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Granville County Museum, NC

Well, it was off to Oxford, NC this week; with a visit to the Granville County Historical Society Museum for a presentation and workshop. With my daughter Maddy on board as my hired assistant (yes, I even had to pay her!), we made our way up I-85- the old textile corridor- to a quaint little town with a rich history in pre-civil war era tobacco farming, among other things. Go to their website to read more about the history of this busy little town: http://www.granvillemuseumnc.org/index.html
I was warmly welcomed to the Harris Exhibit Hall by museum director Pam Thornton, and the nicest group of ladies on her staff who made my visit a real pleasure. Their smiling faces, along with my mug- can be seen in the picture; and left to right are: Valerie, me, Pam, Maxine and Pat. Missing from the photo is Diana Marshall, a museum volunteer and artist in her own right- who is a friend of my mom's, and got this whole thing started- but who was not in town at the time. Now, talk about a warm reception...Maxine had made a cool collage art piece which advertised the cartooning programs in the lobby- images of Hamster Sam and myself with all the workshop details and times. Valerie had decorated the workshop hall with all kinds of Hamster Sam images and Photos of my workshops from previous events- all blown up nice and big and mounted on illustration board and foam core! I felt like a celebrity- These ladies rock!!!
Our Cartooning Program was a big hit for around 30-40 participants, even the young 6 year-olds were drawing Miles the inchworm with the best of them! The workshop that followed was much smaller in size- but a handful of young artists proved to be highly imaginative with their creation of characters, and comic stories. I threw a lot at them in a short amount of time, and they kept up with me and worked hard to create some great comic art. More photos from the event can be seen at the museum's website - but it may take them a few days to post them, as they were already busy setting up the hall for the next program as I was leaving- these ladies don't stop! What a great time Maddy and I had with our new friends in Oxford.

Beaufort County Library Tour

I recently returned from beautiful Beaufort county, SC and a 5 branch library tour where I presented my cartooning and comics programs for kids 6 and up. The summer reading theme this year is "Be Creative at your Library", and I was honored to be invited to take part in teaching the creative art of cartooning. Turnout varied by branch, but each group of young enthusiastic artists was totally focused on making their own characters- and some even brought their sketchbooks to share their collection of cartoon art with me. Pictured here are a few shots from the Bluffton branch...a gorgeous new library that made me feel as if I were walking into a plantation home. Joining me in the colorful children's section photograph along with a giant stuffed bear and "found object" Chinese dragon are Wendy Allen-Youth services director; and Greg Crispell-children's programmer. The hospitality at each branch was fantastic! The little girl statue that awaits visitors outside the Bluffton entrance is "Holding On" by Norman Mansson. The staff of the St. Helena branch deserves a gold medal, as their building is going through severe renovations this summer. During my visit- they were being subjected to the pungent aroma of hot roofing tar, which was being mixed in a huge vat just outside the door. The effect was literally dizzying on me during my brief stay, and I so offer kudos to the staff for their patience and stamina!

HeroesCon and Workshops

My second year of exhibiting at the popular HeroesCon (comic convention) in Charlotte was as thrilling as the first. I was set up nearby the talented Kids Love Comics creators; among them- "Amelia Rules" artist Jimmy Gownley, who recently signed with Simon and Schuster; Ray Friesen with his wacky collection of books about pirates and penguins, and ninja chickens! Also, Scott Sava- of The Dreamland Chronicles fame. Acredale and Wild Lion creator Harold Buchholz, a publishing genius- no kidding- was in attendance as well. This group of all-ages comics creators has been a great source of guidance and support for me personally, and I've got some "homework assignments" to take care of if I want to get to their level. I also had the opportunity to sit in on a "Kids Love Comics" panel with these guys; just a fun bunch of creative souls with a common interest of bringing good comics to kids. The session focused on the state of the market for all-ages books, the goals of the non-profit group 'Kids Love Comics", founded by Jimmy and Harold, and explored the different paths we are all taking to get our books into the hands of young readers.
Next to me in the picture (taken by HeroesCon "go-to guy" Dustin Harbin) is a group of talented student artists who drove down from Detroit. Ahhh- to be young again; as these brave souls camped out during their stay! Why brave? It was VERY hot and humid here in the Queen City, even into the night time, but these guys appeared each morning refreshed and were ready to tackle the world and peddle their artwork! Some "locals" exhibiting at HeroesCon were Tommy Davidson, Derek and Nikki Davis of Bitter Tea Studios, Al Bigley, Andy Smith, Marcus Hamilton (Dennis the Menace) and Jim Scancarelli (Gasoline Alley).
Following 3 full days in the convention center, I headed north to Alexander County for some library programs on Monday. A "making comics" workshop for kids 8 and up yielded some hysterical full page comics. "Mike the Monster", Molly the dancing Dog" and "Stick the Potato" were just a few of the wild and wacky creations turned out by this room full of budding comic artists! Tuesday saw another room full of young cartoonists at the Gaston County Museum of Art and History in Dallas, NC. A morning comics workshop saw the creation of such characters as "Dave the Couch Potato and Rambo", a Snowman on a mission to the Sun (Gasp!), and an assortment of space aliens. Most kids who want to draw comics don't need much guidance in terms of creating their comics. Once I give them the tools, they become silent soldiers of comic creation! I can walk by and look over their shoulders; but they have definite ideas about what they are creating, and most times don't even look up from their paper. It is simply a blast to observe!

Public Library- Comics Mini Con

Last Thursday, I was one of a dozen or so invited guest artists for a comics mini-con held at the Union West Regional Library in Indian Trail, North Carolina. Children's librarian and himself an artist- John Tompkins organized this extravaganza, and it was huge! John did a great job putting this event together, and his efforts resulted in a swarm of comics-hungry kids and parents- over 300 attended! The kids were very excited as they went from table to table asking for artist's autographs and watching over our shoulders as we sketched characters. I was surrounded by tons of talented artists, all of whom live in the greater Char-Meck area; I was seated at a table with Marcus Hamilton, artist of "Dennis the Menace" panels from Mon-Sat. in the newspapers. It was thrilling to hear him talk to his fans about how he got one of the best jobs on the planet some 16 years ago; training with Dennis creator Hank Ketcham, and eventually taking over the duties shared with Sunday panel artist Ron Ferdinand. I say "trained" to draw Dennis- only to draw it the way Hank wanted; but make no mistake- Marcus had a successful career as an accomplished fine illustrator prior to becoming Dennis cartoonist. I also met the very kind Derek and Nikki Davis of Bitter TEA Studios. Check out their online strips and books- "T.E.A. The Ered Adventures", with new posts on Mondays and Fridays. On display throughout the children's section was one of the largest collections of graphic novels and "how to draw comics" books I think I've ever seen in a library of that size. Al Bigley and Andy Smith are two artists who offer "how-to-draw" books- you need to check them out! John holds a monthly cartooning club for kids at his branch, and he's developed a good following of readers-most of them boys from what I witnessed- who enjoy this art form. He also saw a spike in his Summer Reading program sign ups during the event; way to go John! In the picture above, I am standing with Alex, a new fan of Hamster Sam. He purchased a copy of the book and promptly ran over to a cozy chair against the wall and read it from cover to cover. A great time was had by all!

Hamster Sam meets Goofy!

Last week I had the extreme pleasure of meeting a very talented voice actor named Bill Farmer, THEE voice of Disney's "Goofy"! Bill was in town courtesy of our local school's PTA, all arranged by a local school teacher- Kris Thompson- who grew up with Bill in Kansas. In addition to lending his voice to Goofy, he provides the official "barking" duties for Pluto, and countless other character voices. He is a phenomenal talent, and during several school performances, he wowed the crowds with his arsenal of endless animated characters and celebrity impressions. Of course, I was in my glory; because growing up, I had always enjoyed the voice work of animated Saturday morning fare; and often practiced my impressions of Mel Blanc(Bugs Bunny etc...) Paul Winchell(Tigger and others) Bill Scott (Bullwinkle) and the Hanna Barbera duo of Daws Butler and Don Messick. During my run as a touring puppeteer with the Grey Seal Puppets, I performed 9 different character voices, but not at the level of Bill's work I promise you. Interestingly, I discovered that Bill and I shared some common history; beginning with the fact that my mom's family hailed from a small town in Kansas not far from the one Bill grew up in...We both studied Radio and Television in college; and Bill was also a puppeteer for a Mark Wilson touring puppet production!
I found Bill to be a very down to earth individual, and though he works with many of Hollywood's biggest stars- he is very humble and personable. I was very fortunate to have been invited to lunch with he and Kris. I was thrilled to talk to him about his working with some of the biggest names in cartoon show business history. In fact, Bill told me he took voice acting lessons from none other than Daws Butler himself. How cool is that? In addition to his voice work, Bill and his wife run a documentary film making company in California, and so Bill is quite a busy man. I will treasure my time spent with him, and perhaps he'll come back and visit again, and we can bring him to your school or event! And don't think it hasn't crossed my mind that if Hamster Sam ever went "animated" for TV, how cool it would be if Bill Farmer could provide his voice!
SAD NEWS:
Sadly, during his visit to the Carolinas, Bill had to try and deal with the unexpected passing of Wayne Allwine; close friend and voice of Mickey Mouse. What makes this more difficult is that Mr. Allwine was married to Russi Taylor; the voice of Minnie Mouse. These voice actors are like one big family; and my heart goes out to all of them with this tragic loss, and I only hope that along with time; that future recording sessions will bring healing through happy memories and the joyful sounds of Disney's wonderful character voices.

Eli Whitney spotted in NYC!

It's true! During a recent visit to NYC for the really cool Kids Comic Con (more about that in a minute) I spotted 'ol Eli Whitney himself...well, sort of. Kids Comic Con was being held on the campus of Bronx Community College, home of this country's first Hall of Fame, The Hall of Fame for Great Americans- which includes a bust of Eli Whitney himself. He is right next to Alexander Graham Bell in this unique display of bronze busts mounted inside beautiful arches. Visit this site for more info about the Hall of Fame: http://www.bcc.cuny.edu/hallofFame/
I snapped some pictures as you can see here; but had to hurry in to set up my table for the 3rd annual Kids Comic Con- http://kidscomiccon.com/
The day-long event featured a host of All-Ages comics creators, publishers, and lots of kids! It is nice to see an event that focuses on comics for KIDS. The only people wearing spandex at this event were...KIDS! I met many great folks who became instant fans of Hamster Sam, and I handed out lots of free "Hamster Samplers", a 2-page preview of the book. Kudos to event organizer Alex Simmons, Archie comics writer/playwrite/man of many talents. Check out their website to see what you missed. I also enjoyed meeting other creators, writers and artists; and traded books with them. Among them were Marc Tauss, who created "Superhero", a beautifully designed book from Scholastic featuring photographic image treatments composited with miniature models, and coincidentally featured- Time Travel! He and I compared notes on how our time traveling machines were powered. Isn't it fun when science and comics collide? Then there was Mark Mariano, creator of "Happyloo", a collection of cute stories featuring colorful characters who communicate through "icons", similar to Andy Runton's 'Owly'. His book also features educational pages after each story. Fiona Robinson was a pleasure to meet as well; her book "The 3-2-3 Detective Agency" from Amulet Books is a cleverly written tale about a group of animals who meet on a train and form a detective agency. Great characters, whimsical illustration style and funny dialogue...and she and I share something in common as well...we both have a rodent character who does good deeds in our stories! Writing and creating comics is often times a solitary affair; and to suddenly be put in a room full of so many talented people who share the common goal of making readers out of kids through comics- was such a thrill!