Orycon orations and mask madness.
I have been meaning to post a report from Orycon for the past few days, but have been (as usual) terribly busy.
Orycon (Oregon SciFi/Fantasy Convention) was much fun, although the new location at the waterfront Marriot hotel did lead to some disorder and confusion by con-goers. But once everyone resigned themselves to the fact that the hotel really did NOT have any stairs between hospitality and the main event halls and a 20 minute elevator wait was inevitable, things pretty much settled down to a manageable routine.
Didn't sell any masks at the art show, but did scoop up a Judges Choice award for my "Fancy Fox" mask, (same one I had at the Bonnie Kahn mask show last month). Did a maskmaking demo (How to make professional quality masks out of cheap store-bought masks), and was a panelist on "The Business of Art", where we mainly rambled on about the importance of business cards, business insurance and good websites.
Got to hang out with a couple of cool horror artists (Alan M. Clark and Paul Grondes) and we discussed Horror Conventions, old German horror films, and donuts. Between them and Edward Martin III, (the director of Flesh of my Flesh, the low-budget zombie-action film that was filmed around Portland over the past year), there was actually a very good representation of the horror genre this year. I hope that's a trend that continues at future Orycons. Likewise for the comic book industry presence this year, which came about by our having Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett as Guests of Honor. Yes, more genre comics and more horror film/art/writing people please!
As far as the con itself went, attendance was down slightly, but not as much as expected with the new dates and new location. The general atmosphere was friendly and fun, I hear the dealers did well, and everyone was impressed at how well the hotel did with a somewhat more unusual group than they are accustomed to. In fact, they are eager to have the con back next year.
Also, I made some very cool new friends, dressed in numerous fun costumes, spent some much needed social time with agrathea, and managed to pull the weekend's expenses in at a record low con-attending total of $50.50:
Parking: $8.50, $10, $5
Art show display panel: $15
Friday night glass of wine: $6 including tip (wine matched my costume better than beer!)
Saturday night glass of wine: Free using my art show participant drink coupon, $1 tip
Grazing at hospitality over the weekend: $4
Cup of tea: $1
Oh, and I forgot to mention that the hotel was simply infested with pirates.
This week I have been trying to throw off the con-plague, (an near-unavoidable condition that occurs when one is forced to ride an elevator in the rather intimate company of 8-12 other con-attendees at a time, several times daily), and to finish 50 masks for a Christmas party.
Now, making 50 economy masks in a couple of weeks is no longer an especially huge challenge for me, (although I really wish I could have taken a few days off after Halloween, the art show, the fashion show mask order, and the con), but there is also a 300 mask order for another Christmas party that has been hanging over my neck for the last month. The clock is ticking, and it seems the client simply cannot commit to anything. This is a rather disturbing situation, as if they decide to do it, I can't say no to that kind of project money, (and the chance to pay off the business credit card before the year's end!), but then I will have to coordinate the completion of 10-15 economy masks a day to get the task completed before the deadline. And I just don't know if that is possible. And I also fear I will now have to cancel or cut-short the visit to Hawaii I have already bought (non refundable) plane tickets for, to accompany R for an upcoming business trip. Damn, damn and blast. Why can't travel (or all clients) be easy?
Orycon (Oregon SciFi/Fantasy Convention) was much fun, although the new location at the waterfront Marriot hotel did lead to some disorder and confusion by con-goers. But once everyone resigned themselves to the fact that the hotel really did NOT have any stairs between hospitality and the main event halls and a 20 minute elevator wait was inevitable, things pretty much settled down to a manageable routine.
Didn't sell any masks at the art show, but did scoop up a Judges Choice award for my "Fancy Fox" mask, (same one I had at the Bonnie Kahn mask show last month). Did a maskmaking demo (How to make professional quality masks out of cheap store-bought masks), and was a panelist on "The Business of Art", where we mainly rambled on about the importance of business cards, business insurance and good websites.
Got to hang out with a couple of cool horror artists (Alan M. Clark and Paul Grondes) and we discussed Horror Conventions, old German horror films, and donuts. Between them and Edward Martin III, (the director of Flesh of my Flesh, the low-budget zombie-action film that was filmed around Portland over the past year), there was actually a very good representation of the horror genre this year. I hope that's a trend that continues at future Orycons. Likewise for the comic book industry presence this year, which came about by our having Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett as Guests of Honor. Yes, more genre comics and more horror film/art/writing people please!
As far as the con itself went, attendance was down slightly, but not as much as expected with the new dates and new location. The general atmosphere was friendly and fun, I hear the dealers did well, and everyone was impressed at how well the hotel did with a somewhat more unusual group than they are accustomed to. In fact, they are eager to have the con back next year.
Also, I made some very cool new friends, dressed in numerous fun costumes, spent some much needed social time with agrathea, and managed to pull the weekend's expenses in at a record low con-attending total of $50.50:
Parking: $8.50, $10, $5
Art show display panel: $15
Friday night glass of wine: $6 including tip (wine matched my costume better than beer!)
Saturday night glass of wine: Free using my art show participant drink coupon, $1 tip
Grazing at hospitality over the weekend: $4
Cup of tea: $1
Oh, and I forgot to mention that the hotel was simply infested with pirates.
This week I have been trying to throw off the con-plague, (an near-unavoidable condition that occurs when one is forced to ride an elevator in the rather intimate company of 8-12 other con-attendees at a time, several times daily), and to finish 50 masks for a Christmas party.
Now, making 50 economy masks in a couple of weeks is no longer an especially huge challenge for me, (although I really wish I could have taken a few days off after Halloween, the art show, the fashion show mask order, and the con), but there is also a 300 mask order for another Christmas party that has been hanging over my neck for the last month. The clock is ticking, and it seems the client simply cannot commit to anything. This is a rather disturbing situation, as if they decide to do it, I can't say no to that kind of project money, (and the chance to pay off the business credit card before the year's end!), but then I will have to coordinate the completion of 10-15 economy masks a day to get the task completed before the deadline. And I just don't know if that is possible. And I also fear I will now have to cancel or cut-short the visit to Hawaii I have already bought (non refundable) plane tickets for, to accompany R for an upcoming business trip. Damn, damn and blast. Why can't travel (or all clients) be easy?