Writing Is Hard

Time to play catch-up!

Speaking of official League buisness, tonight's meeting will also be honoring a local artist for their contributions to the Monroe Art League, so don't miss the celebration and your chance to congradulate them!

There will also be in-person sign-up sheets available for various things like the June summer picnic, the Dorsch Memorial Branch show, and the Open Air Market! (I'm still working on getting all these sign-up sheets to function on the website as well, but it is a huge process that I'm slowly learning. My degrees are in the Language Arts, not Computer Science after all! I was just lucky enough to be born when I was, when computer programming was big enough to be able to be self-taught. And, as any artist knows, self-taught takes a lot of time and a lot of practice to master!)

Finally, if you're looking for an excuse to get out of the house, enjoy the fresh air, and paint surrounded by the adrenline rush of people and live music, come out to St. Mary's Park for the Summer Concert Series! Don't forget to bring a chair and your art supplies! The park usually has an array of food, beverage, and ice cream trucks there for you, but you can always do a pick-up order from your favorite restuarant and bring it with you to graze as you listen to a free show put on for you from the Monroe Parks and Rec group!

I can personally vouch for the July guests--they put on a hell of a show and will have you tapping your foot and singing along to some of the latest, greatest, and ear-wormy music from your favorites!

Don't forget to get to the park early to secure a good parking spot and even better concert seat!

Finally, I'd like to take a little time to talk about my weekend at Motor City Comic Con!

If you've never been to a comic con, and think it's just an excuse for a bunch of nerds to go out and interact...you'd only be partically right.

It's much more than that--it hosts a handful of vendors and artists that earn most of their living this way!

Located at the Novi Convention Center, the event is a three-day long chance to meet your favorite celebrities, comic artists, content creators, and some wicked-amazing artists!

(I especially make it a point to visit "Artists Alley," where local artists set up booths to sell their unqiue and amazing art. This is also where I tend to spend the bulk of my non-celebrity autograph/photo money, because a lot of the other things sold at comic con I can find via the internet. I'd much rather get a unique piece of art and support the artist who made it while I'm there! And sometimes, I become a life-long patron--for instance, Brittney Ann Art is one of my favorites, and the amount of pieces I have from her is in the double-digits. I also should mention that there is a mixture of digital and traditional artists here--and a lot of graphic designers and comic book artists--and it's just a beautiful way to engage with not only art, but in whatever fandom you love!)

The one artist that caught my eye was a pencil drawing artist, Bearded Artist. His booth was eye-catching and breathtaking, and one of many reasons why conventions are a god-send to nerds who love good art and have deep, deep pockets, lol

Finally, just a little gushing on my end...

If you've ever been cool, you've watched Star Trek.

I personally grew up on Star Trek (at the tender age of like. 4-5, I could recite the opening monologue of the orginial series), and have always had the most massive crush on Jonathan Frakes (aka William T. Riker, from The Next Generation).

I first met him in December at Galaxy con, and was completely blown away by him and how charming he was (and, not embarressed to admit, told him I've had a crush on him since I was a child and that he could still very much "get it." I stand by that statement, reader).

He came to MCCC this year, and I decided to meet him again.

He was just as charming as ever, and I believe even remembered me (to take how he Riker Maneuvered his way over the divider between him and Brent Spiner--aka Data--to whisper something in his ear, and have them both make eye contact with me as I walked out of line).

I also got to meet British comedy legend Catherine Tate (aka Donna Noble if you've watched Doctor Who), and she was just the sweetest person ever. I don't think I'll ever recover from the amount of times she called me "love" and "darling" or the amount of selfies she took with me (some serious, but mostly funny faces). 

And now...if you've made it this far, I'd like to take a breath...

And get into some information on fandom and its terminolgy, if you're scratching your head going, "I am so confused right now."

First and foremost, let me say that learning about fandom, especially if you’ve never heard or been around someone who participates in it, is a huge task in and of itself. It’s especially come a long, long way from the days of Sherlock Holmes (the first huge fandom) to when comics first came out in the 1940s to when Star Trek premiered in the 1960s (those three are more or less the foundation of modern-day fandom, and I have found when I start there, most people have a basic understanding of the kind of media I’m referring to).

I’d like to give you a simple definition of fandom to begin with, taken from Wikipedia (which is an excellent source for beginners, and this coming from someone with a Master’s in English): “A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant portion of their time and energy involved with their interest, often as a part of a social network with particular practices, differentiating fandom-affiliated people from those with only a casual interest. A fandom can grow around any area of human interest or activity. The subject of fan interest can be narrowly defined, focused on something like an individual celebrity, or encompassing entire hobbies, genres or fashions. While it is now used to apply to groups of people fascinated with any subject, the term has its roots in those with an enthusiastic appreciation for sports.”

It helps to imagine people who like watching sports as a giant fandom. They become highly engaged with the subject, often devoting hundreds of hours and dollars to their favorite teams—in going to events, participating in things like Fantasy Football, or wearing hats, shirts, etc. with their team’s logo on it.

People in modern day fandom also do this, but with things like TV shows, movies, books, etc. They also go a step above sports fans—they create a lot of the stuff they want to display and share with others. This is where fanworks like the fan art I showed you come in (or even fanfiction, which is written work focusing on favorite characters that derive from the original source material. I.e. If someone wanted a story about Captain Kirk and Spock from Star Trek pretending to be Sherlock Holmes and Watson, they would write that story and then typically share it on the internet, for free, on sites like fanfiction.net or AO3 for others who might want to read their story. Fanfiction is my personal contribution to fandom, and stories can run anywhere from 100 words to well over 600,000—the longest fanfiction ever written is over 5 million words, written about Mario the video game character. And again, this is all done for free, just because the author felt compelled to write a story different from the source material about their favorite characters!).

A lot of fan art created is through personal passion that is then shared with others that also have a deep appreciation of an already established character or story. It’s also a good starting point for a lot of young, new, or inexperienced artists, as it allows them to practice drawing with a model they love (as apposed to, say, fruit). Think of fan art as a gateway to learning how to draw, paint, etc. They practice their skills by drawing their favorite characters and then can take what they’ve learned and apply it to drawing other scenes from nature, everyday life, or their own imagination.

Both Etsy and Redbubble are easy websites for fan-artists to show and sell their works as well as get themselves out there as an established artist before committing to something like their own website. Go ahead and open them up on your computer or smart phone! Go to the search bar and type in anything you’d like. I mean it. Anything. 9/10 times you’ll find something someone has made. Examples can be anything from your favorite TV show or movie—like The Golden Girls or The Muppet’s Christmas Carol to something as simple as “beach” or “Batman.” (I also must warn you of the catch-22 of this, and that is there are artists out there who sell adult art of things. The golden rule of the internet is “if it exists, there is porn of it,” so make sure you have your safe search on. Unless that’s what you want, in which case, have at it. No shame or judgement from me! But I feel it’s my obligation to warn you of such things.)

Next up we have Patreon, which is a website where artists (and other creators) can set up specific content to only be viewed if people pay a subscription fee to them, which in turn helps them create more content. Often times Patreon artists will have a shop site through Etsy, Redbubble, or their own personal website, but will create special features—behind the scenes, the making of their art, personal stories, upcoming artworks—you can pay to view. A lot of artists make extra income through Patreon, and there are those who’s entire paycheck is made through Patreon. Many fan projects are funded through Patreon, and there are more than enough people out there who support artists this way!

It’s important to also note that artists don’t always create fan art to make an income! I thought it was important to point out that they have the possibility to create income from their art, because it can help them pay for subscription fees, extra activities in life, or even traditional art supplies if they so choose. Most fan art, however, is done and posted to the internet for free; for other fans to look at and admire. Sites like Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, TikTok, and Facebook host hundreds of free digital fan art images artists created because it’s their passion and they want to share it with their particular fandom or the world at large. Art is art because it makes people express their emotions or create emotion within others. Fan art is still art, it just comes with the addition of being for a particular piece of media rather than just a person’s imagination or scenery.

This leads me to cosplay.

I’ll start again with a definition: “While there is no set-in stone definition, the word ‘Cosplay’ usually refers to the act of dressing in a costume to recreate the appearance of a character from a work of fiction. Popular forms of cosplay involve donning the outfit of popular anime, video game, or comic book characters. Cosplay is not limited to this, however, and can involve non-character specific costumes like maid or school uniforms. Many cosplayers create their own costumes by sewing clothing, crafting armor and props from a number of materials. Others choose to buy ready-made costumes from retailers specializing in cosplay, or commission the work of tailors or other cosplay hobbyists.”

In other words, cosplay ranges from easy to buy costumes at stores like Party City or Spirit Halloween to painstakingly hand-crafted, detailed clothing, armor, or things like wings, jewelry, and other accessories.

People like to dress up. I have no other way of explaining cosplay in its simplest terms. People just like to dress up as their favorite characters and then show off that love to others by wearing their costumes to fan events like San Diego Comic Con.  They don’t gain any money what-so-ever from cosplay—it’s purely an art that is done through passion and self-expression. Except they wear their art to show it off, rather than displaying it online or in galleries. It has no other connotation behind it. I’d also like to say it’s probably the most expensive part of fandom, in terms of creation. Because materials for cosplay aren’t cheap, and the only pay-off someone gets is if they are recognized and complemented.

Finally, think of the internet hosting digital art as a type of museum. You pay for access to the internet, and in turn, you gain the ability to look at a bunch of amazing art—various styles, textures, scenery, people, etc.—with that access. If you love an artist or their work enough, you might be lucky enough to buy a print, etc., of their work in the “gift shop” of Etsy or Redbubble. If they have a Patreon, you can give them a donation to help expand their work! Most importantly, the artwork in the internet museum isn’t just limited to the fandom things I mentioned. It houses works that could just as well be done with acrylics, oils, watercolors, or graphite. It just so happens to be created with a stylist, a tablet, and a computer instead. (And, truth be told, there are ways for digital artists to make their work look like it was painted with watercolors or drawn with graphite. Neat, huh?)

P.s. The Art League technically is a fandom! It's a group of people who've come together over their love of art to discuss it, show their work, and be around company with like-minded views of art! So, congrats! You're a part of fandom!

For further information on fandom, you can look at in your leisure time, check out:

“Understanding Fandom: An Introduction to the Study of Media Fan Culture” by Mark Duffet (available through our library system via MeL)

“Nerd: adventures in fandom from this universe to the multiverse” by Maya Phillips (available through our library system)

“Phasers on stun!: how the making (and remaking) of Star Trek changed the world” by Ryan Britt (available through our library system)

“Cosplay: a history” by Andrew Liptak (available through our library system)

Well, I hope this post more than makes up for me being so busy I couldn't post last week!

I hope it was informative, joyful, and makes you better understand the wide-world of fandom.

If not? Oh well. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!