Joseph Beth Books Event

This past Saturday was a perfect day to be indoors; it was unusually cold & rainy. But inside at Joseph Beth Books in Charlotte, groups of young cartoonists were heating things up at the drawing board! Family Fun Day is an annual event at this gem of a bookstore near the Southpark Mall, and tons of parents and kids came out to enjoy the activities. I held cartooning demonstrations and signed books during the event, and in the pictures you can see some future cartoonists hard at work! Among them, to my left; were brother and sister Max and Sophie, who seemed to enjoy drawing Miles the inchworm. Their dad Steve is a talented cartoonist in his own right, and he took these pictures- thanks Steve! It was great to see Steve and meet his wife and children, if for no other reason than to verify that artists like us can actually have normal families! :) Many thanks to marketing manager Caroline Crownover, who organized the event; and to children's manager Julie Foster for bringing Hamster Sam to the shelves of Joseph Beth!

Conference & Wren Elementary visit

This past week I was a presenter at the state conference for school librarians (SCASL) in Greenville, SC. I had a blast in my session with a group of media specialists; demonstrating how to draw cartoons and discussing ways to incorporate comics into the classroom. I also had a nice visit in the exhibit hall with the always cheerful and ever-helpful Randa Edmunds and her husband & genuine nice guy Sam. Sam even joined us in our cartooning and comics session; and he had so much fun, I think he just may be inspired to create his own book!



But the coolest part of the whole day was my visit to Barbara Wagher's 4th grade social studies class at nearby Wren Elementary School! Barbara Wagher had attended my "Hamster Sam: Using comics to bring SC Standards to Life" Teacher Workshop last summer, and has really put the principles into motion in her classroom. As Hamster Sam puts it- she "Thinks outside the cage!" Her students and Team Teacher Kim Brock's students had recently created comics that told various stories of the American Revolution, including that of George Washington's crossing of the Delaware, and the Battle of Bunker Hill. You can see in the photo, that the wall outside of her classroom is filled with 54 students' works. I was thrilled when a few of the students were able to take some time and share their comics with me personally! They were so proud of their work; and they should be- They used great storytelling elements such as narration boxes, dialogue balloons, sound effects and one young girl even incorporated primary source images into her comic- Fantastic!!! I wish I could showcase all of their artwork here; but here are just a few of the wonderful comics that I got to enjoy(sorry- a bit fuzzy). I could tell right away that they knew the material; they were very familiar with the history that they spoke of as they talked me through each panel of their comics. This just validates for me that comics can be a great tool for learning. After our group photo, they presented me with a very thoughtful gift and a very sweet handcrafted Hamster Sam 'Thank you' card for stopping by. I was very impressed with Wren Elementary; these students demonstrated great manners, asked very good questions, listened well and couldn't have been nicer! I hope they keep drawing, writing and creating comics, and I am very thankful for their hospitality.

Artist in Residence

I have just returned from a 3-day residency at a Middle-High School south of Orangeburg, SC, where I worked in the art classroom to teach drawing cartoons and creating comics. I introduced them to drawing and creating characters by starting out with simple shapes. We discussed writing as an important part of the comics creation process, and worked through some writing exercises. The students then created their own characters and developed character sheets, followed by the creation of their own comic strip. Penciling techniques, inking and hand-lettering were introduced and practiced. Even though most middle and high school students are at the age where they don't like to share their ideas out loud with adults, these students; as evidenced by their work; have highly active imaginations, and created some wild characters and story ideas. I had a blast!