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FC 2011 (Long)
15 years ago
General
I have three hours of flight ahead of me, with no wifi access, so I will take the time to share my con experience. This year's con rates as one of the best trips I've taken. Unlike the previous year's FC where my partner lacked the medication necessary for his emotional wellbeing, this year he was in excellent shape. That has a massive impact on my delight and joy at a convention. I no longer enjoy taking the trip for my own benefit, either to see and buy art or purchase commissions; rather, I enjoy the meeting of friends and family that are remote to me. The Fairmont San Jose is a beautiful hotel with lush rooms and lavish bathrooms. That is a strange thing to mention, but the bathrooms are among the best I have ever seen in any hotel. That includes the Tower suites from the FC hotels of the past. They feature a wonderful clear-glass shower and separate tub in all of the main rooms with the suites getting a larger tub and the Tower suites having a dedicated, if small, jacuzzi.
I unfortunately managed to completely miss the Dealer's Den again with the exception of visiting one table. It still makes me monumentally uncomfortable to come up to artists I know only from commissions and strike up a conversation, but I managed to get over my social anxiety in that space to make the one visit that I enjoy more than any other.
I spoke with a friend, I think it is okay to call her that, who has greatly influenced my tastes on the art show selection each year, and both of us felt this year's show had quality works. In the years' previous there were always a few panels filled with something wonderfully horrifying or different, but this year nearly every panel was filled with excellence. Not only was the selection free of terror, but the pieces were almost universally fantastic. It was a great year for art show buyers. They even managed to have all the lighting up by the end of the first day and capped that off with a smooth closing. Glen does a hilarious running commentary during his close that makes it a joy to watch.
For the artists, the art show was anything but profitable with certain exceptions. I feel especially bad for FA's hibbary and Nambroth who both had beautiful pieces up. Hibbary in particular had some fantastic acrylic originals available for purchase that had astonishingly low entry bids and no buy it now prices. As an example, Koi Boy 1 & 2 pieces dropped for $10 and $25. Nambroth had a few lovely colored sketches that went for under $45. I noticed that Eugene adjusted from a painful of a year or two ago where one of his massive acrylic-on-canvas pieces dropped for the entry bid ($50). This year he had two large pieces that were set at $200 and $600, though I am unaware if either sold. I guiltily snapped up a lot of beautiful pieces with none going for more than $25. I feel terrible about doing it, but the only restitution I can imagine is to offer my standard deal for making a commission. I generally pay around twice what the asking price is from the artist if I can afford it. I imagine it is horrifically tasteless to FA note or email an artist and say, 'I'm so sorry I bought your stuff at the entry price. Please accept my apology.' With that in mind, I'm going to see if I can pick up one of those commission slots.
The exceptions I saw to the low bids were Blotch and K9 who managed to do well at the show with both having large bids on pieces. One of the smaller Blotch pieces managed a $600 in the voice auction with the rest going for over $100. K9 had two sketch books on offer that were filled with Circles sketches, a steal at any price (I believe the asking was $200), and I'm certain both of those were quickly snapped up.
For pottery and figurines it was a great year as well with the Figurine Mistress wicked-sarah having a great selection. I do not know how many pieces sold, but I remember a distinct delight in seeing all of the excellent painted pottery and assorted works on display. What a wonderful showing for FC this year… provided you were buying.
As for personal things, I am not a good writer of con reports, but I have a personal thank you to share. A special memory was seeing friends from Tapestry's Sunclub, with the crowning pleasure of meeting with some from there who I knew before I had ever heard of this community. Those friendships are over a decade old at this point, and I had never met a single one of them in real life. What brought me into this community was the slow demise of #AFD (alt.fan.dragon's IRC channel), and meeting those friends stands out. Thank you for coming and inviting me along to lunch.
I want to extend special thanks to Azulez, who set up the lunch and kept in contact with all of us. You made this con a unique and lovely trip for me, my friend, and I cannot convey in words how much it meant to me. Thank you.
I unfortunately managed to completely miss the Dealer's Den again with the exception of visiting one table. It still makes me monumentally uncomfortable to come up to artists I know only from commissions and strike up a conversation, but I managed to get over my social anxiety in that space to make the one visit that I enjoy more than any other.
I spoke with a friend, I think it is okay to call her that, who has greatly influenced my tastes on the art show selection each year, and both of us felt this year's show had quality works. In the years' previous there were always a few panels filled with something wonderfully horrifying or different, but this year nearly every panel was filled with excellence. Not only was the selection free of terror, but the pieces were almost universally fantastic. It was a great year for art show buyers. They even managed to have all the lighting up by the end of the first day and capped that off with a smooth closing. Glen does a hilarious running commentary during his close that makes it a joy to watch.
For the artists, the art show was anything but profitable with certain exceptions. I feel especially bad for FA's hibbary and Nambroth who both had beautiful pieces up. Hibbary in particular had some fantastic acrylic originals available for purchase that had astonishingly low entry bids and no buy it now prices. As an example, Koi Boy 1 & 2 pieces dropped for $10 and $25. Nambroth had a few lovely colored sketches that went for under $45. I noticed that Eugene adjusted from a painful of a year or two ago where one of his massive acrylic-on-canvas pieces dropped for the entry bid ($50). This year he had two large pieces that were set at $200 and $600, though I am unaware if either sold. I guiltily snapped up a lot of beautiful pieces with none going for more than $25. I feel terrible about doing it, but the only restitution I can imagine is to offer my standard deal for making a commission. I generally pay around twice what the asking price is from the artist if I can afford it. I imagine it is horrifically tasteless to FA note or email an artist and say, 'I'm so sorry I bought your stuff at the entry price. Please accept my apology.' With that in mind, I'm going to see if I can pick up one of those commission slots.
The exceptions I saw to the low bids were Blotch and K9 who managed to do well at the show with both having large bids on pieces. One of the smaller Blotch pieces managed a $600 in the voice auction with the rest going for over $100. K9 had two sketch books on offer that were filled with Circles sketches, a steal at any price (I believe the asking was $200), and I'm certain both of those were quickly snapped up.
For pottery and figurines it was a great year as well with the Figurine Mistress wicked-sarah having a great selection. I do not know how many pieces sold, but I remember a distinct delight in seeing all of the excellent painted pottery and assorted works on display. What a wonderful showing for FC this year… provided you were buying.
As for personal things, I am not a good writer of con reports, but I have a personal thank you to share. A special memory was seeing friends from Tapestry's Sunclub, with the crowning pleasure of meeting with some from there who I knew before I had ever heard of this community. Those friendships are over a decade old at this point, and I had never met a single one of them in real life. What brought me into this community was the slow demise of #AFD (alt.fan.dragon's IRC channel), and meeting those friends stands out. Thank you for coming and inviting me along to lunch.
I want to extend special thanks to Azulez, who set up the lunch and kept in contact with all of us. You made this con a unique and lovely trip for me, my friend, and I cannot convey in words how much it meant to me. Thank you.
