Avestacon Scholar Guests 1997

These gentlemen are some of the special guests invited to the International Avesta Conference in the suburbs of Boston. It took place in November 1997 and I was excited to see and talk with these dignitaries whom I had never met. The Conference, as I remember, was somewhat held back by an unseasonal snowstorm but once inside the presentations carried on just fine. "Avesta" is the sacred scripture of the Zoroastrian faith so most of the talks were on religious literature.

Identifying the attendees: Top left, Pallan Ichaporia, a Zoroastrian from Mumbai, India now living in Pennsylvania. Upper right: William Malandra, Behram Deboo. Center Left, John Hinnells from Derbyshire, England. Bearded gent in white uniform, Dastur (Zoroastrian high priest) Firoze Kotwal from Mumbai.

Black tech pen on sketchbook page, 5" x 8", November 15, 1997.

Noodle Monster

It's a Noodle Monster, but it isn't the famous pseudo-deity the "Flying Spaghetti Monster." Inspired by Japanese demon cartoons and everyone's favorite floating noodle, it could be a "Ramen Noodle Monster," or an "Orchid Air Root Monster." I don't think it's meant for human eating, though. It's probably drifting through the seas off Japan, watching for something to snag as dinner drops downward as refuse from fishing boats.

Arteza and other markers on sketchbook page, 6" x 3 1/2", May 3, 2020.

Ritual Purity Zoroastrian Face Masks 1997

Face masks have suddenly become an essential item of our clothing, at least our protective clothing. But they're not new at all. From ancient times onward priests of the Zoroastrian religion have tended their Sacred Fire while wearing white face masks. Why do they do this? It is not only for hygienic reasons. The Fire, seen here on its pedestal urn, must be protected against unclean exhalations and expectorations. The modern masks are said to do the same thing, though the Zoroastrian masks are open at the bottom. Alongside hygiene is the concept of ritual purity, which probably derives from the rules of hygiene. Ritual purity isn't only a Zoroastrian concept. Many religions carry this concept into their ritual spaces and worship: Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and even Christianity represent ritual purity. So when you put on your bright cloth mask or practical blue paper, remember that it's not just health you are promoting, it's the spiritual life and the protection of purity against the onslaughts of the world.

Here's a bit more about all this from my original blog entry in February of 2019.

Domes of Fire 1997-98

For me, the 1990s was probably my best era for artistic productivity, before I surrendered to necessity and got a day job. The rough sketches above are for the third of my ultra-detailed large fantasy city panorama paintings. All of my best works of the 1990s were private commissions (except some of my religious pieces). This one, "Domes of Fire," was based on a fabulous city appearing in a series by David Eddings. It was commissioned by a family of fans in Rockville, Maryland. I used spun glass Egyptian perfume bottles as inspiration and I created the landscape before I built the city.

Here's the city all finished in 1998. Original is acrylic on hardboard, 36" x 24".
Originally blogged here in June 2010. Click on image for a larger view.

Phrolicon Guests of Honor

Phrolicon despite its small size could invite major authors for book promotion and a fun weekend. Connie Willis, to the right, was already one of the biggest names in science fiction, sometimes collaborating with fellow writer Cynthia Felice. Here they are talking on a panel while I'm in the audience sketching. Folded origami from Mark Kennedy are everywhere including the paper crown on Connie's head. As of 2020 both authors are still going strong.

Black ink on sketchbook page, 5 1/2" x 8", August 3, 1997.

Phrolicon Phood

Phood? What does that mean anyway? Well, for Phrolicon you just change the "F's" to "Ph's" like "Phila-delphia." And "Phood?" That's something you eat. At the convention's hospitality suite, fans brought or bought trays of goodies to munch on while they socialized. At the top is a hotel table well-stocked with munchies, which were usually cheese samples and raw vegetables. There was also soda or juice, stored in the hotel's bathtub in ice. Some suites had  alcohol but you had to be careful with that. Under and around the tray are failed origami foldings from the master Mark. The bottom half shows two portraits. One is Carol Kabakjian, a longtime Philadelphia science fiction fan, serving the munchies. The other is Darrell Schweitzer, man of letters, writer and critic, literary luminary of Phili-fandom.

Black tech pen on sketchbook page, 5" x 8", August 2, 1997.

Weird Bio-Border

In a world turned into a huge microbiology/virology experiment, here's my improvisation on the April 30 border. It's not an exact portrait of anything but it's small and scary enough to be a Tiny Monster, or at least some sort of protozoan. When I was a young thing I collected pond water in a jar and looked for hours at the living creatures in the water, using a tiny microscope and glass slides. When I finished looking at them, I sacrificed the tiny monsters by pouring the jar liquid into the lawn outside, where they would return to the earth they inhabited.

Black marker on sketchbook page, 2" x 3", April 30, 2020.