INKlings
Volume 2, Number 1 Summer 2018
Table of Contents Letter from the President Worldcon 76 Chesley Nominees Wondercon 2018 The First Chesley Award Art Show Numbers Get Involved
p3 p4 P5 p15 p17 p18 p19
Board of Directors President: Sara Felix president@asfa-art.org Vice-President: Joni Brill Dashoff vicepresident@asfa-art.org Secretary: Samantha Haney Press secretary@asfa-art.org Treasurer: Laura Domitz treasurer@asfa-art.org Director-At-Large: Cary A. Conder at-large.director@asfa-art.org
Editor Sara Felix If you would like to submit an article or art for upcoming newsletters please email Sara Felix at president@asfa-art.org. If you would like to help out with layout or other newsletter items let us know! Art on cover: Suggestions for the category Best Cover: Paperback for the Chesleys in 2017.
West Coast Director: Spring Schoenhuth western.director@asfa-art.org Mountain Director: Maurine Starkey mountain.director@asfa-art.org Central Director: Mitchell Bentley central.director@asfa-art.org East Coast Director: Alan Beck eastern.director@asfa-art.org Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists 8609 Toro Creek Cove Austin, Texas 78759 USA
All artworks and artist statements are copyright by the credited artists, their representative(s), and/or their respective copyright/trademark holders. All Rights Reserved.
From the President Welcome. :) When I took over for Mitch in 2016 I had grand plans. And like all plans I can’t accomplish everything I want fast enough! But I am happy to report that some of the plans have come to fruition, some are still in the planning phases, and others are waiting until there is enough time to devote to them so they are done right. I went to Spectrum last year. It was exciting to be able to congratulate the Chesley nominees in person and love to be able to see such wonderful art displayed. I can’t wait to go again next year when it is back in Kansas City. Last year I got to talk to Richard Pini who was president the first year we gave out the Chesleys and he was kind enough to sit down and talk to Rhonda Eudaly about the creation of the award. Check out the interview in the newsletter. At Smofcon, a convention for convention runners, I was able to do a couple of panels talking about how to get artists more involved. In 2018 we are going to do a series of questionaires about literary conventions from the artist perspective to share with conrunners. I think it will help to understand what artists would like to see from conventions and have a positive way to share feedback to convention runners. We will be sharing these by email and on social media so make sure you follow our facebook page. Also there are some cons who are really trying hard to include artists and make it lucrative from them to attend the show. As I get more information I can share I will. But a good example is the Baltimore World Fantasy. Their first announcement this year for artists is that they were going to provide transportation for art from artists showing at Illuxcon. I think it is a great first start! We are evolving the way we have a presence at Worldcon or NASFIC whereever the Chesleys are held. This year we are working on providing panel space to artists who aren’t normally seen in Worldcon art shows. There four panels we have
purchased to showcase the wonderful artists out there and hopefully get a new audience for them. If this program works out we hope to roll this out at other conventions in the future as well. The suite will be open and I will have times for that soon! I would love to do full newsletters more often! Please send us articles and ideas! We could use them. Let’s do this! Sara Felix
Worldcon 76 Events At Worldcon 76, August 16- 20, 2018 we will be having a number of things going on for members and attendees. ASFA will have 4 panels in the art show to display work from artists who don’t typically show art at Worldcon. There is a page in the newsletter talking about the details if you are an artist who would like to participate. There are still a few spots left! The panels are looking great right now and I am loving seeing all the artwork that we are showcasing. If this goes well we will definitely be doing this at conventions in the future. Secondly, ASFA will have a suite in the party hotel which will be open at different times during the convention. We will be posting the hours on the facebook page (facebook.com/ASFAart) and sending out an email once we have the schedule made. Chesleys will take place on Friday at 5PM in Callhan’s Place. Check the schedule to make sure there are no changes as there is a bit of fluctuation with the schedule just now. There is also a screening that might interest some of the artists out there. Feature Film Chesley Bonestell: A Brush With the Future, which will be followed with a commentary from the producer and some folks involved in creating this documentary about Bonestell. If you would like to see the trailer visit the website: http://www.chesleybonestell.com/ Check the schedule for the ASFA general meeting. If you are in San Jose come and say hi, get involved, or just see who has won the Chesley awards for this year!
Chesley Nominees Best Cover Illustration- Hardback Book
Tommy Arnold Marcela Bolívar Julie Dillon Donato Giancola John Harris Elizabeth Leggett Marc Simonetti
Horizon by Fran Wilde, Tor, September 2017 Julia by Peter Straub, Centipede Press, December 2017 Final Girls by Mira Grant, Subterranean Press, April 2017 Assassin’s Price by L.E. Modesitt Jr., Tor, July 2017 The Man in the Tree by Sage Walker, Tor, September 2017 Retrograde by Peter Cawdron, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, September 2017 The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks, Grim Oak Press, August 2017
Album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/dLNApxEe8czyUsoeA
Best Cover Illustration - Paperback
Julie Dillon Aly Fell Jaime Jones Miranda Meeks Gene Mollica Dave Palumbo Stephen Youll
Beyond the Stars: New Worlds, New Suns - A Space Opera Anthology edited by Ellen Campbell, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, April 2017 Magic for Nothing by Seanan McGuire, DAW, March 2017 The Tiger’s Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera, Tor, October 2017 The Fisher of Bones by Sarah Gailey, Fireside Fiction, October 2017 Call of Fire by Beth Cato, Harper Voyager, August 2017 Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor, Tor, January 2017 Acadie by Dave Hutchinson,Tor, September 2017
Album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/MThpAouoVebnSZ3V2
Best Magazine Cover
Julie Dillon Ingrid Kallick Eddie Mendoza Reiko Murakami Sergei Sarichev
Clarkesworld #128, May 2017 Cricket Magazine, January 2017 Clarkesworld #130, July 2017 Lightspeed #82, March 2017 Clarkesworld #126, March 2017
Album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2jF2th7EMhaC2PGb9
Best Interior Illustration
Gregory Manchess John Picacio Dan Dos Santos Omar Rayyan Marc Simonetti Sam Weber
Above the Timberline by Gregory Manchess Saga Press, October 2017 “When the Devil Drives” by Melinda Snodgrass, Tor.com, July 2017 The Name of the Wind: 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition by Patrick Rothfuss, DAW, October 2017 Goblin Market by Christine Rosetti, Donald M. Grant, Jan. 2017 The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks, Grim Oak Press, August 2017 “These Deathless Bones” by Cassandra Khaw, Tor.com, July 26, 2017
Album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/JEWYafv1NidMuNcj9
Best Gaming Related Illustration
Kari Christensen Chandra Gremlin Wrangler, Heroes of the Realm, WotC, September 2017 Melissa Gay Offering Sagaborn RPG Core Rule Book, Lone Wanderer Entertainment, August 2017 Piotr Jabloński Moaning Wall Magic card for Hour of Devastation, WotC, July 2017 Jaime Jones The Ur- Dragon Magic card for Commander 2017, WotC, August 2017 Sara Winters Compulsive Research Magic card for Modern Masters 2017, WotC, March 2017 Album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/o6sjoSdFjZFJjJSG8
Best Product Illustration
Kari Christensen Call of Cthulhu, FilmQuest Festival, 2017 Julie Dillon American Gods Promo art for Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab/Trading Post, 2017 Annie Stegg Gerard Stormy Serenade, DragonCon Tshirt art 2017 Adam Hughes In a Galaxy Far, Far Away LE Art Print by Acme Archives, July 2017 James Jean The Shape of Water teaser poster FOX Searchlight, December 2017 Rachel Quinlan Knight of Cups, 78 Tarot Astral 2017 Album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Zif6qgngtQkyNjB02
Best Color Work- Unpublished
Serena Malyon Alessandra Pisano Cynthia Sheppard Charles Urbach Eric Velhagen
Erebor, Watercolor and Gouache Kindred, Spirits Oils Deconstructing Wonderland, Digital Not All Treasure is Gold, Colored Pencil Respite, Oils
Album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/geXR3MLbGco6VQa89
Best Monochrome Work - Unpublished
Ed Binkley Bobby Chiu Karla Ortiz Christine Rhee Shawn E. Russell Ruth Sanderson Kaysha Siemens
“Thistledown” Digital “Romeo and Juliet” Digital “Ada” Oil “Gumiho” Graphite “Release” Graphite “Dragon Drum” Ink “Pensive” Oils
Album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/XEWnQPNhy3ivGe1e7
Best Three Dimensional Art
Skink Chen Ellen Jewett Colin & Kristine Poole Forest Rogers Lisa Sell Vincent Villafranca
“Resentful Beast” Painted cast resin “The Burden of Motion and Ambition” Cold porcelain and polymer clay “Gift of the Faun” Bronze “Octopoid Descending” Kato polyclay “Manifesting Orb Dragon” Aves Apoxie Sculpt “Fever Dream #17” Bronze
Album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/BWFvrV6pBwPxvOuf1
Best Art Director Neil Clarke Christine Foltzer Irene Gallo Lauren Panepinto Cynthia Sheppard
Clarkesworld Tor.com Publishing Tor Books/Tor.com Orbit Books and for Muddy Colors blog articles Wizards of the Coast
Lifetime Achievement Richard Hescox (http://www.richardhescox.com/) Alan Lee (http://www.stephenjoneseditor.com/wfc2013/goh-alee01.html) Gregory Manchess (https://www.manchess.com/) William O’Connor (http://www.wocstudios.com/) Allen Williams (http://www.allenwilliamsstudio.com/)
Wondercon 2018 A review by Wendy Van Camp
 WonderCon is one of the newer incarnations of Comic Con International, put on by the people that organize the huge convention in San Diego. Although I’ve been exhibiting my work at the San Diego Comic Con for almost twenty years, I had never so much as walked the floor at Anaheim’s WonderCon. When Broad Universe, a feminist science fiction writing guild, opened a table at the convention. I decided to attend. I was assigned five hours at the Broad Universe table to sell and autographic my books. I appreciate everyone who purchased a book from me. It is my readers that keep me going. This year I brought my Regency Historical “The Curate’s Brother” and copies of “Murder They Wrote”, a horror anthology in which my short story “We Can Rebuild Him” is published. After my autograph time was over, I left the table and went out to see what WonderCon was all about. My goal was to make a solid determination if this was a venue that I might return to or not as an author. I will outline my personal impressions of the convention below.
Small Press
The table I was assigned to during my autograph session was in Small Press. This is where all the authors were located. The section is on the far left side of the convention, the furthest area away from parking and furthest from programming. Many of the authors had paired up at the tables and fully half of them were promoting graphic novels. There were plenty of dead times in Small Press when foot traffic disappeared, but the authors were stoic and kept a smile on their faces. I noticed that the major Indy bookstore in our area, Mysterious Galaxy, was relegated to the rear back corner of Small Press next to the area set aside for the authors of programming to do their autographs. Normally, Mysterious Galaxy has a prime location at the science fiction conventions I attend, so it was odd to see them in this low traffic location. Of all the areas in the convention, this was the slowest and least attended place at WonderCon.
Exhibition Area
The Exhibition area was the largest of the convention. The vendors had full 10×10 spaces or larger. The majority of the vendors were from media, software, gaming, or popular artists. I counted three extra large booths that sold artist supplies at discounted prices. Being a sketch artist, I drooled over the selections of fine paper notebooks, pens, and inks. If you are a painter or sketch artist, this is a great place to stock up on art supplies for the year. Curiously, I did not see booksellers in the Exhibition area. If they were there at all, they were tucked away from the main areas and I did not encounter them during my four or five passes through the place. The Exhibition area was packed with people at all times. It is located under the location where programming takes place on the second or third floors so it would be easy for attendees to pop in between panels and do a bit of shopping. I personally did not find anything to purchase beyond the art supplies, but I imagine if you were into software games, science fiction films/TV or collected Disney pins or bobbleheads, you would find something to please you. 
Artist Alley
This was one of the larger artist alleys that I’ve ever encountered. It rivals the one at the San Diego Comic Con. The artists were all top notch. Most were sketch artists whose work would be comfortable gracing a comic book, but all styles were represented in the science fiction genre. There were plenty of graphic novel authors there as well. I spent some time chatting with various artists to get a feel of how they felt about the
convention. Most were delighted with the attendance and traffic to their tablespace. Artist Alley was the place to be at WonderCon.
Art Show
There is no art show at WonderCon. I find this surprising since almost every science fiction convention offers one. An art show is a boutique showing art from artists from all over the country. They mail in their art or drop it off in person and the art show handles the sales. Afterward, the unsold art is mailed back and the artist receives a check for their sales minus a small commission to the art show and any sales taxes owed to the state the show takes place in. It is an inexpensive way for an artist to gain exposure for their work without having to attend the convention. For a venue that seems to support artists in all other ways, this is a glaring exception.
Panels
Personally, I was disappointed by the panel selection at WonderCon. As an author, I did not find panels about writing except for one or two late on Sunday. As a sketch artist, I discovered many art-related panels. The panelists offered good basic information for budding sketch artists or digital art creators. While the panels were all of good quality, they were clearly designed to be of benefit to artists, gamers, or filmmakers. Writing books was not a focus of the main panel topics, it was more of an afterthought. However, the one or two writing panels that I saw were well attended and offered quality information.
Cosplay
The costumes were in full force at WonderCon. The majority were wearing comic book themed characters. The cosplay participants wandered the halls of the convention, but many clustered outside in the courtyard near the food trucks. There was a bevy of professional photographers taking pictures. I asked about the media attention and discovered that the photographers were not connected with the convention officially, but had been brought in by the cosplay people. Although they had access to the professionals, I found that the people in costume were happy to pose for regular people such as myself. You should make a point to politely ask first. This is part of the collection of photos I gathered to enjoy after the convention. 
Why WonderCon is more for Artists than Authors
In the end, I am forced to conclude that WonderCon is not a good venue for authors. Most science fiction conventions have full writing tracks, rather like a mini writing conference, to give beginning science fiction authors genre-specific information. They also allow published authors time to hold readings and autograph sessions in the more traffic intensive areas of the convention. WonderCon did not offer this. As an author, I felt shunted aside. However, WonderCon seems to be a great place for artists to be seen and network. While there were fewer professional tutors to review your work and give career advice as San Diego Comic Con offers to new artists, there was still more than enough panels and exposure for an up and coming artist to find value. If you are a science fiction themed artist, WonderCon should be on your list of consideration for an artist alley table. I don’t believe that you would be disappointed, even if you need to travel to attend. I spoke with many contented artists during the weekend, many of whom have been returning to WonderCon for years to showcase their graphic novels, art books, prints or imprinted 3D items. I hope this review of WonderCon is helpful to you, either as an artist or an author. As always, if you can attend a convention to “walk the floor” in person before purchasing a table, that is always the best policy to follow. Wendy’s website is https://nowastedink.com if you would like to read more of her reviews and interviews.
The First Chesley Award Talking with Richard Pini - By Rhonda Eudaly Stories happen when you least expect them. While walking around the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! expo in April 2017 with Sara Felix, we discovered some ASFA and Chesley Award history from Richard Pini, former ASFA President and, apparently, the creator of the first Chesley Award. Richard Pini served as ASFA President for four years in the 1980s. The idea to run came out of a conversation at a New Year’s Eve party at the Pini home. That led to his being nominated and elected and, over the next couple of years, laying much of the policy framework that exists in ASFA today. He worked with Jan Gephardt to come up with art show guidelines that, even though revisions have been made over the years, the core ideas they drew up are still in use. Those shows led to the inception of the Chesley Award. Pini said the art show had become a major part of the annual World Science Fiction Convention. Of course, there had long existed the Hugo Awards for writing. Many people said there really ought to be the art equivalent of the Hugo. Pini couldn’t recall who it was who came up with the idea to call the award the Chesley (after Chesley Bonestell, the modern father of astronomical and space art), but he knew it was both a terrifically obvious and wonderful suggestion. Pini, being the type of person to jump at a challenge, took on the project of design and creation even though he hadn’t previously done anything like it. The original Chesley Awards were hand-crafted by Pini himself. The idea was to represent both Science Fiction and Fantasy art, while incorporating the seven colors of the spectrum. The design was inspired by a brochure for the Hayden Planetarium that Pini saw in a rack of advertisement cards in a New York City hotel lobby. The brochure featured a black and white spiral galaxy that Pini thought he could embellish with “jewels” (representing stars) in the seven colors. He grabbed a copy of the flier to take home. To fit the small galaxy onto a metal plaque, he used a home photocopier to enlarge the image . He then duplicated, offset, and rotated the image to make it heavier and more like a double-exposure. He found a local trophy shop to etch the design and create the name plates. He sought out and finally found the acrylic jewel “crystals” – which wasn’t as easy then as it is today. In the 1980s, the choices in color and style were limited. In the few photos of that prototype that exist, he described the yellow as “sketchy”, but he recalled being able to find good blue, green, and red samples. Finally, he glued the crystals to the center and spiral arms of the galaxy. The first batch of Chesley Awards numbered approximately a dozen – plus one that Pini made for himself, as a memento of the creation process. That prototype and even some of the original awards are still out there, somewhere. ASFA would like to thank Richard Pini for helping the organization establish such an important tradition within the organization. Thanks Richard!
Art Show Numbers In the past we had reports from conventions about sales numbers at conventions. As there was no format to this it made it more challenging to get information from conventions. So we created a google form for art show directors to fill out so we can provide more information to our members. The form will be on the website but also can be found here: https://goo.gl/forms/Yc1KlVQZoXEMRiIE3 From the form: Sharing information about art shows can help fellow artists decide whether they would like to send in their art or attend specific shows. If you have recently finished a convention and are willing to share information and statics about your conventio,n this is the form for you! You do not need to answer every question, but please provide as much information as you can. This form is intended gallery-like art shows at literary conventions rather than artist alley types of set-ups or vendor setups. If you would like to send information about a show that isn't a gallery set-up, please email us. If you have any comments or questions email us at secretary@asfa-art.org. Artists are visual people so if you have pictures of your art show space send them in by emailing secretary@ asfa-art.org.
Get Involved! We need people to help with our programs. If you have a few hours a month or just a few hours a year we need help with a number of things and would love to see you get involved. Website: We need some help updating and including articles on the website. Social Media: See cool things that would be helpful to artists? Email us or help us post on social media. All of it helps! Newsletter: We always need content for the newsletter. Want to write about a convention you attended? Have a new product you liked and think others should know about it? Want to talk about setups at conventions that worked for you? Content makes the newsletter more interesting to read. Emerging Artist Award: The Emerging Artist award needs people to talk to conventions about having the award at their convention. Do you have a local convention that you think would be a good fit? Let us know. Chesleys: We need help vetting art and making sure it is eligible in the categories for the award. Also people who will copy edit the lists of suggestions and nominations. We really don’t want to spell any more artists names wrong!
Worldcon 76 ASFA Panels At Worldcon 76, August 16- 20, 2018 we have purchased 4 panels for artists to show a piece of art in the art show. We want to see artists who normally don’t show at Worldcon to have a space in the show. We will act as agents at the show- details are listed below. The art must be 8”x10” or smaller, matted and bagged ready to hang. If it is a 3-dimensional piece or something other than a flat piece the artists and ASFA will discuss the best way to handle that art. Art must arrive by July 31st, 2018. Please provide tracking information. The artist will provide the title of the piece, medium, and bid price for the piece. There is no quick sale pricing in the art show. Artist will also provide name and up to three social media links for the handout. The artist must follow the guidelines of the show which are located at www.worldcon76.org/arworldcon/exhibits/artshow-rules. The convention take a 10% commission on any sold art. The artist will be responsible for any shipping costs for getting the art to the agent and then shipping back if it doesn’t sell. As with conventions, the artist is responsible for any insurance they want to take. There will be security for the area during and after hours of the show. ASFA will provide an address for shipping. ASFA will hang the art for the artists and determine the layout of the panels. ASFA will pay for the panels for the art. ASFA will not be collecting any commission on sales. ASFA will fill out bid sheets for the artist and hang with the art. ASFA will create a small handout for art show attendees with the contact information of the artists being shown. ASFA will pay the artists. This will be driven by the convention and will communicate any delays that might happen with payment. If you would like to participate please email me at president@asfa-art.org and I will send you the form to get involved. Also we will have the suite this year as well. If you are at Worldcon follow us on social media and we will let you know when the suite is open. It will have light snacks and drinks available to all. Let us know if you are coming! We could always use help and would love to have a meetup for ASFA artists or people who just appreciate art.