. It was always fun to go to The Feast or other events and see someone wearing something I had made.
Friday my daughter Lisa, asked me to come speak to her class about The Feast of the Hunters' Moon as she was taking her students there on a field trip. I dug out my period clothing and a few other items and spent an enjoyable afternoon back in the classroom and teaching again.
I had to go early in my street clothes while her students were at lunch because those stays (a forerunner of the corset) need to be laced up in the back and I cannot do that without help.
I was so happy to be back in the classroom; I may be retired from teaching, but I still love being with children and sharing information with them.
My favorite part was explaining the reason why people, especially women, from the 18th century wanted to look heavier than they actually were. The students had some great ideas as to why that was the case, and one girl actually got the answer right.
Being heavy communicated to other people that you were wealthy and could afford more food than most.
So, women would wear an undergarment called "panniers" that would make their hips look wider especially if they were single or widowed and looking for a husband.
The kids thought that that was pretty funny and had a lot of questions. I slipped out for a moment and slipped my panniers out from under my skirts so that I could show them what they looked like.
This boy volunteered to try them on.
He was a very good sport and took a walk around his classmates so that they could see them.
Remember my sister, Leslie, and her love of Hershey Bars?
When this girl tried on my panniers, I shared with her the story of my sister and the chocolate. Leslie stashes the candy either in her panniers or in another tie-on garment called a "pocket." (The forerunner of the pockets which are now sewn into our clothing.)
I told her to watch out for Leslie when she went on the field trip and to ask her if she might have some chocolate stashed away.
Then, she and I did a tongue-in-cheek practice on how to approach Leslie to see if she might share that chocolate.
Lisa had a fun surprise - the joke was on me! (She knows her Aunt Leslie well!)
I passed around my hen basket for the kids to examine
and taught them a little bit of fan language at the end of the presentation. And then it was time for me to wrap up and head home.
Such a fun afternoon being with kids and teaching a subject that I enjoy. And I really do think that I am going to make myself a riding habit for next year when Lisa will invite me back again to teach living history.
