A quick little comic strip that I include in my Cartooning Lessons workbook. It’s a small thing, but kids frequently ask me questions about how to get their work published, and I talk to them about different ways they can share what they make, but I also like to make the point that they don’t have to worry about that sort of stuff at their age. It’s enough to make art and tell stories simply because it’s fun to make art and tell stories. And if you can find the joy in it at ten years old, making work for the pleasure of making work, then the chances of you growing up to become someone who does it professionally become much greater.
Burlington County Library Bookfest
I will be a guest and presenter at the Burlington County Book Festival this coming Saturday, 4/13 from 10AM-3PM. I will be tabling at day, signing copies of The Fifth Quarter, and delivering a special free presentation of my Cartooning Lessons assembly for attendees from 11:30-12:30. If you are in the area, please come on out, it looks like an amazing day with a great lineup of guest authors and speakers.
Arts in Education Showcase - for school librarians and educators
This is very cool, next Thursday, April 18th, from 9AM-1:15PM, MorrisArts will host their annual Arts in Education Showcase at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey on the campus of Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. It’s a great opportunity to preview a wide variety of assembly, workshop and residency programs available for schools, libraries and community settings.
Each performer or group “showcases” highlights from their full-length programs allowing attendees to preview over 15 performances. I will be presenting a portion of my Cartooning Lessons assembly, so if you are based somewhat close to North Jersey, and interested in seeing what my program is all about, it’s a fantastic way to get a sense of it, as well as to see lots of other fantastics performances and art-offerings. On a personal note, I’m excited to see and get to meet Brady Rymer, an incredible musician that my daughter absolutely loved when she was little. We still sing “Look at my belly” to this day!
A Visit to Elementary School #5 in Paterson
Just before Spring Break I got to visit Elementary School #5 in Paterson to deliver an assembly about making comics. It was a great group of kids, we had a wonderful time talking about cartooning, and it was followed up by my favorite thing of all happening: the students wrote me thank you cards, but not only that…
Some of them made little drawings of me!
I love it!
Thanks as always for reading along,
Mike
Finding the joy in cartooning when you're a kid is so important. I remember feeling super excited that I could draw (or figure out how to draw) stories from my imagination. It was, and still is, magical!