Sunday, September 18, 2011

Back from Foolscap--Best Con Weekend EVER!

Tiny convention was tiny, and also awesome.  I think there were maybe 120 people there, but the smallness of it was one of the major contributing factors to the awesomeness.  There were generally 3 rooms of programming running at any given time, and only the largest room had the table-in-front setup.  The other 2 rooms had big conference tables, so the panels in there were less like panels and more like discussion groups.  Also, some of the panels were 90 min. instead of 60, which gave us the chance to further explore complex topics.  The size of the con also kept it from becoming impersonal and scary.  There weren't really enough people to break off into separate cliques.  The attendees were also almost all (mostly local) writers/editors/publishers/artists.  I don't think I met one single "just a fan" the whole weekend.   I met a bunch of people and made a bunch of connections and had a great time.  Pretty much everyone at this con walked through the art show at least once, so when I said "I did the enamels in the art show" they knew what I was talking about (this doesn't happen so much at larger conventions).  It's entertaining to think that there are actually people now who know who I am and what I do. :-)
People of note:
I met illustrator Egypt Urnash on Friday night as she was showing off the Tarot deck she just finished designing (Tarot of the Silicon Dawn).  It's a fantastically unique deck full of evocative sci-fi and post-human images.  If you are at all technically or sci-fi oriented, check out this deck.
I met author Nathan Crowder on Saturday in the Real-World Achievement Systems panel.  Afterward, he allowed me to be a bad influence and tempt him off to the hotel bar, where we ran into Folly Blaine, another writer.  We ended up talking about writing and Seattle neighborhoods and creative process until we were all half an hour late to our next panels.  Folly and I ended up going to "Love and/or Money" (about trying to make a living in art/writing), and ended up having an extended conversation about art and writing with Lee Moyer, a fantastic illustrator from Portland.

I also sold a necklace, a pendant, and one of the firebird prints, and when I went to do a final check on sales right before brunch, I found a blue ribbon tacked to my panel for first place in 3D work!

All in all, this is one of the best convention weekends I've *ever* had, and I'm definitely going back next year.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Off to Foolscap for the weekend!

I'll be in lovely Remond, WA all weekend.  There will be pieces in the art show, too.  I'll still be connected to email for questions/comments/etc., but no shipping of anything until next Tuesday.