On the other side of the main hall, were displays of fannish artistry.

We had puppets:

Those are the characters from "Lord of the Rings," just in case you didn't recognize them. Then on to S/F Legoland with a variety of important items:

The Star Gate:

and Star Wars battle cruiser and ships:

I just sort of wandered around, taking in the atmosphere:

There's a lot going on: groups vying for the opportunity to host the next World Con; soliciting pre-registration for other conventions; asking people to sign up for blood drives; contests to "Name the Rocket Ship"; and general socializing.

There are also giant toys:

This sort of group art/kinetic sculpture, giant toy, Rube Goldberg meets Mouse Trap(TM) and Kinex(TM) and mockery (the sign outside the enclosure read "Chaos is a series of toobs" ) had every kind of bell whistle, elevator, gear and ball bearing possible. Small children enjoyed it too.

Eventually, I did get to a couple of panels -- including a lively discussion on the meaning and importance (or non-importance) of bloggers:

OK, you may not know it, but you're looking at some pretty Important Bloggers here. From left to right: Phil Plaitt of the Bad Astronomy blog (in which he mocks bad astronomy, not promulgates it); MaryAnn Johanson of both Flick Filosopher and Geek Philosophy (movie reviews and cultural criticism); Corey Doctorow of Craphound and Boing Boing... one of the architects of blogs and blogging as we know it; and Teresa and Patrick Nielsen Hayden, whose blog Making Light is one of the most widely read blogs in the science fiction community.

Another view:

I hit several other panels that day, on wide-ranging subjects but didn't take pictures as it can be distracting to the panelists.

At the end of the day, MaryAnn and I hit a few parties, then went to the Art Show party. I spoke with a few of the other artists there -- though not as many as I would have liked. Lisa Snellings-Clark and Frank Wu were there. Lisa Snellings-Clarke and I talked about her remarkable multi-media works and the upcoming books she has illustrated. Again, no pictures were allowed, so I can't really even show you some of the remarkable works I saw, but I will list some of the artists that impressed me and their websites, so you can check them out yourself:

James Gurney -- the Artist Guest of Honor, and creator of the remarkable Dinotopia, as well as other science fiction/fantasy illustrations and work for National Geographic. You can view more of his work at www.jamesgurney.com.

Frank Wu. Frank won this year's Hugo as Best Fan Artist. He's won it previously (2004) and has done art and illustrations for years. Check him out at www.frankwu.com. I never really got a chance to speak with him over the weekend -- he's an amazingly busy guy; he had a film he was showing, he was on several panels and he was doing art demonstrations. He and artist Bob Eggleton have a standing routine at conventions called Duelling Easels. I did manage to catch up with him briefly to give him a small pen and ink sketch I'd done of him at the last Arisia I attended. He was on a panel about protecting your artwork and I did a little sketch of him while I sat there. The only other time I saw him that weekend, he was carrying some strange object across the main floor. He's a very funny and sweet guy.

Lisa Snellings-Clark -- the amazing. Really unique, creepy, dramatic pieces that make you shiver as you reach for your wallet. You have to admire an artist who names her website Slaughterhouse Galleries. She's friends with people like Neal Gaiman and has him writing the text to go along with her paintings for her next book called "Strange Machines." Gene Wolfe has written the text to "Strange Birds." I highly recommend giving her website a viewing.

Theresa Mather. Her work incorporates all the s/f and fantasy tropes: dragons, cats (big and domestic); faeries, castles... but she has a style all her own. She paints on feathers, on rocks, on stones... she incorporates lovely matting and decorative stones and coins. Her work has jumped in value each year and she never fails to sell almost everything on display. Now she has imitators, but no one can duplicate her touch. Check out her work at: www.rockfeatherscissors.com

Johnna Y. Klukas. Won the Judge's Award at this year's WorldCon Art Show. If I ever manage to get a bit of a money cushion (or sell enough of my own pieces at some convention) this is the artist I'm making my next big purchase from. I'm simply crazy for her gorgeous rocket ships and space port cities, beautifully rendered in turned wood. They are deceptively simple pieces that are breathtaking. They start around $100 for a minimum bid and are perfectly worth every penny and more. Her website is currently under construction but you can still check out her art boxes and other items.

Bill Mang. This is BIG art. Huge sculptures of dragons and other strange things. All in aluminum or stainless steel. I couldn't have it in the living room, but I sure liked looking at it on the convention floor. The dragon depicted here is 6 feet 4 inches tall! The website is www.mangstainlessart.com

Catherine Hunt. I love people who take their interests and turn it into art! Catherine Hunt's Rocker Boy stuffed critters are a delight. Punk Rock cats, spooky cats, Star Trek cats... they were all great. Her website is also under construction -- she's busy making the Rocker Boys for other venues upcoming. Check her out. I think her creations are a pefect gift for the young punker or geek on your list.

There were at least a half dozen other artists whose work impressed me but I can't show their artwork here. Lovely art from Japanese artists (WorldCon is in Japan next year) who have done illustration work and are well-known in Japan.

There was Mael, whose black india ink paintings, full of startling energy, so impressed both me and MaryAnn a few years ago. She has lately started to do full color, more mannered paintings, very elvish and fantasy oriented. I'd post a thumbnail of one of her works, but she has an agent. Don't want to get in trouble.

There's the art of Rachel Mello -- the pieces she had on display at the Art Show were painted on tar paper, very dark, and visceral, and disturbing in that good kind of way that art should be disturbing. So far, I don't see those paintings on her website, but her other works are interesting and made with unusual mediums and in unusual shapes too! Besides doing paintings, Rachel has her own mural company, paints commercial and museum displays, and backdrops and scenery for assorted regional theaters.

For other beautiful wood pieces in a totally different direction than those of Johnna Klukas, check out Jonathan Gage's website where he has a fabulous display of his wooden dragons. I spoke with Johanthan briefly in the Dealer's Room at the Con and he had some very interesting pieces on display there too. He said he's hoping to expand his works to bring in things other than dragons. One piece he had in the Dealer's Room was a beautiful wooden hand giving the Vulcan sign of greeting, very reminiscent of those lovely Hands of the Buddha one sometimes sees about.

There's a lot of talent out there and some of it is great. I hope you'll check some of the websites I've mentioned.

After the Art Show reception, we made the rounds of some other parties and then hit the sack. Friday was going to be a busy day.

Upcoming Reports: The Art of Being a Fan: Doing Good Works; Parties; Friends