The Many Faces of Wisdom

In my interactions with my imaginary sage and mentor, Halcolm (pronounced "How Come?"), I have observed many changes in his countenance.  He is at times responsive, at times chagrined with his disciples, but always present and definitive.

One of my challenges to my Art 6 class is to create a cartoon character, and then draw that same character with many different facial expressions.  Occasionally, I do one along with them of one of my characters.  Some sprang instantly to mind, and then I went back through the comic strips he appeared in and made sketches of significant ones.  It is interesting that there are some expressions your character would not have -- because it would be out of character!

I first experimented with this exercise using the book Cartooning the Head and Figure by Jack Hamm.  It's a classic, a book I've returned to again and again since I bought it as a teenager.  I've since created my own guide for students to refer to.  I encourage them to look at the work of others to see how artists simplified, exaggerated, and used simple lines and symbols to represent a specific emotion.  When we think of an emotion not shown on our guide, we ask a friend to pose for us.

Challenge:  Try it!  Create a character. Draw the same character 12-16 times.  Try to keep the basic structure of the character the same, but with distinctly different emotions each time.

The Toast Principle

Halcolm & the Woodby Disciples

Halcolm comics in print!

Today I received my copy of a book that features nine of my comic strips -- Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods (Patton, 2014).  This is a project I'm proud to be a part of.  The story of my involvement is interesting.

I was taking a course on Qualitative Research, and the earlier edition of this book was the textbook.  I was in the middle of a doctoral program, and as soon as I began reading the book, I noticed there was something that made it much different than every other textbook I had ever read.  Though it is full of important information about research methods, the author, Michael Q. Patton also gets points across by telling stories.  The tales are often funny, and in the form of parables.

Imagine that!  A teacher who teaches through stories and humor.  After reading and writing pages and pages of dry, factual "scholarly" writing, this book was like an oasis in the desert.

One of my favorite features are the Parables of Halcolm (pronounced "How Come?").  Often when I read, I can visualize what it would look like as a comic strip.  I couldn't resist quickly sketching it out, and turning it into a comic strip.  I liked how it looked, and thought about sending it to the author.  I couldn't find an email, so I Facebook-friended him, then sent a message.  He liked it and asked to include it in the next edition of the text.

There's something that's positively 21st century about this story.  Here I was taking a course, Facebook friends with the author of the course text, and contributing to the next edition of the text!

Eventually, I was asked to illustrate eight more of the parables.  Each chapter concludes with a two or three page Halcolm parable, like a "meditation" on the theme of the preceding chapter.

Below is one of the Halcolm comic strips.  A link to the rest of them are here. 

Halcolm & The Fruit of Qualitative Methods

Halcolm and the Perceptions of Causation

Halcolm's Plane Ride

I made this comic to illustrate the wise and thoughtful Parables of Halcolm by Michael Q. Patton.

Halcolm & The Evaluator's Quest

As Halcolm so wisely shows us, many times the answers we seek are within ourselves!

The Disciples of Halcolm

Here is another of Halcolm's Research Parables by Michael Patton, illustrated by me.

Halcolm's Guide for Gormands

Here's another comic illustrating one of Halcolm's Research Parables by Michael Q. Patton. This author plans to use some of these in the next edition of his textbook on Qualitative Research.

Halcolm's Research Parables

(Inspired by a story by M.Q. Patton)

This comic is another that is inspired by one of Halcolm's Research Parables. Halcolm (pronounced, "How Come?") is the creation of author and qualitative researcher M.Q. Patton, who creates these stories to illustrate concepts related to being a researcher. In my interpretation of these stories, the wise master is showing me the ropes -- in this case, literally!

Halcolm

Here is another comic inspired by the parables of Halcolm, a fictional character of Michael Quinn Patton's. I have promised myself, that no matter what, I am always going to make a little time for making art. Right now, that amounts to about two pages of comics a week. Whenever I get an idea for a comic, I jot it down. Then, I pick the idea I like best to make into a comic.

For now, I am enjoying making comics that illustrate something I'm learning in my course work. Eventually, some of these may find their way into my dissertation.

Innovator vs. Qualitative Scholar

I've been doing a lot of reading from educational journals and textbooks. That reading can sometimes be kind of dry, so I really appreciate how author Michael Quinn Patton writes in an informal style and includes a lot of parables, jokes and cartoons.

This comic is inspired by one of Halcolm's Law's of Inquiry. Halcolm is a fictional sage-like character created by Patton, a qualitative research expert. The cartoon guy standing next to "cartoon me" is how I picture this character.

This cartoon illustrates how there's a lot more involved in doing research than you might think at first!