FITP XXII Speakers Biographies
Rooms and times are still subject to repeated changes
Catherine Ollerhead DeSantis has been associated with various 19th century living history groups for the past 12 years as a cannoneer and side saddle equestrian. Currently she is writing a Master's thesis in Rural History at the University of Guelph. She is working on a companion book documenting 19th century housework and women's social networking. She also sits on the Board of Directors for the Dufferin County Museum and Archives
Sessions:
Polite Society I wrote some
Darrell Markewitz is a professional
artisan blacksmith with over 30 years experience, who specializes in objects from the Viking Age. He designed, created and implemented both the 'Norse Encampment' interpretive program for Parks Canada and the 'World of the Norse' exhibit for the Cranbrook Institute of Science. He consulted on the Smithsonian's 'Vikings - North Atlantic Saga', and the Newfoundland Museum's 'Full Circle - First Contact' exhibits, as well as assisting a number of the institutions hosting both exhibits. His interest in iron smelting goes back to 2001. To date he has participated in over 45 experimental firings, in Canada, the USA and in Denmark. He has documented this work in formal academic papers, a CD-ROM, and extensively on the internet.
Sessions:
Experimental Vikings: Glass and Iron Presenting the Past - developing Living History programming
David Stamper is a stay at home dad with interests in medieval and Renaissance warfare, arms and armour. He is actively involved in historical recreation through the
Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) and is the Chief Researcher for
Blackthorn Productions, a company that puts on demos of Crusade era combat and culture for Grade 4 classes across Ontario. He is also an avid player of tabletop miniatures wargames as well as a practitioner of Medieval and Renaissance Western Martial Arts (WMA). Someday he will figure out he has too many hobbies.
Sessions:
To Singe the King of Spain's Beard Part 1: Events Leading up to the Armada Fight of 1588 To Singe the King of Spain's Beard Part 2: Naval Warfare and Technology during the Age of Elizabeth I
Heather Dale is a professional recording artist who tours full-time across North America and Europe. Her music is inspired by history, fantasy and folklore -- visit
www.HeatherDale.com for mp3 downloads, free podcasts, and a photo blog of her various adventures. Heather has been a medieval re-enactor for nearly 20 years (SCA: Marian of Heatherdale), and her interests include bardic performance, heraldry, and the King Arthur legends.
Sessions:
Development of the King Arthur Legends Vocal Technique for Speakers/Singers Silk-Painting a Medieval Banner
Jean Ross is a RN currently away from her work. She was a graphic artist in a previous career. She is interested in many things Medieval especially those of the Norse. She does so many things within the SCA that it is hard to pin down, but lately she is most interested in Beads and Spinning. But mostly beads. She is known in the SCA as THL Aislinne of Alainmor and has played since 1977. She lives with her very tolerant husband, Martin and their very beautiful Lab-mixed dog named Bella.
Sessions:
Introduction to Glass Bead Making Beads - Open Torch Time Large Menu Planning
Jerry Penner is The Chain Mail Guy; he has been selling finished chain mail, knitting rings, and offering chain mail workshops since 1996. He published Chain Mail Basics in 1996 when he realized there was no formal lanuguage to describe knitting patterns to other people, similar to crochet or yarn knitting. His work can be found at various fairs in Southwestern Ontario including the Fergus Highland Games and the Royal Medieval Faire in Waterloo, and on his website at
www.chainmailguy.com.
Sessions:
Chainmail - Beyond the Basics Chainmail for Beginners
Karen Peterson works in Resource Sharing at the University of Waterloo library where she enjoys the opportunities the job provides to further her own research efforts and those of others. Over the last decade Karen has demonstrated or lectured on various parts of the Viking Era textile process at multiple museums in North America. Karen's primary interests lie in spinning, weaving, dyeing, and naalbinding. Karen is a member of the Dark Ages Recreation Company, and travelled to L'Anse aux Meadows in 2010 to demonstrate many parts of the Viking Era textile process.
Session:
Digging in the dirt - attending an archaeological fieldschool
Martin Ross is studying in the IT field. He has participated in the SCA as Lord William MacDonald of Balnagown for over 20 years were he enjoys woodworking. He is the tolerant husband of Jean Ross and has a beautiful lab mix dog named Bella.
Session:
Large Menu Planning
Neil Peterson is a technical director at BlueCoat Systems and a student of Archaeology at
Wilfrid Laurier University. In his spare time he works with museums, libraries, schools, and various groups to promote an appreciation of Viking Era Scandinavia, and the application of project management to museums and historical projects such as this conference. His primary research interest over the last 20 years has been applications of experimental archaeology to the anthropological and technological processes of the Viking Era, specifically including iron smelting and bead making. He is a charter member of the local PMI chapter, a member of the Ontario Museum Association, and a member of multiple re-enactment groups including the
Dark Ages Recreation Company.
Sessions:
Experimental Vikings: Glass and Iron Digging in the dirt - attending an archaeological fieldschool
Samantha James is currently finishing up her undergraduate degree at Wilfrid Laurier University, majoring in Classical and Medieval Studies with a minor in Archaeology. She had been interested in the medieval period since she was a child and continues to be fascinated. Samantha took up knitting as a way to procrastinate and found it soothing as well as hugely creative!
Session:
Working Up the Past - A History of Knitting
Steven Strang has an MA in Cultural Anthropology. He has been researching Old Norse culture for over 30 years. His carvings in bone and antler have been acquired by private collections in Canada and the USA, and also by Parks Canada and The Smithsonian.
Session:
Bone and Antler Carving
Student Placeholder is a placeholder for the student papers we will be setting up.
Sessions:
Student Papers - Session 1 Student Papers - Session 2 Student Papers - Session 3 Student Papers - Session 4 Student Papers - Session 5 Student Papers - Session 6 Student Papers - Session 7Contact us if you have any questions or suggestions
