Back from Dragon Con
I am home from the epic fun/work that is Dragon Con. Just about got my head back in my own time zone.
I think I will need to blog this in a few different posts as its so epic.
I flew into Atlanta Thursday afternoon directly from Manchester UK. An 8 hour flight which isnt bad really. At least I dont have to change.
I was staying at ground zero at the Hyatt where the Comics and pop art room was located. The Hyatt was put up in the late sixties I believe and has some crazy sculptural elements to the foyer. Including something that looks like the Giant Hadron Collider…
Actually thats a huge wire closed umbrella sculpture in the main lobby. But looking up from its base, along the shaft which pierces two lower floors it could pass as a particle smasher..
The glass elevators (thats Lifts to proper speaking English types) go up through the roof to a sort of giant UFO parked on top of the building. I have no idea whats up there, some sort of secret party room one would suspect. I could only see said UFO at night reflected in the building opposite.
Also at each corner of the lobby there are odd square structures on each floor. No idea what purpous they serve. But if you stand on the top floor where I had a room and look down through them it’s quite impressive, or vertigo inducing whichever you prefer.
The Comics and Pop Art Ally was two floors down from the foyer in a huge exhibition room the size of an aircraft hanger. This was one of about nine such halls across the four main hotels hosting the Con, six of which were dealers rooms of some sort. Thats a lot of shopping!
I set up Thursday afternoon after having picked up my badge.
I fully intended getting a snap of each of the artist’s booths with said artist in residence for my records. But in the end only managed a pitiful few. So here is what I have.
This was my booth. If I do come back next year I really must get some sort of banner to put behind me so people can see what booth it is over the heads of the crowd. Though probably not as complex a structure as the incredibly cool and hip (Daddyo) Derek Yaniger.
Next to Derek was zombie artist extrordinare Dave Cook.
Opposite Dave was the truely splendid fellow that is Greg “Crayola” Simkins. He was painting a canvas all weekend and the final piece was raffled off on the last day. Lovely and amazingly talanted chap. Fine artist, Tattooist and Graffiti artist. I was lucky enough to get a little original pencil drawing from him which I will be framing for my studio at some point. And if you see his new book “Drawing from the Well” I suggest you pick it up.
Between Greg and myself was the jam packed Rivet Gallery Stall. I didnt manage to get a good shot of the whole stall as it was constantly stuffed with people when I tried and then other times the photos just didnt come out (I had to ditch more than half my Con pics this year due to blurry people or general overcluttered backgrounds that didnt seem an issue at the time of taking.) But part of the Rivet booth was taken over by Amanda Spayd who was selling her wonderful little toothy, floppy critters. They are Adhorrible..
Also in this alley was Shag, Baby Tattoo Books, Camilla D’erico, The Baroness and the Beast Brothers and Glenn Barr. I didnt manage to steal their photons successfully.
At the end of the line next to me was the huge Circus Posterus booth. Towered over by a collosal Red Queen sculpture by Colin Christian. He and his wife Sas were around on and off all weekend along with CP founders Kathie Olivas and Brandt Peters.
They had toys, Cutoms, original art, prints, books and ever jewellery on sale with art from their band of artists which also includes the wonderfull Travis Louis and Chris Ryniak.
The only other artist I got a snap of was the truly splendid Eric Morin as he plucked about with his vintage banjo.
(I will see if I can borrow some photos from another Con goer later to flesh this out a bit).
I will add another post or two in the next few days.
For now here is me and Travis.
