Stumptown 2010 or "enjoy your debt"

Ahh man, I just want to sleep, but I gotta update. Stuff went down. Gotta update. Not as much stuff as last year, because I was largely confined to my table, but stuff none the less.

Saturday:

Karen offered me a ride. She said she was going to arrive at 9:30, but was running late. This was fine because I was late getting my outfit together and making myself all pretty for the nerds. She arrived at about 10, and we got to Stumptown at about 10:30. We most assuredly did not get out half table. Oh well. The PNCA table and Duford were in almost the same position, so I beelined it for there. I still paid for a weekends admission as I didn't have an official pass for the table.

A fourth of the table was occupied with Continuing Education information and half of the rest of the table was Daniel's stuff, and then there was my comic, bandana, and sketchbook zine. It wasn't that impressive, I felt, but more than last year. The table was more of a "representing PNCA table" anyway, and I introduced myself as such. Mostly put forward that this was the PNCA table and I was a student and here is my massive comic that is over a year old and looks dated to me, but still buy it? Please? Sales overall were a lot slower. I spent a lot of time at the table by myself, which sucks. Daniel was helping at Aidan Koch's table, where he had prints, and he also had a panel. He did relieve me, but most of the time it was the situation where if I was there, he would be gone. But if I asked for time, he gave it. Like when I realized it ended at 6, not 4, and that I needed a sandwich badly.

The first day I only spent what I made or had in my wallet already. So I didn't buy a lot. Two for $15 volumes of Octopus Pie and some spectacular volumes from the Rabid Rabbit collective. When I was buying Octopus Pie, Kate Beaton was talking to the creator. She introduced herself and I did likewise, but didn't break out into OMGYOUKATEBEATONOMG!! fits. She is rad. Rad rad rad.

I was next to the same people I was last year, and this Luchador in Space dude. Really nice and complimented me heavily on my enthusiasm. I was across from the CloudScape people. Nice folks them as well.

There are so many vertical displays. That is, large vertical supported banners that people prop up behind them to support themselves. Can't even see half way across the room.

Saw Farel, Sivonna, Jim, Matt G, Daniel H, uhm...lots of people. A couple people remembered me from last year. Some were wowed by my comic, but I didn't get as many "wow I must buy this NOW" reactions.

BT was all dressed up like a vintage bartender. Karen had work to do, so she wasn't tabling. Lacey was finishing up her thesis so she wasn't there either.

Paul Pope was at the convention. I don't know his work that well, but I know he is truly awesome.

I spent a lot of time at the table.

After the show, I went to Rose & Thistle with Jim, Dave, Matt, and BT. Got a lift with Matt, stored my box of stuff in his truck, and whoo beer and onion rings after a long long day. Mostly convention chat. Indiana(or was that Indigo?) and his ladyfriend joined us. That was the after party. The after after party was at Cosmic Monkey Comics. There was an awards ceremony, voted on by the people at the convention. You self nominate. Categories include best art, best writing, DIY, small publication, etc. BT's press Banner Year Press's work Bear Fight (which I am a part of) was nominated in Do It Yourself and Small Publication. And it won BOTH AWARDS!! Whooo!! He looked so dapper on stage. The place had free beer, but we (Matt, BT, and I) were not sticking around, so I only had one. I was dropped off on Naito & Morrison and ran and caught the max back to my place. I came home at about 10:30pm, but it felt like 1am. Doctor Who beckoned and then I passed out.

Sunday:

Maxed it to the Lloyd Center Double Tree today. Didn't have time for breakfast and I forgot mascara. Blar! Arrived on time. Ate the apple and granola bar I had stored. Daniel showed up with his wife and daughter, Devlin, but those two didn't stay. His daughter is a cutey. Three year old, I think? There were a lot of babies at Stumptown. Lots of cute babies, that didn't cry all that much. Had to remind myself that they DO cry and that I DON'T want one.

I sold less comics, but I did sell two bandanas! Those two made me more money then pushing my comics did. I wonder how pitching the school affected my sales. Oh well. Because I was lonely at my table with minimal display, my enthusiasm was not where it was last year with Lacey.

I spent more money also. I did take some money out of the ATM, but when I totaled how much I made and how much I took out, I only really spent about twenty bucks. AND since I did it through PNCA, I didn't have to pay for the table (which I got the refund for, hurrah). But I'm happy with what I bought. Mostly higher end publications. Some sets of comics. Theo Ellsworth's Capacity (which he signed with a cute doodle) and a story by Ken Dahl, which may or may not be a pseudonym (say his name out loud and think about it). Lots of stuff. I went a little buy crazy in my last thirty minutes. But it was mostly picking up stuff I passed several times over and it still stuck in my head.

Went to the Kate Beaton/Dylan Meconis lecture. They talked about history and art and comics and why history comics. It was hilarious. Oh, I was with Madeline at the lecture, who was there and we hung out and walked around for a bit and she showed me some stuff. But yeah, it was a great little chat. I wish I had a chance to talk to Beaton in person, but she had a solid line of people every time she was at her table. Next year...

Luke was there, but I only saw him once. Karen watched my table while I ran to make change. Lots of people paid in twenties.

I got a lot more time to walk about, away from the table. Didn't really talk to many people though. I always wanted to keep moving.

Keenan, a tabler from last year, was there and he remembered me. Total nice guy.

Spent money, made money, spent more money.

One person came up to my table and after I introduced PNCA he said "wow you must be really rich" and after I asked what he meant, he rambled about how much art school costs and how if you are not rich, you are in horrid debt for the rest of your life. REALLY RUDE. My reaction, while not rude in return, made it quite obvious that I did not like his, and the lady he was with, comment. Serously people. I am here promoting myself and my school, don't be an ass.

It was a good second day, though my enthusiasm to promote was waining. My voice was going like it was yesterday. Need more work to sell...

Lots of stuff happened, I am clearly forgetting portions. Oh well.

I got a ride back into town with Karen, BT, and Lacey (Lacey and Karen came from PNCA to pick up BT). We all ate victorious at Hot Lips (for the girls) and Laughing Planet (for the dapper boy). Then it was print lab time. BT took a nap. I read some of my comics. I helped Karen print. I helped Lacey eat her cake. We listed to Lacey practice her speech. Chatted girl chat. BT left to catch the max to the other side. After printing finished, we found a room to practice. Lacey's first full run through was really good. A couple pauses, but very smooth with minimal ums. Karen's proposal improved vastly in between the first and second run throughs.

Big week next week.

For a picture of Daniel & I at our table on Saturday, go to this link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oceanyamaha/4550395734/in/set-72157623801923951/

I will sum up Stumptown 2010, I promise

I'll do a full two day sum up of Stumptown tomorrow. Just let it be known: I'm having fun though making less money.

lovely gifties

I got a late Valentines box this morning from someone who shall remain anonymous. But it was a fella. In the box was an assortment of art supplies, all in shades of pink. Pink colored pencils, pink gouache, pink watercolors, pink acrylic, pink pastel, pink stamp pad, pink oils. A great present. Just simply perfect.

Even though I got a decent amount of sleep, I went full groggy after 3pm. Heather gave a little presentation that was well thought out and presented clearly. Not the disaster that mine was. Then we talked about earth works and The West for an hour.

Karen and I sorted out our Stumptown Comics Fest form during lunch. We are going in halvsies on a half table. Registration is still open, so hopefully they will find a place to smoosh us that isn't too stuffed away. A full table would be ideal, but we don't have a stock pile of work ready. It would also create incentive to make displays for our work. Go vertical instead of horizontal. Very exciting. Marketing work and promoting yourself. I think I'll print a coloring book, that is an easy project. Need at least two new materials in editions of at least 60. Hmmn.

After lunch, we watched a bit from Jeremiah Johnson and The Outlaw Josey Wales. Robert Redford and Clint Eastwood. I think I should watch more westerns. I checked out The Searchers from the library, unfortunately that has just been added to the pile with Zorba the Greek and The Bicycle Thieves. I'll get around to them when I feel in the mood, until then I shall renew renew renew.

The third video was about a Cuban land artist. We watched the full thing and I fell asleep. Don't know why, I got a good amount of sleep. Well I nodded off and back up and off again. Phil told me I was breathing really heavily through my nose (I have the snuffles). Goddammit! I actually did get through the reading this week and everything. Argh. I felt bad. I told Phil he was allowed to nudge me.

We chatted some more and then critiqued Phil, Tabitha, and Sandra's pieces. Phil did an etching about his disappointment with the desert from his point of view (he is from Hawaii). Sandra took some air, water, and land samples from a park, and Tabitha did a video compilation of various westerns.

I napped for 20 minutes, then got my bum handed to me by yoga. Again. I'm so out of shape. I could barely hold any pose. So not fun!

For my next illustration project I am doing a cover for Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne. I have some ideas, just need to bounce them off Martin. Why this book? Uhh, maybe because doing Oliver Twist would be too obvious? Eh.

Time to sleep now. Still coughing. It sucks.

My First Stumptown (as a seller)

Stumptown Comics Fest: 2009. Third year attending, first year selling. First time EVER selling my work for reals.

Saturday:
Rolled out of bed after such a long day working on the print. I hopped on the Max and arrived at a little bit before 10am. I stood in line for a little while before realizing that exhibitors can go right on. Got my badge and found the PNCA tables. Tables. Two. Two whole big tables for Lacey, August, PNCA stuff, and myself. No one else was there. I spread out my comic on half the table and showed many different formats. Lacey showed up just a little after I did and set up. No one else was there still. Daniel came with the PNCA pamphlets but there was no one coming with a set up. NO ONE! We had a couple comics spread out across a full table. Some people stuffed a half table with more than we were offering. It was a rather silly looking display. Very weak. But we still sold. Lacey would edge a comic along every now and again. She sold minis. I was selling mine for $2 so it sold really easy. People were impressed by the format and the colors and how unusual it was. I made a lot of on the spot sales. Sure I got the, "I'm just doing the rounds" line and the "I'll come back later because it is big and I don't want to crush it" stuff. And about four people did come back and buy it. So great. It sold. It sold well. I made about $45 the first day and about the same the second. It was a nice little return and it felt good to get my stuff out there.

I saw Keith Knight speak about the comics business. Jeff Smith was giving his lecture at the same time so Knight's was a tad vacant. Which actually worked out well for me because he recognized me afterwards and we talked and he bought one of my comics! Farel bought one. Jesse Reklaw bought one. Greg Means, who edits Papercutter, bought one. He was apparently showing it to other people all over the place. Some people came to my table looking for it because they saw it around.

I traded some and gave some away with chocolate. I'm not all that attached to it.

August took his sweet time showing up. Lacey and I had our pitches down. We would do one and the other and pimp each other out and trade off. It was a nice little enthusiastic show. August was shy or whatever and we didn't really sell anything when we left the table. I sold one when we took a half hour for lunch. You gotta make eye contact and smile and talk and talk and talk and show off the wares. I got some great reactions when I opened the whole thing out to its unfolded glory.

Jason (Dagit, not Powell) stopped by to support me and he got a comic. That was nice. He invited me out for drinks with him and a couple friends later on.

A lovely lady with the last name of Yanow and I chatted a lot.

Jim had a cozy little nook, he bought a comic. Bryan over payed but I bought one of his first, as well as 1-4 of BT's Otto Zeplin comic. I stopped by Farel's table a bunch. He had a lovely set up and was one of the honored guests.

Talked to Martine Workman, who was delightful and lovely. Dame Darcy was there and I was giddy. I love her work!

Kenan Rubenstein loved my comic so much and we traded. He had this epic calendar style format and the comic unfolded over a year and you turned the pages like a calender. It was really nice. He was super nice. He had a sort of fold out comic like mine, just smaller. He really loved Lacey's work as well. A lot of people did. The people that connected with it really loved it. It was awesome.

Thom and Dom showed up and sat at our table and brought some of the late afternoon energy. They also payed paper money for my comic. So awesome! I love being supported by my friends.

We stayed all the way through till 6pm, when things shut down. I had invites to the Cosmic Monkey party but I decided to chill with Jason instead. I met them at Lompac at 7:30. I rode my bike there as it was at 23rd and Raleigh. We had pitchers. I had fish and chips. Me his friends Sandeep and Chris. We drank and talked and laughed and were loud and I think some of the other patrons didn't like us. But we were making fun of them. Well mostly this one girl and guy. The guy wanted nothing to do with this girl but she was pawing him and sitting in his lap and all but throwing herself at him. He just sat there and ignored her and pretended like she wasn't there. It was kinda funny. We finished up there (I waved to my friend Michael on the way out, he was far from us and probably didn't notice me because I was with math majors and forestry chris). We went to the Matador for a nicer drink in a nicer place. I don't know how it happened but we left at 1:30am. It became a sudden long night. Sandeep lives a block from my place and Jason and Chris were crashing at his place so we all walked to the Goose Hollow region together. I really should have payed better attention to the time because 2am and 7:40am wake up do not go together.

Sunday:
UHG! So horrible getting up. It was a slug and a trudge and crawl. I stuffed some stuff in my face that made up some semblance of a breakfast and was late out the door. I got there right at 10:00. Not early but not late. Not late as I was the first one there again and Lacey the second. I brought blankets so now our setup looks a lot nicer and a little less pathetic.

I managed to make some rounds to creators and really talked to people. Talked to Jon Chad and he had some awesome format comics. One was about descending into caves. We traded. I talked to so many people and got such a wide variety, some of what happened is going to blur together. Most of the Greg Means stuff happened today I think. Today was fueled by sugar and adrenaline. Bought the set of Ouija Board Interview comics from Sarah Becan. She came by and got my comic as well. He talked and it was lovely.

Karen stopped by. She got my comic for free because, well duh, I couldn't have finished it without her screens. Farel gave her a print to give to me. He also gave her one. What an awesome fella!

Madeline was there and picked up a comic. So awesome! She said someone mentioned to her that she was walking with an awesome comic (when they saw her with it) and she hella name dropped me as her friend. Ha! She is so cool.

Talked to these lovely fellas with a castle set up display for their comics. We traded. Will Iversen and Dan Bouse I believe they were.

It was great to feel like my comic was being shown around and considered awesome. I traded a lot. I wanted a wide range of people to have it. And it seemed like they were eager to take it. Greg said cartoonists thought it was awesome. Some bought it as an inspiration for printing. It was, well, wonderful. I was this ecstatic feeling. I sold really well. I am at about 10 copies right now. I sold around 46. Gave away or traded maybe about 20. Hard to say. Didn't keep the best of track.

A guy gave me a card asking if I was interested in an internship. He said I seemed to know what I was doing. Lacey sold all of her comics and had a strong interest from local bookstores who might carry it.

Now I just need to think of a new, cool format. Or keep doing it like this. Make a niche for myself as the massive format comic girl. Cheap and creative. It also helps to talk and smile and network and introduce myself.

I was in a daze. Flustered and stuttering and it was so hard to get my pitch but I still sold. In the end I made $93 and Lacey made around $172. Pretty awesome for our first go.

August showed up for barely 2 hours. It was frustrating having to have to trade off the whole day. You don't want to stay at the table the whole time.

Oh and one of the models at school was selling her comic, Erika, she was really cool.

There were just so many awesome people who were psyched. I've used the word awesome a lot of times but that was what it was: AWESOME! My friends came and supported me, strangers liked my work, editors and professionals dug it.

Now I just need access to a screenprinting studio. Gotta get into the comic GAME YO!

Went back home on the Max with Lacey. Gabe made dinner. I am exhausted but have to pull up the stupid freaking Illustration assignment that was impossible for me to do half of it (how can I take pictures of the same inanimate object at noon and 3am when I'm at school or printing or selling my wares?). Argh. I'll do as much as I can but my heart just isn't in it. I WANNA SELL MORE AND PARTY! So much went down this weekend. I wish I could write it all but it is hard. I met so many people.

long day, late night

I had a long day and afterwards I went out for drinks and I just got back and its 2am so I don't feel like trying to recount the whole day right now.

But I'll say this: it went very very well! I sold a lot of comics and made like almost $50. Which is good for this type of thing. I'm selling it for 2$ so the price is right.

It's going good. Full recount tomorrow.