Wednesday we got down and loaded out in the unbearable heat. Luckily they had the AC on inside so it was not as bad as it could have been. I think it was so hot they realized someone would die if the AC was completely off. After set up, I hung out in the hotel room with all our hometown buds – Grant Cooley, Sam Flegal,  Matt and the rest of the Aradani crew.

After a fun night, but not enough sleep, we started out on Thursday in the exhibitors hall. I had my own art table this year, so i was pretty nervous about doing well enough to afford it again next year. Thursday was slow for me. I sat around and got to joke around with other artists, but had no sales. I got a little scared.

Thursday night we got to go play True Dungeon. The whole crew was friends, so this was a blast (and thanks to Justin for the true dungeon tokens which helped us through) . It is part DnD, part Larp, part puzzle solving, and a whole lot of fun. We dressed in full costume and they had people take pictures of our adventure so they can use it for promotion on future True Dungeon ads. I was a rogue and got to disarm traps using a metal stylus that would spring the trap if i hit the walls of the metal maze i had to guide it through. My greatest moment of the game was split between the first time i saw a chest and opened it (and had the choice to get loot or get a clue for the room puzzle… i chose loot – and the party didn’t even notice what i was doing), and when i bumped the wizards spell into the head shot critical zone of the attack board.

Then we went out for a late night of bar hopping and ending at a cool outdoor bar drinking a special gen con brew of beer called Fat Dragon. After a night of no sleep, and a hangover, i was in rough shape on Friday. I think the lack of rest and the abundance of alcohol helped some bug catch a hold of me and i had to even spend some time out in the van sleeping. I still got some commissions and sold some other random stuff. One of the commissions was for a exact replica drawing of hello kitty. so if you want to know what it takes to make me a cute artist.. its $20.

Friday night i took it easy.

saturday was a strong day, some good print sales and also was honored to sell my original oil painting of the Steampunk Clockwork Dragon! saturday night we met up with scott webb and crew and went to the monument downtown to hang with artist omar rayyan. after that, we partied at the white wolf party, which was awesome at its new/old location, the industrial club. some good dancing went on, me with a pirate (nigel) and laura and sara frary in a cage! dont worry, pictures will be coming out soon!

sunday was a good day as well, i was worn out, but still made some sales, got to hang out with more of my friends, and bought an original drawing from lydia burris.

now i am finally back home and getting in the grind for dragon con.

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First are my new paintings:

This one is for a contest I am in. Always cool to have a chance to paint a half scorpion half woman.

This one is called: Give Peace a Chance; Don’t Let Robots Kill Innocents. Fun image, sad thought.

Next, I got to test out some of our Silicone paints. Painted up some of a Pavi  Surgical Masks.

It is a bit hard to work with, it likes to slide around too much. Guess I am spoiled with oil paints.

Next is our Female Jungle Cat mask after many requests. This is a smaller version of my original jungle cat, which many people want for their future Na’vi costumes. Still needs some touch ups, but it will be ready soon.

And I am also preparing molds for 4 new styles of latex glue on horns. One of them has folded over torn flesh at the base to make it easier to blend in to the skin.

These will be posted as soon as they are pulled from the mold.

So now I am off to Alice in wonderland… I am sure there are some costumes there for me and Laura to make.

-Michael

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Me and Laura heading into the Bellydancing panel in our Steampunk costumes. she is trying out the new contacts she got at the show.

If anyone is on the fence about attending Connooga next year… do it!  Everything was great, good panels, good parties, great dealers room, and great guests.

Next we are working on getting ready for MidSouthCon. At this con me and paul have aton of panels, as well as hosting the Saturday night dance party.

On a costuming side, I am working on my second set of steampunk wings and a female version of the jungle cat prosthetic which is similar to a Avatar Navi.

New painting by me:

And I relaunched my portal site: michaelbielaczyc.com

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My Ebay listings

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Silicone Cat Mask

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You can find pictures of our adventures here: http://aradani.com/photogallery/thumbnails.php?album=54

I am also working on a bunch of new projects. The Jungle cat mask (for Avatar Na’vi costumes that everyone is asking about) is finished, the silicone is curing in the mold right now. The latex version is finished as well. Tomorrow we are having some snow (hopefully) so besides taking some costume pics out in the weather, I will be taking photos of those new masks.

The old Myrddraal mask

I have also decided to redo my Eyeless mask. Though it was well received at conventions , online some people have been vocal (sometimes too vocal and vulgar) on how they were unhappy with it. I was thinking of redoing the mask anyways, but the critiques as well as being invited to Jordancon I started the resculpt. It actually went by very quickly and besides a few tweaks I think I am almost ready to mold it. The biggest complaint was the brow on the old mask. People quoted Jordan as saying the Myrddraal’s eyes were smooth like an egg.  Apparently, they think that the entire upper head is smooth, some even arguing that there is no nose. The quotes “a dead-white sweep of skin where eyes should be”, “From oily black hair to puffy cheeks … as smooth as an eggshell.” So with these quotes people think that there is no brown at all. I would point to the Great Hunt: “Its’ pasty pale face, a man’s face, but eyeless as an egg, like a maggot in the grave.”  I feel if it is a man’s face, it is a normal face, just minus the eyes. So anyways, I still was not happy with the old seams on the sculpt, so the new one has the seams along the hairline as well as below the chin. The middle seams goes along the edge of the nose and around the mouth.

Myrddraal eyeless silicone mask 2010

As you can see in the photo, I still left some wrinkles at the top of the nose. This gives it some character, and some emotion, as well as giving me a small area underneath to leave open so I would have a little more area to see out from (the old mask only left a pinhole to see out of). This mask will be in production soon.

As far as art, I have been reworking one painting for a while now, it is about a quote I heard on the radio, saying that suffering is divine, it brings us closer to god. So therefore healthcare for all takes suffering away from the poor, which in turn takes away their road to heaven. It tore me up so badly, I immediately started sketching this painting. This painting is about anyone who uses their power and station for selfish reasons and does not care for those around them who need help.

I am also working on a painting for an internet art challenge, mixing in some of my views on the destruction of nature, as well as part of the myth of Kaldrath, a character from my fiction. It is only in the early stages, so don’t judge it yet!

And finally two funny pictures.

And finally my cat Booty (like pirate treasure) thinks she is a gargoyle.

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Changes since the last post… I went in on the front reflection and added some other lines and highlights. The front just wasn’t bright enough.

After talking to some people who still didn’t understand the “crown” part of the tower, I got rid of it. It is gone, nothing more. This gave me more space in the background to provide references for where this is. I added more to the perimeter wall surrounding the tower (think Isengard layout). I also added some windows to the perimeter wall and guard tower to give a sense of distance and scale. Light cast from these windows can be seen on the ground inside the perimeter.

Finally I finished the ground behind the wizard, which provided a nice contrast to the white light on the opposite corner.

Well, there you have it. The diary is complete. Please let me know if I should do something like this with my next few pieces. Or if it was just too boring to see how ridiculously slow I work on art.

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