You may be wondering why I call my site "Undercroft Crafts".
Prepare yourself for a story.
I love and appreciate history. We can learn so much from our past if we take the time to be aware.
Just the other night I watched a PBS show about Germany between the two World Wars. It showed me how easy it was to overlook what we now see as the beginning of the later evil. The limitations placed on the German people by the Treaty of Versailles after the first World War made them feel downtrodden and without spirit. When Adolf Hitler came into power, he said and did things that gave them a sense of national identity that, it was felt, was taken away by the Treaty. It's a lesson we need to take to heart so that it doesn't happen again.
The "Yellowstone" spinoff "1883" captured my heart and my empathy. Yes, I know a fiction show doesn't necessarily depict actual history, but… The writers and actors did a wonderful job making me understand the hardiness - and the foolish hardiness - of those early settlers. Would I have made a successful trip? What did my ancestors experience when they arrived from the old country 10 years later? The pain and suffering of those early pioneers taught lessons for those who followed. Without so many sacrifices, my world may be totally different.
Last fall I checked places off my travel bucket list. One was a visit to Hearst Castle in California. Mr. Hearst loved history too. He collected items from Europe that many thought he was crazy to collect. But he saw art in a variety of forms, not just in paintings and statues, but in ceilings and doorframes and carved woodwork. His home incorporated those art elements and brought the craftsmanship of the old world to the western coast of the United States. Even more amazing was the talent found in his workers. They studied centuries-old pieces and replicated the artistry so well one cannot distinguish the new from the old. My hope is that we never lose the techniques and the willingness to do that painstaking labor. May there always be someone practicing the 'lost arts'.
Certainly, there are eras I know little about and that's fine. And the title of historian does not apply - I'm not that dedicated. But that doesn't negate my appreciation and interest.
The era that grabs most of my interest is Western Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. This probably explains why I'm a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). But that's a story for another time.
I've been lucky to have friends join me on three vacations to England and Scotland. I planned each trip to include some of everyone's interests, but I will admit I went heavy on pre-1600 locations.
There are many places and experiences that stand out in my mind from those journeys. One favorite is being guided by John who practically grew up at York Minster. He showed us all around the cathedral and he told us the stories of beams of sunlight and the
size of the stained-glass windows. He was an amazing character, and I will always remember that my height from head to toe is the same distance as the sill of that great window.
I think of stained-glass when I look at the necklace called Hope of the Sea. It reminds me of my journeys in England where stained-glass was magnificent and abundant and where stone carvers created quatrefoil windows. It is a little piece of my history.
But, you say, you haven't explained the name of your site!
I had to tell you that to tell you this…
My love of history and the buildings of the Middle Ages has taught me that the lower level of a building, usually used for storage, was called the undercroft. In fact, the photo used for the banner at the top of the page is of an undercroft I visited in England.
In today's world, we call it a basement. And, you see, my craft and sewing room is in my basement so therefore it's my undercroft.
And that's my explanation why you are reading this on a site entitled Undercroft Crafts.