Award-Winning Artist

        Toot toot!  This is me tooting my own horn: this past weekend at the Arisia con I won the Directors’ Choice Art Show Award for my series of mythical creatures from the in-progress On the Virtues of Beasts of the Realms of Imagination.  I’m honored because there is so much amazing art in the Arisia art show, and I’m delighted because I think this makes me an “award-winning artist” for the first time.  My daughter said, “You must have won some prize in middle school or something,” but I can’t think of anything.  I’ve been an “award-winning writer” since elementary school, but I didn’t enter art shows as a child, and I wasn’t even an art student after ninth grade, so I think this is the first.  It’s a very nice pat on the back, and much appreciated.  (I hope it is also an indication that there may actually be some interest in this somewhat strange bestiary project upon which I’ve embarked.)

        Of course Arisia also means block printing workshops, and once again I’m really impressed by the blocks people were able to design, carve, and print in only an hour and a quarter.  I would love to be able to give people two hours to work, but the Arisia schedule is built in 75-minute sessions, so people have to work fast.  They still do an amazing job, though, so I’ve shared a few of them here, and expect to share a few more in later posts.  (I can’t tell you the names of the artists, although if anyone wants to claim their work and be credited, just let me know!)

        Finally, for anyone making their way to this blog from Arisia, I will just remind you that I’ve put the names of the panels on which I participated as Labels in the sidebar to the right.  Click to find the references, links, and my own brilliant insights into the topics.  Also, in four weeks I’ll be at Boskone, another sci fi/fantasy convention, and as they’ve now made their schedule public, I will start adding those panels to the Labels list, as well.

        Thanks to all the authors and artists with whom I shared panels, the art show co-directors and fellow artists there, and audience members with great questions and insights of their own.  See you next year!

[Award-winning Artist AEGN at Arisia Art Show, photo by TPN, 2019;

Octopus;

Butterfly;

Sloth, rubber block print by AM;

Black Cat;

Kit Kat, all rubber block prints done at Arisia 2019.]