Personally Defining an Ever-Changing Term: Part One

I certainly do not claim to know all there is to know about steampunk.  After all, I had just discovered what it was two years ago, at an anime and video game convention.  Besides, I truly believe that there's much more to discover about this genre in it's lifetime - which I'm proud to predict will be very, very long indeed!

However, I do perceive steampunk a certain way - a way which many may or may not agree with.  Let me just start off with an overall list of what types of items or symbols I have come across that seem to represent the genre to me:

• Gears and Cogs (this one's a big one!)
• Leather
• Brass, copper, and to a lesser extent, silver, gold, iron, or any other kind of metal you can possibly imagine
• Corsets
• Bustles
• An octopus (Or Cthuhlu - steampunk fans seem to get a kick out of H.P Lovecraft)
• Top hats
•  Monocles
• Mustaches
• Goggles
• Vests
• Nifty raw-looking mechanisms
• Pocket watches
• Brass keys and locks
• (Arguably) Gas masks
• Upcycled bits
• Steam!

There you have it.  My version of steampunk at a glance.  Now of course, there may be things I still need to add on to this list.  However, these items are recurring themes that I have seen in my travels these past two years that relate to the genre.

I've come to find out that the whole subculture of steampunk actually originated as a type of literature.  Essentially what steampunk was made out to be was Victorian science fiction.  Writers, sometime between the 1980's and 1990's, imagined a place during that time period where steam-powered inventions ruled the day-to-day lives of its citizens.  I'll admit that I still have yet to get the exposure I want to these books, but as soon as I get the means to find them, I'll be going through them like crazy!

So what exactly have I seen to get me exposed to this kind of aesthetic?  Let's start off at the very beginning, where my boyfriend Ryan and I attended our first con.  Now, as I've said before, it was at Connecticon, which is basically a sort of generic 'B.Y.O.G.' (bring your own geekiness) type of convention.  I mostly went because I was a hardcore gamer at the time (Ryan and I love the Zelda games!) and I've seen one or two animes in my lifetime, so we decided to see what these things were really all about.

Ryan and me as Link and Malon from Zelda: Ocarina of Time.  Probably the dorkiest pictures of us of all time.  Thanks to our friend Josh for showing us around our first Con and taking this picture!

Of course, I had to dress up in a costume.  HAD to.  I used to go to Renaissance fairs all the time (mostly the one in Tuxedo, NY) and for me it was the only way to go to have fun, actually be a part of it all.  So, me in my makeshift Malon costume and Ryan in the Link costume I had made for him at the beginning of the summer, we stumbled across a panel that had a certain amount of intrigue.

There was a panel by a group called The Wandering Legion of the Thomas Tew, a band of energetic charismatic people who create web videos having to do with the group's imaginary shenanigans between each others' alter egos in a steampunk setting (usually aboard their ship).  They certainly had a thing or two to say about what steampunk is, may be, and how to capture the aesthetic via costume or props.  From their presentation I learned many things, including how to reuse and recycle old trinkets around the house and that as long as you have the right tool for the right job, anything you can imagine can be created from almost anything.  Ever since I have been such a fan and even had the honor of briefly working with them to help open a show at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts with Steampunk Chess! (At the Man Ray/Lee Miller, Partners in Surrealism exhibit in 2011.)

Logo for The Wandering Legion of the Thomas Tew.  Check out their awesome videos by clicking the link above!

After the convention, as we were driving home, Ryan mentioned to me that he would like to do something with the steampunk aesthetic.  I completely agreed with him.  We mentioned the idea to our friend Josh, who we met up with that day (as it was our first convention, he kindly showed us around) and he got very excited as well.  "Let's all be airship pirates!" he exclaimed.

Fast forward through about a year after all of the costume-developing and arrive at the Steampunk World's Faire 2011 in Somerset, New Jersey.  As only the three of us were attending together (at the time we didn't quite know enough people interested in steampunk like we were) we weren't quite what we set out to be.  Also, Josh and Ryan looked more like gentlemen than pirates.

Ryan checks his pocket watch while 'smoking' a copper pipe, possibly unaware that there is a completely functional watch upon his left wrist. :D

And Josh checks his pocket watch while awaiting patiently for the convention looking most reminiscent of Charles Dickens in attire.

Nonetheless, we all arrived in full-costume, ready to absorb the atmosphere.  Along the way, we had the pleasure of meeting Dr. and Mrs. Grymm from Dr. Gymm Laboratories, who are popular in creating and curating steampunk art and organizing special events (and even contributed to a number of books including 1000 Steampunk Creations by Quarry Publishing, and was featured on the show 'Selling New York').  Ryan and I recently attended two of their events, the Steampunk Bizarre and the Steampunk Bizarre Halloween Masquerade Ball, both of which were at the Mark Twain house in Hartford, Connecticut. We also found out that Dr. Grymm a.k.a Joey Marsocci and his wife Mrs Grymm a.k.a Allison DeBlasio, the proprietors of Dr. Grymm Laboratories, have been called streampunk experts and gurus, playing big roles in the development of the Independent films such as "I am Steampunk" (watch the trailer!).  It was such an honor to get to meet them at the convention!

Dr. and Mrs. Grymm (Marsocci and DeBlasio) posing for us at the SPWF 2011 in their vendor booth.

The three of us definitely gained a perspective on steampunk after that experience.  The entire atmosphere created by the community was completely and overwhelmingly welcoming and friendly (and that's a big thing for a wallflower like me) and we saw so many people with the most creative costumes and contraptions.  We learned that most steampunkers who put themselves out there have alter-egos that allow them to become an entirely different person at the conventions, and that inspired us to try and develop the sorts of back stories we're still working on today.