Arisia Was

[ladysprite]

(Yes, I know it technically still is going on. But I have to work tomorrow, so no Sunday night/Monday for me. Also, I'm pretty sure that 3 days of con is about all the con I can tolerate, so right now I'm glad to be in my nice, warm, quiet home.)

First of all, thank you thank you thank you to everyone who replied to my last post, and to everyone who took the time to say hello, keep me company, and give me hugs at the con. I had been a bit worried and uncertain going in, and I wound up having a very good time. There was one minor brush with panic on Saturday night, but I had an excellent friend to carry me through it, and other than that all was good and more than good.

This was an odd year for me; it was the first time in years that I haven't been part of either programming or staff. I decided to take this as a low-key year, and it was both liberating and unusual to be able to wander around the con and do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. The up side of this was the freedom; the downside was the fact that Arisia is cold enough and short enough on hangout space that there really wasn't anywhere good to just sit and socialize.

That said, I did manage to find good time with friends, and I got to spend a decent amount of time dancing, both of which were just what I needed. But the true highlight of the con for me was getting to wear the costume I've been working on for most of the past month.

I'm not a very good seamstress, and even though I can sew a bit I honestly just don't like to. But I love the challenge of finding costume concepts that require minimal sewing. And I've had a lot of downtime this past month. And metaphysick has been introducing me more and more to Star Wars. And so I thought to myself, 'Huh. I bet I could make a Twi'lek costume....'

And so I did. And I managed not to chicken out of wearing it on Saturday. And it looked kind of like this....




BLUE!


I spent far more time making test-runs of this headdress than any reasonable person should have, but I think ultimately it paid off....


I have no idea who the Sith guy is, but I love this picture.



I've never done a serious hall costume before, so it was a fascinating experience. Apparently being painted blue turns you into a rock star (and makes you Even More Fascinating Than Usual to toddlers), and it made just walking around public spaces a major event. On the other hand, I've found that wearing an elaborate enough costume does wonders to help me overcome my phobia of having my picture taken, so the attention and camera flashes were an overall-positive thing. I'm fairly certain I'll wear the costume again next year (and, with luck, airbrushing will be much easier and faster in the future)...

Other than that... there were friends, and there was dancing, and now there is thawing and enjoying the quiet. All in all, a good weekend.

Comments

[z-gryphon.livejournal.com]

Would it be intemperate of me, at this point, to say "!!!!!!!" ?

If not, !!!!!!!

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

*blush* Thank you....

[wcg.livejournal.com]

How many awards did you win for it? (Because, really, it deserves them.)

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

No awards; it wasn't entered into the official masquerade - and, workmanship-wise, it's not quite masquerade ready. Plus, I just had more fun wandering around in it. But I got a lot of compliments, and that meant more than a ribbon would have.

And thank you!

[mindways]

That drew an out-loud "WOW" from me upon page load. Egads, that's nicely done.

How long did the airbrushing take? I remember how long it took just to get my face and hands airbrushed for a LARP...

And: I'm glad you had a good con! :)

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Actually, that's all sponge-painted. The airbrush we had was not very good, so after over an hour, when all we had finished were my arms and back, we gave up and just started hand-painting it.

Total, from start to finish, took about 2, maybe 2 1/2 hours. Totally worth it.

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

You unsurprisingly look really good.

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

*blush* thank you!

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

[SFX: wolf-whistle]

Russ says he wishes he'd been at Arisia!

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Maybe someday you guys will make it out - it's a fun con....

[darkoni]

It looked amazing in person and reminded me of the time you did Chiana, which was one of my favorite costumes ever.

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

Awesome costume! I'm sorry I missed seeing you, and you in your costume.

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

No worries - odds are I'll wear it again. :) I hope you had fun at ConFusion!

[dagibbs.livejournal.com]

I had lots of fun here too. I'm hoping they don't conflict again next year.

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

YOWZA.

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

*blush* thank you...

[edschweppe.livejournal.com]

*wolf-whistles* (virtual only, alas, as I can't do them in real life)

Clearly, I have to consider attending Arisia in the future ...

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

*blush* Thank you!

Just amazing!

[crash-mccormick.livejournal.com]

THat is totally awesome. You ... you ... !!!!!!! yeah that!

Re: Just amazing!

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :)

[cyan-blue.livejournal.com]

Wow! That is impressive.

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much!

[gmkieran.livejournal.com]

Exquisite! And I love how the Sith's light saber picks up your lips and eyes. ;) Glad you had fun!!!

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And yeah, that one picture was my favorite. I ran into the guy in the dealer's room, and it was too coincidentally awesome not to take a picture....

[mamatiger.livejournal.com]

Woah nellie. Holy carp. Egads. How stunningly PRETTY! (I know you've had your physical health difficulties and all but zomg I am here to tell you that you appear to be in terrific shape!)

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

*blush* Thank you - yeah; I know the worries are mostly just in my head....

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Great googli moogli, you look AMAZING!

Re:

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :)

[laurion]

Wow, incredible work! I'd say it paid off in spades.

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It was a lot of fun....

[lucasthegray.livejournal.com]

Awesome! :)

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[evcelt.livejournal.com]

Great costume! And you look totally hot. Blue stars are the hottest, after all...

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

:P

Thank you... :)

[visp.livejournal.com]

So how'd you pull off the headpiece? Stuffed nylons painted blue?

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Exactly - hand-sewed the toes into points, stuffed them with polyfil, coated them with spray-on latex, and then spray paint.

[vettecat.livejournal.com]

You look awesome! (Although it may have made it challenging for friends to greet you, if they didn't recognize you...)

[mneme]

:) I had a double-take, but I recognized her in a few seconds, certainly.

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Luckily, I was a-wandering with Arnis, so that helped people ID me....

[suzilem.livejournal.com]

You are BEAUTIFUL!!!

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

*blush* Thank you.... it's the paint. :)

[meranthi.livejournal.com]

Amazing!!!! That's an incredible costume and you look fantastic!

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[mneme]

That was a -fantastic- costume, and I'm glad you had a good time.

[ladysprite.livejournal.com]

Thanks - it was good to see you!

[mneme]

Likewise!

[ladymondegreen.livejournal.com]

What was even more stunning about the costume in person was that all the blues matched perfectly.

And watching you walk with the extra weight on your head was really interesting and cool. :)

I can't wait to see next year's version.