Maryland Ren Fair 2012 Year in Review!

Hark, Dearest Readership!

I've been wanting to do this post for a while, and the time is now! For those of you who don't know, I'm a big Renaissance Fair enthusiast and am fortunate enough to live right smack in the middle of two such fairs (Virginia and Maryland.) I unfortunately didn't get to go to Virginia fair this year, but I did get to go to the larger, longer-running Maryland fair this year.

Please note that there are A TON of wonderful things to see and do at fair, and it would simply take too long to go over them all. This post is to give newcomers a little sample of the things to see and do at fair, and hopefully change the perception perpetuated by movies like "Role Models" and the like.

Before I begin, if you're super interested in fair based on my amazing rhetoric so far, you can visit their website at: http://rennfest.com/ Now, without further ado, here are some of the highlights, happenings, and reviews from MD Renn Fair 2012!

An opening roll-play of the King just before the gates open on the final day of fair

This year was a particularly fun year for me, as I'm typically quite shy and reserved in public, I met a ton of really awesome people this year. Plus, I got to visit my good friend who worked at one of the shops at fair, which I'll be plugging a little later. The weather on the last day was absolutely amazing and I got to see some rather interesting things on the "Day of Wrong." Speaking of theme days and strange garb-- lets move on ahead to our first topic:

Costumes!

There is one thing even the most inexperienced fair-goer knows about attending fair: there will be plenty of people, young and old, in costume! From the accurate to the fantastic, to the down right freaky, MD Ren fair never disappoints!

Each weekend there is a special theme. Whether it be Celtic weekend or pirate weekend you know you're going to see some amazing outfits. Lets take a look at a few shall we?

This merry gang of fantastic friends are from the Fairy Grotto Group. Photo by Yenra Photography: http://www.yenra.me/

Toothless the dragon and a rabid white deer!!

Fluttershy, is that you!?

Shows

What many people don't know is that Renn fair does have shows other than the famous joust! You can listen to the many talented musicians, hilarious comedy acts, or even watch scenes from Shakespearean plays. Here were some of my favorite performers this year! I'll feature just one, my absolute favorite this year.

While I only got to see The Rogues (arguably THE BAND of MD Renaissance fair), once this year another group has swooped in like a mythical raven and stolen my musical heart! I'm speaking of course about the bagpipes fusion group, "Cu Dubh", pronounced "ku-du."

Album cover to Order of the Owl -- love this CD

I have their album "Order of the Owl" and it is amazing!! You can check out their website here: http://www.cudubh.com/Cu_Dubh/Cu_Dubh.html

And a performance, of which I attended, of their song "Hrafn" Which, when the Baltimore Raven-loving crowd heard meant "Raven", they went wild! At the beginning of the video, you'll note the gentleman in the middle confusedly say "this one's for them!"

youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWqchS8hWT8&feature=relmfu

I should not that the video doesn't do them justice, so you'll just have to go see them live.

There are many other talented acts, however, so if you make it to Maryland Renaissance fair next year, check them out!

Shops

What many craft fair enthusiasts may not know is that Renaissance fairs are typically a wonderful place to shop for unique gifts. Each one of the vendors has been approved for quality by the other vendors as well as other staff. Nothing there is "made in China" and you'll often meet the very person or persons who created whatever you might find in their shops.

I myself have several shops I like to frequent for all of my costuming and even real life clothing/jewelry needs. Once again, it would take several blog posts to plug all of my favorite shops, so I'll just pick one for now. It just so happens to be the shop my best sister worked at this year! I am talking, of course, about the ever popular Potomac Leather Company

I particularly liked this shot with the happy sunshine. You can visit their website here: http://www.potomacleather.com/

I've purchased a few things from here over the years and they have lasted! I have a green suede dryad vest and a lovely black, runed leather belt. They see everything from coin pouches to leather accessories like bracers and decorative belts, to full leather coats like the one you see in the picture.

I've been coveting a pair of awesome deer-skin pants from them FOREVER. My squirrel friend looks amazing in them, unsure if this deer would look equally as good. Ah well, maybe next year...

Favorite Moments

I asked my friends to share some of their favorite moments at the Maryland Renaissance fair this year. Here are some wonderful stories from real fair goers that aren't me!

Holly H.B. (otherwise known as 'The Seelie Queen of the Maryland Faerie Festival: Her Majesty, Queen Ilex Aquifolia, Protector of Animals and Mistress of Wild Natural Places') wrote...

 "My favorite memory is the praying mantis that found me one morning, and rode on my crown all day. (The Crown was made by Leah Odom of MythicalDesigns.) Ken Morrill of Yenra Photography got a great picture."

The little stow-away. Photo by Yenra Photography: http://www.yenra.me/

Molly H. a.k.a Fluttershed wrote...

 "Seeing someone dressed as Spiderman scaling the rock-climb wall!"

Brandulfr wrote...

 "I liked being able to walk in the cool rain on a really hot day in my 14th century reenactment garb while everyone else had to duck and cover to avoid damaging their costumes."

Joe K. wrote...

 "I really liked spending time at the White Hart-- drinking beer and watching the shows."

Rosanna K. wrote...

 "I liked the shows and seeing people dressed up -- I thought that was cool."

Closing Thoughts

I hope this little blog post gives you all a bit of a better idea of what goes on at fair. It was a really great year -- great weather, great activities, and as always -- great atmosphere! When I first brought my dad to the MD Renaissance fair, he mentioned that he wish he'd have known about this when I was little. Well we've been making up for lost time, haven't we?

I hope to see some of you again next year, but until then have a great winter, spring, and first part of summer! 

- Ori

Applejack is ready for her Japan trip!

Howdy Dears,

Well she's finally finished and ready to be shipped all the way to the land of the rising sun! Applejack and her little sister Applebloom will be packed up and shipped out to my super special family in Japan, where I know they will be loved and cuddled endlessly. But before our adventurous equines ship out, here's a few snaps of our hardworking and honest Applejack!

 I went all out on this one for Kuniko-san. Apples on both sides of the flank, a little hat, hand stitched scrunchies and a young lady's plane kimono (she wouldn't accept anything fancy, as always ;) ) They'll be headed to the country city of Okayama, where I know they'll fit in with their Japanese country kin.

And as always Applejack's faithful canine is by her side -- wait, that's not Winona...

 Applejack might be a tad nervous traveling so far away from her birthplace here in the states, but at least she'll have her sister to keep her company and keep her from getting homesick. Hopefully this will not be the last we see of the Apples, as I've asked Tomoko and her mother to send me pictures of their adventures abroad.
 

That's all for now dears. I don't currently have any commissions in the queue, and I know I still need to finish my Zecora plushie but with Pandaria, writing, and other things taking up my time I'm not sure when she'll be done :(. Hopefully I'll get some inspiration when episodes of MLP FIM S3 comes out.

Later dears,

- Ori

Fun times at the Maryland Renaissance Fair

Hello Dears,

While I'm still working on my plushies, drawings, updating the graphics on the blog, and novel writings, I do need to take a break once in a while and leave my little apartment in the city. So where does this white deer go to have a bit of fun beyond the conventional travels to the mall or pub?

There is no better place to go, dress up (in period costume, fairy garb or pirrrrate outfits), drink and have some fun than at the Renaissance Fair! No, not that weird place for LARPers and socially awkward losers (otherwise I wouldn't be allowed in ;) ) but a really fun, unique place that anyone can enjoy.

They found a witch, lucky for me, they didn't burn her...

Beer and mead is served there for the adults, as well as some really good music and comedy acts with some cheeky themes. And there are some games, a joust, and pleanty of stuff to keep the kinder happy too.

I did a product review a while back, and I'm thinking of doing one for the Maryland Renaissance Fair, since its the most well established one I go to on a regular basis. Every vendor there is approved by a board for quality, creates their own wares (no made in china stuff!), and are typically really helpful.

I'll do a full write-up in a few weeks (I may be at the DMV next weekend getting my license changed from Delaware to Virginia, yippee!) once I get some material and more pictures. But for now,back to working on the Applejack plushie for my mama in Japan!

good morrow, dears!

- Ori

Bonsai -- Banzai!

Hello Dears,

So I rescued a half- dead, discounted Japanese holly tree a few weeks back, and through some suggestion form my friend Brandulfr, I decided to turn it into a little bonsai tree. We had to cut it back a bit, lots of dead leaves and branches to prune, but about a month later, it came back like a champ!

It's hard to see, but the blossoms have a tint of pink!

I had a bonsai plant when I was 8 or 9 but, lets just say, I had not yet aquired the wisdom to know when to bring pants inside in the dead of winter, let alone care for a tiny, fragile tree. But when I found this little beauty clinging to life, I figured "why not?" and decided to give it another try,

Brandulfr is saving a special pot to transfer it into as he is an avid bonsai enthusiast himself and will be freeing up a really nice, Japanese pot for me to put it in. For now, though, it seems to be flourishing in the plastic pot it came in.

I've taken to decorating my balcony with some foliage as of late, and I've managed to put a few interesting plants up there. I currently have: A fig tree that actually produces yummy figs! (once you get past how creepy they are, they're rather tasty!) a really soft and fluffy wormwood plant, a show cypris, and another Inkberry holly that isn't doing so well right now.


I made the newbie mistake of putting that holly in a pot without a drain at the bottom. We've since poked holes in the bottom of it and have been watering it a bit less to keep the roots from rotting, so hopefully it will pull through.


I'm also having fun in the fine art of picture-bana, in so much as I have a lot of photos for this entry but not a whole lot to say about it, so I suppose I'll shut up now and let you enjoy the zen plants and super zen pup!

- Ori

Artful Days - Intro to Ori's Dearies

Hello Dears,

I've been having a heck of a time balancing a big Six Sigma project at work, my other work at work, social awesomeness, and my art. I have a few bits of artwork I'd like to share with you all, what is the start of a line of cartoonish, heart-faced drawings  called "Ori's Dearies" Let's see what I've come up with...

Ori the Whitedeer, as she's seen on my art site: http://matsuban.deviantart.com/#/d5bxmys

This is done on a spare index card with crayola colored pencil (yes, you can do more with less!) and I really liked how the hair came out. I'm going to post my DA gallery folder with the other Dearies within, and if you'd like one (animal or otherwise) just shoot me an email and we'll talk it over.

In other news, I'm going to start another blog! While "Oh Dear, its Whitedeer!" will continue to display my artwork and other randomness, I'm going to create a separate blog for my written pursuits. I'm hoping it will, you know, get me motivated to write more.

It will be linked to this blog of course, so check back later for a link and intro to it.

That's all for now Dearies!

- Ori

Summer Festival Applebloom is here!

Hello Dears,

I've had an eventful few weeks. I got another chapter of my Warcraft Fanfic, "Straydog Saga" out the door and I had an unfortunate accident in Georgetown on Friday. I wore brand new, awesomely cute shoes which resulted in a horrific misstep on some uneven flooring.

One sprained right ankle and broken left, big toe later, I've had one bummer of a weekend. There is a wonderful bright side, however, as this event has taught me not only to appreciate the ability to walk and care for myself, it also showed me just how kind and caring my friends really are.

I was going to post a collage dedication to a group of very close friends, and recent events only reinforced the image. I'll make that a separate entry but for now, I'm glad to introduce the fruits of my bed/couch-ridden weekend!

That's right! Part one of my two-part order to Japan is done! Everyone say hello to "夏祭りの林檎咲く" or as we Americans know her: that little filly with the Cutiemark obsession, Applebloom!

Applebloom with gifts from Japan! There's cider in that sake cup, I swear!

When I first showed my family in Japan the episode "Bridal Gossip" from  My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, my host sister and mother loved Applejack and Applebloom. They were even more excited to learn that they were sisters!

 They had been seeing my other pony plushies and were wondering where they were from. When my host sister told me that she in fact liked the show, I offered to make her and her mother a pair of small plushies of their very own.

 I made the Yukata and obi as an extra surprise, and depending on what mama-san would like, I may put Applejack in something similar (but not as fancy) If I could only find apple-themed fabric! I looked for hours and couldn't find any fabric with an apple or country theme. I did however find a very Japanese-like fabric with hotaru (dragonflies) on it!

 I made one big pattern change in this plushie that I think I'll keep for future plushies. There is one less seem line in the neck, as it didn't appear to add any 3D style to the plushies' heads. The ribbon was another new frontier but I think it came out rather well, though not technically adherent to the character design.

And as always, Lucky-ojiichan (Grandpa Lucky) had to make an appearance with Applebloom for cuteness and scale sake. This is soooo being posted on someone's facebook wall!

So next steps will be to start on Applejack. Since Applebloom was a mother-daughter project I'll wait until the next time I visit my mother to start. It bares mentioning that Applebloom's ears and legs were sewn by my mother, who after a little coaching, did an awesome job!

That's all for now dears. If you have the ability to walk, walk around the block a few times for me!

- Ori

Zecora Preview, Just for you!

Hello Dears,

It has been a long time since my last post, but have no fear! I have made some great progress on my latest project, and those who follow my blog: I did not forget. Though you might find it a little off for me to be rhyming, you may even scoff! But there is a reason to the rhyme, I promise not to do it all the time.

For my latest pony creation, possibly my best sure has put my skills and attention span to the test. Though she is not quite done, I certainly am having a ton of fun. So for those who are not in the My Little Pony know, just take a peek and look to the preview picture below!

What could these two fabric piles be? Could they be two more ponies?

That's right my readers so dear, Zecora the enchanting is nearly here! I still have to do her earrings, bracelets, and add a few stripes, but I know when she's finished she'll live up to the hype. That's all for now dears, have a great July 4th, cheers!

- Ori