Though things in the world continue to get harder and harder, I’m taking solace in making art and participating in residencies that help young people understand how much they matter.
I recently finished my annual visits to Springfield, Ohio where I worked with teens and incarcerated youth through a residency hosted by Project Jericho. This year’s residency, titled Sketching the Soundtrack, invited Springfield Teens to create comics adaptations of their favorite songs.
Project Jericho, whose slogan is Art Changes Lives (and they really mean it), always concludes our residencies with a community celebration. This year the kids’ work was put on display in an auditorium where a silent disco was held. At the end of the celebration we watched video performances of the kids’ work.
Here’s the playlist:
Many of the teens who participated worked with tools and mediums they hadn’t tried before. So they were not only expressing vulnerability in sharing a song that meant something to them; they were going out on a limb making art that they hadn’t before. I’m so proud of all of them. This was a rich, meaningful residency, as it always is with Project Jericho. I say it over and over–they’re what health looks like.
And if you’re in the Central Ohio area, I have more comics workshops and summer camps opening up!
I’m happy to say that the kind folks at the Peggy R. McConnell Art Center in Worthington, Ohio are letting me lead another Minicomics Challenge series!
This six-week workshop series is for ages 9-12 and features gameful activities designed to guide young people into making their own printable minicomics. But it’s not just about finishing a product–the class is as much a playful exploration of the visual storytelling language of comics.
Classes are on Wednesdays, 4:30-6pm beginning March 19 and ending April 30 (no class on March 26).
Travis Jonker—school librarian, children’s book author, and co-host of The Yarn podcast—was kind enough to interview me during the 2024 American Library Association Conference in San Diego last June. In our conversation, he graciously gave me the chance to discuss The Inscrutable Doctor Baer and the Case of the Two-Faced Statue. Here’s the interview:
At the beginning of the episode, you’ll hear The Yarn co-host Colby Sharp share some kind words about my school visits. Colby, an elementary teacher in Michigan, has been a wonderful collaborator through events like the fabulous (but now retired) Nerd Camp Jr. He even allowed me to kick off the Doctor Baer tour at his school—a generous gesture I deeply appreciate.
I’ve since led author visits for elementary students in Dublin and Columbus, Ohio. Here’s video from one of my favorites so far. Instead of leading a presentation I hosted a series of drawing game shows where the elementary teachers (and even the principal!) drew characters based on the students’ prompts. After each round I interviewed the teachers about their work, congratulated them for their courage, and highlighted the process they were practicing.
This is a modification of a game show I’ve led at comics festivals, Super Comics Challenge:
There’s an “exotic animal” quality in the author at a school visit. We come from the outside world, beyond the spaces where the kids spend so much of their time. That’s a privilege I want to handle with respect, so I spend a lot of time with my hosting schools discussing language I can use during my visit in order to support learning happening in their school. I want the kids to say, “Hey, he said the same thing Miss Scarpa has been telling us all year!”
This supports the teachers, but it also implicitly underlines that the adults around them care about their success. When I was 10 I felt like most adults just liked pushing me around, and I think I would have felt safer in my school had I been pointed at how some of their behaviors were expressions of caring.
The game shows also invite the teachers to empathize with their students, while letting the students devilishly challenge their teachers. Each round lasts two to three minutes, and even a seasoned pro can feel the pressure of creating a recognizable drawing under those constraints. The students delight in giving their teachers challenging drawings. The teachers, many of whom do not identify as artists, get a visceral sense of what it’s like to be out of your depth, the way many of their students often feel.
And this compassion can go both ways. One of my favorite memories of 2024 will be when the school’s principal said, after I introduced him to the 200 3rd and 4th graders in attendance, that he was very nervous about the games and hoped the kids would be kind to him. After the assembly I might have been a bit effusive as I told him how much it meant to me to see a person of authority express vulnerability to his students. And you can be sure I led them in a few chants of “WE BELIEVE IN YOU!” while the principal was drawing.
All this is to say that I cherish the opportunity to create events that celebrate everyone present. Yes, I want to sell books. Yes, I enjoy the curiosity and attention of the children. But even more I enjoy instigating joyful subversion of the traditional notion of an author visit. I want every person there to walk away with an artifact representing the idea that every one of us is a creative creature.
And here’s where I get mercenary: I’m offering free school in-person visits Central Ohio and virtual visits everywhere else. If you’re an educator or librarian who wants to create a meaningful experience for your students, click the button below!
If you live in Ohio and know young people who love making comics, I have some exciting news for you. I’m leading a week-long minicomic camp in Wooster, OH for the Buckeye Book Fair starting July 21:
May 31st marked the end of my first year where I led in-school comics residencies full-time. I’ve been a teaching artist since 2007, but it’s never been more than a part-time gig until the 2023-24 school year. It’s been a rich, meaningful challenge, but this introvert is ready to spend some time in the studio quietly making art for a bit.
On my last visits, some of the students gave me art as a thank you/farewell present, and I feel seen:
You don’t have to spend a year with me to find out how much I love Orko. The fact that a teenager, the natural enemy of all things sweet and sincere, spent the time to make this for me was touching.
And another student celebrated my odd convergence of interests by drawing the Bleacher Creature, a Gill-man plushie I take to every Columbus Clippers baseball game:
My thanks to all of the teachers and schools who invited me into their spaces to work with their students, and to the Ohio Arts Council, whose TeachArtsOhio grants make my residencies possible.
I’m also going to be drawing custom cursed objects for anyone who stops by:
And you’ll be able to get some of the first Doctor Baer talismans! These ceramic objects are in-world artifacts you’d find if you visited Doctor Baer’s spooky home.
Earlier this month I had the privilege of being the visiting artist at the Ashland High School Art Show. Instead of leading some formal presentation, I invited some of their art students to play along in the Super Comics Challenge game show, which reveals the principles and process of art-making through gameful Taskmaster-like challenges.
It was one of those marvelous experiences that felt perfectly aligned with how I like to show up as a teaching artist. I’m grateful to Ashland High School staff and students, and the Ohio Arts Council for making this experience possible.
Join Chris Schweizer, The Roanoke Colony: America’s First Mystery, The Creeps series, The Crogan Adventures series, for an exploration of strategies for visual historical research and adapting those findings to suit the needs of your aesthetic, characters, and story.
Photos by Raylavoie.com
Video production by Nicolettecinemagraphics
Logo by Victoria Douglas
Frame design by Han Donovan
Part of Cartoon Crossroads Columbus – September 27 – October 1, 2023
Cartoon Crossroads Columbus – CXC is a FREE comics, art & animation festival in Columbus, Ohio!
If you couldn’t make it to Cartoon Crossroads Columbus 2023, you can check out all of the recordings of events as they post them to their YouTube Channel. Here is this year’s edition of the Super Comics Challenge game show, starring Raina Telgemeier, Coni Yovaniniz, and Rafael Rosado. Oh, and hosted by me!
Speaking of that, I have to share the drawings they all did of Martha Bee!
Rafael Rosado, who went for Heel points when drawing my beloved Martha Bee.Raina Telgemeier, who went with the reference photo wherein Martha Bee was done with me.And Coni’s drawing of the angelic (but not juicy) Martha Bee.And some of the kids in the audience joined in to draw Martha Bee after the show! Thank you, Hank, I love this drawing.
I love leading this game show. Here’s hoping we get to do it again next year!
Back in 2020 I led a few virtual versions of Super Comics Challenge. You can watch them below:
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Super Comics Challenge 01
Super Comics Challenge 02
Super Comics Challenge, with Jennifer and Matthew Holm
This week in high school comics class: working on outlining and structuring our minicomic stories. The structure is there to support them when they’re stuck and for them to rebel against when they’re not.
P1: Introductions – We learn about the characters and setting
P2: Characters interact – We learn more about how the characters see themselves and each other, particularly through dialogue
P3: Conflict – Some kind of problem shows up
P4: Characters react to conflict – We learn more about the characters through their reaction to the conflict
P5: Twist – Some kind of surprise shows up–could be big, could be small
P6: Characters react to twist – We learn more about the characters through their reaction to the conflict
P7-P8: Resolution – I always think about this part as answering one of two questions: *How* is the world different, or *Why* is the world the same?
