Month: November 2023

“Remember, remember- the 5th of December..?!” – Our Next MSCA Dinner & Art Swap

Up first is a message from MSCA president Kevin L. Williams:

Greetings Digital Doodlers, Ink Slingers, Pencil Pushers, Wordsmiths, Enthusiasts, and whoever retrieved this message from a bottle

DECEMBER DINNER GATHERING AND ART SWAP 

Our next dinner gathering will be Tuesday, December 5th at Garibaldi’s Pizza, 3530 Walker Ave., from 6 – 8 pm.  Bring money for the delicious food, and art for the art swap.  To help for next year:  Set your phone calendars to repeat the first Tuesday of each month as a reminder, and you can also use the attached printable calendar.  There are also attachments of the logo, association information, and the calendar ready to share on social media if you will, please.

HOW THE SWAP WORKS 

Each piece of art brought will be numbered, and a corresponding number dropped in a box.  At 7:30 pm we’ll draw numbers and the number you draw corresponds to the art piece you win!

The submitted art should be yours and can be original art, print, publication, or product.  It does not have to be framed.

EVENTS

If you have any appearances or events to share, please let me know right away so I can get them added to the next MSCA email events list- midsouthcartoonists(at)gmail(dot)com

DRAWING BLOOD Art Show, a bloody success 

HUGE Thanks to our friends at Germantown Community Theater for hosting us again.  Nearly all the artwork sold!  I made it out to the opening night of the play “Dracula: The Bloody Truth” to be on-hand for information about the art and artists, and was able to capture the conversations of a few folks.  Thanks again to Jim Palmer for getting us reconnected with GCT!!  www.gctcomeplay.org

I’ll have the artwork and checks from the show at the December 5 dinner meeting.

The GCT has already invited us back next season!  YAY!

Next up:  Glass Slippers at Theater Memphis!  Information coming soon… 

MSCA Mini-Con “Cartoon Art Festival” @ GCT (Recap)

Again, our dear friends at GCT hosted us this past Saturday in which we set up tables with wares to sell and we had several people show up.  Thank you to Annie Freres at GCT who helped spread the word, and to Good Groceries Mobile Dining and Baker’s Corner 901 for bringing the feed.  It was a fun day.

To those who participated: please feel free to shoot ideas for future events in case we decide to try it again.

MSCA – LIFE AND LEGACY 

It’s been great to see so many new faces join with long-time members at our meetings, shows, and events! I’d like to build on that enthusiasm and get more members engaged with the month-to-month tasks that keep the MSCA going. I’m 51 (OLD by some standards, young by a few others) (LOL) and I know eventually I’d like to step back and let others run the group. Distributing the tasks I do among a committee of other members would be a first step towards giving the MSCA a stronger foundation. If you’re interested in finding out more, let’s talk!

Along those lines, we collected $3/piece to hang art for “Drawing Blood”, and after buying the advertising postcards and business cards we still ended up in the red.  The association has no money (other than what is spent by me and a few others) and am looking for advice from the MSCA members on what you think we can do to raise funds to cover items like the website fees, advertising postcards for the group and shows, receptions, etc?  I would like for the MSCA to be self-sufficient again so nobody has to go broke!

Did I forget anything?  Likely, but looking forward to seeing you all Dec. 5th!

Love, Your one and only,
Kevin Williams,MSCA Prezdent

 

In other MSCA news…

Several MSCA members will have sketchcards in the upcoming 901 Comics Mistery Boxes.

These awesome collector boxes are $99ea and will be out just in time for holiday shopping!

Speaking of shopping- here’s a guide to local comics shops. This Saturday, November 25, 2023 is Small Business Saturday – a day to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for their communities.

All of our local comic shops and book stores have been very supportive of creators in our area, and many carry comics and art by our own MSCA members. #suportlocal

The MSCA dinner meet-up schedule is above. We’ll be at Garibaldi’s Pizza the first Tuesday of each month from 6-8pm.

MSCA dinner meetings are open to the public and all ages are welcome. If you aren’t old enough to drive yourself to Garibaldi’s then have a parent attend with you. It’s free to attend, but be sure to bring a few bucks to order off the menu and some art to work on and/or share. The December 5th meet-up/art swap is the last MSCA event for 2023.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

“MSCA Mini-Con…I’ll Drink-n-Draw To That!” – Our Next Two Events

This fall has been very busy for the MSCA, November continues to be, and next year is shaping up to be even busier..!

We recently had our monthly dinner meeting at Garibaldi’s Pizza this past Tuesday and had a great turnout.

This comimg Wednesday, November 15th is our next Drink-N-Draw at 901 Comics East out on Macon Road in Cordova. This is the last D-N-D for 2023. Bring your sketchbook, tablet, or comic pages, or other art projetcs to work on.

The drawing event is free to attend and open to the public, but bring a few bucks to order a beverage and/or something to eat. Beer, sodas, water, chips, cookies, pizza and more will be available for purchace at the bar with no name.

We’ll also have addtional art supplies available for anyone needing them or who just want to try something new- including markers, blank sketchcards, and more.

901 Comics East is located at 8551 Macon Rd. in Cordova, TN 38018. We’ll be hanging out and drawing in the back gaming/bar area.

There are lots of local creator comic books and art available for purchace at this Cordova comic shop, including ones by our own MSCA members…with more coming.

That following Saturday, November 18th from noon-4pm we’ll be out at Germantown Community Theatre for our MSCA mini-con. The free festival event will be in the rehersal hall behind the theater. Members of the MSCA will be selling their comics, zines, prints, original art and more as we celebrate the closing of our “Drawing Blood” art show at GCT.

 

The “Drawing Blood” art show can be seen duing theater business hours though this Sunday, November 12th. The art show and mini-con are both free and open to the public.

Any MSCA members who would like to do this BYOT (bring your own table) con event should arrive at the GCT rehearsal space by 10:30am for set up. Those who participated in the art show will have first choice on set-up spaces. Germantown Community Theatre is located at 3037 Forest Hill Irene RD., Germantown, TN 38138.

Oh, and our last group event for 2023 will be our December dinner gathering on Tuesday, December 5th from 6-8pm at Garibaldi’s Pizza, 3530 Walker Ave. by the University of Memphis. During the dinner event we will be holding our annual MSCA member art swap. Bring a print, sketch, or other piece of original art to trade with other members. We’ll be drawing names to see the picking order.

We be meeting the first Tuesday of each month from 6-8pm again at Garibaldi’s Pizza in 2024.

Hope that you can join us.

 

“Pizza- It’s What’s For Dinner!” – Our Latest MSCA Monthly Dinner At Garibaldi’s

This last Tuesday we gathered together again at Garibaldi’s Pizza for our monthly dinner meet-up.

We had awesome attendance this month- probably one of our best turnouts of the year.

Many art conversations with members talking toons and sharing recent work during the meet-up. It was probably one of our loudest meetings, too! No shortage of things to talk about or folks to talk to.

Lots of art was being created during the two hours we were there as well. Always great to see our members drawing during these dinners. Several had their sketchbooks out or were working on their tablets.

Katie and I (Lin) were working on some sketchcards for some upcoming collector boxes for 901 Comics. Dale Martin and a few other members are also working on some. (News on those 901 boxes coming up soon.)

And as usual there were lots of freebie swag to snag and take home including magazines, comics, candy, stickers, and more.

MSCA president Kevin L. Williams took some time at the end of the meeting to catch everyone up on what’s been happening in the group and what’s coming up such as our next MSCA Drink-N-Draw at 901 Comics East, the MSCA mini-con at Germatnown Community Theatre on November 18th and the Cinderella art show at Theatre Memphis next year. He also gave us details on our Christmas art swap at our December dinner.

Thanks to everyone who came out to join us this month. We’ll be back for the art swap at the final 2023 montly dinner next month on Tuesday, December 5th from 6-8pm.

Dinner meetings happen on the first Tuesday of each month at Garibaldi’s Pizza, 3530 Walker Ave. (off Highland/Southern) near the University of Memphis from 6-8 pm. They are free and open to the public, but we definitely recommend bringing a few bucks to order off the menu and some art to show and/or work on.

Hope you can make it out to join us for one…or more!

“Halloween Comic Fest Is In The Bag…Along With Some Candy!” – A Look Back At Our Event At 901 Comics East

On Saturday, October 28th the MSCA was part of the Halloween Comic Fest at 901 Comics East.

Kevin L. Williams, Katie Jones, Jason Negen, Dale Martin, and Lin Workman (me) each had a table to sell our wares and promote the MSCA during the event..

Kev and I were set up near the front of the store, Dale and Katie in the gaming area, and Jason in the gallery room.

Halloween Comic Fest is very similar to Free Comic Book Day (1st Saturday in May) – free comics, great sales, folks in costumes, signing appearances, and more.

This year 901 Comics East was offering several free comics and candy– plus a 20% off sale. We also had some free MST2K and Three Stooges trading cards from RRParks Cards. That’s the card company I recently did Halloween Trick-Or-Treat sketchcards for, plus my “Bats” trading card set.

We got to tell several people about the MSCA, promote our upcoming events, hand out some frebies, and even sell a few comics and zines.

We had a lot of folks show up in costume…

…some were even kids of our MSCA members, Charlie Forrester, Antonio Johnson, and Eman Casallos!

Dracmula was on hand at Kevin’s table, and MSCA member Devin Hodges stopped by to check out the festivities, and read our latest zine over Kevin’s shoulder. Devin did the cover for that “The Good, The Bad, And The Sketchy” gaming issue.

NCS Membership Chairmain and longtime MSCA member Greg Cravens came by to say hi as well.

We had a fun time hanging out, talking comics and catching up with each other. I got to show off my new Gabe’s Cave banner for the first time at an event.

I drew on a sketchcard while I was there, and Izzy showed me one of his recent Sonic sketchcards.

Speaking of sketchcards, I have several for sale at 901 Comics East (and The Cellar in Bartlett).

901 Comics East also has lots of comics supplies, blank sketchcovers, manga, and local creator comics available for purchase. #supportlocal

We’ll be back out east on Wednesday, November 15th  for our last Drink-N-Draw event of the year.

Our Drink-N-Draws are free tp attend and open to the public, but bring a few bucks if you’d like to enjoy a beverage (beers, sodas, water), pizza, or snacks from “The Bar With No Name“.

Thanks to 901 Comics for having us out for these events. Swing on by if you get the chance.

And our next MSCA dinner meet-up is this Tuesday, November 7th from 6-8pm at Garibaldi’s Pizza on Walker Avenue near the U of M.

“Dinner And A Show..?” – MSCA Monthly Dinner Meeting And Mini-Con

News from MSCA President Kevin L. Williams:

Greetings ink slingers, pencil pushers, digital doodlers, wordsmiths, and enthusiastses…

DINNER GATHERING 

The next Dinner Gathering will be Tuesday November 7, 2023, at Garibaldi’s Pizza, 3530 Walker Ave, near the University of Memphis, from 6 – 8 pm.  Come eat, talk comics, bring art, do art, or just sit and stare at each other (which isn’t as much fun as the other stuff).  Know any artists?  Bring them on out!

INFORMATION SHARING 

I love that the members are supporting each other and making it out to signings and appearances!  Thank you for that – it’s what this association is meant to do.  It helps to know about these events, too.  If you have something on your calendar to share, please email that to me directly so I can share with the association (especially since I try to send out this group email monthly).

DRAWING BLOOD is still ongoing.  Please share the sentence below with your social media (graphic attached):Come see DRAWING BLOOD: An MSCA Art Show that Bites Monday through Friday from Noon – 4pm, and during showtimes for Dracula: The Bloody Truth, through November 12th.  At Germantown Community Theater, 3037 Forest Hill Irene, Germantown. 

Tickets are available at the link below (only 6 more shows).
https://ci.ovationtix.com/35186/production/1155552 

#midsouthcartoonists @midsouthcartoonists #fineart #artshow #cartoon #comicstrip #comicbook #graphicnovel #comics #msca

MSCA FEST @ GERMANTOWN COMMUNITY THEATER 

November 18, from Noon-4pm.  Drawing Blood art show artists get first dibs on space, and I have that list.  Art show participants arrive at 10am to choose your spots.
It’s “bring your own table” and set up, arrive by 10:30am.  Anyone who would like to do this event should.  All we ask is use the honor system and donate some proceeds to the theater.  If you’d like to participate, please let me know.

DECEMBER DINNER GATHERING 

Tuesday, December 5, from 6 – 8 pm, we’ll gather again at Garibaldi’s Pizza, 3530 Walker Ave.  We’ll do another art swap, so bring something fun that you’ve created (art of any type, prints, publications…).  We’ll draw numbers and the piece that corresponds with that number will be yours!

It’s also Walt Disney’s Birthday that day!! 

EVENTS: (please let me know if I’m missing anything) 

  • DRAWING BLOOD Art Show October 27 – November 12, Germantown Community Theater, 3037 Forest Hill Irene Rd.
  • Tuesday, November 7, 6pm, MSCA Dinner Gathering, Garibaldi’s Pizza, 3530 Walker Ave
  • Friday, November 10 – Sunday, November 12 – Memphis Comics and Fantasy Convention, Holiday Inn UofM, 3700 Central Ave, Memphis
  • Wednesday, November 15, 6 – 8 pm, Drink N Draw, 901 Comics East, 8551 Macon Road
  • Saturday, November 18, Closing Reception/MSCA-GCT Mini Con, Germantown Community Theater, 3037 Forest Hill Irene Rd. (Times TBD)
  • Tuesday, December 5, 6pm, MSCA Dinner Gathering, Garibaldi’s Pizza, 3530 Walker Ave (Walt Disney’s Birthday, too, BTW).  MSCA Art Swap – bring some art to swap with other members, same as we did last year.  That was fun.
  • Tuesday, January 2, 6pm, MSCA Dinner Gathering, Garibaldi’s Pizza, 3530 Walker Ave
  • Tuesday, February 6, 6pm, MSCA Dinner Gathering, Garibaldi’s Pizza, 3530 Walker Ave
  • Tuesday, March 5, 6pm, MSCA Dinner Gathering, Garibaldi’s Pizza, 3530 Walker Ave
  • March 22 – 24, Midsouth Con 39, Whispering Woods Hotel and Conference Center, 7300 Hacks Cross Road.
  • Tuesday, April 2, 6pm, MSCA Dinner Gathering, Garibaldi’s Pizza, 3530 Walker Ave
  • Tuesday, May 7, 6pm, MSCA Dinner Gathering, Garibaldi’s Pizza, 3530 Walker Ave The Glass Slippers Art Show art will be due this day – OR – you can get the art to me by May 30 (drop-offs will be at 811 S Dudley Street, M – F from 9am – 3pm).  Watch this space as information may change.
  • Tuesday, June 4, 6pm, MSCA Dinner Gathering, Garibaldi’s Pizza, 3530 Walker Ave
  • June 7 – 20, 2024, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella with the MSCA’s Glass Slippers art show!
  • Tuesday, July 2, 6pm, MSCA Dinner Gathering, Garibaldi’s Pizza, 3530 Walker Ave
  • Tuesday, August 6, 6pm, MSCA Dinner Gathering, Garibaldi’s Pizza, 3530 Walker Ave
  • Tuesday, September 3, 6pm, MSCA Dinner Gathering, Garibaldi’s Pizza, 3530 Walker Ave
  • Tuesday, October 1, 6pm, MSCA Dinner Gathering, Garibaldi’s Pizza, 3530 Walker Ave
  • Tuesday, November 5, 6pm, MSCA Dinner Gathering, Garibaldi’s Pizza, 3530 Walker Ave
  • Tuesday, December 3, 6pm, MSCA Dinner Gathering, Garibaldi’s Pizza, 3530 Walker Ave
Be Safe, Be Happy, Be Well!Your Pals,Kevin L. Williams& Muley the Mule