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Interview 19
Artist/Wizard Quest Designer/Owner
WIZARD QUEST PHOTOS HAVE SYMBOLS. Can you figure them out?
Please tell us your name, a little about your family (husband/children), where you live, pets you presently have.
I am Corena Ricks and I live with my husband and four children in the mountains of the Wyoming, Idaho border. I have two boys (21, 19) and two girls (17, 14). We have two Australian Shepherd dogs, a cat and a bunny.
What type of childhood did you have and does your art reflect your dreams as a child? When did you first discover that you wanted to be an artist?
I grew up on Vancouver Island amongst dogwood trees and skunk cabbage where I passed the time away building forts out of whatever I could get my hands on. As the daughter of a wax museum set designer I was thrilled to paint Pinocchio's house at the age of five then devastated when my dad painted over it. I determined then to one-day paint well enough that it wouldn't need painting over. I believe that was when I discovered I wanted to be an artist.
What are your favorite mediums and why?
My favorite mediums are whatever I'm working with at the time which could be anything from foam-board insulation to polymer clay to oil paints. I find great satisfaction in experimenting and combining several mediums to create something completely unique. Long before I touch the canvas to paint a fairy I make a costume then photograph the model which is the best part for that is when a real fairy is born! Often times I will create a dimensional mini backdrop for the fairy and shoot it then combine the two in Photoshop. Sometimes I'll leave it as a digital painting and other times I'll paint it in oils. My favorite painting medium is oils though. They are forgiving and allow so many different blending techniques.
Have you had any formal training in art? If so where and when?
The most formal training I had was 1984/85 at Ricks College in Rexburg Idaho, now BYU-Idaho. I studied art just long enough to get the basic principles of design and color. I have mostly taught myself how to paint and sculpt from books and a lot of experimentation.
What made you decide to take on the task of a virtual reality game such as Wizard Quest? Please tell us some details about this interactive fantasy attraction?
Wizard Quest was dreamed up as a solution to replace a dying wax museum we had in Wisconsin Dells. We wanted to provide an attraction that would be more interactive and bring families and groups closer together. My husband Kevin has always had a keen interest in creating unique games and he woke up one morning with the idea of creating a real-life fantasy video game. This was at the height of popularity of the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings movies. We had a feeling that the fantasy theme would be popular for a long time given the fact that technology now allows movies to create awesome effects unmatched by anything done earlier. We brought my dad into the project and quickly decided on using the four classic Greek elements as a theme for our design. What we call the 'Quadrasphere' is divided and decorated according to the elements of Air, Earth, Fire, Water. Wizard Quest is a multi-faceted experience, which combines the following challenges:
Physical -There are adult-sized slides, a molten lava ball pit with a tunnel that guests (questers) must swim through balls to get to a clue and a spiders nest they must climb.
Mental-Questers must solve riddles and employ the power of observation of creative displays to answer questions
Optical-There are many optical illusions, which fool the eye including a mirror maze, mirror tricks and many secret passageways.
There is a time limit in which questers must earn enough glimmers (points) to free the wizards by meeting these challenges.
Who does all the graphics and then who applies them to computer images?
We don't have a lot of computer graphics because we wanted the art focus to be more in the real, three-dimensional aspect of the game. Our goal is for questers to spend more time exploring the realms, observing displays, and experiencing the challenges listed above (and in doing so interacting with each other) than spending time at the computer stations. The computers act as a means for tracking our guests progress as they log answers that prove they have completed certain tasks. What is done graphically are live actors filmed.
How is your family incorporated in this huge endeavor?
Boy are you going to regret asking this question. Where do I start? How about with putting this thing together. The biggest roles in conceptualizing the Wizard Quest experience were played by Kevin (who came up with the game play and point system), my dad Norm Rollingson (who designed the realms, oversaw the construction and acted as Zephyr, the Air Wizard), and myself (who directed filming and did all things artsy fartsy including costume design, creature making and specialty painting, which by the way NOTHING been painted over, refer to question 3). The family involvement by no means ends there though. My brother-in law- Steve Deyholos designed the computer software, my sister-in-law Tawnya Rollingson composed and recorded original music for each of the realms and acted as Shelyndria, the Water Wizard. Another brother in law Ken Speakman designed the logo and initially did our advertising and played the role of Moltar, the Wizard of Fire. Kevin's cousin, Eric Egan built our interactive games like a magic bookshelf, potion machine and secret drawer combination. Our children who were mostly teenagers at the time were instrumental in letting us know what was cool enough to include and what wasn't, they being the age of our target audience. My son Trevor acted as a clue giving elf that appears in a log and my daughter Hailey acted as a fairy prancing in the forest. Everything we could do ourselves we did not only because it was affordable but because we knew all the talent needed to bring the magic together was right in our family. Right now Kevin runs the business side of things and together we make changes to the game. I am over advertising and displays.
About how long does it take to make new or update versions for the quests?
In the past the quest changed every year and we worked from January to May to create new creatures, move wizards around, open new secret places, add new displays and updating the software to get things ready for the busy summer season. We are recently working on updating it to include a new game every day of the week, which means instead of one game we will have seven. It's taking a lot of work but we will be ready in January and are very excited.
Did you ever think that Wizard Quest would be as successful as it is today?
We only dreamed that Wizard Quest would be as successful as it is today. Because it was the first attraction of its kind built in the country we had no pattern to follow and no proof that it would work. It was a huge risk but our guts told us it would be worth it, and it was.
If you could do something different in the designing what would it be?
Do you plan to continue doing more regular paintings/sculpting?
Yes I definitely plan to do more regular painting and sculpting. My sketchbook is full of fairy characters and ideas just waiting to be brought to life. It was my intention to have a new line of fairy paintings out by the end of the summer but adding the new games has eaten up my spring and summer. I'm looking forward to fall now to start painting again. I feel that Wizard Quest is the driving force behind my success as an artist and its success will always come first. That being said, there's also a driving force that will not let me go too long before I have to put everything aside and just paint!
Cindy and I (Mystic) really love Greda the fairy- she is delightful! Who inspired her? Have you ever considered doing larger framed fairies?
Greda Fairy is a fairy that really exists. Every once in a while our manager Kelly Jo Gherke will walk into her office and in about half an hour out will walk out as Greda Fairy. She is so named for her inherent clumsiness but one look at the beautiful doe-eyed bundle of happiness and all you see is pure love for life itself. It all started when right after we opened Wizard Quest I thought the best thing I could do to thank her for all her hard grunt labor in getting the show ready to open was to make her a fairy costume. She mentioned she always wanted to dress up as a fairy. Well as soon as she put that thing on she actually became one! I did a photo session with her one-day and her expressions were so 'on' that she begged to painted!
What is your favorite artistic work that you have done?
That would be Greda, the Fairy
Are you inspired by any other artists, sculptures, etc.? If so who?
I'm inspired by artist's such as James Christensen, Bryan Froud, Sheila Wolk, Linda Ravenscroft, David Delamare but mostly by my uncle Charles White who didn't start his career until the age of 40, (like me) but is very successful (that's still coming).
With your love of nature and the past, what do you think of what is needed to preserve. Do you do anything to promote Green?
I think what is needed to preserve our earth today is to instill in the next generation a love and respect for nature and the balance thereof. I work with youth as a coach, an art teacher and spiritual leader. I try to take every opportunity to point out the beauties of nature and teach that maintaining balance in life is essential to happiness and is crucial in sustaining the earth as well. It's important to lead an examined life in all that we do, including the impact we leave on the environment. I'd be a hypocrite if I said I didn't do things that have an adverse effect but I do pay attention and try to be a good example of someone who tries to limit that impact in the habits I form.
Do pets play a special part in your life and if so how?
Our family has two Australian Shepherds, Emma and Bandit that are our protectors on long trail runs. They love to attend us on our runs and literally jump up and down when they see us in our running shorts. Trail running is a daily habit of mine and Kevin's and where we live, right off national forest it can be a hazard with all the wild animals. Emma runs ahead and scares off animals before we have an unexpected encounter, the most dangerous kind. As a matter of fact today she chased a brown bear off the trail before we got there. It did rear up and threaten so we went back the way we came but who know what would have happened if she weren't running ahead? As for Bandit, he never leaves our side so I feel protected all the way around. I love my dogs for that!
If you could do one thing differently, in your career, what would it be?
Well hindsight is such a tool is it not? If I knew I would have the opportunities now to create and paint I wouldn't have fretted over the time I felt was missing mastering art skills while raising my children. Not knowing what I know now, of course I would do it all over again and I would be as happy as I am now.
Do you have any advice/ words of wisdom for up-starting artists?
My advice would be to start calling yourself an artist now.
Do you have a saying or motto that is your favorite?
'Believe that you are and you will become.'
If you had just one wish, what would that be?
That I could spend more time painting!
If you got to design or paint or work anywhere in the world where would that be?
Right where I live, though I suppose the Alps would be cool. I've painted in Italy and that was awesome but my best landscape paintings come from my surroundings because I can't look at the beautiful mountain-scapes I see every day without deciding how I would paint them. Observation is everything!
Thanks so much Corena for this wonderful interview for our readers. Please tell your family that we wish them all the best and we will be going to Wizard Quest next summer. We love your work and will continue to watch for your living magic. Cindy and Mystic and the Peaceful Art Jewelry/Design Company
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