Encyclopedia Jackalopica
Witty Jackalope's Legacy
Tues, 22 May, 2007
Lee Thompson-Herbert
The folks on Keep to the Code have dubbed me "Witty Jackalope," a play on Witty Jack, and the Jackalope-of-all-Trades. They also claim that I keep the Encyclopedia Jackalopica stored in my head. Too bad there's no index for it. I'm well-known as a master crafter who's quite willing to share her knowledge, something quite rare these days. Most crafters are quite mercenary, either keeping their tricks to themselves as "trade secrets," or only teaching classes for a fee, or in books (that are usually over-priced). That I give my knowledge away freely makes me unusual.
I teach because I like to teach, but I also teach because I think that anyone who actually wants to learn skills that are increasingly considered outdated and useless in today's digital society should get the chance to learn. In fact, they should get all the encouragement possible. If someone actually wants to learn about prop construction, jewelry making, costume design and construction, or doll making, hell yes, I will help them out. The number of people out there with those skills is rapidly dwindling, and anyone who honestly wants to learn these things should be treated like a treasure, not an annoyance or a mark to be fleeced. I share my experience with a free and open hand. It may be the only legacy I leave behind me at the rate things are going.
I have no children, and am unlikely to ever have any. I'm already 39 years old, and the lupus has made it impossible for me to carry anything to term. Even if I managed to carry without miscarrying, it's likely that complications from the lupus would kill both the child and me. And then there's the matter of passing on my defective genes. I would never knowingly pass this condition on to a child of mine. My parents can be excused, because they simply did not know, but I do. I wouldn't wish this on an enemy, much less a child I loved.
I have written no books, and none of my artwork has caught the critics' eye. While the Rats have picked up several of my dances, only one has escaped into the wider morris community. It will be some years before we'll be able to tell if it survives the folk process and actually becomes adopted into the wider repetoire. None of my music has been recorded, other than recordings of rehearsals and as the musician for the White Rats when they've been filmed or video taped. Only one of the songs I've written has shown any signs of being adopted in the folk community, and again, it will take years to tell if it'll survive to become part of the regular repetoire. The Chibi Jack dolls and the other dolls I've made over the years all elicit wonder and amazement in people, but I've never had a studio show or sold many. If I sell the two dolls I used as the examples for the Chibi Jack web pages, I'll have more than doubled the number of works that have been sold outside of my family. The jewelry I've made has mostly gone to family members as well.
If I was planning on being remembered through my works, I'm a failure. My one hope is that I'll have touched enough people over the years as a teacher or just as a fount of useful information that someone other than George will miss me when I slip away.
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