Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Comics in the Classroom in the News

A few weeks ago, the news crew from WETM came to my classroom to see how kids are using comics to learn to read, write, and draw. According to Bart, our school's IT, it took "some tears and a couple quizzical looks and some stress balls may have died" -- but it can now be seen on You Tube here.


Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Toying with Texture: Creating Art using Everyday Tools


Although I usually only write about comics art, it's worth taking a look at the textured paintings of Paul Bozzo. Both of our local newspapers have articles about Paul this week (here and here). Even though I already knew him, I learned a lot about his unique textured paintings.
This artists makes paintings on masonite panels using drywall joint compound. He uses just about everything you can imagine to create textures.
Like a lot of artists, a key element of the art comes from childhood experience,
As a child the artist had small, plastic toys of cowboys, which featured a
saddle that appeared only as lines in the plastic and weren't painted. A friend
of Bozzo's noticed he could make the saddle appear more visible if he rubbed
paint onto the toy. From that experience, Bozzo developed his art later in life.
"Who knows what's in your mind that you might use for something else one day,"
Bozzo told the students.
From what I have read about a lot of artists, it's not unusual for something
that intrigues that artist in childhood becomes something they revisit in
their art again and again. That's why I consider it an honor and a trust
to present children with experiences and opportunities that just might
lead to a lifetime of enjoyment in art.
Check out more of this artist's work at Bozzo Art.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

The Maus that Roared



I found a very interesting interview with Art Spiegelman, the Pulitzer-winning cartoonist of Maus. You have to listen to some newscasters for a little while, but it's worth the wait.

Check it out here.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Comics in Education Workshop at Mansfield University

Yesterday I presented a workshop at Mansfield University for future teachers and teachers -- both art educators and regular educators. Paul Bozzo took this picture and did a nice write up on his blog. I think he says what I said better than I said it! Check it out here.

I like how Paul summarized that our goal as teachers in using this kind of material is to help kids want to put down their joysticks and read!

Thursday, March 27, 2008

The Artist's Bag


Eclectic Comics Coming Soon!

I am looking into a Print on Demand service for my next self-published comic. Because it's going to have a little of everything from slapstick to biography, I'm calling it Eclectic Comics. You might find any kind of comic strip in it. What ties it together is they were all made by me, except for the pages done by guest cartoonist, Anna Wales.

The cover (above) is mostly finished, thanks to computer artist Dan. If the image looks familiar, it's my tribute to Action Comics #1 which came out seventy years ago about this time of year. Compare it to the image below. I just couldn't let this milestone of comics history go by without sullying it with the interpolation of a Mighty Andar image.

I was also inspired by the image below, the cover to Flash Comics #1. I liked how the circles down the side showed you what else you'd see in the comic. I thought it would be a good way to let potential readers see the diversity of what was within.


I'll keep you posted with how it's going. Only a few more pages to draw. I still need to scan a few and make sure the preliminary computer work is up to the printer's specifications. Hopefully soon!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Comics in the News


The Miami Herald had an article on Saturday about how a librarian is using comics to capture reluctant readers. The article can be found here.

NPR News has an article about three authors who have become recently captivated by the art form and have started writing for comics.