tanjaESK

So, my studies will come to an end in March and I'll leave university, hopefully with a degree in various kinds of humanities. Where does that leave me with my love for crafts and roleplaying? On the one hand, I could work an average job with average income and do some stuff in my spare time OR I could make a living out of what I do and - until I do - work crappy jobs. Of course, I'm not going to go for the second option without at least a little bit of testing. So I'm going to put up my tents at various Viking and other historical conventions (Winterthing des Großen Heeres, Burgfest Neustadt-Glewe, probably even Wolin) to see what will happen when I throw my work out into the market place. Right now, my own website is being designed by a friend and I'm interested to see what will happen when it launches. But probably, that will take quite a while and until then I'll just stay the regular hobbyist I've been until now.

Everything has been a bit tense lately (it's just been the WORST summer of my life...) and I'm glad that I have found a purpose again, something to work for and to look forward to.
So, erm... stay tuned, I guess?

Oh, btw, Legend of Grimrock II is out... and it's totally awesome!

... or not. Depends on how you define ''viking''. Depends on whether you see LARP as a legit platform to ''be a viking'', if you're only in for reenactment/living history, if you count in a mindset or religious attachments or w/e.

I became interested in the Viking era when I was still a kid, watching "Wickie und die starken Männer", getting interested in archeology at the age of 9, being fascinated by the norse beliefs and mythology - both celtic and germanic. Later, starting to listen to Amon Amarth, getting involved in LARP, discovering my fondness for axe, sword and round shield - always with an image of myself as a viking in the back of my head. "Someday, I'll be a viking.''
Though it's not historically accurate and there are a few other things I don't like about it (stupid main character and his stupid colorized blue eyes -.-), I like the overall look and feel of the series ''Vikings''. The interwovenness of the real world and their spiritual world, as percieved by the characters. It has such clear archetypes and speaks to me on an emotional level.

From a historical perspective, it's hard for me to decide on one direction. On the one hand, I really like Svear and Rus, especially the melting of the culture in the region of Birka, the richness in colour, the trading empire. On the other hand, the rough seas of Norway, the fjords and the long journeys undertaken by the Norwegian vikings to Iceland, Greenland, the New World, speak to me on a level of emotionalized wanderlust. A few weeks ago, I went to Haithabu (fascinating, a trading center of the Viking era, in Germany! I've always thought about the vikings as Scandinavian...) and was overwhelmed by the Southern vikings' ways. Glass beads, finely decorated swords, turtle fibulas, bronze jewelery, fine leather shoes, I want all of it.

Finally, I settled on a few options.
- historically accurate ca. 950 AD Southern Norwegian woman in men's clothes, due to practicality when rading. Used in ReenLARPment (historically accurate LARP) and probably reenactment/LH, too.
- Fantasy Birka viking for LARP only, 9th/10th century. My hometown LARP group (the Fenrir of Åsland, belonging to the bigger Åsland group constituting of tribes of nordic barbarians, hunters, celts and ''classic'' vikings - the Fenrir) has interesting approaches to roleplaying and I like the people very much. Also, it's nice to have someone who shares the interest in Birka and Rus. The clothes mostly constitute of historically accurate cutting and sewing, but the colors are often chemical.
- Historicized Birka viking, 9th/10th, also woman in men's clothes for Das Große Heer (biggest German viking LARP group). Let's see if I can do another, more female version for LH that just switches to ''being a man'' when it comes to RFC, the actual combat.

This means: A lot of clothes. A lot of LARP cons and LH conventions to go to. Wolin, Neustadt-Glewe, Ribe, Haithabu...
Let's see how this works out for me. But one thing is certain: I'm having a hell of a ride through the viking era. It's simply to much fun to focus on only one region or only on historical or fantasy. I learned Naalbinding, I learned wood carving, I sew my own clothes, I dye my own wool and fabrics, I make my own jewelery and I love it.

I hate it when everybody just starts a new site/blog/whatever with saying ''Hello world!''. Oh, now I said it, too. Nevermind.

So, after years of being absent, I'm back on deviantart. Most of the stuff has either to do with photography (most of them are pretty old) or LARP, crafting and costume design, living history/reenactment, fantasy etc.
Feel free to browse, comment, criticize or throw poop at each other in my comment section. I'm basically just one of those weird fuckers spending hours and hours on detailed LARP costumes. Sewing, dyeing, leather works, metal works, jewelry, naalbinding, costume design, making of foam weaponry, among other stuff.

I like tea, things made out of copper, FLAUSCH, the smell of leather, irony/sarcasm/understatement, beards and wool clothing.
I don't like hypocrits, the sound of a pencil scraping over paper, French Hiphop, cheap tools that break easily and not having enough money to build my very own dwarven dungeon at Utopion, Bexbach.

PS. Headline = "Life is an angry sausage sandwich."