Wizard World Is Coming

This coming weekend (April 29 to May 1) the annual Wizard World convention will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim (California).

What is Wizard World, you ask? Well, it is much like Comic Con – the huge sci-fi convention held every year in San Diego – but on a slightly smaller scale. But unlike Comic Con, which is held in only one location a year, Wizard World is a producer of pop culture and multimedia conventions across North America that markets movies, TV shows, video games, technology, toys, social networking/gaming platforms, comic books and graphic novels.

Beyond this weekend’s event in Anaheim, other Wizard World conventions will be held in New York City on May 21 and 22 then in Philadelphia from June 17 to 19. Over the course of the next few months Wizard World will hit Chicago from August 11 to 14; New England (Boston) on September 17 and 18 and back to the Big Apple again on September 24 and 25.

As we head into fall, Wizard World will be in Columbus (Ohio) on October 22 and 23 then in Winnipeg from October 28 to October 30. Leading into the holidays Austin (Texas) will be the next stop from November 11 to 13, ending in Atlanta on December 3 and 4.

But let’s get back to Anaheim and this weekend. Among the celebrity guests expected to appear at the convention include the following:

Nicholas Brandon from Buffy, the Vampire Slayer
Claudia Christian from Babylon 5
Mira Furlan from Lost and Babylon 5
Harry Hamlin from the original Clash of the Titans
Tricia Helfer from Battlestar Galactica
Torri Higginson from Stargate Atlantis
Alaina Huffman from Stargate Universe and Smallville
James Kyson Lee from Heroes
Miracle Laurie from Dollhouse
Julie Newmar, the original Catwoman in the Batman series
Ray Park from Star Wars: Episode 1
Robert Picardo from Star Trek: Voyager and Stargate franchise
John Schneider from Smallville
Kevin Sorbo from Hercules
Rick Worthy from Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek
Adam West and Burt Ward, the original Batman and Robin

There are many other actors and actresses making an appearance at Wizard World in Anaheim and you can learn about them here.

The program for the 3-day event is listed here. There will also be autograph and photo opportunities with the celebrity guests.

And, much like all other conventions, big and small, there will be artists and exhibitors on hand. For details on them and much more about the Anaheim Wizard World convention, please visit here or for details on any of the Wizard World cons in the United States, please visit here.

Tree of Life Pendant

Artist Spotlight: This month’s artist’s spotlight is on Wendy Van Camp, a talented jewelry maker who has always been an artist at heart. As a child she wrote her first novel at the age of 8; she played the guitar and clarinet and she loved to make pottery. She simply could not stop creating; it was the same as breathing to her.

When she was in college, she turned from writing to filmmaking which led her to working in cable television for many years, producing and directing TV programs. Unfortunately, the daily grind of community television lacked a certain amount of creativity for her and she ended up burned out.

Upon marrying her husband, she moved to a new city, leaving television behind but not her love for the freelance lifestyle. It was at this time that she wanted to make a change. She wanted to start over. After making the bridal veil for her wedding (in an effort to save money), she discovered beads for the first time and was hooked.

Within a year, she was creating simple glass and silver jewelry to sell at craft fairs and by the second year, she was in business, showing a small profit. From there her jewelry company known as Indigoskye Bead Fashions grew more profitable at a steady rate, allowing her – in her third year – to leave her day work to solely sell and make jewelry.

Over the next two years, in order to learn new skill sets, add complexity to her work and increase her sales, she began taking jewelry workshop classes in San Diego. By doing this she became more active in the artisan community and learned valuable techniques. Her studio changed from a place on her kitchen table to a full room in her home where a jeweler’s bench vies with her computer for attention.

Wendy states she “loves being an artist and I do not believe I would be happy doing anything else.” Nowadays she wafts between writing novels, digital painting and jewelry making.

She specializes in contemporary Celtic themed jewelry for which she has been fond of since childhood due to her Scottish heritage; but the motifs and swirls of the ancient designs did not enter into her work until about seven years ago. Prior to that time she allowed the texture of the stones or the art glass used in her jewelry to be the focus.

She made the switch to the Celtic theme when she began to book tables as a dealer at sci-fi conventions because she quickly discovered that many attendees where interested in Renaissance Festivals and that Celtic themes were very common in sci-fi and fantasy novels and movies. Her work is now a balance between the contemporary designs inspired by Alexander Calder’s wire work and the ancient designs that have been made by the Celtic people for thousands of years. She uses unusual stones in her work and the colors tend to be monochromatic which blends into her clean style, creating a balance between contemporary designs and ancient traditions.

When she is not creating jewelry she loves cooking, growing exotic hot chiles in her garden and tending to her roses. She has been married to the same man for the past 15 years and they have one “little four-legged furbaby to nurture”.

Her featured piece is called “Tree of Life” that is a Sterling Carnelian Pendant that she made for the 2009 Comic Con Art Show. The piece has since been sold, but it is reminiscent of her astounding artistry.

If you would like to reach Wendy, you can email her at wvancamp@earthlink.net and you can see her jewelry here.