A children's class on felted soap making. Come learn how to turn wool and soap into a pretty and usable item. Children will use warm water and just their hands to turn a wool wrapped bar of soap into a felted scrubbier bar of soap. There is no limit to the class and children and thier parents for those under age 7. A donation of $2 for the cost of wool and soap is suggested but not required. Children are also welcome to bring their own bar or soap if they have a nice fancy one they would like to use. This class is not recommended for those sensitive to wool of with wool allergies.
Napoleon once said, "An army marches on its stomach". However it is likely that he read the phrase in Ars Militaris by the Roman writer Vegetius, who most likely learned it from the Greeks. Since the beginning of warfare, the issue of how to feed a large standing army has been one of the largest logistics problems to be faced, and the Roman army was no exception. Learn what kinds of foods a Roman soldier marched with, and about the 6000+ calories he ate in a normal day. Samples of food will be provided.
The Ancient Romans started using cosmetics for the ritual purposes, but as time went on, they became part of women's everyday lives. Come visit with Domina Arria Marina in the Roman Legion encampment, and learn some of the ways in which the Roman ladies maintained their youthful and chaste appearances, even while using toxic chemicals.
Have you ever wondered why there is a line of white tesserae (mosaic tiles) around the outside of figures in a Roman mosaics? There is a very specific reason for this and it's just one part of what you will learn in this class. There are eight "Rules" -- guidelines how to set the tesserae -- that were used by the ancient craftsmen. If you don't know them then you won't see them, but they are essential to be able to refer to a mosaic as "Roman". There are no Rules in modern mosaics work, and it's only by intensive study of the remains from the Roman Empire that Classical Mosaicists have been able to discern them. This class will introduce you to the eight Rules so that you can recognize them yourself. Note: this is a discussion class, not hands on crafting.