With IX a couple of weeks behind us now, I happened to stumble upon photos of the first IX Showcase and, with that, my very first Showcase table setup. In 2010, the third year of IX, they began setting up tables at the hotel on the evenings of Friday and Saturday of the event. This was new to the show and was a more organized version of what happened the previous year. People had set up tables in a common area at the hotel where they shared their collections and had art for sale. Now that there was an official Showcase, a ballroom was set aside, which allowed artists to set up and leave their items for the next night. It was an exciting time as the (often) younger artists could now show their work at the event, and many of our heroes were also exhibiting. Many cut their teeth at the IX Showcase as they figured out how to booth and share their art effectively. There was a lot of excitement built into the Showcase, as those exhibiting in the Main Show could now walk around and take in art. Thirteen years ago, I started doing conventions, and it all started at the IX Showcase. That said, here is my Showcase table from 2010 and my Showcase setup from 2023.
Illuxcon 3 Showcase November 2010
I had a little D&D work under my belt, a couple of binders of drawings, a few prints, some canvas prints, and my first self-printed sketchbook. I sold a lot of sketchbooks with criminally underpriced drawings in them. I spent most of the night drawing in sketchbooks.
IX Showcase October 2023
I have a LOT of client work under my belt, boxes of drawings, prints, enamel pins, many framed and bagged painted and mixed media originals, MtG artist proofs, and my first illustrated novel, stats guide, and coloring book from my Grand Bazaar series. I would hazard to guess that any single transaction that I had this year was greater than the entire sum of my sales in 2010.
I think it is essential to be objective and realistic about yourself and your work. To that end, you must know that it takes time and effort to do the things in this world that are worthwhile. Nothing worth doing is quickly done. I could never have reached 2023 without starting in 2010, and we all have our own 2010 that we start at. You can not start at 2023 - sure, you can try, but it will end up more like 2010 than you want it to. I have shared my journey in all of this here on the blog since 2009, and I hope it has shown that if you work toward a goal, you will find yourself moving in that direction. It takes time, and it takes a lot of work. I am not sure I would have ever believed the 2023 booth was an option for me. Even if I had shown a photo to myself of what my current booth looks like, I would not have believed it. Even now, I find it important to see these images side by side. I need to remember where I started and where I am now because there is always room to grow and new directions to explore. This is our art, and this is our life, and it is ours to enjoy and explore.
That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog. See you back here on Friday! Until then...
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