 | Oo-de-lally! What a nice way to reconnect with friends and make art. Apologies for the gap in posts. my last one was on the 14th, just two days before my friends and I made the trip to La Crosse, WI. I was very much busy with getting things prepped and ready for the show. |
While not the attendance size I was hoping for compared to last year, I still had an excellent time with my audience and my friends; Markus, Kris and Dominic. Kris and Dominic also ran their first booth for their shop Now & Then from Mason City, IA.
Table Display
The best part of doing things like vending or artist alley is that you're sure to learn and have mistakes along the way. While I enjoyed having most if not all of my work available to my audience, it did cut me off from interactions except for my brief opening. After some constructive criticism from my friends and other artists, I will evaluate and reconstruct it for future events.
Commissions & Fans
It is still a humbling experience being able to talk & interact directly with my audience. Last year I met a great group of friends who have made it their goal to gift me food and continually purchase my work. I even dedicated my latest zine project to them. To Grant, Angeli, Adam, Zach, Chynelle, Blake, thank you guys so much for your continued support. I look forward to chatting and planning next year.
I did a few commissions this year including, a dark elf fighter with a magic panther, a goblin pinup and a tiefling paladin using Spiritual Weapon spell on some undead.
I also received this lovely illustration from Angeli this year! I'll be sure to do a post on artwork I've commissioned or have done trades with soon.
I did a few commissions this year including, a dark elf fighter with a magic panther, a goblin pinup and a tiefling paladin using Spiritual Weapon spell on some undead.
I also received this lovely illustration from Angeli this year! I'll be sure to do a post on artwork I've commissioned or have done trades with soon.
This was a fun commission to do. This was ordered by the same lovely couple who ordered from me last year. This is their fairy OC for a novel they're working on. Had a lot of fun drawing the hiar and coloring it in. Thank you Klover Rae for the opportunity!
 My girls were just in awe of the cosplay and the many vendors selling dice every where! They are used to seeing so much fantasy aesthetics and dice. They are very much princesses and dragons type of girls, so I ended up getting them baby dragon eggs from the Eagle Winds art booth. Thanks, ladies! My kids love them! | I also had a surprise visit from my parents, wife and kids! My wife was my partner in crime doing these shows, but since we had kids it has become harder to step in. This would the first show for my wife since 2019 and this is my parent's first time seeing what I do at these shows. The timing of it all just worked and I was very proud to show off my family to everyone.  |
One of my newest friends and patrons, Grant, gave me a fresh loaf of artisanal bread in his maid-cat café cosplay. It was glorious and so was the bread! Absolutely delicious! He was also the owner of the Tiefling Paladin commission. Thank you, Grant!
Miniatures and Wargaming
There was a ton of gaming hosted by the local area group D.A.W.G. (Driftless Area War Gamers). You could learn new games, participate in the Warhammer tournaments or the Miniature Painting competition!
A very special thank you to the D.A.W.G gaming group and especially Megan & Tom Johnson for making the event happen and providing so much work to make the con grow even more.
A very special thank you to the D.A.W.G gaming group and especially Megan & Tom Johnson for making the event happen and providing so much work to make the con grow even more.
Guest appearance of Jon Ninas (Ninjon) and the Trapped Under Plastic Choice Award!
  | Last year I had messaged Jon to visit the convention and he was able to check it out with his good friend Josh. This year I was asked to reach out to both Jon and Scott (Miniac) to see if there was anything they'd like to do under their podcast Trapped Under Plastic. There was some timing issues, but Jon was able to make it again this year and present the TUP's Choice Award. A lot of local area miniature painters were ecstatic to see Jon in the crowd. I was just as equally happy to chat with both Josh and Jon (& their new friend, forgot your name, sorry!) for a bit. I gave Jon and Josh some artwork and a special Mt. Dew Dice. Tom Johnson was able to have 3D printed trophies for this year's competition and also included a TUP's Choice trophy as well. Jon, Josh & Crew, thank you so much so swinging by! |
All the happenings! All at the same time!
My friends and I decided to leave Thursday and stay the night in La Crosse so we could have an easy morning getting set up Friday. We definitely plan to do the same trick again for this show or any other if we decide to have booths at.
For almost 3 dinners straight we ate exclusively at Buzzard Billy's. It is a Cajun/seafood/American eats establishment.
We had nothing but amazing food and service every time we went. We had fun just ordering random things off of the appetizer list and sharing amongst each other. We even did that for our main dishes as well. If you find yourself there, the fries with Cajun seasoning is a must, the seafood alfredo & bacon wrapped andouille sausage will knock you out.
I had a few illustrations to work on while we hung out at the hotel. We made sure to have drinks, open up my friend's Pokemon booster packs & play some new games like Tiny Epic Defenders. Highly recommend for a short party game that can be done in 30 mins with multiple scenarios.
The one downside to the convention was numbers. With Gen-Con happening the week before, some folks had already spent their cash, played their games, or were just overwhelmed with back-to-back conventions. There may have been other factors in play, but regardless I still had fun thanks to my friends and audience. If it wasn't for them, I do not believe it would have been as successful as we had hoped it would.
For almost 3 dinners straight we ate exclusively at Buzzard Billy's. It is a Cajun/seafood/American eats establishment.
We had nothing but amazing food and service every time we went. We had fun just ordering random things off of the appetizer list and sharing amongst each other. We even did that for our main dishes as well. If you find yourself there, the fries with Cajun seasoning is a must, the seafood alfredo & bacon wrapped andouille sausage will knock you out.
I had a few illustrations to work on while we hung out at the hotel. We made sure to have drinks, open up my friend's Pokemon booster packs & play some new games like Tiny Epic Defenders. Highly recommend for a short party game that can be done in 30 mins with multiple scenarios.
The one downside to the convention was numbers. With Gen-Con happening the week before, some folks had already spent their cash, played their games, or were just overwhelmed with back-to-back conventions. There may have been other factors in play, but regardless I still had fun thanks to my friends and audience. If it wasn't for them, I do not believe it would have been as successful as we had hoped it would.
Thank you Markus, Kris and Dominic for the fantastic weekend. Here's to many more in the near future!
Until next time
-Jordan
Until next time
-Jordan
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