[027] Making Games Every Day for a Month, Day 15 of 31: Jugglebraids

"Creativity is for the gifted few: the rest of us are compelled to live in environments constructed by the gifted few, listen to the gifted few's music, use the gifted few's inventions and art, and read the poems, fantasies, and plays by the gifted few. This is what our education and culture conditions us to believe, and this is a culturally induced and perpetuated lie." - Simon Nicholson, The Theory of Loose Parts

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Today's game is more of an activity than a true game.

I've been calling this technique jugglebraiding, and I found out about this activity during my journey to recreate the medieval Hood of Skjoldehamn . Since then, I've made dozens of jugglebraids during many different craft classes.

Jugglebraiding creates a strong and beautiful cord that is handy for all kinds of things - including drawstrings for bags, as you can see!

You can sing songs while you jugglebraid, or turn it into a more competitive game by racing to see what pair of braiders can make the fastest and neatest rope. Every pair of kids that I've introduced to jugglebraiding has been fully engaged in the fun of the craft.

I'm not entirely pleased with my jugglebraid setup so far, and I suspect that there is an easier way to braid. I was inspired by the spinning-stick that my colleague Mathilde Lind and I made together (pictured above). It holds a big bundle of yarn without complaint and can wind or unwind cordage easily.

This will be the top stick, which hangs from a handy rafter to anchor the four jugglebraid cords.

I'm wanting to make each of the four handles out of a heavy bottom and a forked top, as you can see. The bottoms, I hope, will add weight, while the forked tops will hold yarn in the same way that the spinning-stick does.

I haven't found a historical example of these jugglebraid setups anywhere. I'm just bumbling through, denial and error style.

I gotta believe that there were songs or dances associated with making these braids. Ropemaking is historically a multi-person activity all over the world. When folks get together and do rhythmic crafts together, they can't help but make it fun .

This Birch I'm using is quite fresh. This means, unfortunately, that I won't be able to entirely finish this project today. I'll have to let the pieces sit and dry for a while, at least overnight, if not longer.

These are definitely objects that need some color, and paint can only be applied to dry wood. Otherwise it gets gross and weird.

As a bonus for today, the Oware/Mancala board from 11 days ago is finally dry and ready for oil!

Yowee!! Look at that Birch shine!

See you tomorrow for more!

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"Sat against a tree, Eve sat against me, thinkin' 'bout what it is to be." - Freek Wallagh, Release from Eden (published in Fenris Wolf vol. 12)