Rustycon 31: A festival of Dragons
Rustycon was fantastic! We checked in early Friday to find the schedule was different than the one we'd been sent.
Overall there was a lot less moping than I expected, with Bobbie gone. Loads of happy children crowding the halls during the day, music and revelry at night, and a very old school feel due to more people than usual dressing up and only a couple of parties. It reminded me of my early experiences at Moscon.
The Dealers' room was packed, as usual, I missed Susan Harmon's booth, she always has all the neat rocks. Mike & Roberta Miller had more gorgeous blades and leather work out on display, and they booths had a great selection of clothing, and of course games, jewelry and books. The art show had a lot of new work in it.
The rotating crowd of scientists at Bozlee's table in the bar stayed interesting when politics was avoided. I got some precious time in with Dan, Art and Janet, and some new faces.
The James Alexander Adams concert was great fun. After that Mike, Krystal, Shar & I drank, danced at the Biohazard party, and I overdid it a bit, ending the evening in Bob & Sandie's room with high octane Rum and coconut milk. I poured myself into bed about 4:30AM.
Saturday night I took it a little easier. We loitered in the bar with Geoffrey, tried to hook him up with Micha, they were both a little daunted. Hit the burlesque show for some hooting and ogling, then moved on to Dragondyne's party to chat with old friends. Once that wrapped up, the party ended up in our room until about 4AM with beloved friends. I was a bit more sober.
The Photoshop panel was at 4 on Friday. Myself, Amber Clark, and Rob Carlos. I was grateful for the lending of Dan Dubric's projector, and the turnout was better than I'd thought it would be considering the time. We had about a dozen folks show up. It was free form, each of us demonstrated some tricks, all of us had different ways of doing things, and we all learned from each other.
Saturday I revived myself in time to dodge costumed masses of all ages to moderate an anatomy panel basically explaining what a real life dragon would look like. This went fairly well, though I think I earned John Alexander's ire when I put a hold on his pterosaur ramble, which really does need its own panel. Dude had two more panels with me as moderator and he was a bit grumpy.
Rob Carlos was great, it was a real treat to work with him and Michael Suiter. The "How to draw your dragon" panel was funny. John Alexander and Rob Carlos basically said "Well, you do it like this" and they drew something. John's critters were exploratory, and and cartoonish-he had even invented a dragon one with 4 wings and a seahorse body. While Rob described each bit of anatomy and did a gorgeous Western dragon. Michael came to the rescue with a series of circles and curves to give the n00bs something to go off of. I talked about photo reference and balance, then sat in the back and sketched while the others did their demos.
Next was the panel I'd been worried about moderating: Truth or Bullshit. Bozlee, Mike, John Alexander, and Ari. I was anticipating a bloodbath. Consensus on most of it was "We're not sure." John had claimed it as his panel and went on about the rash of fake documentaries that has polluted television lately. I brought in some facts about Fukushima, and at one point I had to stop myself from bludgeoning Bozlee with his own cane about fracking, and his denial that chemicals used are harmful, and how did we know which ones they even used... We had a couple people in the audience on their mobile devices fact checking, thank goodness. Ari inserted lots of legal aspects and advice, and Mike was on it with his indisputable one-liners. The audience was much more interactive on this one. I did the best I could to make sure everyone got a chance to talk.
I then found myself on a panel about breaking into commercial markets with Geoffrey Quick, GoH Ryan Bliss and Alexandra Haley. Three artists and a writer. Bliss lucked out as being an early digital media adopter and his timing was great, he just kept cranking out amazing work. Geoffrey and Alexandra touted the virtues of being picky about your clients and hard lessons about target markets, Alexandra did gorgeous fairy work, Geoffrey is a writer and does leather work on the side, his company was very much welcomed we had several panels together. I told a few stories and encouraged people to get the word out, because that's what grows your business. I think it went pretty well, especially considering I had NO idea I was on that panel until the day before.
Mike, Krystal, Shar and I actually WENT to a panel that evolved into a round table discussion about polyamoury. Ari had some interesting insight on labels and ownership. and we all kvetched about family and how we dealt with discussing our non-standard relationships at reunions and such. No one got disowned over it, and most had a pretty good idea of who should and shouldn't know about their relationships, though I suspect a lot of extended family members DID know and weren't bothered or just couldn't bring themselves to address it.
My worst fears were never realized: That was being the only panelist to show up and having to entertain an audience by myself for an hour. Though "Coming out in Comics" had me and Geoffrey sitting in an empty room wondering why two straight people were even assigned, and somewhat relieved at the lack of attendance. After 15 minutes we moved the panel to the bar...and changed the subject. A lot.
Sunday I showered and bolted down to hospitality, grabbed a red bull and tried to look alert and enthusiastic for Activism through Science Fiction with Justice, Mike, and Richard Gilmore. Anecdotes were shared, possibilities were discussed, and we talked about the Free Maribel site (activism) and how to get your voice heard. Timing is everything.
Stress management for creative people I'd actually done the most research on, much of which has very much helped ME out. The panel was chock full. I'll save my info for my next LJ post. We had seven panelists, including GoH Todd McCaffrey. He had good advice, as did Michael Suiter. Everyone was a bit taken aback when Mike & I talked about our lifestyle and kayaking. Heh.
Lastly, the Fandom panel. Mickey educated us all about misogyny and the history of asshattery and stories behind incidents at various conventions. Michael Monture had some good insight, too. We talked about solutions and what NOT to do, then moved on to the best way forward for the conventions and a changing cultural awareness. The guys were all really supportive of feminism and the struggle most female fen have at some point or another. Being a rare example of someone who is not intimidated by harassment, and worse, oblivious to a lot of it -to the point where I had to asked a lady why they felt the need to guard their drink at a bar- I felt pretty guilty for perpetuating some of it, of for no other reason than not calling out the guys who were being dicks in the past. I'm not always on top of things.
We headed home after closing ceremonies, stopped at Taco Time for tater tots and witnessed the employees all excited about the playoff game on the radio that got the Hawks to the superbowl.
Overall there was a lot less moping than I expected, with Bobbie gone. Loads of happy children crowding the halls during the day, music and revelry at night, and a very old school feel due to more people than usual dressing up and only a couple of parties. It reminded me of my early experiences at Moscon.
The Dealers' room was packed, as usual, I missed Susan Harmon's booth, she always has all the neat rocks. Mike & Roberta Miller had more gorgeous blades and leather work out on display, and they booths had a great selection of clothing, and of course games, jewelry and books. The art show had a lot of new work in it.
The rotating crowd of scientists at Bozlee's table in the bar stayed interesting when politics was avoided. I got some precious time in with Dan, Art and Janet, and some new faces.
The James Alexander Adams concert was great fun. After that Mike, Krystal, Shar & I drank, danced at the Biohazard party, and I overdid it a bit, ending the evening in Bob & Sandie's room with high octane Rum and coconut milk. I poured myself into bed about 4:30AM.
Saturday night I took it a little easier. We loitered in the bar with Geoffrey, tried to hook him up with Micha, they were both a little daunted. Hit the burlesque show for some hooting and ogling, then moved on to Dragondyne's party to chat with old friends. Once that wrapped up, the party ended up in our room until about 4AM with beloved friends. I was a bit more sober.
The Photoshop panel was at 4 on Friday. Myself, Amber Clark, and Rob Carlos. I was grateful for the lending of Dan Dubric's projector, and the turnout was better than I'd thought it would be considering the time. We had about a dozen folks show up. It was free form, each of us demonstrated some tricks, all of us had different ways of doing things, and we all learned from each other.
Saturday I revived myself in time to dodge costumed masses of all ages to moderate an anatomy panel basically explaining what a real life dragon would look like. This went fairly well, though I think I earned John Alexander's ire when I put a hold on his pterosaur ramble, which really does need its own panel. Dude had two more panels with me as moderator and he was a bit grumpy.
Rob Carlos was great, it was a real treat to work with him and Michael Suiter. The "How to draw your dragon" panel was funny. John Alexander and Rob Carlos basically said "Well, you do it like this" and they drew something. John's critters were exploratory, and and cartoonish-he had even invented a dragon one with 4 wings and a seahorse body. While Rob described each bit of anatomy and did a gorgeous Western dragon. Michael came to the rescue with a series of circles and curves to give the n00bs something to go off of. I talked about photo reference and balance, then sat in the back and sketched while the others did their demos.
Next was the panel I'd been worried about moderating: Truth or Bullshit. Bozlee, Mike, John Alexander, and Ari. I was anticipating a bloodbath. Consensus on most of it was "We're not sure." John had claimed it as his panel and went on about the rash of fake documentaries that has polluted television lately. I brought in some facts about Fukushima, and at one point I had to stop myself from bludgeoning Bozlee with his own cane about fracking, and his denial that chemicals used are harmful, and how did we know which ones they even used... We had a couple people in the audience on their mobile devices fact checking, thank goodness. Ari inserted lots of legal aspects and advice, and Mike was on it with his indisputable one-liners. The audience was much more interactive on this one. I did the best I could to make sure everyone got a chance to talk.
I then found myself on a panel about breaking into commercial markets with Geoffrey Quick, GoH Ryan Bliss and Alexandra Haley. Three artists and a writer. Bliss lucked out as being an early digital media adopter and his timing was great, he just kept cranking out amazing work. Geoffrey and Alexandra touted the virtues of being picky about your clients and hard lessons about target markets, Alexandra did gorgeous fairy work, Geoffrey is a writer and does leather work on the side, his company was very much welcomed we had several panels together. I told a few stories and encouraged people to get the word out, because that's what grows your business. I think it went pretty well, especially considering I had NO idea I was on that panel until the day before.
Mike, Krystal, Shar and I actually WENT to a panel that evolved into a round table discussion about polyamoury. Ari had some interesting insight on labels and ownership. and we all kvetched about family and how we dealt with discussing our non-standard relationships at reunions and such. No one got disowned over it, and most had a pretty good idea of who should and shouldn't know about their relationships, though I suspect a lot of extended family members DID know and weren't bothered or just couldn't bring themselves to address it.
My worst fears were never realized: That was being the only panelist to show up and having to entertain an audience by myself for an hour. Though "Coming out in Comics" had me and Geoffrey sitting in an empty room wondering why two straight people were even assigned, and somewhat relieved at the lack of attendance. After 15 minutes we moved the panel to the bar...and changed the subject. A lot.
Sunday I showered and bolted down to hospitality, grabbed a red bull and tried to look alert and enthusiastic for Activism through Science Fiction with Justice, Mike, and Richard Gilmore. Anecdotes were shared, possibilities were discussed, and we talked about the Free Maribel site (activism) and how to get your voice heard. Timing is everything.
Stress management for creative people I'd actually done the most research on, much of which has very much helped ME out. The panel was chock full. I'll save my info for my next LJ post. We had seven panelists, including GoH Todd McCaffrey. He had good advice, as did Michael Suiter. Everyone was a bit taken aback when Mike & I talked about our lifestyle and kayaking. Heh.
Lastly, the Fandom panel. Mickey educated us all about misogyny and the history of asshattery and stories behind incidents at various conventions. Michael Monture had some good insight, too. We talked about solutions and what NOT to do, then moved on to the best way forward for the conventions and a changing cultural awareness. The guys were all really supportive of feminism and the struggle most female fen have at some point or another. Being a rare example of someone who is not intimidated by harassment, and worse, oblivious to a lot of it -to the point where I had to asked a lady why they felt the need to guard their drink at a bar- I felt pretty guilty for perpetuating some of it, of for no other reason than not calling out the guys who were being dicks in the past. I'm not always on top of things.
We headed home after closing ceremonies, stopped at Taco Time for tater tots and witnessed the employees all excited about the playoff game on the radio that got the Hawks to the superbowl.