ICON9: the Post Report

So, from July 6 through 11, I was not in Virginia, nor in Washington DC, or Maryland, or the Hague, or any of the other places people generally find me, if they're looking.  No, I was in Austin, Texas, for The Illustration Conference: ICON9 (the 9 signifying that this is the ninth conference to be held on Earth).



Held every two years in a different city, under the direction of a different President and Board, ICON is probably the one place I can strike up a conversation with anyone I like and be interested in what they have to say.  I met illustrators from around the world, I met art directors from... mostly New York, I met the friendly and professional waitstaff at the Austin Hilton, where the entire thing was held.









Not only that, but I got to walk around the city of Austin, which is itself not unlike walking around tethered to an open pizza oven: hot as hell, but also much available pizza.  The final closing party was held at Stubb's which is one of those local institutions that makes barbecue so good that I recognized the name immediately, despite never having heard of it before.

But I'm glad to be back home.  I have a pound of business cards to sift through, and I have to remember what I was talking about with Martin Gee, art director at TIME magazine, that ended with him saying I should email him.