Conventional Wisdom Cranking up for the Season
Posted By Kathleen David on February 7, 2020
There may be a stray convention in January but for us the official convention season starts in February with http://www.farpointcon.com Farpoint. A convention we all love to go to and participate in. It is family oriented and feels like going to a family re-union every time. Over the years we have made friends that we see there and catch-up. There are traditions to be followed every year. There are in-jokes that one gets if you have been going to this convention over the years. It is a comfortable convention and a nice way to start the year.
I will be showing in the art show with various pieces I have created. I will have a puppet for one of the guests. I will have a new puppet that I will debut at this convention then take it around to others throughout the year. There are a couple of other things that might or might not happen depending on life.
This year I am the featured artist at http://www.heliosphereny.org HelioSphere. I went last year for the first time and enjoyed my time immensely. I am proud to be a featured artist this year. I have some things that I am bringing to knock peoples socks off. Peter is one of the featured writers this year.
The other conventions we will be attending as a family are https://www.shore-leave.com Shoreleave, https://galaxycon.com/raleigh/ GalaxyCon Raleigh, and https://www.dragoncon.org DragonCon. Those are the usual ones. I am sure there will be a couple of others that we will be going to. I know there are several Peter will be attending this year on his own which I will post as they come up. I do know we are going to be in Canada on the 4th of July.
Conventions are just a part of life for us. We know what we need to pack with a few alterations based on either the climate or the convention. We have the stuff for the table all in one area and add or subtract based on what we think we can sell.
Caroline has grown up going to conventions. She knows how they work and what is expected of her. There are some that she has been going to for years and she had a group of friends to run around with at each. She still sells commissions and original pieces. Her style continues to improve but she has a distinctive look to her art.
Peter and I have been doing this for years like over 40 for me and 50 for him. We have attended as fans, as staff, as pros, and as smofs. I made the move from fan to pro when I joined Del Rey. He did when his first novel was published. Both of us kind of slid from fan to pro in some ways. I did a lot of staff work and volunteer work at various conventions over the years. My stage management skills were very handy there.
I used to be nervous about speaking in public but now have no fear about it. I thank all the panels I have been on over the years. I am a dámņ good moderator as well. I know a couple of conventions who keep me in their back pocket for moderating when they have potentially explosive panels on their hands. I have been thanks both by the committee running the convention and participants for my abilities on this. I feel that everyone needs to be heard but no one person can be allowed to take over the panel either from the table or from the room.
We are looking forward to our conventions this year and we are ready for them as well.
I am grateful for everything I have learned at conventions.
Looking forward to seeing you and Peter at Heliosphere if the folks ever send us info. Keith said he’d talk to them, but so far not a peep.