MTAC 2015 - Photoshoot Preview

I had the wonderful opportunity to work with the amazing Madster Cosplay and Photography this past weekend at the Middle Tennessee Anime Convention (MTAC). We did two photoshoots - one on Friday in geisha henshin and the other on Saturday in my fem Aarune cosplay (Pokémon ORAS). Here are the preview photos!

Geisha Henshin

Fem Aarune

Such amazing shots; you can't even tell that we were in a hotel surrounded by a business district with a busy road and full parking lots! I sincerely hope I get to work with this photographer again!

Anime Blues Con 4

June 20-22 was Anime Blues Con 4. My henshin group, Tsuki no Ie Okiya, was lucky enough to be on the guest list this year! We did an ozashiki panel as well as a Q&A. We were also interviewed for a documentary that a local convention goer was making, and we had several wonderful photographers get some amazing images of us.

Here are the best of the images (scroll to see more pictures - click for full size on Flickr):

And this is the interview for the documentary:

Several guests also made some videos. While they're aren't very clear or complete, it may still give you an idea of how our performances are done:

Makeup Practice 5/25

We had an opportunity to practice doing our geiko and maiko style makeup that we do for our henshin performances. It was a chance for some of us to brush up on our skills, and our newest member did her own makeup for the first time.

Green Ro Kakeshita

I'm so excited that I won this green ro (yes, RO) kakeshita today on YJA! It's a little bolder and brighter than what I usually use for my maiko henshin, but because it was a summer fabric, there's no way I could let that one go.

I just hope it will be here before the next event so the girls won't die of heat stroke!!!

More pictures of Tsuki no Ie Okiya at MTAC 2014

One of our guests kindly let me use his photos from a few of our panels at MTAC 2014. Here are some from our makeup and kitsuke panel as well as the ozashiki (sadly, none from the tea ceremony).

Photos by Matthew Ruley, used with permission.

Tsuki no Ie Okiya at MTAC 2014

This was my 6th year attending the Middle Tennessee Anime Convention in Nashville, TN. Many people have posted their "reports" from the convention, and honestly, most were not complimentary. To sum up, they had to move to a smaller venue because the convention center decided to break their contract after last year's event. I thought the hotel they moved to was nice, but I did have to sit in line for a very long time to get checked in and out (not the con staff's fault). I really didn't attend any events because I did so many panels. The only complaint I have is how they check in panelists. I was told at first to go to programming ops, but then no one knew whether I needed to wait in the regular pre-registration line for my badges. They used to have a separate check-in area for panelists doing 3 hours or more of presentations, and they gave them a special presenter badge. No special badges, and after some utter confusion with check-in, my sister (who used for work for their sister con and knows everyone) got me checked in without having to wait in the huge pre-reg line. That being said, the rest of the time went pretty smoothly for me (except for the 30 minute wait to get into the dealer's room on Sunday, but I digress...).

We did 3 panels on Saturday. The first panel was on how to put on geisha-style makeup and kimono. We dressed the newest member of our geiko-henshin group (and celebrated her "misedashi"). The second event was an Urasenke style tea ceremony. I was the host, my husband narrated, and the other members of my geiko-henshin group filled the main guest and assistant roles. The last event of the day was our "ozashiki". I performed two pieces on the shamisen ("Hana Momiji" and "Kurokami"), then the girls danced "Sakura Sakura" and I accompanied on the shamisen, and finally we demonstrated and played "Konpira Fune Fune" and "Tora Tora" with our guests. I hope some other people took pictures and will send them my way, because I forgot to have my husband take pictures during the 1st and 3rd panels. The pictures we did take were after the 1st panel.

All of the performers (by performing names, L to R): Tsukiteru, Tsukiko, and Tsukiuma

"Sisters" - Tsukiteru and Tsukiuma

Gratuitous obi shot!

My sister is a decent photographer, so she got some good shots of me in my new whirlpool hikizuri, and some good closeups. I am really proud of my makeup this time, especially the eyebrows! I usually make them messy (very shaky hands) and too thick for my taste. And I got to wear my new katsura that is in MUCH better shape than the old one and fits me so much better. I like how it frames my face better as well. Of course, I'm critical of myself, and I wish I had made the hikizuri tighter around my hips, so I'll try to do that next time.

From the front

From the side (This is my favorite shot!)

Obi shot - I love this gold shippou obi!

Close-up from the front

3/4 view, close-up (my second favorite picture)

Thank you for looking!

Black Goshoguruma Furisode

Another piece for my geiko and maiko henshin group, Tsuki no Ie Okiya! This is my second black furisode, so now I have enough for both of my maiko henshin performers (I have a kurotomesode and black hikizuri for myself since I do geiko henshin).

The design on this one is goshoguruma (royal cart).

From a distance, the colors don't look very interesting, but up close, you can see that there's much more depth and brightness:

I'd love to add our crests to both of my black furisode. Dyeing is not really an option since these are already black in those places, so either paint or embroidery would likely be the best bet. Suggestions?

MTAC 2013 - Geisha henshin and more!

The last weekend of March was MTAC 13 - Devil's Dozen in Nashville. I applied for and was accepted to do a panel on geisha. We had a prime slot at 7pm on Saturday. That was the highlight, but I also did a little cosplay and kimono hime on the other days. I have a lot of pictures to share!

Friday
I did a cosplay for Yuko Ichihara from xxxHolic. I wore a black butterfly yukata as a kimono with my black neko tsukuri obi. The hair gave me so much trouble because of the length, so I ended up braiding it. I had a Mokona and a kiseru as my props. We also got autographs from Jamie Marchi and Monica Rial! That evening was also the Grand Galloping Gala formal, so I borrowed my sister's Princess Celestia costume for that.

Saturday

Saturday was our geisha panel. My geisha henshin group - Tsuki no Ie Okiya - did the presentation. I did the majority of the talking, but "Tsukiuma" (maiko henshin) and "Mitsurutsuki" (taiko mochi henshin)were very wonderful as well! Tsukiuma and I ("Tsukiko" - geiko henshin) had our pictures done by a professional photographer. We were complimented by many people on the authenticity of our outfits. ^_^

Sunday

Sunday was good-bye day =(. I did some kimono hime to round out the week. It was an improvement on the kimono hime I did for Mid-South Con.