Dark Ages Re-Creation Company
| Anne is interested in textile production techniques. Her approach is experimental reconstruction, because she finds that research alone can't answer all of her questions. Anne also finds herself particularily intersted in historic sheep breads, and the processing techniques of the "older" types of fiber. Anne is involved in our textile experiments, and museum presentations portraying Gudrun. |  |
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Darrell Markewitz is a professional blacksmith and a consultant to museums for Living History and educational programing. He is a specialist in the Viking Age, and created the 'Viking Encampment' interpretive program for the L'Anse aux Meadows NHS in Newfoundland. Recent projects have included work on both Vikings - North Atlantic Saga and Full Circle - First Contact. He has presented a number of academic papers on topics related to historic interpretation of the Viking Age. Darrell is involved in pretty much everything DARC does but especially the Iron Experiments, Museum presentations (usually portraying Ketill), School presentations, and has written several articles. |  |
| Dave Cox works as a conservation tech, who sometimes teaches at museums. Dave recently co-curated the "Vikings: Master Mariner" show at the Peterborough Centennial Museum and Archives. Dave has been interested in Norse culture for 16 odd years. He likes making things and has applied his hands to making looms, blacksmithing, wood working, and bone and antler carving. Dave is currently involved in our iron experiments, and museum presentations portraying Grimbold |  |
| Diane is involved in our textile explorations, and as Auðr in our museum demonstrations. |  |
| Jo's interests are primarily focussed on the textile arts, in particular weaving and clothing construction: the lack of wastage of fabric in the Viking Era appeals to her frugal nature. She also enjoys sprang, whip cording, naalbiniding, dying, and just about anything to do with string. She participates in our textile experiments and her teaching of weaving includes the warp weighted loom and rigid heddle band weaving. Jo starting working with DARC for the Norstead encampment in 2000, portraying Jorunn. Since then she has been part of museum demonstrations at the Canadian Museum of Civilisation, Upper Canada Village, and L'Anse aux Meadows NHS in Newfoundland. |  |
| Karen Peterson is a library clerk at the University of Waterloo, deeply
bored by her day job except for the opportunities it provides to further her
research efforts. Karen has demonstrated various parts of the Viking Era
textile process at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Haffenrefer Museum
at Brown University in Rhode Island and at the Cranbrook Institute of
Science in Detroit, Michigan. Karen's interests lie primarily in spinning,
weaving, dyeing, and naalbinding.
Karen also gardens, blogs, photographs, crochets, reads voraciously, and loves her puppy - Leif the Licky. Karen quite dislikes Viking Era fiber preparation and would much prefer to send her raw fiber out to a commercial mill to process. Karen is DARC's blog administrator, takes a lot of the photographs on the site, often participates in museum demonstrations as Kaðlín, and has written up some of her textile experiments in our Projects section. |
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| Kary functions as one of DARC's primary organizers, keeping us all on track. She has a new found interest in pottery making, and a long standing interest in textiles of all sorts. Kary lives on a farm where they grow as much of their own food as possible as well as dying materials. Some day she might even try sheep. She first joined DARC for the Norstead re-enactment in Newfoundland, portraying the part of Grimmy's and Gudrun's slave, Kadja. Since then, she has become quite interested in the portrayal of mundane tasks at demonstrations, such as washing clothing, as it usually draws a large crowd, especially of youngsters. |  |
| Kate has been participating in the re-creation of Norse life since she was very young, doing her first demonstration at an age of only
6 weeks. Like her mother, Kate's interests lie primarily in the textile arts, including spinning and weaving,
but she has also participated in the bead and iron experiments, breaking charcoal, pumping bellows,
and making beads.
Kate is a veteran of two demonstrations at the L'Anse aux Meadows NHS in Newfoundland as well as museum demonstrations at Upper Canada Village and the Canadian Museum of Civilisation, portraying Katla. She provides a younger perspective on the group's activities. |  |
| Ken is a nuclear operator at the Pickering Nuclear plant with an interest in medieval history and making things. Ken's 117 year old house has engaged new talents in electrical, carpentry, stone and wood working. His interest in history started as a youngster when his father told him that they were descendants of Anglo-Saxons. He has found that the neighbours to the Anglo-Saxons - the Vikings - has struck a particular cord with him. Ken enjoys blacksmithing, smelting, and making the tools that make other stuff. He is also interested in what limitations the tools of the Era impose on one's work. Ken is involved in our iron experiments. |  |
| Darc's youngest member. When he was very young he traded eggs for prizes like beads and even a bone pin. He is now learning woodworking and bead making from his father and uncle. He also loves to learn new old songs and stories on his father's knee. He portrays Emundr Rigsson. |  |
| Marcus is a geochemist working for the provincial government with 25 years of experience in historical recreation. His current interests include woodworking, in particular tuning on a spring-pole lathe and other woodcrafts, leatherwork, and archery. Like many of the members of DARC, Marcus joined the group for the Norstead re-enactment in 2000, portraying Þorgeir. Marcus continues to be involved in our Iron experiments, and museum presentations. |  |
| Neil Peterson is a
certified software development project manager. His interest in viking era Denmark
and Iceland goes back over 20 years. A student of archaeology at
Wilfrid Laurier University in his spare time,
his publications include statistical reconstructions of rule sets for Hnefatafl,
viking era pastimes, museum presentation styles, and various aspects of experimental
archaeology. He is particularly interested in the experimental work DARC performs at the experiment design and recording level. Neil is involved in pretty much everything DARC does but especially the iron experiments, museum presentations portraying Ragnarr, school presentations bead experiments, and has written several articles. |
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Richard Schweitzer is a teacher with an Honours BA in history, art and
music with a decade of experience in technical theatre. His current research is
focussed on norse music and poetry, metal casting (particularly pewter) and decorative
woodworking. |
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Robert (Gus) is involved in our iron experiments |
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Robert Schweitzer is a high school chemistry teacher and archery coach. His primary focus is in researching glass bead production and in re-creating tablet woven bands. Rob is involved with the museum presentations portraying Hrobjartr. |
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| Sarah works as a technical director in theatre, and is about to become a new mommy. She participates in museum presentations as Æsa. Her interests are primarily textiles and carving, but she's also spent some time helping with the iron experiments and bending hot metal. Sarah notes that her interests also extend beyond the Viking Age in more things Medieval. Sarah joined DARC in 2000 to go out to Norstead and the Viking International Millenium conference. She remembers meeting Darrell for the first time when she was 11 years old and he came to her class to teach something called "When Knighthood was in flower". Sarah's current project to reproduce Viking Age head coverings. |  |
| Sarah is involved in our textile experiments. |  |
| Steve's primary interest is in carving, and occassionally joins us in various workshops, and museum presentations portraying Þorgrimr. |  |
| Vandy Simpson works as a costume designer and props maker for the theatre, coming full circle after a time away in the business world of advertising, where she developed companion interests in computers, spreadsheets and writing. She has been the costumer for the World Heritage Historic site of L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, and well as textile and domestic technologies expert for several museum projects. Vandy enjoys a wide range of historical periods, both through re-enactment groups and museum work. Her passions include food technologies and textiles, with a side of stone carving to satisfy her artistic yearnings. In DARC, she is Bera, occasionally called the All-Mother, for reasons beyond her reckoning. |
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| V. Meghan Roberts has joined us working on the iron experiments and textiles. |  |
