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Yasemin's A&S Scrolls and Projects

From EastKingdomWiki

Yasemin Bint Al-Hajjar's Portfolio of Finished Work and Projects

Order of the Chivalry for Dimitrios Alexandrou

I am extremely happy to be able to post this today. It is always an honor to be asked personally to do a scroll. But even more when it’s for someone you consider to be family. Yesterday, at Ducal, my brother Dimitrios Alexandrou became a knight of the SCA. This is the art created for his special day. Exemplar from The Paris Psalter. Which is very known within ancient Byzantine art. This is a depiction of the final battle between David and Goliath. And arguably the most famous out of the 75 illuminated Byzantine psalters. Some changes made from this original piece to better suit the recipient.

Order of the Chivalry for Bari of Anglesey

I love working on pieces that speak for amazing moments in East Kingdom history. I had the distinct honor of being asked to work on the Chivalry Scroll for Bari of Anglesey: a well known fighter within the known world and prominent figure head within the Preachain mercenary group. Bari represents an Iron Age Celt from Wales, so I felt it appropriate to choose a Celtic manuscript from the Book of Kells (listed as the Psalms 23 Manuscript). My calligraphy was inked with a Speedball Hunt Nib No. 102. My illuminated rendition of this piece used mixed gouache paints, on bristol vellum paper.

Order of the Maunche for Svana Vefari

I was honored to be asked to do this piece for one of my best friends, and housemate. Svana's persona is that of a Lithuanian/Baltic; and as such was extremely difficult to find illuminations from the century in which she portrays. However, while researching Baltic culture I had stumbled upon an amazing 18th century piece within the "Answers of desert dwellers to the questions of Hieromonk Neophytos" (a conciliar work of the monks of the Vygov community.) While every page therein contained striking imagery - this one in particular radiated with character. The calligraphy was inked with a Speedball Hunt Nib No. 102. My illuminated rendition of this piece used mixed gouache paints, on bristol vellum paper.

Silver Mantle for Melmyra from the Shire of Quintavia

This beautiful piece derived from the exquisite work of Sheik Hamdullah; a 15th century master of Islamic Calligraphy. This work, as well as many of his others, can be found within one of his forty-seven Mus'hafs, book of Quran, and innumerable En'ams, Evrads and Juz'. I wished for Melmyra's award to contain calligraphy that resembled that which would have been found within the original work. As such, I created this lovely interpretation of Arabic-to-English styled lettering; all inked with a Speedball Hunt Nib No. 102. My illuminated rendition of this masterpiece used mixed gouache paints, on bristol vellum paper.

Buckler for the Fencing Champion of The Shire of Midland Vale

There is something about a Shire level Award that is food for the soul. The Shire of any kingdom is the foundation unto which all other workings are built upon. The comradery one goes from their involvement with a Shire holds for a lifetime. The Shire of Midland Vale is one that I had witnessed grow from incipiency till now, some 5 plus years later. When I was asked by the current Seneschal to produce an award for the Fencing Champion, I wanted there to be something tangible that they could bring in to battle with them. The buckler symbolizes strength through defense: a brilliant metaphor for the aspirations of peerage and all around being an amazing individual. This buckle was based off of the beautiful Stags and Laurel Leaves that make up our Shire's heraldry. I'm enamored to be able to give a little smile of honor every time I see this beautiful piece be passed from generation to generation for years to come.


Order of the Chivalry for Pandarus of La Familia Gladiatoria

For this Chivalry scroll I wanted to go with something a little more original to make this one exceptionally special for its recipient. Pandarus comes from an amazing East Kingdom household that focuses on aspects of the Gladiator lifestyle of Rome. As such, I wished to present him with a Rudius blade symbolizing his "freedom" from the path along with the traditional scroll one receives from achieving this accolade. Burned into the wood is the circle belt of the Order of the Chivalry and the words "Totus Culus Aut Nulus Culus" which translates into their household motto "All ass or no ass" meaning to "not half ass" anything they do. The illumination on the top of the scroll was based on a stone relief that can be found in the Roman Colosseum. My rendition used mixed gouache paints and bristol paper.

Order of the Laurel for Gnaea Celera

I was honored to be brought on board to be a part of the history that went behind this scroll for the incomparable Mistress Gnaea Celera. The items that she produces through her glass blowing are mesmerizing and as such I had the distinct privilege to work on a piece for her that hopefully did her accomplishments justice. Each tile was meticulously painted one at a time as well as color matched to the original art; the laurel leaves are 23.75 karat gold gilding. The original art was a roman mosaic on the wall of the house of Neptune illustrating Neptune and Amphitrite. My rendition used mixed gouache paints, gold gilding and bristol paper.

Order of the Tygers Combatant for Black Douglas

I am very passionate about all of the works that I create for populace of the glorious East Kingdom. Its people are awe inspiring and push me to become a better artist with every request that comes across my table. This Order of the Tygers Combatant was requested by my amazing household brother and ferocious Eastern Warrior Black Douglas. He carries the heart of our Gleipnir Virki house with him as he represents himself and the Hrafnox fighting unit with every stroke of his sword. As such, I felt it only right to bring in my husband Sir Hassan and sister Lady Svena to help with the words and Illustration for our brother's accomplishment. I based the likeness of the character itself off the recipient, along with his arms and household tabard - yet took inspiration for The Book of Kells" St Matthew (c.800). Around him are several nods to the iconography of our Hrafnox (Raven's Axe) household. The original piece containing the illuminated letter "N" can be found in the Book of Durrows. My rendition used mixed gouache paints and bristol paper

Order of the Golden Rapier for Alastar Tucker

The source material for this piece was based off a German Sword & Buckler manuscript produced by an unknown author and Illustrator from the 1300's. Known as Manuscript I.33 (and pronounced "One thirty-three" rather than "Eye-thirty-three") it was originally produced on parchment with ink-and-watercolors. My rendition for this O.G.R used mixed various sized pigment liner sketch pens and gouache paint on bristol paper. The minimalist approach to this working truly caught my eye and I really wanted to stay true to this, even with my calligraphy.

Gawain for Iddo of Stonemarche

The original illumination is of Duke Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić a Grand Duke of Bosnia, Ban of Croatia and Duke of Split. It can be found in the Hrvoje's Missal manuscript circa 1404. My rendition consisted of color matching gouache paints on bristol paper.

Silver Tyger for Toki Staffstruck

I am proud to present this piece after having to wait a full year for the candidate to receive notice of his award. Toki's Silver Tyger was based on a depiction of a General launching his troops to assault Nagashino Castle in 1575. The original image was from the Tsuki hyaskushi series ("100 aspects of the moon") by Taiso Yoshitoshi circa 1887. My rendition used mixed gouache paints and bristol paper. To personalize this piece more to Toki I added his Do's colors, his likeness for the face, his weapon of choice the polearm, and the East Kingdom banner.

Silver Rapier for Hec McGregor

This piece was based on a manuscript stored at The J. Paul Getty Museum titled "Decorated Initial S." Its English illuminator is unknown but is believed to have been penned between 1420 - 1430. The unknown illuminator used Tempera colors, gold leaf, gold paint, and ink on parchment bound between pasteboard covered with red morocco. To recreate this image, I mixed gouache paints to best match each individual color before placing them on bristol paper.

Silver Wheel for Devillin MacPherson

Devillin's illumination was based on a page from the Sacramentary of Saint-Denis. This piece was produced with miniatum and gold leafing on the border, accompanied by gouache paint on bristol paper.

Tyger's Cub for Lillian of Eisental

This gorgeous Tyger's Cub was based on an exert out of the Flemish Book of Hours circa 1470-1480 known as Saint Elizabeth; attributed to the Workshop of Master of the First Prayer Book of Maximilian (Flemish, active about 1475 - 1515). The original manuscripts were a collection of assorted French artists who based their works off French illuminator Simon Marmion's pieces from 1449 and 1489. My rendition was executed with gouache paint on bristol paper.

Silver Mantle for Nasir ibn Makki

I wanted to do something special for Nasir since the request came in for something Arabic. While not drawn directly from one manuscript, this piece was based on several 14th Century Islamic illuminations. My rendition was executed with gouache paint on bristol paper.

Silver Brooch for Gaius Claudius Valerianus

I have a special place in my heart for this piece as it was for my apprentice-brother. I once again drew inspiration from the Book of Hours, as their art is awe-inspiring. This illumination is known as Bathsheba f.91 circa 1508; attributed to the Master of Spencer 6. My rendition was executed with gouache paint on bristol paper.

Award of Arms for Hlifa Hrafnsdottir

Hlifa's arms were an original piece created by myself, inspired heavily off of Norse depictions of the raven. My rendition was executed with gouache paint on bristol paper.

My Oath to Mistress Ro Honig von Sommerfeldt

This piece was based on a 14th-century Ottoman motif. Inscribed within were the topics of my oath: Self Betterment, Honor, Humility, and Friendship. Gouache paint on bristol paper.

Bell Gules for Tysha Z Kieva

This Carillion Baronial award is near and dear to my heart as it was my second piece created. This unique award was asked to incorporate the Gryffindor colors, be Harry Potter themed, and incorporate a fence post driver. This fun, tongue-in-cheek award was all created with gouache paint on bristol paper.

Bell Gules for Randver Kveld-Ulfr

This second Bell Gules was another tongue-in-cheek done for a good gentle who received a severe case of sun-burn helping the Barony. This piece was created with gouache paint on bristol paper.

Iron Bell for Allaster Del Blair

Onto the thrown weapons champion of Carillion came this next baronial piece; done with various sized pigment liner sketch pens and gouache paint on bristol paper.

My Personal Heavy List Armor

This armor creation contained many 'firsts' for me. This was the first time I used leather as a medium. This was the first time that I had stamped leather. This was my first encounter using wax thread. This was my first time painting leather. This was the first time lacing lamellar. And lastly, this was the first time sizing up armor to fit feminine curves.

To execute this I utilized a duct tape body form that I had created for myself a couple of years ago to help to create my garb. I then covered it with an old t-shirt and wrapped it in duct tape. Using a sharpie I drew out the torso, sides, and backplate how I desired it to lay upon my form. I then cut those pieces off of the body form and used them as a stencil atop of 8oz vegetable tanned side skirting to draw out my pieces. Using a sharp razer I hand cut each of the pieces, cleaning all of the edges with a Dremel tool to round the edges.

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Shortly after, I realized that I wanted to personalize my kit with my heraldic crescent moon. To execute this I drew out my shape onto the leather before using a damp cloth to moisten the surface area. I then proceeded to trace out my shape with the cutter tool. After, I used the embossing tool to pop all the edges and make the entire design look much cleaner. Overall, I was extremely satisfied with my first attempt.

I then painstakingly punched all the holes where I would be sewing up my piece. Using a needle and the wax thread I sewed the piece up until I had a stand-alone chest and back. To add some more rigidity I used a damp cloth to wet the leather and used a blow drier to act as a hardener.

After this was done, I used Tandy's black dye and colored it. In the meantime, I took leftover lamellar from my husband Hassan's old kit and put together a 2 layer kidney belt with parachute cord. One the dye had dried I punched more holes where the belt would overlay and hand-wove the parachute cord to the lamellar. I then cut 4 pieces of black leather and made shoulder straps and belt straps for an encloser. That rounded off the completion of my heavy kit!


Kaftan for Hassan ibn Abd' al-Malik's Knighting

This was a passion project for my husband Hassan who got Knighted August 9, 2018 at the Pennsic War just before the bridge battle. He is very much into the flashy Persian attire so I wished to make him an outfit that would do him justice.

When a man outside of the Ottoman race would marry in, they would have to agree to "become" Turkish in culture. Hassan typically illustrates this by blending 14th Century Syrian with 14th Century Ottoman. He has gone as far as replacing his Syrian helmet with a Turkish Chichak Helmet. To complement this I wished to make him a fitted caftan. Along the edges is the rising sun. Tiraz bands would typically wrap around the man's bicep either containing a passage or illumination. On one arm is his rising sun, on the other is written his personal motto "Respect everyone, Fear no one" in Arabic.