WHEW! WHOOP!

Mere minutes ago, I got home from the Phoenix Comicon. And while the organization of the event was something no large organization should ever allow to happen (like..it was *bad*), the actual event itself was splendid! I sold lots of puppets & in general hung out with some really rad people.

So where have I been for the last 2 months? Well, I've mostly been working on making puppets for comicon, but I've also had the good pleasure of going back to Toronto to work with Unraku on a project. I really love working with film/video. It's not something I'd ever really envisioned myself actually doing 4-5 years ago, but boy howdy it's fun! Not only is it fun, the people involved with Unraku are simply funderful. They're kind, generous, funny, caring, creative, talented & generally awesome. And they also know of good places to eat. mmm eating. I like eating. I like eating in Toronto with Unraku. Yes.

So right before I got to go to Toronto to eat with Unraku, I came down with pneumonia (and bronchitis & an ear infection). It wasn't too serious. No hospitalization or anything, just a good old-fashioned chest x-ray and a breathing treatment that made me feel like my chest was going to explode. Honestly it's the worst I'd felt since I had my son. But a trip to the Urgent Care is always better than a trip to the ER, so we opted for that.

Jump to 3 weeks later (which means 4 weeks of disease) & I'm still feeling cruddy after a round of antibiotics & inhalers & cough syrups & whatnots. I go back to my Dr. & she decides to run a few tests & put me on a giant antibiotic & some steroids (which were a-ok since I had to get so many puppets made for comicon). She calls me on Tuesday night to let me know that my pneumonia, et. al. was caused by pertussis. That's right, I had whooping cough. WHOOP! WHOOP! So did I heed advice and rest? NO! I couldn't! I had committed to comicon well more than a year ago & I would have been just so sad to miss out.

So here I am, just having gotten home from the Phoenix Convention Center & I still feel fairly rotten. I had an amazing time, but I think I'm going to take it easy for the rest of today & all of tomorrow. Wheezing lungs make for sad lungs. Other than the painful chest & a few other small symptoms, I'm feeling okay. If I feel like this next week, I'll go back for something stronger.

Also, Canada, I totally gave you whooping cough and I am sorry.

Hello, Target Audience

I'll admit, I didn't know who you were for a long time. Oh, I had a vague idea. You're someone who likes silly things. You've got a pretty good sense of humor. You like to give cute things to small children. Sometimes you talk to people in silly voices. But I didn't know what other things you liked. I didn't know where you spent your time.

I tried to find you a few places, like street fairs and and you weren't really there. I'd get people who looked and giggled, but they weren't you. I just figured you didn't really leave the house. Maybe you just like getting stuff online because of my fancy writing words. Maybe my target audience just likes reading, and that's cool. You can read. I'll just not go out into the world to try to find you. Problem solved, right?

Then my friend asked me to accompany her to the Phoenix Comicon. I did. I found you! I didn't think I'd find you there, but I did! You do leave the house! But I don't think I found all of you...

So, I guess I still don't feel like I know who you really are. I know you're not always into comic books and Star Trek. You might be into puppetry, reading books. You might hang out at libraries, or at Starbucks. You might be Miss Soccer Mom in a hot bikini. Heck, you might even be Mister Soccer Mom in a hot bikini....But I just don't know.

Now is the time for me to get to know you. Please leave a comment just telling me a bit about yourself. Be anonymous or not, I just need to know the essence of you. Where do you go? How old are you? What kind of job do you have? Are you a homeowner? Do you like your job? What are your favorite kinds of stores to shop in? What do you watch on TV? How often do you wash your hair? What is your favorite movie from the 80s? What kinds of puppets do you think I should make? All of this is to help me stalk you. All of you. No need telling me what time of day you wake up, I'll find that out on my own. From your lawn.

Meta?

I made a sandwich to be proud of.

Comicon was a success! So successful that we've decided we're going to do it again next year (Memorial Day Weekend), but next time we'll get a big space instead of the small artist's table. It will cost about 3 times as much, but I think it will be worth it.

A lot of people seemed to be interested in portrait puppets, which was nice, but I kinda don't think anything will come of it. Next year I'll make less expensive monster puppets and offer those. Oh, and next year? TOTALLY going to geek out and go all steampunked.

While there I made a myriad of finger puppets, which I'll upload to my shop throughout the week (I have a terrible sore throat/ear ache, so I'm not in a hurry to list).


Oh hey, also, I was featured on the Such Cool Stuff blog. My blogging about a blog...is that meta?

Titeres Galores

DEATH awaits you all with sharp, nasty, pointy teeth!

I'm going to Comicon this week. Not the big one in San Diego, CA, no no, this is the mega-con in Mesa, Arizona. Got that stalkers? I'll be at the comicon in Mesa, AZ this week. Don't rape me or anything okay?

In preparation, I'm trying to make a lot of puppets...to be exact, a lot of really nerdy puppets. Got that nerds? I'm onto you! I know what makes you tick! It's things like Liches & Yetis! Oh yeah, I know that WOW isn't just an interjection, but a really creepy life-sucking game! I know the difference between a dwarf and a halfling! Oh yes! You shall see dorkdom at cactus-con a-plenty and it shall on be at my table! Or maybe not.

I'm actually having a bit of terribly wonderful bad luck with my shop. I can't seem to stock up my stuff. I've been making things and listing them on etsy, figuring one in the hand is worth two in the bush & in the last week I've sold 6 things on etsy! Including little pepe fleece for eyes, who has been in my shop since August of 2006! So hooray for adoption! The only downside to this is that I've got comicon coming up & am trying to get enough finger puppets for my table that I won't look ridiculous for the 4-day event with 8 puppets.

I'm going to the post office tomorrow with all of my goodies to bid them farewell. One is going to China.

So this week gives me hope. Maybe I can make it as an artist on my own-ish. I'm setting goals for myself. I'm hoping to make at least 12-14 puppets (finger) per week. I'll list at least one puppet per day & hopefully they sell. This week, so far, I've made...1, 2, 3...4, 5, 6 plus 5 is 11...plus 1 is 12....plus 3 is 15... 15! I've made fifteen puppets. I need to sell about 35 a month in order to maintain financial sanity. Well, at least financial stability.