{"id":407,"date":"2017-03-03T11:06:50","date_gmt":"2017-03-03T19:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/?p=407"},"modified":"2017-03-03T11:08:07","modified_gmt":"2017-03-03T19:08:07","slug":"convocation-shifting-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/03\/convocation-shifting-perspective.html","title":{"rendered":"ConVocation: Shifting Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

What you say? I\u00a0did two large festivals back to back? PantheaCon AND ConVocation? \u00a0Why yes, yes I did. And I survived! How? Why!<\/p>\n

In recent years, in an effort to expand my audience and connections, I have been adding what I call \u201crisk\u201d events to my travel schedule. \u00a0The risk refers to spending money to possibly make money and grow my network. As an independent artist married to an independent musician, there\u2019s often not a lot of financial cushion or down time. \u00a0For most conventions and festivals that we do professionally, we\u2019re generally\u00a0paid to be there to perform\/teach\/etc \u2013 and that tends to also include travel and accommodations. \u00a0So for me to purchase booth space, registration, pay for flights and hotel rooms, that\u2019s a significant risk factor. (Paganicon<\/a> was one of my major risk events last year, and it paid off! And this year I\u2019m honored to be a Guest of Honor!)<\/p>\n

Jason Mankey <\/a>talked highly of ConVocation in Detroit, MI, so I figured, what the hell, let\u2019s be totally insane and do it! Alas, I missed the vendor deadline, but I got into the Art Show. \u00a0I also had my \u201cArt of Sigil Magick\u201d presentation accepted. \u00a0I also had Southwest points to cover one of the flights, and a dance buddy to share a hotel room with. \u00a0Since I did haven\u2019t a booth nor any of my music\/movement offerings were accepted, it meant leaving Nathaniel at home to cut down on costs \u2013 which the cats were happy about.<\/p>\n

\"West
West Coast Invasion! (photo by Devin)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So essentially, we got home late on Tuesday, I spent Wednesday doing laundry, prepping artwork, and packing. \u00a0Thursday I was up at 3:45am to catch a 6:30am flight to Detroit. \u00a0I was rewarded with a rendezvous with my friends Storm Faerywolf and Devin Hunter \u00a0in Chicago! They\u2019re just as nutty as me, because they also just did PantheaCon<\/a> too. (Read Storm\u2019s round-up here)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After checking in, we parted ways while I found the Art Show Room and got down to business. \u00a0I wisely had set aside 20 of my \u201cshrine\u201d pieces and 6 of my large \u201ctemple\u201d pieces, along with prints and coloring books to populate my display. \u00a0Following my tendency to \u201cgo big or don\u2019t bother,\u201d I had purchased the largest space available, and luckily had also scored the space you see first upon entering. \u00a0I hadn\u2019t even finished setting up or checking in when people started taking the art down to purchase it, so that was a great sign!<\/p>\n

Once I was done, I got settled into my room, checked in to registration, then realized I was starving. \u00a0Everybody I knew was off doing their own thing, so I dined alone\u2026and ate ALL THE THINGS. \u00a0(San Jose DoubleTree needs to take a page from the Detroit-Dearborn one \u2013 fantastic dinner buffet for $16? SO THERE. \u00a0Also their breakfast buffet was $12 for con-goers with more options. \u00a0Seriously guys, I\u2019m all about the food.)<\/p>\n

Then I had to choose between Jason\u2019s workshop or Storm\u2019s. \u00a0Knowing I would see Jason again in 2 weeks at Paganicon, I went to Storm\u2019s (but not without stopping to check in on Jason and help him find his power ;)) \u201cIntro to Feri.\u201d \u00a0There is now a running theme\/joke that people think I\u2019m Feri (a different blog post on that coming soon), so I figured it would be good to find out more WHY people think that. \u00a0It was enjoyable! Then margaritas were had! \u00a0Later that evening, I discovered my room was across the way from the \u201cScotch room\u201d, which was a delight for me in my pajamas.<\/p>\n

\"drawing
drawing notes from Storm\u2019s Feri class<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Somewhere Thursday night, I had the following revelation: I\u2019m in Detroit. \u00a0(duh, right?) No, this was a revelation because I suddenly remembered that the woman behind my favorite episode of The Moth<\/a> was from Detroit\u2026and a Witch! \u00a0Would she be at ConVocation too? \u00a0Looking her up, I didn\u2019t immediately find\u00a0her name (Dame Wilburn) with anything on the schedule, then I saw the photo\u00a0in the program next to \u201cDameon\u201d and made the connection. \u00a0Alas, her presentations were against other ones I was either presenting or involved in, but I tweeted to her about my possible fangirldom (I rarely fangirl folks\u2026.but I must have listened to her story at least a dozen times\u2026I am an NPR nerd.) She graciously responded for me to come and find her, which I did (well, she was suddenly there in the hallway on the way to the Art Show, so the Fates decreed it\u2026), and hopefully I didn\u2019t come off as creeper witch. \u00a0I also suck at remembering to take photos, so oh well.<\/p>\n

(Jason, on the other hand, is MUCH better at remembering to take photos, so enjoy those over here.)<\/a><\/p>\n

So that set the theme for Friday to be MEET ALL THE PEOPLE. I first spied Dodie Graham McKay and Kerr Cuhalain in Jason\u2019s \u201cWica to Wicca\u201d workshop \u2013 then we met later officially that evening. \u00a0Dodie and I hit it off (I seem to be collecting Canadians\u2026), and I alas missed Dame\u2019s ritual while we were consuming red meat like beasts. Followed by the world\u2019s most sincere hot tub and thunderstorm. \u00a0(Dodie has a great write-up of ConVo here, minus the feasting of flesh and bubbling witches notes..)<\/a>\u00a0Not having a lot to do on Friday really allowed for me to enjoy myself and not overdo it.<\/p>\n

I eased into Saturday morning, taking extra time to prepare for my \u201cArt of Sigil Magick\u201d<\/em> workshop. \u00a0I was worried about there being the tech I needed (a pad or whiteboard, a projector), but thankfully they were all there\u2026.and the room was beyond packed. I think it was set to seat about 40-50, and we had far more than that: people all over the floor, standing in the back \u2013 for 90 minutes! \u00a0A few people commented that they loved that I was so excited about what I was teaching \u2013 which I found amusing, because shouldn\u2019t everyone be excited about what they are teaching? Just a thought. \u00a0Anyway, the class was super enthusiastic, and I think most people really enjoyed it.<\/p>\n

(I\u2019m going to skip over the trip to Wendy\u2019s\u2026)<\/p>\n

\"convo\"Then Storm, Devin, Jason, and I gathered to go over Jason\u2019s \u201cWitch Cult\u201d ritual. \u00a0I was to be \u201cThe Maiden\u201d \u2013 so I decided to take that to the Huntress\/Diana level and wear my antlers. (I actually remembered to bring them, versus having to craft a pair out of straws\u2026<\/a>). It was interesting for me to participate in two different rituals crafted by others, one week apart \u2013 and both had extensive notes and scripts. \u00a0Definitely a challenge for me, as my ritual tends to be a lot less\u2026scripted and more improv on the spot. \u00a0But I did it!<\/p>\n

Afterwards, I got changed for the Masquerade Ball \u2013 though I spent more time in the bar and at various room parties then in the actual ballroom. \u00a0However, I was introduced to the tradition of the singing of the \u201cMekong\u201d song by The Refreshments (one of my favorite 90\u2019s bands), so that was awesome. \u00a0Less awesome was the guy whose hand lingered a bit too long on my back afterwards, but that\u2019s another thing. Overall, I had a great evening just talking and drinking with folks.<\/p>\n

Sunday morning was packing up the hotel room and then the art show, then an early ride to the airport where I then consumed more meat. \u00a0I managed to sell 14 of the shrine pieces, 4 of the temple pieces, and a lot of prints and coloring books. \u00a0 So in terms of both the Art Show and the new people I met (and there are sooo many more people I could list, but I don\u2019t want this to be name-drop central, but much love to many new folks!), ConVocation was definitely worth the risk for me.<\/p>\n

It definitely has a different feel to me than PantheaCon, yet there\u2019s this odd-sensation that everyone looks familiar \u2013 you just don\u2019t know them yet! \u00a0It was weird for me to travel without Nathaniel, and that may have made me more aware that I appeared to be a single woman \u2013 which led to a few awkward moments. \u00a0(One partner + 3 cats is enough for me.) \u00a0But overall, I definitely enjoyed myself and experiencing another facet of the P-word community. \u00a0I hope to be back next year!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What you say? I\u00a0did two large festivals back to back? PantheaCon AND ConVocation? \u00a0Why yes, yes I did. And I survived! How? Why! In recent years, in an effort to expand my audience and connections, I have been adding what I call \u201crisk\u201d events to my travel schedule. \u00a0The risk refers to spending money to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2676,"featured_media":410,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[184],"tags":[191,185,85,87,192,94],"class_list":["post-407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","tag-convention","tag-convocation","tag-festival","tag-p-words","tag-pagans","tag-witches"],"yoast_head":"\nConVocation: Shifting Perspective<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What you say? I\u00a0did two large festivals back to back? PantheaCon AND ConVocation? \u00a0Why yes, yes I did. 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