Peri Charlifu DucKon 17 Guest of Honor
Loren Damewood DucKon 18 Guest of Honor
Loren Damewood has been tying useful and decorative knots since he was ten years old and hasn't stopped since. His hand-crafted knot jewelry store, Golden Knots, has been in business for almost 30 years. He is a member of Florida Society of Goldsmiths and International Guild of Knot Tyers. His work has been featured in Florida Craftsmen Gallery, the Arts Center in St.Petersburg, Florida, and was DucKon 18's artist GoH. Loren is most well known for his Turk's-Head knot in the form of wedding rings.
James Humble DucKon 19 Guest of Honor
Well, I was born about... let's just say a while ago in Virginia. We moved early in my life to Colorado where I've spent most of my time and currently reside. Some people think I was born with a pencil in one hand and some clay in the other. It's pretty much true. I lucked out since my parents supported my art habit. In fact early on my mother and I baked one of my first clay pieces in the old oven. Of course it was crayola clay and it just melted and stunk up the house! Whoops! Live and learn.
I've progressed since those days and still strive to improve. My life experiences have shaped my art in particular a 3 year stay in Germany and Europe. There my love of art (in particular the human form, gargoyles, grotesques and mythology) was really intensified. I've been pursuing my vision and passion to create now for more than 20 years.
I'm skilled in drawing, painting, sculpture and computer graphics. I'm constantly striving to adapt novel and unexpected techniques with unusual media to produce fine art. I try to keep my work fresh, unexpected and widely divergent.
David Pancake
Ursula Vernon DucKon 20 Guest of Honor
Ursula Vernon is the author and illustrator of "Nurk," "Digger," and a number of other projects. The daughter of an artist, she spent her youth attempting to rebel and become a scientist, but eventually succumbed to the siren song of paint (although not before getting a degree in anthropology, because life isn't complete without student loans, right?). Her work has been nominated for an Eisner award, "Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition" and a number of Webcomics Choice Awards.
Ursula grew up in Oregon and Arizona, went to college at Macalester College in Minnesota, and stayed there for ten years, until she finally learned to drive in deep snow and was obligated to leave the state.
In addition to writing and making art, Ms. Vernon is "an avid birdwatcher, occasional neophyte practitioner of the sword art of iaido, and an amateur thrower of pots." She is active in her local webcomics community, and can occasionally be found at local science fiction conventions, looking vaguely baffled by the crowd and signing anything put in front of her.
Having moved across the country several times, she eventually settled in Pittsboro, North Carolina, where she works full-time as an artist and creator of oddities. She lives with her boyfriend, a spastic Beagle, a (fairly) mellow Border Collie, a small collection of cats, and a large collection of Indonesian demon masks, which generally manage to keep her out of trouble.