Month: August 2012

Find Me at DragonCon 2012!

Phew!  DragonCon is just a week away over the Labor Day weekend!  It occurred to me that I have such a large spread out presence this year at the show, so here’s a handy map to help you find me and all my bits and baubles this year.

(Click to enlarge)

For you Dcon newbs out there, the way you get to the art show is to come in at the ground floor of the Hyatt hotel, take two escalators down, then you’re there!  There will be a banner across the top of the door that says Artist Alley.  We’re sharing a partitioned room with the Comic Artists Alley as well!

Meet Me Face to Face!
I’ll be manning a table in the far back left corner with my wonderful boyfriend, Kevin, so be sure to come say hello to us!  I’ll be right next door to my good friend Brenda Lyons, known in most parts as Windfalcon.

I’ll have prints, bookmarks, and copies of my art book, Angelic Visions, on hand!  If you want anything in particular, be sure to let me know and I can bring it for you.  You can also order the sketch option for your book at my Etsy shop and I can give it to you at the con. Just let me know and I’ll refund your shipping if you are picking up from me directly at the con.

Gallery Display
My gallery display will have a mix of my masks, limited edition prints, beautiful large canvas prints, and embellished ACEO prints this year.

Print Shop
You can find 11×14 open edition prints and book bundles in the print shop this year as well!

Leather Mask Making Panel
I’ll be hosting my panel on creating leather masks at 7pm on Saturday in the art track, which is in the twisting labyrinth of hallways known as Hanover right next to the art show on the same floor.  I’ll have handouts of supply lists and a 50 minute instructional video, so be sure to come if you’re interested in my creative process for masks!

See you at the con!

Creative Background Noise

Work, work, work.  With my largest con of the year coming up, it’s been nonstop rush time for me!  It occurred to me that I always have interesting background noise going to help keep me rolling into the wee hours of the night.  Most of it is just interesting enough that I have something to occupy my mind, but not so distracting that I can’t work at the same time.  Here are just a few things I’ve been listening to in random order:

Documentaries (Most available on Netflix)

  • I Shouldn’t Be Alive – Stories of survival with fascinating lessons about what it takes to stay alive.
  • Medicine Men Go Wild – Continuing my survival obsession of late.  A pair of medical grad students, who are identical twins, go on a world tour to learn about different medical techniques and what they can teach modern doctors.
  • Deadly Women – Featuring multiple stories about female murderers.
  • Fatal Attractions – Examining the psychology of individuals who choose to keep exotic animals in their homes.

(Um yeah. Just goes to show you my morbid array of interests, most of which fuel my inspiration as a writer, moreso than my visual interests as an artist.)

Random Funny Podcasts

  • Spill.com – Hilarious reviews and discussions of all the latest movies.
  • Zero Punctuation – Humorous video game reviews by the fast-talking game critic, Yahtzee.
  • Extra Credits – A podcast on the art and relevancy of video games which discusses the industry and its challenges, at large.

Music for the Muse

  • Niyaz – Really atmospheric middle-eastern group with an entrancing female vocalist
  • Two Steps from Hell – EPIC orchestral group with a variety of lovely vocals. Makes whatever you’re working on while listening that much more EPIC.
  • Bat for Lashes – Recently discovered this group! Very trippy, trance sounding stuff that’s great to zone out and work to.
  • Mass Effect Remixes – This action RPG had some really fantastic music. This particular group created some wonderful orchestral remixes and produced some catchy tunes that were also unused in the game, but are still fun to listen to. “Shepard of the Galaxy” is a particularly amazing track!

That’s been my DragonCon Rush listening list!  What are you listening to while you work? Feel free to share!  I’m always on the lookout for new and interesting background noise.