Arisia and a ribbon for Wudaineon

Jan. 14-17, I participated in Arisia "New England's largest and
most diverse Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention" This year
it moved to the Boston Waterfront Westin from the Cambridge
Hyatt providing more space...but also some rather confused
participants trying to navigate the hotel..and some surprised/
startled sedate hotel staff confronted by costumed attendees.
(Not as high a percentage in costume as at Dragoncon. But
quite a few none the less. Attendance is around 5000.)

You never know what you might come across at these cons.
I was intrigued by this sculpted "Cast Iron Theater" piece by
Hilary S. L. Scott set up between the art show and dealer tables
area. See if you can guess what it is actually made of:



For a glimpse into the world of the imaginative soul (a
former professor of political theory) who created it
and MANY other cool things, check out Hilary's website:
www.eclecticsculpture.com He's located in Somerville MA .
I'm definitely going to try to connect with him!

I set up at the art show as I did last year. When I went to
pack up unsold items on Sunday evening, I was surprised to
discover a big blue ribbon next to Wudaineon the gentle
dragon. It was for "Best 3-D" art piece. Wudaineon
seemed very pleased!

This year, I was a panelist for various panels: "Interstitial
Arts: A Discussion"; "Fostering Creativity"; "3-D Art Basic
Materials and Methods (covering electronic and physical
3-D);"Paths for Professional Artists" and I led a "Working
with clay" Crafts for Adults workshop.

One of the fun aspects of being on panels, is learning about
new materials, ideas etc. Well known illustrators and animators
Brianna and Frank Wu were on the 3-D art panel. It was
fascinating to see the programs and technology they work with.
(Of course it convinced me more than ever that I like to use
physical materials. I couldn't imagine sitting at a computer for
the hours necessary to do computer animation!)Brianna and
Frank are working on a video game for an ipad based on her
artwork.

Jen Hunter was assigned to help out for the clay sculpting
workshop and via emails before the show, convinced me that
folks might want to create something they could keep. That
led me to investigate paperclay. I knew that fantasy artist
Forest Rogers (www.forestrogers.com) sculpts with paperclay.
and wanted to see what it was like to work with. I bought two
varieties from the site: www.paperclay.com I purchased
some of their "creative paperclay" and the slightly harder
"diamond" version. Participants seemed to like the feel
and manageability of the paper clay and the detail it could
handle. It air dries to a hard surface which can be easily
painted. You can add to a piece already dry by putting on
a bit of moisture and adding more paperclay. I still cling to
my preference for natural clay...but always good to learn
about new materials. Might try some out with the after
school kids I work with. Here are two sweet items made
by participants in the workshop:


It's fun to experiment outside your field. The mini boot
(1.5"x 2.5") is by writer Delia Sherman (deliasherman.livejournal.com )
and the head by writer Sarah Smith (Sarahsmith.com )
At Arisia, I picked up Sarah's new book The Other Side of Dark,
a historical mystery involving the old Pinebank mansion in
Jamaica Plain, MA. I had the treat of reading the manuscript
before publication so was especially pleased to see it in its final
book form. I definitely recommend it as an intriguing read!

The Arisia staff ended up providing self-hardening clay as
well so some participants sculpted with that. Bears seemed
a theme for one table. The woman's shirt seems to help
explain their choice!



For those who just wanted to strickly "play" I also
provided some of my low fire white clay...

Glass artist, Josh Simpson was the Artist Guest of Honor
this year at Arisia. I've exhibited at shows with Josh for many
years and know that besides being an amazing artist, he's
a great story teller and photographer so I made sure to
take some friends to his lecture on Saturday night. He talked
about his Infinity project. For 25 years he's been placing
or getting friends and others to hide small glass planets
around the globe hoping to mystify future archeologists!
(Check out his website for a full story of the project:
joshsimpson.com ) He ended his lecture with photos sent
that day by his wife, astronaut Katie Coleman, from the
International Space Station where she is on a long duration
mission. We marveled at how technology keeps families
together even out of our atmosphere...and saw how gummy
bears are eaten in space!

On Sunday the Interstitial Arts Foundation Executive
Board met at our house...more about that in my next post.

Journey on! Wendy

Dragon's new lair..

As promised, here are more images of the large commissioned
leather dragon and rider I just delivered and installed in a
condo in Baltimore.

First, of course, we had to get it out of the convention center
in Baltimore. This is the photo that Bob Barrett took of me and
his assistant negotiating the dragon down the escalator. Actually
these were taken after the photo shoot in his temporary
photography studio before the show opened.





As I mentioned in the last post, the dragon attracted considerable
attention at the American Craft Council Baltimore show. It is not
often you get to step over a dragon's tail in a booth. People were
very careful. Finally it was time to get the dragon "home". My
husband joined me at the end of the show to help with delivery
and documentation so we have numerous installation photos.
Here are a few, first as you enter the room, then a full view.





And finally a view of the dragon from the loft office area at
the top of the spiral staircase. I had arranged 5 wire loops at
14 inch intervals (the space between the balustrades of the
staircase). For the initial installation we used plastic
electronic ties through the loops and extra green cord to hold
it in place until the customer could replace the cord with better
wire through the loops and up around the base of the railing.
We were pleased how easily and comfortably it attached. The
rider's location turned out perfectly.



The customers and we agreed that the size of the dragon and our
collective vision of the project worked beautifully for this
specific location.

After attaching the dragon to the staircase, the customers shared
photos they had taken in Vietnam, Thailand and China when they
acquired the textiles they had given me to use. It was a real
treat to see the textiles being passed from the individuals who
had woven the pieces to my customers hands...and then see them
on the dragon's belly and rider.They also shared a dictionary of
the dongba pictographic script used by priests of the Naxi people
in Southern China - the only remaining pictographic script used
today, which they had picked up in their travels. Here is a
photo of the cover, and a page with the glyph for dragon!




We left, happy that the dragon was flying in such a beautiful
art-filled home where adventure and learning are so prized.
Speaking of inspiration - my next post will be talking about
some of the amazing artists who were at the ACC Baltimore show.
It is both humbling and energizing to be surrounded by so much
creativity. Until then...journey on! Wendy

10 foot leather dragon goes to ACC Baltimore

And so the journey of the Dragon and I began. In the end it
measured10'5" from snout to tip of the tail. As you can see
from these photos,it was a good thing it wasn't any bigger.
It just fit in our van. Its head rested between the two front
seats, nice company as I drove to Baltimore with a stop in New
Jersey for a visit with friends. Altho I did see a few strange
looks,when people glanced inside the van!


Fortunately, storms were past, so the dragon and I made it safely
to Baltimore for the American Craft Council Show. I had the
photographer, Bob Barrett, take some photos. Bob also took a
photo of me carrying the dragon down the escalator! Have to get
him to email that to me. I'll share it when he does. These are
Bob's photos of "Zeleckaa and Agupo" - Dragon and rider (new
owners get to choose which name goes with which..I try to be
non biased on that front!)



Getting a full shot of a piece over 10 feet long is a real trick,
especially in an impromptu studio setting. It took quite a bit
of time and playing with background paper. For jury slides, I'll
probably use the 3/4 shot, but enjoy having the full one as well
for my records.



Figuring out how to display a 10 foot + dragon in a 10x10 corner
booth was a challenge. Here is what I finally settled on - booth
photo by photographer, Paul Jeremias. I let the neck extend a bit
over my boundary. The dragon made quite a stir at the show. Kids
and adults alike were intrigued and spread the word to look for it!



But,of course,the folks I really wanted to see it were the
customers who commissioned it. They came on Friday morn to
see it for the first time. I appreciated their coming early.
It would have been nerve wracking to wait all day! Although
at first a bit startled by its size and wondering about the
installation,they fell in love with it (thank goodness!).
And when finally installed, agreed it was the perfect size
for the space. Next post will be installation photos.

Journey on! Wendy