Return To The Little House Art Project

This past Saturday morning Antonio Johnson and I (Lin Workman) joined fellow MSCA member Grace Smith at the Little House Art Project in Southaven, MS. Antonio was there to share some techniques in Clip Studio Paint on his laptop, and I was there to have the students draw sketchcards. Grace is a longtime student at the art class and helped us and instructor Rebecca Treadway with getting everything set up and organized.

I’ve come out to the classes a few times now- teaching how to draw comics, covers, and creating characters with shapes.

I was first invited out by Vicky Neyman, who at the time was the director of the DeSoto Arts Council. Unfortunately for this class Vicky was home sick and couldn’t make it.

I don’t consider myself a great teacher, but love sharing what I know with others. I always get a bit anxious before the classes start, but end up having a fun time talking toons with the students. Antonio and I both discussed writer/artist’s block and how intimidating it can be staring at a blank page. One student was worried about her characters being too similar. We gave her some ideas of how to fix that and a ‘lightbulb‘ popped on over her head. It was great to see someone’s eyes go from frustration to inspiration. We just gave a few suggestions and told her what we liked about the characters, as well as some ways to battle future creative blocks. Look forward to seeing what she does with her characters and art moving forward.

The MSCA’s Martheus Antone Wade and Kevin L. Williams have both been Little House art instructors as well.

Kevin brought Muley The Mule along and taught them how to make paper bag puppets and draw toons.

Martheus taught comic book art and some martial arts instruction.

Antonio had a \S/uper time drawing with the class and seeing some of their work in their sketchbooks and devices. Many of the students in the class work digital, while some only prefer to work traditionally. I brought along some MSCA sketchcard blanks, my markers, and some reference books. We had around 20 or so autistic art students.

I think the class had a great time, too- especially after they understood exactly what a sketchcard was! Hey, most folks don’t know what they are…I didn’t when I was first introduced to them.

I had a few students ask me, “What do we do with them..?” and “What do we draw on them..?” I explained that they could draw anything they wanted, with anything they wanted, and do anything they wanted with them when they were done.

Sketchcards are basically blank trading cards you can draw on in pencil, pens, markers, paint- or whatever. They are usually the same size as baseball cards, but some are larger and some are smaller. They can be collected, traded, gifted, or sold. I gave them all some plastic sleeves to protect their cards. Last time I was there I was able to donate some Bristol paper and markers that weren’t used for the Quick Draw panel at MidSouthCon that year, plus leave behind some art books for them to share.

The sketchcards I do professionally (for companies like Topps, Cryptozoic, Breygent, RRParks CARDS, etc.) are randomly inserted into trading card packs- kind of like golden tickets in Wonka chocolate bars. Sketchcards are very sought after collectibles and can go for anywhere from a few dollars each to several hundred…or more!

Some of the students also just sketched, filling up entire sheets of paper which is always fun. I really need to do that more often myself. Been too long since I’ve worked in a sketchbook.

The artistic autistic group recently did an art show at the Southaven Library in conjunction with the Southaven Arts Council. It’s become an annual event for the artists.

It was on display in the lobby of the library for the month of April– which is Autism Awareness Month. It was a great mix of traditional and digital art.

Thanks to Vicky, Rebecca, Grace, and all the volunteers and students at the Little House Art Project for having us out. I hope to be back again soon. Really wish I had a group like this to hang out with when I was growing up and learning. Makes me thankful for getting into the MSCA in my twenties, and one of the reasons I try to promote it and any art groups I encounter. It’s so important to share knowledge and inspire each other.
Lin

 

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Little House Art Project began as an idea born of an art program for special needs children, but why stop with artistically gifted, special needs teen?  Many teens yearn for art instruction. It is an opportunity for all teens to learn more about fundamentals of art.  Studies in light sources, painting still life, and more will be explored in this series of classes.

Little House Art Project
2126 Stateline Road East
Southaven, MS

Ages 12 & up – 10:00 a.m. to Noon

$20.00 – All supplies included
Limited seating  – The Arc NWMS will adhere to the most recent safety guidelines given by Governor Reeves or our local leaders.
Reserve your spot today.

PAYMENT OPTIONS
1.  Click the DONATE button to pay for your $20 class fee.
2.  Bring a check for $20 made payable to “The Arc NWMS” to class.
3. Bring $20 cash to class.

Scheduled Dates for 2022
August 13 (rsvp August 10)
September 10 (rsvp September 7)
October 8 (rsvp October 5)
November 12 (rsvp November 9)
December 10 (rsvp December 7)

Please contact The Arc NWMS for more information at
901-907-9041 or admin@thearcnwms.org.

www.thearcnwms.org/little-house-art-project

Episode 42 – “Little House Art Project”

“Drawing Funny” Hit The Road For Free Comic Book Day 2022

There’s a new “Drawing Funny” podcast episode available for download- Ep.41: “FCBD Multitude Of Madness”. This episode chronicles mine and Nicki’s Free Comic Book Day adventures around Memphis last weekend.

Saturday, May 7th was Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) 2022. The annual event happens on the first Saturday in May of each year and is a way for the comics industry and retailers to thank their customers, introduce new readers to comics, and a chance to celebrate comics.

The re’s a huge selection of comics to choose from each year. The comics are free for folks visiting the shops, but not free for the retailers (they pay the costs of each comic).

Each participating retailer has certain rules for the free comics, and/or offer sales and in-store creator signings and additional events.

Folks are definitely encouraged to wear a cool comic tee and/or cosplay as their favorite comic characters.

Not every retailer participates, but most around the mid-south area do, including Comics & Collectibles, The Cellar, and 901 Comics, as well as Jupiter Comics out in Moscow, TN.

Nicki and I hit three of the comic shops in the M-town. We stopped at Comics & CollectiblesThe Cellar, and 901 Comics East.

We got our free comics while picking up our hold box comics. Did some additional shopping  and chatting with friends. Thankfully the shops all sell comic boxes- helped hauling stuff out to the car!

For the podcast we talked with local comic creators Dale MartinBrad and Skoot StarnesMatt BowersGabe DeRanzo, and Janet and Martheus Antone Wade about their current and upcoming projects such as The Dragon TemplarFathomMemphis, Stoned Ninja, Shinobi: Ninja Princess and Jetta: Tales of the Toshigawa comics. (Sorry for some of the poor audio quality- I explain the cause in this episode.)

901 Comics East had local creators Gabe, Matt, Antone, Janet, Anakin- as well as John Martin and Richard Fields at their shop for an in-store signing appearance. Unfortunately we had to run to the DeSoto Malco and didn’t get a chance to talk to John or Richard, and we missed getting to chat with MSCA member and “Stoned Ninja” artist Greg Cravens who hadn’t made it up from the Puppy Palooza at the Crosstown Concourse.

When we got down to Southaven we caught Doctor Strange And The Multiverse Of Madness and towards the end of the podcast give some non-spoiler thoughts on this latest Marvel movie.

We loved the new seating at the theater, but don’t understand why folks will pay $15 for a seat and and insist on being on their phones during the movie…ugh.

Oh, while at 901 Comics we got some sad news news of the passing of legendary comic creator George Pérez. Nicki and I discuss our George encounters and memories of him. He was not only a great creator of comics, but a fan and cheerleader of the fandom- and a super sweet guy.

I hope you got out to enjoy Free Comic Book Day. Definitely mark your calendars for next year!

Stay well, stay tooned, and keep drawing funny!
Lin

 www.freecomicbookday.com

 

“Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel!”- MSCA Dinner Meeting And FCBD This Week

Attention, Citizens..!

Lots of comic action happening this week in Memphis, so gas up your batmobile and dry clean your capes.

First up is our MSCA monthly dinner meeting at the U of M Garibaldi’s Pizza on Tuesday, May 3rd. We meet up  the 1st Tuesday of each month at 7pm in the big room.

I’d like to get a few member interviews so if you’d like to be on an upcoming Drawing Funny” podcast episode I’ll be there a bit early so hit me up. Would love to talk toon with ya.

Bring whatever art you’ve been working on, favorite art book/comic or recent art tool purchase to show, or some promo swag to hand out. Also, feel free to bring a friend or family member, and be sure to bring a few bucks to order off the menu. You and your stomach will be glad you did! The meeting/meet-up is casual and open to the public. I’ll have some MSCA freebies with me, too.

Speaking of freebies…this weekend, it’s BACK! Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) 2022 is on Saturday, May 7 at local comic shops across the country and around the world. Check with your local comic shop to see ig/how they are participating, and if there are any requirements/restrictions. Here in the M-town all our local comic shops are participating- Comics & CollectiblesThe Cellar, both locations of 901 Comics, and Jupiter Comics out near Moscow, TN.

The midtown/Cooper-Young 901 Comics location will be having a special in store signing appearance by legendary Ghost Rider artist Javier Saltares. Doors open at 9am! First personalized signature is free and $5 for every signature after. CGC witnessed signatures are $10 each. Sketch pricing depends on size and content.

That same day out east in their Cordova location (8551 Macon Rd, Cordova, TN 38018), 901 Comics will be having several local creators in-store which includes some of our MSCA members. Slide by from 10 AM – 7 PM and say hi to Jetta/Shinobi creators Martheus & Janet Wade, the Stoned Ninja team Gabriel DeRanzo and Greg Cravens, Matt Bowers the creator of the Memphis comic, artist and inker extraordinaire John Martin, and Richard Fields creator of Lucy! They will also have a 20% off sale that day.

Don’t forget that the  “Stoned Ninja” Kickstarter still has a few days left. It has lots of great tiers and incentives, and you can back this current comics campaign for as little as a dollar!

If you go out to 901 Comics East or to the MSCA dinner meeting see about getting Gabe or Greg to do a sketchcover for you.

ADJ Design’s Antonio and Tamika Johnson, the creators of the novic Bluff City Blues will be at Bookstock Memphis Area Authors’ Festival on Saturday, May 7th from 11 am to 3 PM at Benjamin L Hooks Central Library, 3030 Poplar Ave.

It’s free and family friendly- live music, food trucks and more!

Over the weekend I finished up the Star Wars display at the Hernando library. It’s been a while since Nicki and I have done a display in their west lobby. This one is to celebrate May The Fourth and Revenge Of The Fifth (or Sixth) and features some of our personal collection.

I found some stuff I was looking for, but there’s at least a few boxes of stuff I can’t find- mostly my original Star Wars action figures (blue and red Snaggletooth figure and original dozen) and some of the large dolls… I mostly just found Power Of The Force figures. They’re here somewhere either in my closet or Nicki’s. I’m sure I’ll run across them when I’m not looking.
If you’re in the Hernando, MS area and dig Star Wars and/or collecting stuffs please slide by and check the display out. It will be up for the month of May, and they are open Monday-Saturday. I tried to do a little from each trilogy, cartoons, games, novels and comics, and even added a Darth Vader sketchcard I did from my first Star Wars gig I did for Topps.
Nicki and I got together because of Star Wars and having mutual friends who dug it, too. It’s the first movie I not only remember seeing in the theater (the opening crawl/space battle🤯), but is also the only trilogy (OT) I know exactly where I originally saw them in Memphis. Unfortunately all three theaters no longer exist.
Oh, you can see (and buy) more of my sketchcards at The Cellar out in Bartlett, Tn. Check them out if you’re there for Free Comic Book Day. Lots of freebie MSCA swag to be had as well.
Hope to see you this weekend around the M-Town!
Lin