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RTBTCKI (The Post DragonCon 2007 edition)
Sep. 5th, 2007 10:45 amThe "I ran a marathon" feeling isn't going away so we are calling this one the Marathon DragonCon. We survived the trip home with some help from the Garmin and traffic reports that got us around some nasty traffic on the way home. The best had to be avoiding the massive pile-up in DC by the Garmin taking us over surface streets until we were above whatever was causing the problem. It was a 15 hour drive but we made it. Caroline was a trooper as was Ariel. Caroline played with her toys, watched some videos and took a long nap. Ariel finish up two books along the way too.
In no particular Order since my ears are still full of road noise....
The Art Show
Many kudos and applause for John and Anne Parise who are the directors of the Art Show. Getting that monster together is no mean feat and it worked really well for me. I had fun participating with the "treasure chest" challenge (mine had the plastic skeleton on top with the two plastic skeletons on either side of the opening of the chest). I plan to apply again next year for the show as soon as we are allowed. The way they set up the paperwork made it one of the easiest things for me to deal with this past weekend.
I sold all the puppets that I made so this was my best DragonCon in terms of total number of sales but I put stuff at lower minimum bids so over all I made a little less money. I did get compliments on the dolls from lots of people. I may work on them a little more and then put them up for sale here. One person bought all the Boy Wizard puppets but I did get pictures before they sold. I met a lot of nice people who were running booths in artist alley and even ran into some old friends I hadn't seen in close to 10 years.
My panel went well and was SRO which is a good sign for a panel. I had some repeat business along with a lot of new folks. I think if I do it next year I am going to retool it a bit and change the focus slightly. I think I was informative for the group.
My goals for next year are not to be finishing the art pieces at the convention and to come up with some new puppets for the show. I'm thinking rod puppets.
Young Adult Track
Bev and Company yet again did a beautiful job with the track. I probably had more panels on that track than the others but Young Adult lit is a passion of mine so I really enjoy my time there. I also enjoy the people I am on panels with and the audiences too. I had fun talking about all kinds of subjects. The Yule Ball was a blast and a half. I will be back if they want me.
Matters of the Force
I always enjoy this track too. Cathy runs a tight ship and the shuttle craft do run on time. I unfortunately had to bow out on one panel because Peter was MCing the Banquet and it was important that I was there. It turned out more important than I thought since they gave Peter the Julie Award. I was there Monday morning and participated in the Children's hour helping the kids make simple Star Wars puppets. Cathy had all the materials I needed to make both finger puppets and paper bag puppets. So I had the kids make their own personal droid as the finger puppet and we made Chewie paper bag puppets. I think they had fun and I plan to do that again next year.
The Rest of the Convention
I didn't make it to any of the costuming track at all due to having so much to do elsewhere. I have been asked if I would be willing to do a puppet/costuming panel for next year and said if they schedule it, I will do it. I saw the Masquerade on the repeat on DragonCon TV (I love my DragonCon TV) due to the Yule Ball. Yes, I did see the Wallace and Gromit sketch and thought it was adorable.
Having the convention in three hotels worked but you had to plan ahead. I am hoping that when the Marriott is done renovating (next year is the rumor) that we can consolidate this thing just a bit. I know it is still expanding over all, which is a good sign for a convention. The fire marshal was apparently called by someone about the crowds. Both the hotels and the convention staff had to adhere to the rules laid down by law which was a pain for the convention goers but believe me the guests got caught in this too and we almost missed stuff we were told to be at because of it.
It was nice catching up with people and meeting new people. I got to spend time talking to Janny Wurts and Don Maitz which was neat. I caught up with Bill Stout who won Iron Artist again along with other artists and guests I have known for years. I didn't go as many parties or stay out as late as I had in the past. I was rather tired each evening after a long day. I did make it up to the guest suite twice and to my brother Sean's party and the Yule Ball but that was about it for the evenings. I must be getting older. *grin*
So big thumbs up and we told Pat Henry on the way out that we would be willing to participate next year.
I am grateful for all the experiences I had at DragonCon this year.
In no particular Order since my ears are still full of road noise....
The Art Show
Many kudos and applause for John and Anne Parise who are the directors of the Art Show. Getting that monster together is no mean feat and it worked really well for me. I had fun participating with the "treasure chest" challenge (mine had the plastic skeleton on top with the two plastic skeletons on either side of the opening of the chest). I plan to apply again next year for the show as soon as we are allowed. The way they set up the paperwork made it one of the easiest things for me to deal with this past weekend.
I sold all the puppets that I made so this was my best DragonCon in terms of total number of sales but I put stuff at lower minimum bids so over all I made a little less money. I did get compliments on the dolls from lots of people. I may work on them a little more and then put them up for sale here. One person bought all the Boy Wizard puppets but I did get pictures before they sold. I met a lot of nice people who were running booths in artist alley and even ran into some old friends I hadn't seen in close to 10 years.
My panel went well and was SRO which is a good sign for a panel. I had some repeat business along with a lot of new folks. I think if I do it next year I am going to retool it a bit and change the focus slightly. I think I was informative for the group.
My goals for next year are not to be finishing the art pieces at the convention and to come up with some new puppets for the show. I'm thinking rod puppets.
Young Adult Track
Bev and Company yet again did a beautiful job with the track. I probably had more panels on that track than the others but Young Adult lit is a passion of mine so I really enjoy my time there. I also enjoy the people I am on panels with and the audiences too. I had fun talking about all kinds of subjects. The Yule Ball was a blast and a half. I will be back if they want me.
Matters of the Force
I always enjoy this track too. Cathy runs a tight ship and the shuttle craft do run on time. I unfortunately had to bow out on one panel because Peter was MCing the Banquet and it was important that I was there. It turned out more important than I thought since they gave Peter the Julie Award. I was there Monday morning and participated in the Children's hour helping the kids make simple Star Wars puppets. Cathy had all the materials I needed to make both finger puppets and paper bag puppets. So I had the kids make their own personal droid as the finger puppet and we made Chewie paper bag puppets. I think they had fun and I plan to do that again next year.
The Rest of the Convention
I didn't make it to any of the costuming track at all due to having so much to do elsewhere. I have been asked if I would be willing to do a puppet/costuming panel for next year and said if they schedule it, I will do it. I saw the Masquerade on the repeat on DragonCon TV (I love my DragonCon TV) due to the Yule Ball. Yes, I did see the Wallace and Gromit sketch and thought it was adorable.
Having the convention in three hotels worked but you had to plan ahead. I am hoping that when the Marriott is done renovating (next year is the rumor) that we can consolidate this thing just a bit. I know it is still expanding over all, which is a good sign for a convention. The fire marshal was apparently called by someone about the crowds. Both the hotels and the convention staff had to adhere to the rules laid down by law which was a pain for the convention goers but believe me the guests got caught in this too and we almost missed stuff we were told to be at because of it.
It was nice catching up with people and meeting new people. I got to spend time talking to Janny Wurts and Don Maitz which was neat. I caught up with Bill Stout who won Iron Artist again along with other artists and guests I have known for years. I didn't go as many parties or stay out as late as I had in the past. I was rather tired each evening after a long day. I did make it up to the guest suite twice and to my brother Sean's party and the Yule Ball but that was about it for the evenings. I must be getting older. *grin*
So big thumbs up and we told Pat Henry on the way out that we would be willing to participate next year.
I am grateful for all the experiences I had at DragonCon this year.
