I have kept bees for well over a decade now. They are magical and more interesting than I ever thought they would be. I had a dream one late Winter about being a bee and flying low over the snow, looking for little purple flowers. I did not know at the time that there are snow crocus flowers just like that, some of the first to bloom. So I have decided to write an epic poem about bees, the Saga of Sigewif, as if they are fairies, or Anglo Saxon warriors… and something in between. It’s a fun venture so far, tying my interest in music & old poetry with myth, illustration, and making things from the story, like famous swords or jewelry and hopefully, a book and CD.
As many people know, bees are facing difficult times. The perils of importing new pathogens through global trade, new pesticides, and even things like cell phone radiation are all thought to be lurking dangers. As an encouragement I will be donating some of my profits to good bee-causes. I will start with profits from my Patreon, once it reaches a certain level of subscriptions. I want the Saga of Sigewif to be educational, entertaining, and a way to help the bees. For the past two years I have lost all of my 4-5 hives over Winter due mostly to varroa mites, and most likely a particular virus one year. It can be heartbreaking.
In addition to exploring Locals, You will also find more on my website, at https://jloose.com/saga/ as I work on this epic tale. Bear with me, I'm jumping into a lot of new and old social media as I try to escape the terrible grip of Facebook in particular.
Thanks for checking me out here, where I hope to regain some control of the social media mess out there and explore the creative playground of the Saga of Sigewif. 😉
I’ll be opening up more of my artistic endeavors on Patreon, but I would like to explore more philosophical and cultural issues tied into my artisanry here, where a simple small paywall might help filter some of the more… polarized folks. I kind of hate Facebook these days, and honestly, engagement there is failing. Instagram is better, but owned by the same ass-clowns. If you’re here you already know. LOL. I’ll be exploring more options on Locals and start pushing it elsewhere. We shall see.
Locked out of Instagram. They want a cell phone number. I have a cell phone, but I have to drive at least 6 miles for texts, and further for data. I can only imagine they simply want a positive ID so they can check my wrongthink, and fine me $2500 at will. Wouldn’t care but obviously, I use social media as my main form of advertising. It’s coming folks, and you can simply check in with the good folks at the WEF. I’d like to think I’m safe from real harm because I can chop wood, and carry water, but they’ll go for that soon; banning firewood and putting meters on wells… these are things I have seen discussed in public political discourse. Venues like this will be the last holdouts.
Took a motorbike ride over the Appalachian Gap and helped a friend with some beekeeping, then headed on up to Burlington to pick up this ring from my stone setter. A nice stainless damascus ring lined in Sterling with a 14K white gold bezel for this lovely little amethyst. It’s pleasant to see how fine these turn out after nearly 20 years as I shift to other creative endeavors. And what a perfect day!
Going to get in the habit of posting here when I make all my other social media posts... time to diversify!
I've been learning enameling so I can start to add it to the repertoire... and musing on the Saga of Sigewif that I am writing... here's the first few experiments on silver cast Sigewif pendants & pins... inspired by a "Melissa" bee found on two gold plate pressings from Ancient Crete. They will be getting amber beaded necklaces and will be on sale at my non damascus ring Etsy store, https://www.etsy.com/shop/JArthurLooseViking and Patreon subscribers, (and eventually Locals subscribers,) will receive discount coupons. www.patreon/com/jarthurloose
