Seattle Sakura Con 2013

Once upon a time, I did this crazy thing. I decided to go along with my sister to sell as an artist in Artist Alley at Sakura Con (an anime convention in Seattle, WA). And, many months of hard work later, on March 28th I found myself driving up to the Washington Convention Center to set up my display.

 

(driving under the convention center, in all its glassy glory)

 

Artists can come in and set up the day before the convention begins, so my sister and I took full advantage. We headed into the chaos of booth construction and found our own little half-a-table in the 500 section of the Artist Alley.

And now, the fun began.

Turns out I'm quite handy with planning and construction - the display was my design and I took on most of the building too (as is logical, since I understood the design the best). My first display design ended up not working (we were attaching wire racks directly to our PVC pipe frame, which then became too wobbly), so we tried Plan B (which luckily I had sketched up as well when I was figuring out possible layouts for our display). Plan B had the racks supporting themselves independently in an L shaped display, and it turned out excellently.

first display (in progress) = fail                                                 second attempt = SUCCESS!

And so, the filling of the display  began. But only to a certain extent - most of the product was coming with us the next day. You can see my nice big prints on display though :-)

Then, dawned March the 29th. . .and I, with only four hours of sleep and a bag full of grapes, ventured in the early hours once again north to Seattle.

(hehehe. . .too perfect!)

(my sister and cousin, both of whom came the first day with me!)

And thus, once again, we descended upon the convention center . . . although now, it was much more crowded with excited Sakura Con attendees. Luckily for us, we had about an hour to prepare before the doors opened on the Artist Alley.

 

(Katherine and Alicia getting everything ready - Alicia, my sister, sold her jewelry at the con which is what they're setting up)

(other artists getting their booths ready)

Aaaannnnddd. . . . ta-dah!!!  Our little four feet of artistic glory.

(no. . .we don't take ourselves very seriously. . . )

And thus, 2 days of an incredible adventure began. Sure, that adventure was spent mostly sitting doing nothing that can be labeled "productive" (I did a lot of people watching, joking, and staring off into space), but there were shining moments that made the slow parts sooo worthwhile. Moments when groups were gathered around my booth, and people (staring up at my large prints overhead) struggled against each other to be the first to get up to my table. Moments when friends from the online website where I post my fan artwork came up and introduced themselves to me in person. Moments when people smiled and told me my artwork was really good, or would use awesome adjectives to describe what I had created, and I could tell from their faces that they really meant every word. The moment when the girl recognized Izark and Noriko from "From Far Away" - and bought my print. And the woman who spent $30 on prints and bookmarks. And the native Japanese man who told me my kanji was "incredible" with true admiration in his voice. 

Another moment - or moments, I should say - was every time someone wanted to pay to own a piece of my artwork. It may seem weird, but as an artist, that's an incredible feeling. When the couple dressed as Marshall Lee and Fionna begged me to sell them my display 11x14 when I was all out, even though there were a couple dings and scrapes on that particular print. . .and insisted on paying full price for it. "It's pretty much a family portrait!"

And, of course, there are the cosplayers. . .

It was two exhausting days, but two days of concentrated awesome in moments of glory. And I will never forget it.

Prints that sold the most? These two were the stars:

Although, this piece also sold very well:

 

As did this one:
 

Those were the most popular prints. But I sold a smattering of everything - every piece I made sold at least one bookmark (can you believe that?!). And I sold a unicorn horn headband and a couple zodiac key chains too!! Financially speaking, I made back everything I spent preparing and even cleared a profit!! So how can I not be thrilled?! :-)

(the streets of Seattle filled with Con goers)

Plus, the weather during the convention was beautiful. So it made for two days of beautiful long drives.

What more could I have asked for?

Some people have asked me if I will do it again. I don't know if I will. Fan art is fun, but when it becomes about profit it changes how you creatively approach ideas. And I don't know if I feel up to creating enough new fan art (and getting involved in enough new fandoms) to keep myself competitive in that field. But it is a lot of fun. We'll see.

What I'm taking from this experience really is being encouraged as an artist overall. I feel brave, like I'm proved myself - and it's a good feeling. A feeling that I will take to some of creative projects I've put on hold as I've prepared for the Con (that I can now resume). To ideas for artwork I want to pursue. 

I always feel like calling myself an "artist" is a ongoing battle - that I must prove myself worthy of the title. The label of "artist" is not something I feel I can just take and wear, like a hat or a pair of shoes. It is not something that becomes a part of me I can put on and forget.  I would say it's more like a crown whose weight constantly reminds me of its presence. A symbol greater than myself that if I want claim to, I must fight battles and defend my right to it. Prove myself worthy as its wearer.

Well. . . battle = won. At least for today :-)

And so, it's farewell for this year, my Sakura Con friends . . .

(my sister at our booth right before closing the second day, note that several of the large prints have been replaced with smaller ones because they sold out!)

Thank you for the incredible, incredible adventure!!! ♥

~md