Action Packed Tacos

I just wrapped up two intense comic workshops with the Small Set. In the morning I had the fourth to seventh graders and in the afternoon I had the second and third graders. Quite a few kids have taken the class before (serial offenders or fan club members, depending on one's perspective). Both groups were great. I have found that nearly all the kids take the class because they want to take it, and as a result, their behavior and attitude is stellar. The class has no pretensions to fine art, high class or something that a neurotic parent would push their children into. I never have parents reminding me that their child's Ivy League education is resting on my shoulders or anxiously asking me if their toddler has "talent". Au Contraire It is the cool parents who sign their kids up for my class, the ones who think childhood is for fun and exploration. I love being a catalyst for healthy projects. Ezekiel and Dave Ezekiel and Dave appeared on the page last spring, as yet another pedegological sample (like Fat Camille). In fact, they predate her. I was trying to show the students that writing legibly was very important-- nearly as important as content. (Not to be confused with the nefarious content issues that plague adult book artists). There is a reference to them in Camille's Eye Balls. I have started a few other ED stories, but never got around to finishing them. The characters are rather dense and pathetic, and there already is so much of the underdog aesthetic in the indy comic world that I hesitate to even put any more energy into them. Usually the students say they don't get them, but that they are funny. I suspect they add the "funny" statement to protect my feelings. Action Packed Tacos That is indeed a penguin. The story revolves around an evil, trident-wielding mouse, a magic taco and a penguin who just wants "a refill." The artist is 8, and male. To see more kids stuff, come to the table, I'll be shamelessly selling them.

We Are at Table 274

We are at table 274, on the Mezzanine. I don't know how it works, but they always put us there. Its a cool spot, with 360 degree visibility. I am thinking about having some kind of food there to entice the hungry. Or maybe not. What is not up for debate is the huge Fat Camille that will be floating behind my head.

Sketch Contents

Life drawing is a collaboration between the model and the artist. The model is putting on a performance with their body, just like an actor. Unfortunately, sometimes they just sit, and the artist has to compensate with her imagination. That is how fat camille's body was born. I was drawing a bored, overweight model. She was not engaged at all, and for hour after hour, she sat, lumpen, in the middle of the room. Her head got smaller and smaller as her body reached enormous proportions, and soon I was drawing the fat camille body, complete with the featureless face and buns. These drawings, on the other hand, are of Paul. I have drawn him a couple of times over the years, and one time I actually hired him to come to Flip Flop. He always brings a bag of toys. The contents vary. Sometimes he's got a phone or a ray gun. This time he had a cigarette, a turban and a toy pistol. He makes faces. He tells stories. I hadn't seen these drawings since I did them, and it was a pleasant surprise to see Paul gracing the pages of my book.

Wisteria For the last few months, my private student and I have been drawing the trunks of old Muttonham wisteria vines. She is 14, and embraces the dynamic membranes of the twisting plant with unselfconscious gusto. We usually draw together, and this is one of mine.

Fat Camille Goes Shopping

I just finished this last night, on my newly cleaned drafting table. I started it one afternoon, drinking coffee in Cafe Perg with El Cab. He was busy writing theology, so I bummed some notebook paper off him. It was a rare day when the cafe was staffed by quiet baristas, so I wasn't distracted by anything.