Jenny Goldstick is a designer & illustrator, as well as a prized student of School of Visual Arts’ Visual Narrative MFA program. She’s been kind enough to give us a run-down of her SPX 2013 experience . It sounds like it was a blast, providing further proof that we should all go next year!
(be sure to check the end of the post for some of Jenny’s incredible work)
What are you looking forward to the most?
Having never been to SPX before (or any comics convention, really), I am looking forward to just understanding how it works. I know generally that there are tables with people selling comics, but what is it “like”? Is it quiet, loud? Is the environment calm or chaotic? Are the people young or old? Do people bring their families? What types of work will be sold, more like zines or bound books? I look forward to discovering the answers to these questions through my experience at the expo.
As you walk around, what is the vibe of the show?
The vibe of the show is exciting and overwhelming. There are so many people here both visiting and selling. It is inspiring to see so many like-minded people pursuing something they love, and there is a TON of content to sift through. My strategy has been to view a portion of the room for about two hours, and then go outside and take a break, get some water, and process. It seems like this is a place where people put their personal passion projects out there, like not necessarily the projects that are making them money (for some yes, but for many no). I also appreciate how honest and open people are in speaking about their professions as illustrators and comics artists. I’ve had open dialogs with a few vendors about how they shape their professional lives and make money, which is useful information for someone like me, who has only been a freelance designer & illustrator for a couple years. Overall, there are many different people here of all kinds, and everyone is pretty pumped about comics. It also seems like a good place to network not only in the industry of comics, but illustration, and possibly design as well. Lots of people hand out their business cards and postcards. There is even a table outside the expo where anyone can leave their promotional materials.
Any surprises?
I was surprised at a few things: 1) how easily accessible some of these well-known comic artists are. Like, Rutu Modan, for example, was just walking around the convention, and talked to me for a little bit about my Israel trip! I also saw Seth, our teacher Jim Rugg, Adrian Tomine, and many other artists who I admire. 2) How cheap some of the stuff was. I purchased this beautiful comic by Kevin Huizenga, which was published by Fantagraphics, for only $8! What a steal! 3) How easy it seemed to get involved with the expo. I think that if any of us set our minds to it, we could definitely get behind the table next year and see things from “the other side”.
Was it everything you hoped it would be?
It was everything I hoped it would be and more, but of course, being the very efficient and logical thinker that I am, I wanted to sort all the information in a more cohesive way. I wish there was a way to classify the different types of content and comics so a visitor could navigate the expo room more logically. Other than that, the lectures were informative, and the experience of viewing all of this content was motivating and inspiring (though exhausting, I could probably only take in so much visual stimulation every once in a while—good thing the event only happens once annually).
About Jenny:
Hailing from Chicago, IL, she resides in Brooklyn, NY. She has a special interest in pursuing sequential narrative by means of infographics, comics, and infographic-comics. She has completed work for GE, Alaska Communications, Leo Burnett, HP and IPC, among others.
Want to see why she’s a fantastic addition to our SVA family? Here are two of her infographics:
Yeah. Nuff said!