#we were tasked to make an old fashioned poster to some existing play

[fire-eyed-raven]

[cowperviolet]

A Guide to Medieval Childhood

Our popular imaginings and depictions of medieval childhood tend to be somehow both scarce and bleak. It’s often supposed that childhood as a category didn’t really exist until the twentieth century, and that even the highborn children before that blessed time were regarded as basically inconvenient mini-adults until they were old enough to fight or marry, respectively.

The sources we have tend to favour the royal families and the high aristocracy with some wealthy merchants thrown in the mix, so, unfortunately, the information below would mostly be concerned with these groups - although I’m going to do my best to include some facts about the lives of children from lower social strata, too.

Infantia, or infancy

As Maria von Trapp used to sing in technicolor meadows, let’s start at the very beginning - it is, after all, a very good place to start.  

A mother rarely gave birth unattended - and I’m not talking about medical professionals; more often than not, these would be represented by a sole midwife. However, having a close friend or a relative with you as you are waiting for the baby to arrive was a practice well-established by the early fourteenth century even among royal women, whose births, marriages and deaths alike were always ruled by strict ceremony.

In their case, as in the case of all great families of the land, the practice also had a purely pragmatic side - additional companions mean additional witnesses who would be able to swear, should a scandal arise, that the little heir really arrived in the lawful way and had not been, say, smuggled into the bedroom in a pan. (In the case of the British royal family this precaution eventually led to the Home Secretary being obliged to attend all royal births, and was only done away with in 1930, when the late Princess Margaret was born).

Of course, for all the companionable support, the birth was not without its risks - for the child even more so than for the mother. It was for that reason that, uniquely, the Church allowed the midwives to baptize newborn - or unborn - babies in case they don’t survive by the time the sacrament in question could be performed properly by a priest.

If everything went well, it was the time to prepare the child for an ‘official’ baptism in the local church, which was going to not only save his soul for the world to come, but to help his standing in this one - after all, being baptized in a particular church meant being integrated into the larger community of the parish. The mother could rest - she was not required to attend the christening (or, rather, she couldn’t, as she would only be able to enter a place of worship again after being purified via a brief ‘churching’ ceremony on the fortieth day after giving birth). The child’s godparents would have been there to stand in her stead.

In fact, many contemporaries considered that a woman needs at least a month to properly recover after birth. Nor was it supposed to be a time of solitude - receiving female visitors was both allowed and encouraged.

Meanwhile, the child would be transferred into the care of a wet-nurse. Breastfeeding your baby yourself usually signified that you simply cannot afford wet-nurse of good character. The good character part of the job description concerned itself both with the purely physical characteristics - the wet-nurse had to be a little below thirty, to have white teeth, sweet breath, and a child of her own not above eight months of age, otherwise her milk could be considered stale - and the moral ones. It was believed that virtues and vices both could be transmitted through milk, and thus it was imperative to choose a wet-nurse both sensible and respectable.

Once hired, she rarely left the baby’s side - contemporary writers acknowledged that leaving an infant to cry is harmful for the child’s health, both mental and physical, and therefore a nurse should always be at hand with either her breast or a lullaby. In the highest households of the land, such as that of the royal children of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, one or two women were also employed as specifically the child’s rockers, tasked with, well, rocking their little charge to sleep - though not too quickly or too harshly, ‘for fear of making the milk float in [her] stomach’.

Every medieval baby, regardless of his family’s income, was swaddled from birth and until he was about eight or nine months of age: not only would he be kept warm, the parents judged, but it’s also going to help his limbs grow straight. A ‘breechcloth’ – essentially, a premodern nappy - was a piece of easily-washable linen, doubled over and then fastened into place with pins. Then a linen shirt would be gently placed over the infant’s body, after which the swaddling bands proper – sometimes three yards long – would come out. They were long, narrow pieces of – you guessed it - linen.

This swaddling part was universal for everyone; however, even here, before the child could partake in any fashion proper, the class divides came out to play. Babies from wealthier families could sport crimson mantles and bands decorated with gold embroidery (sometimes coordinated with that on their mothers’ outfits, like on the famous Cholmondeley Ladies painting at the top of this post).

Another – perhaps, more familiar to us – sphere of baby-related conspicuous consumption was the cradle. When, in 1494, the son of Beatrice d’Este and Ludovico Sforza was born in Milan, the proud father presented his guests a four-poster cradle covered in white satin, where the little heir now lay. When Lucrezia Borgia gave the d’Este family an heir, she splashed out on the cradle for the little Ercole even more. According to contemporary witnesses, the cradle was located under tent-like Moorish-style silk draperies done in the Este colors. It was on a platform encased in a great carved and gilded canopy, six feet long and five feet wide. The cradle proper was curtained in white satin, with the sleeping baby covered with cloth-of-gold.

The weaning tended to come, by our standards, rather late: some contemporary arguments recommended three years for boys and two years for girls (the former, after all, were expected to lead more active lives, and thus needed their mother’s nutritious milk more). Even then, hard food was to be introduced gradually – starting, for instance, with a chicken leg the child could chew on.

Once out of swaddling, the boys were dressed in smocks, and the girls in gowns – not that there was much visual difference between the two, mind. Regardless of their parents’ social standing, they all also wore tight linen caps that bore the charmingly hobbit-y name of biggins.

Naturally, the higher one stood upon the social scale, the more ornamental these gowns and smocks tended to be. The toddler Princess Elizabeth, who was the daughter of Henry VII and thus the aunt of her much more famous namesake, was dressed on separate occasions in a green velvet gown edged with purple tinsel and lined with black buckram, a dress of black velvet edged with crimson, or a kirtle of tawny damask and black satin. Admittedly, these were mostly for ceremonial occasions, and in the privacy of her yellow ochre-coloured chambers even the princess probably tended to wear something more comfortable. In winter, she was kept warm with furred robes fastened with silver buttons and caps trimmed with peacock feathers, and, regardless of the time of the year, indulged with sweets made from sugars flavoured with rose and violet, as well as with fruits from sunnier climes like pomegranates, quinces, and almonds.

Royal families were never noted for modesty of consumption in any era, but even the middling merchants of Florence were often criticized for spoiling their children with fine clothes. Fra Dominici wrote scathingly about parents who dress their children in ‘fancy garments, stamped shoes, short waist-coats, tight and fine-knit hose’. Neither did he approve of toys like “little wooden horses, attractive cymbals, imitation birds, [and] gilded drums,” recommending instead more virtuous playthings like “a little altar or two, … little vestments … little candles … [and] little bells,”, so that the children could pretend they were acolytes or priests. Three guesses no prizes as to which category ended up being the more popular one.

Some types of toys would have been surprisingly familiar to us – for example, doll furniture. In Germany one could find whole doll kitchens with dishes, meat plates, cutlery and furniture since the 1550s at the latest. Wealthier girls were also bought so-called fashion dolls that showcased, you guessed it, the latest fashions in the land.

Of course, poorer children had to make do with dolls stuffed with straw, and play with such props as animal knucklebones or wooden wheels.  However, it doesn’t mean that their lives were completely devoid of fun. Contemporary paintings, such as Peter Brueghel’ Children’s Games (1560), show children playing blind man’s bluff, ‘paper, scissors, stone’, roll hoops and rock barrels.

Pueritia, or childhood

A child’s education started with learning his (or, rarer, her) letters. A rather charming contemporary advice recommends the parents to do it by carving each letter on a piece of fruit, and reward the child with the fruit in question if the letter is correctly identified. These kinds of basics could be learned at home (though, if you decided to choose the method above, better do it specifically in the kitchen) – however, once the rudimentary parts were done with, the paths of learning could branch wildly.

The wealthiest families hired tutors for their children, and these posts, prestigious and coveted as they were, could sometimes become subjects of competition. For example, when the future Elizabeth I grew old enough for her first lessons, it was assumed that these are going to be provided by her aunt and godmother, Lady Troy. However, the less highborn, but more ambitious Katherine Champernowne had other ideas; Henry VIII ended up being impressed by reports of her as a woman of good education, and appointed her to be his daughter’s governess in 1536. She held that post until 1544, when her precocious charge overgrew the standard highborn lady’s curriculum that consisted of reading, embroidery, music, riding, falconry, and chess. After that, the scholar William Grindal became the princess’ tutor, introducing her to classical authors such as Plato.

Latin and, to a lesser extent, Greek literature was not exclusively the preserve of the upper-class education. The cathedral school of St. Paul’s, for instance, taught children from middling walks of life - such as one Geoffrey Chaucer, the son of a wine merchant - and placed a great emphasis on the learning of Latin. The recitation of the Latin alphabet started with the sign of the cross and ended with ‘Amen’: quite a sign of respect, coming from a religious institution. The school’s library was full of books on logic, law and medicine, as well as such still-popular classical hits as Aesop’s Fables.

The boys (unlike in the more flexible world of private education, school pupils were invariably male) also owned some books of their own: contrary to a common misconception, even before the invention of printing press books were not necessarily objects of luxury. For example, when in 1337 John Cobbledick left twenty-nine books to Oriel College, each of them was priced at about 6 shillings. Two centuries later, when William Chatsworth sent his beloved wife Bess of Hardwick gifts during his sojourn in London, he included some learning materials for their children: three French grammars, a copy of Cosmografie de Levant, and psalms in French.

Charitable institutions could sometimes take care of the education of poorer children: for instance, in 1542, the Alderman William Dauntsey of London directed in his will that his executors should build a charity school of eight chambers (one of them for the schoolmaster) in West Lavington, Wiltshire.

Boys who could boast some musical talent had an unusual route for both education and promotion: chapel choirs. Many noblemen - and noblewomen such as Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry VII - engaged in cultural patronage, supporting at times dozens of choristers. Margaret herself had hired a composer, Robert Cooper, who was entrusted with finding gifted boys for her chapel from ‘London, Wynesore and in the west country'. She also made sure that, apart from musical education, the boys in her choir received tuition in Latin: in January 1506 the same Cooper was responsible for purchasing five 'gramer bokes ... for the chyldryn of the chapell', costing 4s 3d. Their education ensured that, after growing out of their roles in the choir, the boys would be able to continue academic studies. One Thomas Freston left Margaret’s chapel at the age of 13 to attend Winchester College, while the 1460 statute of Tattershall College specified provision for ‘four poor boys’ who were 'teachable in song and reading, to help the choristers, each of whom is to have commons and clothing and all else that the choristers do'.

Girls could be educated in convent schools; some, though by no means all, later chose to enter these nunneries as actual novices (they couldn’t legally make such a decision until the age of twelve, however, just as they couldn’t legally consent to marriage). Within the convent walls, as outside them, their comforts depended a lot on their parents’ standing - if their entry fee was generous enough, the girls, whether they came as pupils or little novices, could count on having a bedroom to themselves, a generous provision of wood to burn in their fireplace, and rare foodstuffs for their tables. When Edward I’s daughter Mary entered the convent of Amesbury as a novice in 1285, at unusual (and frankly illegal) age of seven, her lifelong allowance included an annual provision of twenty tuns of wine from the Bordeaux claret merchants and forty oaks as kindling for her fireplace.

Convents were supposed to foster the life of prayer and quiet contemplation, which was even harder to get used to for her teenage novices than it were for the secular boarders, who weren’t,  after all, handled as strictly. However, even in a nunnery, there was a certain softening of the rules when it came to young girls. For example, at the Feast of St Nicholas, the patron saint of children, the youngest novice was named the Girl Abbess and allowed to lead the community in dancing and revelry.

Adolescentia, or adolescence

This stage of life was thought to start at about fourteen and end in one’s early twenties. Highborn children of both sexes were usually sent to foster at the homes of friends or relatives of equal standing, both to finish their education and to establish useful connections. When the teenage Jan of Brabant was sent for foster at the English court, he devoted his years there to perfecting the arts of jousting and hunting with falcons, as well as the less official, but nonetheless useful skills of party planning, people-charming, and careful gambling. His future bride Margaret of England, meanwhile, was improving on her feminine arts of weaving and embroidery, often spending substantial sums on gold thread and silks of different colours.

The machinery of altar diplomacy was already in full swing by the time they reached that age, even though marriage proper - with the consummation implied - was usually still a few years in the future. The fate of Margaret Beaufort, who gave birth to her first husband’s son at age thirteen, was considered grotesque and frankly unsafe; after all, it’s no coincidence that she could have no children after. For instance, Thomas Aquinas cautioned in his Mirror for Princes that consummation should be delayed until the woman had reached the age of eighteen, and the man twenty-one.   

The complicated diplomatic and legal negotiation process behind such agreements was left to the heads of the families and their respective employees, without the involvement of the betrothed ones themselves. After all, it included such charming tasks as drawing a complete summary of all villages, farms, rents, forests, and windmills belonging to the future groom’s family which would be able to provide the income for the bride’s dower, or widow portion, in case she outlives him - a pretty significant possibility, considering.

Lower down the social scale, marriage arrangements were not so pressing a concern - urban artisans, male or female, often married only in their mid-twenties. When their children reached adolescence, they usually worried about arranging an apprenticeship for them rather than a betrothal.

A child could be apprenticed to a master who practiced one of the trades regulated by the guilds of the town. These included mercers, grocers, fishmongers, drapers, tailors and even artists. The training usually took seven years, during which the master in question was obliged not only to educate the apprentice, but also to feed and clothe them and generally treat them like a member of their family (which usually also meant having them help around the house). This way, the future artisans spent their adolescence in a situation of indenture and completed their training in their early twenties. The ultimate dream after that was becoming a master in their own right and acquiring one’s own workshop; but, like people in their early twenties everywhere, most were too broke for that, and ended up working as journeymen in their master’s workshop for some more years - or sometimes for the rest of their lives.

Although the most prestigious trades, such as those of mercers or goldsmiths, only admitted men, others - the tailors, the bakers, the printers, the bakers, sometimes the painters - were open to apprentices of both sexes. Female artisans often ended up marrying their colleagues from the same guilds, and then keeping workshop together, but sometimes they kept their trade and conducted their business separately.

At this point, gaining the trappings of trade and marriage, they progressed into the adulthood, and thus beyond the scope of this post.

Sources:

Devices and Desires: Bess of Hardwick and the Building of Elizabethan England by Kate Hubbard

Daughters of Chivalry by Katie Wilson-Lee

The Lives of Tudor Women by Elizabeth Norton

Chaucer: A European Life by Marion Turner

Kisby, Fiona. “A Mirror of Monarchy: Music and Musicians in the Household Chapel of the Lady Margaret Beaufort, Mother of Henry VII.” Early Music History, vol. 16, 1997, pp. 203–234

The Early Modern Italian Domestic Interior, 1400–1700: Objects, Spaces, Domesticities by Erin J. Campbell et al.

[tododorkis]

Little Moments

KiriBaku Week 2018

Day 2: April 18th

Prompt: Fake Dating AU / Spring Fling / Pirates

Warnings: Mild language

Summary: Who knew that all it took to get these two love birds alone was a clueless Kaminari and a parrot. 

Story below the cut. 

Halloween. Definitely not Bakugou's favorite holiday, though he didn't put much stock in holidays anyway. St. Patrick's Day? Lame. He didn’t need an excuse to punch pinch someone. Easter? Pastels pissed him off. Valentines Day? Just no. The list could go on.

But Halloween… more often than not kids these days dressed up as their favorite heroes. And while Katsuki Bakugou definitely admired certain heroes, All Might in particular, he had no desire to dress up as them. He was going to be his own hero one day, he didn't need to waste his time parading around as someone else.

“What?" Kirishima's eyes widened. "What do you mean you've never dressed up as a hero?"

Bakugou growled. He didn't like having to explain himself. "I meant what I said. I'm not going to put on the costume of some - "

"But - " Kirishima interrupted, remembering all the times he wore that old Crimson Riot costume as a kid. Even when the occasion didn't call for a costume. Little Kiri would beg his mom to let him wear the suit on play dates, while running errands to the mall, basically every instance he could come up with.

So to have someone, someone who wanted to be a hero no less, who grew up not wearing the costumes of his favorite heroes… Kirishima just didn't understand.

"Hey, hey!" Sero beamed. "That's actually a great idea."

"Huhhh?" Kaminari mumbled around the charging chords sitting between his teeth. "What idea?"

The four of them were huddled around the couches and chairs in the dorm's living room. Bowls of ramen littered the coffee table between them, including the half-empty package of chili flakes Bakugou had insisted dumping into his own bowl. Kaminari had practically downed a whole gallon of water, watching Bakugou scarf down the undoubtedly spicy concoction. One the other hand, Sero complained how Bakugou had ruined a perfectly bowl of ramen, but was overshadowed by Kirishima's praise of Bakugou's manliness. Kirishima then proceeded to dump the remainder of the chili flakes into his own bowl. He did not finish his food; Bakugou ate it for him.  

"This is a costume contest, at UA, everyone is going to be dressed as heroes. If our team is going to win, then we have to do something different!" Sero stood from his seat, spreading his arms wide as if he had made some great announcement.

"Oh, I get it!" Kaminari jumped onto the couch, sparks dancing across his skin. "That will really make us stand out!"

Swift as ever, Bakugou grabbed Kaminari's arm and dragged him to the ground. "Don't fry my phone, idiot!"

Cowering as Bakugou stood over him, Kaminari pulled the (only slightly!) smoking phone cord from his mouth, grinning sheepishly. "Heh, my bad. But you have to admit it’s a great idea!"

Not one to be down for long, Kaminari leaped to his feet again, leaning close to Bakugou and Sero.

"Of course it is!" Bakugou smirked. "It was my idea."

Well, not exactly - Sero thought, but didn't really care enough to argue. "What should we go as then?"

Kirishima watched on as his three friends brainstormed costume ideas.

Is this really okay? Not going as heroes?

Pirates. That is what the other three had decided on. And over the next few weeks Kirishima had started to warm up to the idea. Just because it wasn't his first pick for a group costume didn't mean he couldn't enjoy it and play along. Pirates could be fun too!

He had even managed to drag Bakugou out to the mall for once so they could look for costume pieces. Bakugou refused to buy a pre-made costume, so they had to build them from scratch. In the end, Kirishima was pretty happy with the result. He had even found a stuffed parrot to perch on his shoulder. Not having the most fashion sense, even on a regular day, Kirishima's outfit was terribly mismatched with conflicting patterns and colors. He thought that made the affect more real!

They made a funny pair, standing together in their costumes. Bakugou looked almost like pirate royalty, if such a thing even existed. He wore a hat befitting of the captain of their crew, along with tall boots and a long jacket. His shirt brandished a big skull on the front, reminiscent of the flags flown by pirate ships. Though, Kirishima was pretty sure Bakugou already owned that shirt and just didn't want to wear a frilly shirt like Kaminari.

"Wow, you guys look great!" Mina had wandered over, brandishing her Wild, Wild Pussycats costume.

Kaminari and Sero gravitated towards her, showing off their costumes. Sero had developed an entire back-story for his character, claiming to be an old sailor in the navy who lost a hand and leg at war, which made him bitter, leading him to abandon his government and live a life at sea. Naturally, he brandished a peg-leg and a hook for a hand.

Everyone is really getting into this, Kirishima thought, maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea.

Remembering who was next to him, Kirishima abruptly turned back toward Bakugou, not wanting his friend to feel left out. The sudden motion jolted the parrot on his shoulder, and Kirishima reached out a hand to keep the stuffed animal from falling. Bakugou's eyes followed the movement.

"Hehe, " Letting out a nervous laugh, Kirishima raised a hand to run through his hair before remembering he was wearing a bandanna. "Could you imagine if we were pirates for real? Sailing the seas, pillaging and - "

"Get real, shitty hair. You'd be the worst pirate ever." Bakugou asserted.

"Huh?" Was his costume not great after all?

Bakugou huffed before explaining. Why he felt the need to explain, he couldn't understand, but he didn't dwell on it. All he knew was that he should say something before that idiot got the wrong idea. "Last week you couldn't even keep those sunglasses you found in the locker room."

Oh. Kirishima smiled at his friend. So this was just Bakugou being Bakugou. There was nothing wrong with his costume after all.

Bakugou stared at Kirishima's wide smile, curious as to how he was able to look so happy when just a moment ago he had seemed so disappointed.

"Actually," Kaminari slid between the pair, breaking their eye contact. "Captain Jack Sparrow was a good pirate. He refused to sell slaves for the British, so he was brandished as a pirate and his ship was set on fire - "

"Shut up, extra! No one asked you!"

"Hey! I am the Sailing Master of this ship! You should treat me with more respect!"

"What? And who do you think I am?"

The loud rancorous laughter that escaped Kirishima's lips dulled the growing sparks on Bakugou's palms, as he was reminded of Kirishima kind smile from just a minute ago. Suddenly, he wanted to get back to where they were before Kaminari interrupted them.

Gaze drifting from Kirishima's grin to his shoulder, Bakugou's brows furrowed. "Kirishima."

The laughter stopped.

"I'm fixing your costume. Come with me."

Bakugou stormed down the hallway, toward the boy's dorms. He knew Kirishima would follow. And he did.

"What just happened?" A confused Kaminari was left behind.

A hooked hand patted his shoulder. "You just don’t get it, do you?"

Mina nodded along behind them.

Admittedly, Kirishima was a bit confused as well, as he followed Bakugou up the stairs. Bakugou opened the door to his bedroom, expecting Kirishima to follow him inside. When he didn't hear the red-head's heavy footsteps, he turned to see him standing uncertainly in the doorway.

"You've never invited someone into your room."

"Huh? I've just never had a reason to invite you in here before." Growing impatient, he grabbed Kirishima's arm and pulled him into the room, guiding him to a seat on the end of the bed.

Kirishima felt his ears grow warm when he realized Bakugou had only specified inviting him into his room and no one else. No, Kirishima denied, I'm just reading too much into it.

While, Kirishima underwent his own internal debate, Bakugou focused on rifling through his drawers. He had originally wanted to return to their moment from before, but didn't know how to do that. Or how to ask Kirishima for it. So instead he focused on the task at hand.

He had originally cursed his mom for making him over pack, but now he was glad he had brought it. Bakugou grinned triumphantly as his hands lifted the plastic case from under a stack of old sweaters. Placing the case on the bed beside Kirishima, he opened the lid to reveal a sewing set.

"Your stupid parrot keeps slipping off your shoulder. It's annoying." Bakugou explained at Kirishima's questioning glance.

"Oh, thanks." Kirishima now understood. He began to slide the sleeves of this vest off this shoulders.

"No, keep it on. It'll only take a minute."

Kirishima simply nodded and readjusted his vest, perching the parrot on top just where he wanted it. The talented Bakugou is back again, Kirishima mused as he watched the fiery blond be unexpectedly gentle while threading the needle. The hands he was so used to watching burn and destroy, were now carefully piercing his vest and then the plush orange of the parrot's feet. Vest, parrot, vest then parrot - Kirishima's eyes followed the needle as he studied the fingers that moved deftly just under his chin, sometimes brushing against his cheek. It was at this moment that he felt his ears grow even hotter. They had to be noticeably red by now.

Looking around the room to distract himself, Kirishima found something he did not expect. "Hey, you sure have a lot of All Might stuff in here."

Posters, action-figures, even a pillow. It wasn't nearly as much All Might merchandise as Midoriya's room, but there was still a lot. More than Kirishima certainly expected.

"Huh?" Bakugou kept his focus on his hands, making sure not to press the needle too deep and puncture the warm skin beneath the vest. Maybe he should tell Kirishima to harden, just in case.

"I just… I thought you didn't like that hero stuff…" Kirishima trailed off, not sure how to continue.

Faltering, Bakugou recalled when they had first started making their Halloween plans. He had noticed Kirishima's hesitation that day, the insecurity hidden behind his eyes. Bakugou paused in his ministrations and raised his head. Not realizing until now just how close he had leaned into Kirishima, his hands splayed across his chest. Bakugou almost lost his train of thought.

"Just because I don't show my admiration for heroes in the same way that you do, doesn't mean I don’t admire them. Your way isn't any less valid than mine."

The blush spread to Kirishima's cheeks. How? Bakugou wasn’t socially graceful by any means, but somehow he always knew what insecurities Kirishima was feeling. Somehow he knew just what needed to be said.

That soft gaze Kirishima directed at his friend kneeling before him nearly undid Bakugou. Somehow, Kirishima always understood just what Bakugou was trying to say.

"Well, are you going to hurry and finish? We can't win if I have a lopsided parrot." Kirishima grinned at him again. One of those openly warm smiles that almost made the corners of Bakugou's lips twitch too.

There, Bakugou smirked, he had found the moment. 

[blockchain2071tj-blog]

Trivia Column�U"Virtual Globe" and Digital Collectibles in the Post-epidemic Era

In 2020, due to the severe impact of the epidemic (COVID-19), the use of the virtual planet has been rapidly spawned, as well as the digital change of industries is being carried out across the world regardless of nationwide boundaries; the question is, how do i prove that I am the creator of this work? ? Additionally it is because digital works are too easy to copy, as well as the resulting problems are the inability to confirm their scarcity. This short article is the newest opinion from the "Small Factors" column. The author can be Justine Lu, the co-founder and CEO of Lootex, a blockchain virtual treasure auction home. (Trivia: Industry Particular VII "Review and Possibility of Blockchain Online games" - Lootex. Justine Lu�U2020 Taiwan Blockchain Illustrated Guide) Being born being a human being gets the nature of gathering. From little to large, with all the growth of money, we've some series of different stages, whether it's shiny stickers, stamps, video game ace credit cards, comics, NBA player cards, dolls, all the way to fashion brand sneakers, brand-name hand bags, Famous watches and also artwork. So long as we can fulfill the emotional link or the excitement of hunting, we have been willing to spend time, money and energy to collect. Along with enjoying it at home, we can furthermore showcase with others, create topics, obtain keys to enter the city, and make friends , And even exchange transactions with people to expand your collection lineup. The mapping to the virtual world can be easy to visualize. For instance, in the game ?Globe of Warcraft?, somebody is always going after 100% full achievement, unlocking the Pokemon illustration of ?Pokemon Move?, collecting the exquisite furniture in ?Pet Crossing Club?... The key reason why game designers devote the game Entering the accomplishment and collection program is only arousing the player's selection addiction, assisting the ball player to experience this content that has not really been done, and motivating the player to continue the overall game, just to prolong the life span of the game. Related subjects: Private Encrypted Bond Era: NBA Players, Ethereum and Individual Bonds Related subjects: Zhai Li burst table, a Taiwanese group made "homogeneous girl" into a unique card token collection within the chain Let the Nationwide Treasure from the Palace Museum enrich your tropical isle. Image Resource: But, do you realize?

The prevailing "digital collectibles" still have some unsolvable issues that make it challenging to recognize the value: The greatest advantage of the creation of simple replication of the Internet is the fact that "information move" becomes hassle-free and rapid. When I wish to share a newly drawn computer sketching creation for your appreciation, I can copy it and deliver it for you within a couple of seconds. The question is, how can I prove that I'm the creator of the work? Additionally it is because digital works are too easy to copy, as well as the resulting problems are the inability to verify their scarcity. Lack of true ownership The biggest disadvantage of present digital collections is certainly that they are "subject to others." For instance, the virtual cherish you have worked so hard in the game will eventually disappear when the sport manufacturer stops operating. Which means that your virtual treasure is only certain in the overall game world, not assets you can use freely. Related topics: Column�UDisregard the laws and regulations of economics? Crack the scarcity theory? The idea and origin of "Multi-Edition Limited Encrypted Artwork" Related subjects: The world's initial case! Lithuania will concern "central bank electronic foreign currency" LBCoin next week, but it will be used for collection instead of trading (CBDC) Why use blockchain to create "digital collectibles"? Weighed against the well-known cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, the format of another foreign currency is very appropriate to represent distinctive, indivisible, and irreplaceable characteristics, known as Non-fungible Token (Non-fungible Token, abbreviated as NFT). I personally prefer to call it an encrypted certification, because the literal meaning can accurately explain the characteristics from the "item". Due to the blockchain blessing like a digital seal, electronic collectibles can also reflect their value: * The information in the electronic authenticity encryption certificate can prove to be the authenticity issued by the issuer or creator, and cannot be tampered with, and the scarcity is guaranteed. * Easy to monitor. Anyone can query the issuer, owner, amount of issuances and transaction history of the resource on the public blockchain. There is no need to dispute ownership, just verify it. * The extremely circulating ERC-721 standard of Ethereum continues to be probably the most mainstream digital format today, that's, the largest consensus in the community, and it is an easy task to interface with programs on the blockchain, and electronic assets will undoubtedly be truly cross-platform. To provide an easy-to-understand illustration, just like the 3C hardware specification USB 2.0, no unique modification is required, and all hardware can easily read it. Since it is unimpeded, it also brings tradable and exchangeable features to it. In other words, blockchain creates electronic assets that may exist independently, and may be used in different applications without unique communication. As for how exactly to define the "material value" of digital collectibles, we must go back to the old topics of currency consensus and requirement and supply. A lot of wonderful articles on the net are worth reading through, therefore i won't repeat them here. Related subjects: Column Sights | What supports the value of NFT property? The opportunity and liquidity high quality of on-chain art Digital collectibles have already been a trend. The concept of digital collectibles 's been around for a long period abroad. Lately, there has been a wave of using blockchain technology to make NFTs. List many relatively large investing platforms currently available on the market, such as for example: SuperRare: Gathering several well-known artists, "only sell works of art authorized by them" as its greatest feature, and the price is relatively high. Makersplace: A digital art auction house founded by early users of Pinterest. Inheriting the design of Pinterest, the city functions of collectors or artists are the most complete. KnownOrigin: The masterpieces collected on this site feel more street hippie, and the price is relatively near to the people. All three make use of smart contracts to design a profit revealing mechanism. 85% from the revenue from direct selling of works is usually attributed to the inventor, 15% is attributed to the publisher (platform); within the second-hand market, the seller will get 87% from the selling price. Creators can still obtain 10%, and web publishers (platforms) obtain 3%. Related topics: NFT series-Meet the blockchain, talk about the annals of cryptographic art you don't understand (1) Take into account the current collections need to go through a long period of operation and market producing, the subsequent revenue created tend to be not related to the original makers, they will certainly be filled with grievances. The existing platform uses smart contracts to get rid of traditional marketing techniques, which really is a great boon for new creators. Of course, it isn't just artwork. Also the NBA player cards that we liked to collect when we were young will be released in electronic version. With the expression of media digital format, the ball player cards aren't limited to 2D planes, but record the wonderful times of Stephen Curry within the championship video game. , Isn't this more vivid than rigorous paper cards? Related topics: Collect the legendary celebrity NFT tokens! NBA and Mysterious Cats team's "NBA TopShot" video game launched in beta ?? // The card design released by NBA Top Shot in May 2020 There's also cases of electronic collectibles in Taiwan. In August 2019, Taiwan's Personal team furthermore collaborated with all the blockchain startup Lootex to start NFT cards for your film ?Sage Thieves?, and these cards can be used in real-world online games designed by SELF. In the past, the peripheral products of movies had been at most film soundtracks, postcards or posters. Now digital collectibles may also be launched. Film businesses can even positively manage fan communities through the set of collectors. SELF completely demonstrates electronic collectibles. Turn into a CRM marketing device, and continue steadily to tell enthusiasts the stories they haven't completed telling within the movie. Remarks: NFT proprietors and transaction background are recorded within the string, and anyone can query their blockchain tackle. How can I play electronic collectibles? Speaking of physical selections, dolls are used as examples. They can all be used to play, beautify the home, publicly screen and show off, and speculate on cost investment. The same goes for electronic collectibles. If you have NFT digital choices, as long as you go to digital platforms like Cryptovoxels and Decentraland, you can decorate your house onto it as you like (provided that you need to buy land on the platform to build a residence). Please refer to Lootex's usage of the Ukiyo paintings open sourced by Metropolitan Museum to produce a film that will be put into the exhibition space after NFT: // So long as you have NFT digital collections, it is possible to freely decorate your home in the digital world. Because the collections are made into digital file format, of course you should show the advantages of multimedia. If it's made into a 3D file format, you can even combine AR and VR showing off your very pleased trophies. // 3D is much more vivid than a rigid plane -The Fukuoka Museum of Japan scans social relics into 3D digital archives, which can be presented in AR. - -The picture shows the work of the Taisho era: Hakata humanoid "Chuo Yu"-international brand names such as for example LV and Gucci in the style industry have previously launched design virtual models with games such as for example ?Sim?, ?Animal Forest Friends?, etc.�QVehicle F1 racing in the world, Nike and NBA within the sports world are also rushing to adopt the asset file format of NFT. These brands not only need the product sales of physical products, but also generate topics through digital goods, and also generate another software scenario (the most frequent one is that digital collectibles could also be used in games, such as for example: NBA team management games ), perhaps it can also create another way to obtain financial resources. What's better still is that brand name owners have perfected the list of core fans, that may convey information more conveniently, airdrop gifts to honorable customers anytime, and include gamification design to make sure a higher amount of fan adhesion. Summary In 2020, due to the severe impact from the epidemic, the application of the virtual entire world will be rapidly spawned, and the world is undergoing digital transformation of industrial sectors regardless of nationwide borders. The music industry suddenly started a wave of on the internet concerts, but I nevertheless feel that merely streaming videos is too outdated. best bitcoin games 2020 must praise the well-known rap singer Travis Scott for your virtual concert kept in the game ?Fortnite? in 04 of this yr. The virtual live concert was full of creativity, and there were as much as 27.7 million gamers (without repeating accounts) watching! // A virtual concert that breaks imagination. He himself had been the biggest winner of this digital concert. He received 9,478 reports, 1.4 million a lot more enthusiasts in his interpersonal account inside a 7 days, and Spotify's streaming has reached 80 million moments many. Needless to say, he didn't give up the chance to sell electronic peripheral products. ?Fortnite? has launched Travis Scott themed styling for fans to buy. -Source: Epic Games-The concert is positioned in games that want payment to enter. There may be brands worrying about being consumed tofu, as well as the threshold for followers to enter is certainly too high, shedding the original intention of contacting consumers in good sized quantities. It really is conceivable that in the foreseeable future, more and more physical activities will undoubtedly be "forced" to be in a free virtual planet. Perhaps one day, my favorite Japan singer Ringo Shiina no more has to pressure herself to conquer her fear of flying and go abroad to carry a concert. Fans all over the world can still take pleasure in her lively singing while sitting at home, and even purchase it at her very own wallet. Her NFT digital poster will be decorated within the virtual house, together with the commemorative NFT ticket, stored around the blockchain for a lifetime. ??

[jpowssbcu]

Producer as an activist My project commenced with “what do I care about”. I listed a few things that I care about and followed it with a brain storm. Gathering and developing ideas about the environment allowed me to trigger genius ideas. I used a mixture of quotes; companies that are helping the environment and questions relevant to my project. I found this as a benefit as I could relate back to these when I needed to.

I then created some logos for my protest party to help gather ideas for my protest banner that I was working towards. I created some 1 sentence manifestos/rules to initialise more ideas to allow myself to dig deeper. This also allowed me to visualise what I would like to see on my protest banner.

I wrote a longer manifesto about my developed political party which was about the ocean and putting the humans in the sea life’s position - swimming through plastics and other foreign bodies of the ocean. I felt that my next action was to start drawing out ideas for my banner which I would then prototype a few times to get it right. I prototyped a rectangular-basic shape banner and a ‘H’ Kind of shape design using bits of scrap materials so that I wasn’t wasting materials contradict my work. I wasn’t really for the ‘H’ design as it just didn’t flow so well with my theme. A simple design seemed to fit well. With my banner design, I was planning to use a layering technique and to create my own embroidery logo to represent my protest party.

Moving on, I started to develop a mind block towards my idea as I had too many ideas all in one place which meant I needed to narrow down to only 1 idea with its purposes. This is when I decided that it would be appropriate to start another ‘digging deeper’ task. Some of the websites I used were Tate.org.uk and It’s nice that. This was a good benefit to introduce new motives. I realised that a book called Humans by Tom Phillips that I’ve recently started to read is actually very relevant to my work and I should start generating new ideas that are unambiguous. The book is ‘a brief history of how we fucked it all up’. It is quite an eye-opening book to read as it goes into depth about precious locations of the world that have been destroyed and how the government could do better and how we could do better. It makes you realise how selfish we are as human beings. Some examples of the book are ‘Cuyahoga River – Cleveland Ohio. A river that is so polluted that it caught on fire no less than 15 times in the past 100 years’. ‘Electronic waste mountain in Guiyu China – mountains of old thrown out electronics. 20 square mile graveyard of unwanted gadgets, piled high with out dated laptops and last year’s smartphones.’ Imagine the impact these events have on the environment alone. The Cuyahoga River can’t be used as a drinking water source by nearby habitants and can’t house aquatic species either due to the pollution. The Electronic Waste Mountain could be a habitat for vegetation and wildlife which saddens me. I believe that the local authorities and government are mostly to blame as they’re not providing the correct ways to recycle and dispose of waste; they’re the cause of deforestation and they aren’t helping to create a sustainable environment.

·     What if pollution was causing something we are not yet aware of, but it will be too late when we find out what that something is?

·     What if illegally importing plants and animals created a new species of animal where only polluted environments would allow this creature to survive and would this creature be a threat to humans?

I started to look into artists with similar ideas such as Luigi Serafini who created Codex Seraphinianus. This artist originally published this illustrated encyclopaedia of an imaginary world in 1981. This project was created over 30 months, between 1976 and 1978. It approximately has 360 pages and is written in Cipher alphabet. The language was completely made up which makes this codex valuable. The artist used coloured pencils to create plants, fauna, anatomies, fashion and foods.

I like how the illustrations are often surreal and a mockery of the real world. Such as birds in their nests with human legs bleeding fruit and a range of foliage twisting into itself.  I particularly like the handwriting which gives the codex authenticity. After decided on my projects progress so far, I believe that using this artist alongside as other artists I will research seem quite relevant to relate to during my practise.

I’m still considering how I could publish/broadcast my work. I’m not sure if I want to create a series of drawings or photography. I’m not really familiar with photography but this will challenge me and allow me to develop a new skill during this project.

Another artist I have been looking into is Erik Ferguson. A digital artist who uses soft wares to create some amazing fusions – parts from the human anatomy, flora and fauna. These mutants are formed in realistic features/textures which gives the impression that these mutants actually exist. This artist creates person works and has worked with ‘Guardians of The Galaxy’ and live performances for Rihanna. Erik Ferguson – ‘I can get hundreds or thousands of comments to an image or video. I take that feedback and work it into future designs.’ I really like that he engages with his audience to develop his own work and to create work that the audience want as well as pleasing himself to combine what he wants.

I adore the use of detail Erik pits into his work. Even the smooth textures have small details. I’m going to develop ways I can achieve detail in the sculptures of the mutants that I will be making to capture attention and to create a depth of emotion that triggers a sense of an unforgettable experience. I think that I could create some gross skin textures by using the glue gun to create skin folds etc.

I created a collage to generate the idea of hybrid creatures that would come cleanse the earth. This then gave me the idea to scrap the idea of creating protest banners and to create sculptural works. I took old toys and re-assembled them using hot glue. The hot glue also gifted these sculptures with additional details. The oozing liquid texture made these creatures appear a lot more threatening than they would if they were perfectly glued together. I decided to completely/partially paint some of these to add extra threatening features and textures. I then drew my sculptures to consider how I would display these when protesting for my party – whether these will be displayed as illustrated designs? During this time of planning, I moved onto photographing my designs to see how they look in natural lighting. I felt the natural light gave them a natural ambient look and it seemed a lot more realistic rather than toys glued together and photographed.

I used my photos to create collaged posters to create mood and to consider another way of display. Maybe I should create a multi-media poster collection of these creatures?

Mother Nature’s Revenge

Note: Mundane – Non- spiritual (in this script human(s) will be replaced with mundane).

Purgatory: 100 years ago, the Earth became heavily polluted that scientists and the government could no longer do anything to save the planet. So, it was Mother Nature’s plan to do something about this catastrophe. Objects were documented falling from the sky – Juveniles were caught recording on their smartphones and recording live on social media which justified this apocalypse. The mundane are the reason why this Earth is so corrupt which is why Mother is seeking genesis.

As the UFOs fell from the sky and were getting closer to the sight of the mundane, it was that moment when they realised that they were in danger. The creatures began wiping the mundane out of existence with lashes from their huge monstrous hands and other uncanny limbs. The only thing left was vegetation, wild natural fauna and other natural forms. It’s time to start again. Will there be a new race? Or will some of the mundane revive with intellect?

Post-Purgatory:

After days of cleansing the Earth from pestilence, the minions slowly began to perish as the Earth is becoming so pure that there’s no more pollution left for the minions to consume. Vegetation began to grow, and extinct species are revived into existence. Locations such a Cuyahoga River has become cleansed so thoroughly that only the most sacred aquatic life populate there. Slowly, fauna began to establish and the rare are becoming habitual and the place once known as ‘The Electronic Waste Mountain – Guiyu China’ is now a sustainable habitat, populated with variegated vegetation and fauna. Let us hope that the new mundane population will not be what they were before.

Final Protest Banner:

Now that I decided how I wanted my poster to look. It was hard to figure out how exactly I wanted to display my protest poster. After researching, I came across stickers. That’s when it hit me, my protest poster will be a stick which can easily be mass produced and placed around different locations to spread awareness of my protest. Purgatio Clamoris. Save the Earth. Be the genesis.  In the images, you will notice how the environment in my photography clearly captures evidence of human interference with nature. The location of my photography is no more than 2 miles away from my home -- so literally on my door step. It’s unfair that the environment is always brushed aside and business is put first. My protest stickers are definitely something I will continue to use to spread awareness of my campaign.

I really enjoyed this project because it allowed me to play around with collage again. I felt that working with collage worked really well as I could reuse old materials which complimented the cause of the protest (cutting down on waste and pollution). When finding a location for these protest stickers, I originally wanted to stick them in public toilets and notice boards. However, on my way to those locations, I happened to across deforestation which was so serendipitous as the stickers themselves have a sci-fi fantasy inspired deforestation scene on them. I placed my stickers in this location and took some photos to document this. The photography worked really well and I captured some nice compositions which worked quite well. One thing I would like to change is the size of the stickers. I feel that from a distance it’s pretty hard to notice the A5 sticker on the tree. I think an A3 or at least an A4 size sticker would be more affective as it would capture the attention of the public causing them to approach the scene.