My last DemiCon?

By Jan S. Gephardt

DemiCon 34 may have been my last DemiCon. I have a lot of great history with DemiCon as an institution, and as an eagerly-anticipated annual event. I’ve blogged about it in this space for the last several years, as veteran readers of this blog may recall.

It was the convention that primarily inspired my 2019 post “Why I go to SF Conventions.” For a profile of DemiCon at its recent best, take a look at my 2018 post, “My DemiCon 29 Experience.” I had a wonderful time there.

Even the Pandemic didn’t kill my love for DemiCon. Their patient, helpful Joe Struss helped me create “My First Original Video” for Virtual DemiCon in 2020. And they looked as if they were coming back strong in 2022, as reflected in my post “The Best and Worst Time.”

But DemiCon 34 may have been my last DemiCon. At least for a while.

Image courtesy of the DemiCon Facebook Page.

 

A Series of Unfortunate Events

I figured we were off to another great start last fall, when I received an invitation to attend with a guest as a professional guest (this means the membership fee is waived because I’ll be “paying for it” by appearing on panels. It’s a normal-enough procedure, and I’m always happy to agree). I responded quickly to say quite truthfully that I was looking forward to it.

After that, however, crickets. (Okay, it was winter. But still). Finally in March I figured I’d better find out if they’d forgotten me. As it turned out, they kind of had. There’d been a reshuffling of the con committee in some way. My invitation and acceptance had gotten lost in that shuffle. But Amanda in Programming said of course I’d be welcome, and she’d find ways to fit me onto panels. No author reading, though.

Um, okay. Well, things could still work out. It didn’t have to be my last DemiCon. But unfortunate events and disappointments gradually accumulated.

Woulda, Coulda, but missed it! Here’s some of the paper sculpture I would like to have shown at DemiCon this year. All artwork is © Jan S. Gephardt.

 

Art Show?

I couldn’t find Art Show information online. Turns out it was on their website and they did (let the record show) have an Art Show. It was listed under “Venue” in dim type at the bottom of their index page. I found “Dealers Room” on that drop-down menu, but somehow my eyes kept skipping over “Art Show” (second down after “Anime Room”).

I guess I was always in too much of a hurry to search the fine print. And, perhaps because of the concom shakeup, I also never received a contact from the Art Show Director. Usually I get a cheery email a few months out, asking if I’ll be showing art again this year. That really would have saved me, this year.

So, I didn’t bring any art (thought, “what’s the point?” and we were tight on space). Then, to my dismay, I discovered there was an Art Show after all. I tried not to be too upset, but I never could quite bring myself to go inside and see what was there. I suppose it should be no big deal in the grand scheme. But I was crushed.

Granted, a mistake I made shouldn’t be used as a justification to make this my last DemiCon. But it was one more, particularly searing disappointment on the growing pile of them.

Our son Tyrell Gephardt represents at the Weird Sisters Publishing Dealers Table on Friday 5/5/23. This shot gives a good view of about half of the Dealers Room, as well as the books we offered. Photo by Pascal Gephardt. Nebula 2 tablecloth design ©2021 by Chaz Kemp.

 

A Very Tight Squeeze

The Big Convention Experiment for this year is a quest to answer the question: Can Weird Sisters Publishing present a profitable Dealers Table at sf conventions? Didn’t have to be super-lucrative, but at least breaking even would be nice. We tried to vary our offerings (and increase the odds of selling things) by including the work of selected Kansas City Author Friends Dora Furlong, Lynette M. Burrows, Randal Spangler, Karin Rita Gastreich, and M. C. Chambers, as well as my books and my sister G. S. Norwood’s Deep Ellum Duet. Happily, we did sell something from almost everyone. But did we break even? No.

Our first challenge was squeezing ourselves into the space. To say the Dealers Room was “cozy” . . . well, check out the photo above. There wasn’t room for our banner. In fact, it’s a good thing I’ve lost about 30 lbs. over the course of the past year (thank you, NOOM!), or I wouldn’t have been able to squeeze through to work the table.

Unfortunately, the aisle space was almost as constricted as the space behind the table. ADA compliance? Ouch! Not so much. The aisles were consistently congested each time I came in, but that doesn’t mean there was room for a lot of traffic. Yes, it was a small con. But as a semi-frequent visitor to the dealers rooms of many conventions, I can tell you I personally would have looked at the congestion and thought, “Nope.” Was that the experience that made me question whether this would be my last DemiCon? Well, no. Not by itself.

Taken before the “A.I. Meets SF” Panel on 5/5/23. L-R: Steven Southard, Jan S. Gephardt, and David J. Pedersen. Jan teamed up with one or the other of these men for all but one of her subsequent panels. Photo by Helpful Audience Member Number One, who remained anonymous.

 

The Best Bright Spot: My Panels

For me, the highlight of this convention was the panels. This is often true. For one, I love to talk about our genre(s), writing, art, and related topics. For another, I generally love working with the other panelists. Most are interesting, knowledgeable, and intelligent people, and would be so in any setting. A well-moderated, intelligent discussion with such people is a delight I relish.

Most of my panels teamed me up with either Steven Southard or David J. Pedersen. The “A.I. Meets SF” panel on Friday 5/5/23 included all three of us. I had a lovely time working with both of them. They’re bright, thoughtful men. I’d met and been on panels with David before, but a major high point of DemiCon 34 was meeting Steven. Our panel discussions were lots of fun, and we had large, intelligent, well-informed audiences. It was a mix of elements practically guaranteed to be both stimulating and fun.

I was on five panels. By the time we got to the final one on Sunday afternoon (where I joined Author Guest Rachel Aukes to discuss “Who Will We Meet in Space?”), I think everyone was exhausted. The audience barely outnumbered Rachel and me, and they seemed little disposed to talk much. But that somewhat “flat note” certainly wouldn’t have been enough, on its own, to make me ask, “Is this my last DemiCon?”

Two queen beds and big, sunny windows provided a deceptively-inviting view. Photo by Jan S. Gephardt.

 

My Last DemiCon?

In my first book, What’s Bred in the Bone, there’s a chapter titled, “A Combined Weight of Awfulness.” I wouldn’t ascribe “awfulness” to my DemiCon 34 experience (with one exception). But disappointment after disappointment built up through the weekend. The convention committee seemed disorganized. There weren’t many panels that looked interesting to me, outside of the ones I was on. Readings by friends were mostly scheduled against my own panels, so I couldn’t attend them. I didn’t get many other networking opportunities.

But our discovery in one of our rooms would’ve sent us home immediately if we’d been there strictly as fans. A rash of distinctive red bumps rose on several sensitive square inches of my son’s skin. Then he found a rather distinctive little brown bug in his bed. And when you find one, you know there must be more. De-con efforts have continued since we got home, to make sure none infiltrated our luggage.

We had a dealer’s table. I’d made promises to be on panels. We’d bought a program book ad. So we accepted a change of rooms and stayed. But combined with all the other issues and disappointments, this was definitely the nadir of all my convention-going experiences in the more than three decades I’ve been going to conventions all over the country. So DemiCon 34 is likely to have been my last DemiCon. At least for a good long while.

IMAGE CREDITS

Many thanks to The DemiCon 34 Facebook Page for their Convention header. The artwork displayed in my “woulda” montage is © Jan S. Gephardt. Many thanks to Pascal for the Dealer’s Table photo and to Helpful Audience Member Number One, for the photo of the “A.I. Meets SF” panelists. I took that room pic myself. 

An Archon to Enjoy

 By Jan S. Gephardt

I’m a little over a week back from my last in-person science fiction convention. It truly was an Archon to enjoy. Archon 45 offered at least a little bit of everything I’ve come to love about sf “cons.”

This was, of course, far from my only Archon – and if you follow my blog, you know I’ve written about it in the past. You might enjoy some of my past posts about the Art, the Artists, the Writers, the Costumes, the anticipation, and my appreciation of their sensible Covid protocols last year. There were some great costumes this year, too, but I didn’t get very good pictures of any. For better photo coverage, take a look at Elizabeth Donald’s blog post, “Archon 45 is a smash!”

Courtesy of Archon 45.

 

An Art Show to Enjoy

The Archon Art show is always a highlight for me. Not only do I always make a point of showing my artwork in the show, but I also enjoy looking at the strong showing of excellent art that usually shows up.

I reserved two panels, and I think I made a pretty decent showing. Sold a couple of pieces, which is an accomplishment (paper sculpture is hard to price at sf con levels). Cat Conrad was this year’s Artist Guest of Honor. It was fun to see him, and chit-chat a bit. He and I have been friendly acquaintances for a long time.

Many other “regulars” and favorites showed work, too. They added to the elements that made this an Archon to enjoy. Kansas City friends Rachael Mayo and Allison Stein came and brought their wonderful artwork (including gorgeous new 3D work by Rachael Mayo). St. Louis-area artists John E. Kauffman, Craig Skaggs, Brent Chumley, Mike Cole, and Eddie Wilson had Artists’ Alley booths, as well as an Art Show presence. Peri Charlifu, Arden Ellen Nixon, Theresa Mather, Sarah Clemens, and many more also had art in the show, so it added up to another great year of artwork at Archon.

Cat Conrad’s artwork is a screen-grab of publicly shared images on his website, © Cat Conrad. Jan S. Gephardt’s paper sculpture is ©2012-2022.

 

An Art Display to Especially Appreciate

But of all the artists in the show, I have to say I really thought Lucy A. Synk brought an unusually wonderful display. And that’s not just because about two-thirds of her panels featured artwork I commissioned.

it’s because there was an unusual quantity of gorgeous original oil, acrylic, and mixed-media paintings, and because several were impressively big. The show-stopper had to be her magnificent Oak Park Halloween painting, which I once blogged about. She also brought some of her mixed-media planetscapes, including the one that won an award at Chicon 8.

Of the “Rana Station” art, in addition to Jogging in Gaudí Park, First Responder, and Hildie, she also brought several “XK9 Portraits.” An all-around outstanding display! But don’t just take my word for it. She won Best of Show, Best Pro Artist, and tied with other artists for Fan’s Choice in the voting at Archon.

All of the artwork on Lucy A. Synk’s panels is ©2019-2022 by Lucy A. Synk.

Panels and Fellow Panelists

For me, a highlight of any science fiction convention is attending panels. In that way, too, it was an Archon to enjoy. I had a fun and lively group of artists, both in the audience (including Rachael Mayo, the ultimate word on dragons) and on the panel for “Do People Still Like Dragons?” Brent Chumley, Allison Stein, and Lucy A. Synk officially joined me on the panel. It was mostly about the current state of the art market for fantasy & sf artists. But we quickly established that yes, people do still not just like, but love dragons. They are in no danger of going away.

I got to be the moderator for all of the panels I was on, which I very much enjoy. I like being able to make sure that the audience is involved and able to ask questions. And after a career in teaching I know how to balance out the speakers so everyone gets a turn.

Maintaining balance (and keeping the conversation mostly in English laymen could understand) was my primary challenge for the “Current and Future A.I.” panel! My co-panelists, Bryce Meyer and Jack Glassman are experts in the field, whom I’ve had the pleasure of moderating before. Both are brilliant  – and very enthusiastic. They love above all else to talk about their field. But they’re also respectful, and they take a cue pretty well.

Photo ©2022 by Tyrell E. Gephardt.

 

A Great Note-Taker for a Co-Panelist

The downside of being the moderator is that it’s very difficult to take notes. We had a wide-ranging conversation at the panel titled, “Children’s Cartoons and the Adult Viewer.” My family and I have enjoyed a number of these shows, such as Inside Job, Lower Decks, Centaurworld, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and The Owl House. My co-panelists were Nick Butcher, Rhiannon Gonzalez, and Matthew Edward Munro. They brought ideas and reactions about a range of other shows. So did several well-versed audience members. The conversation included straight-up Anime shows and game tie-ins, as well – but unfortunately I can’t tell you their titles.

As the moderator I also couldn’t take notes on “Best Indie Authors of Science Fiction & Fantasy,” either. But fortunately, I didn’t have to! Co-panelist and the other author on the panel, Rachel Neumeier not only took great notes, she turned them into a blog post! For my list, I drew heavily on a post I’d written last year, “Indie Women of Science Fiction.” You’ll see that list included in Rachel’s post, but my write-up expands a bit more on each author, so both might interest you.

I don’t believe Rachel mentioned Jerry Boyd, however. He’s the creator of the “Bob and Nikki” series (now up to 28 titles) Two of our fellow panelists, Cheryl Medley and Linda Wyatt were not writers, but avid readers, who like to specialize in Indie writers for several reasons. Cheryl wore a “Bob’s Saucer Repair” T-shirt (the title of “Bob & Nikki Book 1”) to the panel, but did complain that Jerry had failed to put his name on it anywhere!

See credits below.

 

My Reading

I always like to do a reading at science fiction conventions I attend – and I also love to go to readings, as anyone who’s followed my blog for a while can attest. Over the years I’ve written about authors’ readings at DemiCon, ConQuesT, several at SoonerCon, at Worldcons, the NASFiC SpikeCon, FenCon, and of course, at Archon. Having a chance to share my work with fans was guaranteed to help make this an Archon to enjoy!

This year, however, I didn’t have much advance-time to publicize my reading at the convention itself. It was set for the very first night on the con. So I used social media beforehand, to alert people. It must’ve worked! Most of the people who came were there for my reading. I was originally set to read with D. A. Roberts and Elizabeth Donald, but Roberts had to cancel his attendance.

I had therefore planned to read a slightly longer selection (essentially Chapter Two of Bone of Contention – I’d read Chapter One last year, and several of my listeners were there last year, too). But we ran into technical difficulties that made us run late, and I didn’t have time to read all of mine. I plan to serialize it, plus the next several chapters after that, for my Newsletter subscribers in coming months, however (in case you’re curious).

Elizabeth was able to read all of hers, though! It was a wonderful short story called “Sisyphus,” from her Setting Suns anthology.

Photo of Aaron Hollingsworth and Jan S. Gephardt by Tyrell E. Gephardt.

 

Hollingsworth and Weird in the Dealers Room

I wrote quite a bit in my post just before Archon this year about my pre-con publicity, my special banner and table-cover, and my plans for sharing a dealers table with Aaron Hollingsworth. Most of those plans worked out pretty well.

I especially liked the chance to share Chapter One of my book What’s Bred in the Bone with prospective readers via a QR Code. A surprising number of people took a postcard, planning to read Chapter One that night and, if they liked it, come back the next day. Imagine my delight when they actually came back the next day to buy books! That definitely made it an Archon to enjoy!

I had a new toy, this time, a Square Terminal. It made things a whole lot easier. And it even prints out a paper receipt! I think exactly one person asked for one, but still! It has Weird Sisters Publishing’s logo on it and everything. Pretty nifty.

The cover art for What’s Bred in the Bone and A Bone to Pick is ©2019-2020 by Jody A. Lee.

 

An Archon to Enjoy – And I’m Already Looking Forward to the Next!

My Archon experience was good enough (and made enough money for me) to decide that Weird Sisters Publishing will have a dealers table from now on. Next spring, when the conventions start up again, I’ll actually have more titles (though people will have to wait a bit longer for Bone of Contention).

We plan to sell my sister’s two Deep Ellum stories as a single printed book, titled Deep Ellum Duo. We’ll also have print editions of the four novels in my late brother-in-law Warren Norwood’s Windhover Tetralogy. We’ll release all of these books this winter, so stand by for further updates on that!

All in all, as you probably have gathered, it was totally an Archon to enjoy. I’m already looking forward to next year!

IMAGE CREDITS

Some of the photos and illustrations I’ve used here have also turned up in other posts or on social media. Anything not credited is a photo or montage of photos that I took and assembled. I assembled the other montages, too, but the images in them have several sources.

Both Archon 45 headers are courtesy of Archon 45. Tyrell E. Gephardt and I both took photos of my Art Show display. I’m not sure whose shot this is. Artwork shown in the photo is ©2016-2022 by Jan S. Gephardt. The gallery of Cat Conrad’s artwork is a screen-grab of publicly shared images on his website. His artwork is © by Cat Conrad.

All of the artwork on Lucy A. Synk’s panels is ©2019-2022 by Lucy A. Synk. I took the photos with her permission (indeed, her cooperation). I’m using them here with her permission.

The photos of me at the Cartoons panel and with Aaron Hollingsworth at the Hollingsworth & Weird dealers table are both ©2022 by Tyrell E. Gephardt. I’m using them here with his permission.

The images of the “Indie Women of Science Fiction” are courtesy of the authors’ websites or social media, via my blog post. This montage was originally published (with full credits) on The Weird Blog and the two “Artdog Adventures” blogs. The artwork on the book covers with the QR codes in the last picture is ©2019 and 2020 by Jody A. Lee.

A Very Busy SoonerCon

By Jan S. Gephardt

SoonerCon 30 was a very busy SoonerCon for me. I had a chance to once again share one end of a sales table (this time in the Creators Alley). But I didn’t want to give up being on panels or in the Art Show. This was guaranteed to be a little crazymaking.

But it was so lovely to be back at SoonerCon! It’s one of my favorite conventions, as you can see if you look through my past blog posts about it. In a lot of ways it feels like an “adopted second ‘home con.’” SoonerCon has been very good to me, my artwork, and my books over the years!

So, during the Pandemic I contributed several sets of autographed XK9 books and one of my larger pieces of paper sculpture to their online auction fundraiser. I contributed to their Kickstarter, too. And I made sure I bought space for Weird Sisters Publishing in their digital and program Book advertising. In my opinion all of those efforts to support the convention are “Win-Win” efforts. When SoonerCon survives and thrives, my businesses have an excellent outlet for this and future years.

Three digital ads and a print ad helped both SoonerCon and Weird Sisters Publishing. (images from Weird Sisters Publishing LLC).

 

A Very Busy SoonerCon Art Show

In its former home at the Reed Conference Center the SoonerCon Art Show was shoehorned into a relatively small space. Everything was cramped, and the sightlines were short. You couldn’t back up to view a whole panel without the risk of running into someone else’s art panel. Not so in their new home at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Norman Hotel & Conference Center!

This year the SoonerCon Art Show was enormous, and the artwork was of very high quality. I enjoyed wonderful displays from Artist GoH Elizabeth Leggett, plus Rachael Mayo, Lucy A. Synk, and almost everyone else I pointed out in my two ConQuesT 53 Art Show posts. Chaz Kemp, Peri Charlifu, and other notable members of the Convention Artists Guild turned out in force with large and beautiful collections.

Two SoonerCon Art Show display panels show work by Jan S. Gephardt and Lucy A. Synk. (See credits below).

 

Other artists whose work caught my eye? Vanessa Green’s embroidery, Brooke Lydick’s quilting, and Rachel Karch’s striking mixed-media/polymer clay provided marvelous examples of striking work in unusual media. I loved the ingenuity of Joshua Cook’s imaginative metal sculptures of fantasy creatures (or are they machines?). Kelly Stoll, whom I understand to be Rachael Mayo’s sister, created exquisite fantasy miniatures on brooches and pendants. But the tour de force (and a top crowd-pleaser) of the entire, massive show were the amazing dioramas of Beth Lockhart. Lockhart also displayed beautiful painted gourds and chainmail dragons.

A Very Busy SoonerCon Panelist Schedule, too!

Before I knew I’d be holding down one end of a sales table all weekend, I had told the Programming people to “use me and abuse me.” At most conventions, my appearances on panels have been the major way I can communicate anything about myself, my artwork, and my books. I also (as I’ve mentioned a few hundred times in my blog posts) love to moderate panels, even though it’s extra work. The SoonerCon Programming people know this. They also seem to think I do a decent job of it, so I moderate a lot of my SoonerCon panels.

I love going to readings, but this year I only got to one: my own, along with (L-R: Selina Rosen, an unidentified audience member, Melinda LeFevers, Donna Frayser, and Tim Frayser. (See credits below).

 

This created the perfect recipe for a very busy SoonerCon programming schedule! On Friday I had two panels, one of which I moderated, plus an Author Reading. It was the only one I managed to attend. That night, the Art Show Reception provided a great chance to see the show and visit with lots of people. On Saturday, in addition to my Autographing session, I moderated three panels and enjoyed a late-evening Artists’ Chat. That turned out to be quite interesting and enjoyable. I hope they keep it on as a repeating feature!

On Sundays, I always ask not to be scheduled opposite Art Show check-out. Occasionally programming people ignore this, but I always appreciate it when I don’t have to throw myself on my son Ty’s mercy to avoid messing up the Art Show Staff’s teardown/load-out schedule. This time the programmers managed to both respect my Art Show commitment and schedule me for one last panel – a fun one called “Wry Wit for Writers: Humorous Fiction.” We laughed a lot, and I was pleased to be able to join the fun.

L-R: Rie Sheridan Rose created a copper-pipe “Steampunk” rack to display her books, DVDs, and other materials. In the center of the table are polymer clay figures, magnets, four books and other items from Mel. White. On the other end is Jan’s display of signs and XK9 books. (See credits below).

 

“Bad Bards and Beyond” – Another Shared Sales Table

The final part of my recipe for a very busy SoonerCon came from the last-minute addition of the “Bad Bards and Beyond” sales table. (Our books and I are the “Beyond” part). This table was almost as successful as my table at ConQuesT 53. That’s even though all the other commitments meant I spent considerably less time working it. We may have been positioned at the end of a long hallway, but there was a lot happening “out in our neck.” Things never got dull that I saw, and traffic stayed pretty busy.

My table-mates were Mel. White (Dr. Mel. White, Ph.D., to be formal) and Rie Sheridan Rose, both from Texas. I’ve know Mel. for what seems like donkeys’ years through the conventions, and she and Ty have independently struck up a pleasant friendship. We memorably hung out a lot together at NorthAmericon ’17 in Puerto Rico. I’ve known Rie less well, but we’ve amicably bumped into each other at SoonerCon, FenCon, and probably others in the past. The three of us spent the weekend deciding we made a pretty good team and planning to meet again at FenCon . . . but then a development made it important to cancel my attendance at the September convention.

Here I am with my “traveling display” at Archon 44 in 2021. (Tyrell E. Gephardt).

 

Meet My “Bad Bards and Beyond” Table-Mates

Mel. White

Mel. White’s bio on her Amazon page (she doesn’t seem to have an author website) describes her as a “Professor, scientist, artist, author, educator, and former computer programmer [who] writes science fiction and draws webcomics.” She and the late Robert Asprin created the “Duncan and Mallory” graphic novels (there were three), first published by Starblaze Graphics, 1986-1988. Aspirin died in 2008. Mel. has written many anthologized stories over the years. With co-author John DeLaughter, she re-launched the "Duncan and Mallory" series in 2018.

She earned her Ph.D. in Information Science in 2014, and followed that with work on a degree in Egyptology. Mel. is an adjunct professor (Egyptology and Anthropology) at Dallas College Richland Campus. She also works on dinosaur bones at the Perot Museum and pursues other pursuits. A longtime and accomplished filker, her music is part of the reason we called our table “Bad Bards And Beyond,” though I’m less sure about the “bad” part.

Rie Sheridan Rose

I’m grateful that Rie has a website, where it’s been easier to find (dated) biographical information. When her bio says she’s “contributed to innumerable anthologies,” she’s not kidding! Her Amazon Author Page goes on for pages and pages. Most of the items listed are anthologies. She’s also a prolific poet, as well as a filker and lyricist (the other part of the “Bards” in the table’s name).

But she’s also up to twelve novels now, if her website’s “My Work” page is up to date. Many are fantasy works. She’s also the author of the 5-book Conn-Mann Chronicles Steampunk series, as well as other Steampunk books and stories. In the “Steampunk spirit,” she’d created a fun little book rack for her end of our table, made of copper pipes.

My table-mates Mel. White and Rie Sheridan Rose have produced a number of interesting fiction projects. (See credits below).

 

As you can imagine, all of these elements came together to create a very busy SoonerCon 30 for yours truly. But, as SoonerCon always proves to be for me, it also was a fun, stimulating, and utterly worthwhile weekend. I’m already looking forward to next year!

IMAGE CREDITS

Jan S. Gephardt took many of the photos in this post myself (as noted in cutlines). She designed all of the advertising and other graphics for Weird Sisters Publishing with skillful help from illustrations © by Chaz Kemp, Lucy A. Synk, and Jody A. Lee and used with authorization. The photo of Lucy’s artwork display was taken with her permission. My son Tyrell E. Gephardt took the photos of my art display in the SoonerCon Art Show. He also took the photo of me with all my books and signs at Archon 44 (2021).

The photos from my reading portray fellow authors/readers Selina Rosen, Melinda LaFevers, and Tim Frayser, along with his wife Donna Frayser and an unnamed audience member. All photos were taken with permission by their subjects.

The “Mel And Rie” Montage pulled imagery from several sources. The original three “Duncan and Mallory” covers are part of a screen-capture from Google Search. Mel’s Facebook avatar, “Syskitty,” came from her Facebook page. Rie’s author photo came from her Amazon Author Page. The “Conn-Mann Chronicles Series” graphic is courtesy of the Amazon page for that series. Many thanks to all!

A Show full of GoHs

 By Jan S. Gephardt

A panorama of the ConQuesT 53 Art Show, just prior to the end of the silent auction. (Mikah McCullough/ConQuesT Art Show).

The ConQuesT 53 Art Show was certainly a “Show full of GoHs.” Perhaps I should unpack that a bit. In fannish circles the acronym “GoH” stands for “Guest of Honor,” and is pronounced “go.” Every science fiction convention invites several headline guests. They appear, generally all- or most-expenses-paid by the convention committee, to attract people to the convention.

In the early years, the GoHs (plural for “GoH,” pronounced “goes”) were nearly all authors. And still today the “Author GoH” usually gets listed first. As conventions and sub-fandoms proliferated, though, we also began to see Media GoHs, Fan GoHs, Special GoHs. And – most important for this post, Artist GoHs.

I arrived at this post’s title when I wandered from display panel to display panel and realized “this really is a show full of GoHs.” I counted five (I apologize if I missed any!), including this year’s Artist Guest, who’ve been Artist Guests of Honor at ConQuesT in recent decades. There were so many, I decided to dedicate a separate blog post to them.

Donato Giancola was the Artist Guest of Honor at ConQuesT 53 (image courtesy of ConQuesT).

 

Donato Giancola, 2022

Every few years an illustrator becomes such a master of the craft, and so universally-respected, that he or she becomes generally acknowledged as a grandmaster. Frank Kelly Freas, Michael Whelan, and a handful of others have reached that status. They illustrate their period’s most important books. Their work regularly receives Hugo Awards, Chesley Awards, Spectrum Awards, and more. They eventually tend to branch out into fine art, gallery representation, and their works become the centerpieces of museum gallery shows.

I’d say it’s probable that in recent years Donato Giancola has joined those ranks. A rising talent in fantasy, science fiction, and speculative art since the mid-1990s, he’s currently best known for his J.R.R. Tolkien illustrations in Middle Earth: Journeys in Myth and Legend and his Empathetic Robots Series. Long revered for his wonderful Magic; The Gathering card designs, his work displays a stunning technical expertise, little wonder he’s also a popular online teacher.

Donato Giancola’s website offers a trove of art resources. (image courtesy of Donato Arts).

 

Elizabeth Leggett, 2018

The next-most-recent guest whose work I spotted in this “Show of GoHs” is Elizabeth Leggett. I remember the year ConQuesT honored her as a particularly interesting time. That’s partially because I had more chances than usual to catch her panel appearances as well as enjoy her work in the show. It’s also because that’s the year she and my friend Lynette M. Burrows did a “cover reveal” at the convention. She painted the original cover for Lynette’s debut novel, My Soul to Keep (It’s still my favorite of Lynette's covers, but genre conventions forced her to change it later).

I’ve been a fan of Elizabeth’s work ever since. Her website says “Elizabeth Leggett is a Hugo award-winning illustrator whose work focuses on soulful, human moments-in-time that combine ambiguous interpretation and curiosity with realism. . . . In 2012, she ended a long fallow period by creating a full seventy-eight card tarot in a single year. From there, she transitioned into freelance illustration. Her clients represent a broad range of outlets, from multiple Hugo award winning Lightspeed Magazine to multiple Lambda Literary winner, Lethe Press. She was honored to be chosen to art direct both Women Destroy Fantasy and Queers Destroy Science Fiction, both under the Lightspeed banner.”

Rachael Mayo, 2017

The year before Elizabeth became the Artist GoH, hometown favorite Rachael Mayo received that honor. Rachael is a friend, but even if she wasn’t, I’d have a special place in my heart for her wonderful, often vibrantly-colorful creatures. She persistently self-identifies as an “amateur” artist at sf convention art shows because she has a “day job.” But that has never dented her serious focus on materials, craftsmanship and mastery of skills.

According to Rachael’s Noble Fusion bio, her artful adventures in the publication field include a period when she produced several covers for Hadley Rille Books (including for my friend M. C. Chambers’ Shapers’ Veil), interior illustrations for Tremorworks: Demongate High Monster Manual, and work for now-apparently-inactive (?) Hive, Queen and Country Victorian miniatures. More readily available are Rachael’s beautiful and challenging coloring books.

Take a deeper dive into the online galleries of Elizabeth Leggett and Rachael Mayo for many more visual riches. (See credits below).

 

Peri Charlifu, 2010

Few artists have found better success focusing on science fiction conventions than Peri Charlifu. A master of his craft (he mixes his own glazes, for example), he has normally sent his wonderful pottery creations (in sturdy boxes, nestled in carefully-crafted cradles of pool noodles and bubble-wrap) to some 40-50 shows each year. His entries are the objects of delighted admiration and spirited bidding everywhere they go, as far as I can tell. I don’t recall having ever been to a convention where the art show staff had unsold Charlifu ceramics to send back to him. And as anyone who exhibits their work at sf cons can attest, that’s saying something!

Peri began offering detailed workshops on how to conduct a successful art career, both at conventions and in his home state of Colorado. He and his ever-expanding group of mentees and associates created the Convention Artists Guild. The group had formed before the Pandemic, but it became a port in the storm for working artists then. Its weekly Virtual Art Shows offered a needed outlet when all the normal ways of doing business went on lockdown.

Peri was the Artist GoH at ConQuesT in 2010, but in many ways he’s “Primus” (his Convention Artists Guild title) among artists who exhibit their work at sf conventions. He’s not extremely tall, but even in this “Show full of GoHs,” he’s a towering (though always gentle) figure.

Theresa Mather, 2005

Theresa Mather’s visually-luscious fantasy art is another regular fixture at many sf convention art shows. She normally exhibits her work at more than 70 shows each year. In this “Show full of GoHs” she seems to shine on timelessly.

Theresa earned her place in this post when she was the ConQuesT Artist GoH in 2005 (I still treasure her T-shirt, and I’m not alone). She appreciates the convention art show staffs that handle her work as few other mail-in artists seem to (she never fails to enclose some little gifts for the staff). And her generous spirit shines through her work.

Like Peri Charlifu, she has a large, devoted fan base. Also like him, Theresa never took the more usual sf and fantasy artists’ route of working for book publishers or gaming companies. Instead, she relates directly to her followers. Although paintings and prints on paper are her normal fare, she’s also known for her elaborate paintings on feathers and rocks. Active in the field of antique carousel restoration early in her career, her bio says she has painted “suites of large-scale paintings for the crestings of five antique carousels and decorative paintwork for a sixth” (three of those are currently on public display).

The ConQuesT 53 display of Theresa Mather, alongside a gallery of Peri Charlifu’s pottery. (See credits below).

 

The Force Behind this Show full of GoHs

Before I end this two-part series of posts on the ConQuesT 53 Art Show (see last week’s post for the first in this two-parter), one more salute. I think it’s important to note that none of these artists would have a forum to show their art in a visually stunning and widely- respected art show, were it not for the leadership of Art Show Director Mikah McCullough and his devoted team (most especially including his wife Katarina Gibb, and, yes, his Corgi Renji).

During their tenure Mikah and Kat have modernized the show, improved its efficiency, and promoted it (most notably through the show’s Facebook Page) energetically. They care deeply about fantasy and science fiction art. They make sure the art placed in their care is handled gently, and completely accounted for from receipt through sale or return and payment to artists.

They’re the reason so many artists, including so many past and present Artist Guests of Honor, have found it worthwhile to send or bring their work year after year. They laid the solid groundwork for this “show full of GoHs.” And everyone who saw the show is the richer for their work.

Mikah (L) and his intrepid art show staff (to represent them, that’s Renji at right with stacks of mailed-in art in boxes) put on an awesome show Full of GoHs. (See credits below).

 

IMAGE CREDITS

Fair use of copyrighted artwork is always a fraught question with artists profiled in blog posts. For this post, I’ve used only publicly-shared photos and screen-grabs of galleries on the artists’ websites. I hope that they’ll give you a taste of what each artist has to offer. For better, larger views of these wonderful pieces, please click on the URL links. Take some time to enjoy browsing the artists’ websites. Each one offers unique rewards and visual delights.

As noted above, the “Artist Guest of Honor” graphic for Donato Giancola is courtesy of ConQuesT 53. The peek at his website’s range is courtesy of Donato himself, via his website. The gallery-views representing Elizabeth Leggett and Rachael Mayo offer only small glimpses of what you’ll find on their websites.

Mikah McCullough took the photos of Theresa Mather’s ConQuesT 53 display panels. He posted them publicly on the ConQuesT Art Show’s Facebook for sharing, with her blessing. The detail from Peri Charlifu’s Aegean Goods gallery of pottery offers a partial view of his work’s range and sophistication. See much more of both artists’ work via the links.

Mikah also took (and posted) the photos of the ConQuesT 53 Art Show panorama. Ditto with his dog Renji with the mailed-in art boxes. The photo of Mikah himself is from his Twitter profile (photographer uncredited). Many thanks to all! The montages are Jan S. Gephardt’s doing.