I'm back!

[bladespark]

I return triumphant from Costume Con. I won't go over every single thing blow-by blow, but I'll give you all a quick rundown.

Firstly, I just have to say how much I LOVE Costume Con. Where else can you see Queen Elizabeth in full court dress going down the hall one way, and a cyberpunk lolita going the other, followed by a Jedi, a southern belle in a hoop skirt, and the White Witch from Narnia, all chatting together? Sheer awesomeness. (Also, there's nowhere else where I could have been scritched by Bellatrix from Harry Potter, and Captain Jack Sparrow. And I wasn't even in costume, I was just wearing a tail.)

Anyhow... Thursday I arrived, met my roommate, and found out that I was rooming with the person running the fantasy/sci-fi masquerade. She was a terrific roomie. Nothing much else happened.

Friday I did a lot of sitting and watching the costumes go by. I also had Kali out for several little outings around the hotel. She got lots of compliments, and I had the usual round of discussions on how she was made in the hall. She also went to the social on Friday night, and boogied a little. That was fun. They had a live rock band there, though I missed most of their set.

Saturday was the masqerade, and between the meeting in the morning, the tech rehearsal that ran WAY over time, and then the need to be in the green room early, that pretty much ate my day. But was SO worth it. (More on that later.) I more or less had my own personal assistant there, since my group didn't have anybody else in it who needed a lot of help. He was really helpful. I wish I could remember his name, but if he's reading this, thanks a ton! Anyhow, I was so hyper after the masqerade was over, that I ended up making the rounds of the room parties because there was no way I was going to be able to go to sleep right away. Finally crashed around 2am

Sunday I was pretty worn out, so I took it easy for most of the day. Went to a couple of panels, hung around and watched people, etc. I did take part in the fursuit parade, but much to my annoyance whoever was leading it seemed to not realize that this was not FC, and he didn't have to hurry 300 fursuiters along, there was only 20 or so. But they took off like a shot, and I wore myself out completely in the first hundred feet, trying to keep up. I gave up on that, and ended up hanging out in the lobby, not doing much, trying to cool down a little. Finally decided that I was done, and went back and got out of the costume. Then there was the historical masqerade that night, which was awesome! There were so many really terrific costumes, and really good skits.

Monday, of course, I was flying home, but I decided that since I hadn't finished the parade all the way into the dealer's room, that I wanted to let the dealers, who were effectively trapped in there, have a look at the costume, so I suited up in Flame Song one last time (with my marvelous roommate's help) and made a round of the room. That pretty well wiped me out, but it was sooooooooooo worth it. I am a total praise junkie, and all the compliments were terrific.

And now I'm back! I know there were tons of photos of me taken, and some video as well, so I'm going to be looking for those on the net over the next couple of weeks.

If any of you haven't seen the suit yet, her gallery is here:
http://www.sparkcostumes.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=28
Finished photos are at the end, and I'll be uploading more as I find them and get permission from the photographers to use them.

And regarding the masqerade... I won two awards, a workmanship award for my paint job, and a performance award for best original fantasy, which is a pretty big one. Those cheer me greatly, but they were just icing on the cake, as far as I'm concerned. Because the best thing was the moment when I stepped out on stage, and the entire audience gasped. I heard a couple of people say "wow" and then they were totally silent as I walked around on stage. THAT is the reason it was all worth it. The awards are great, and I would have been a little sad if I hadn't won anything at all, but the real reward was that collective gasp.

Now I just have to figure out how to top this next time!

P.S. Rachel? You are awesome and totally made my day! Thank you!

Comments

[kira-blue-drago.livejournal.com]

:) you're welcome

[heffboom-konijn.livejournal.com]

omg 0.0 is firedancer2 a quadsuit? if so wow.....ive seen some quad suits before but oh my that is just spectacular XD

[crystallinegirl.livejournal.com]

HO.LY. CRAP. I hadn't seen the pics before, and OHMYGOD she is awesome. I'll be showing Alex when he gets home. Wow. WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW. Can't wait to see video!!!!!

[puppetmaker40.livejournal.com]

I'll add a Wow to the gasps. You made a wonderful costume.

Glad you had a lot of fun. I should be there next year.

[mavikfelna.livejournal.com]

Wow! Cool! Glad it was a rewarding con and fun too. And grats on the awards

--Mav

[kainhighwind-dr.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! Glad to hear it was all well worth it!

[kainhighwind-dr.livejournal.com]

Also can't wait to see videos of it in motion too. The pics in your gallery alone were awesome.

[beetlecat.livejournal.com]

Congrats! I'd heard you did well :D You'll have to share the video(s) when you find 'em. What level were you competing at? Since you make costume professionally, did that put you in professionals or masters?

And I agree - the awards are certainly nice, but the audience/public reaction FAR outstrips them.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Masters is where I competed, they don't have a separate category for professionals.

[kiwihunter8.livejournal.com]

Wow, I agree with the audience, that turned out stunning! Congratulations!

[emirasan.livejournal.com]

Wow *gasps* I'll agree with everyone else that is awesome. If it wouldn't kill my back to be bent over like that I had always wanted my Icecat suit to be a quad suit.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Actually, the way this is made isn't hard on the back at all. The shoulders are where the stress is, my arms are quite sore! But it's designed to not strain the back.

[emirasan.livejournal.com]

Oh...wow again. lol, not knowing anything about costumes I made the wrong assumption. That is the most awesome quad suit I have ever seen though.

[susie-que.livejournal.com]

She looks great. OMG how did you pack her ? awesome job, really ^_^. Loving that tail and the body is awesome^_^

[lightgreendryad.livejournal.com]

Wow, girl. I would have gasped too. That is amazing. It must be better on an empty stage, in a dark theatre, with dramatic lighting.

[reaverta.livejournal.com]

Even knowing your talents, my dear, I am amazed at the photos.

No, really.

You've outdone yourself. :)

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

Why thank you.

Though this brings up the problem of how on earth I'm going to manage to top this at the next costume con I attend...

[daughterofhavok.livejournal.com]

That is an [i]amazing[/i] costume. I've only seen a dozen or so quad suits, but your's is definately one of the best. Flame Song is a beaaautiful character. :3

On a side note: I haven't forgotten that I need to pay you for the gemstones! I'm a senior in high school and next week is my last, so things have been extremely hectic and stressful (which I'm sure you can understand!); I've yet to get a chance to go to the post office. I think my total was $9, but if you could add in another gem (maybe something that's a pretty blue) that costs $1, I can shoot you a $10 bill in the mail since you'd said you needed cash a while ago.

[bladespark.livejournal.com]

I would be happy to toss in something else. I'll go see what I have in blue. I think I have some good blue topaz left, or maybe a small sapphire. Not sure.

And thanks! Glad you like the costume. :)

[firebyrd.livejournal.com]

Wow. I know very little about suits and hadn't even known there were quad suits before you started talking about that, but that is very, very cool.