OCTOBER: Chicago Fire Festival, Ragdale & Harper College

I am home from a great show in St Louis with a week to recover & prepare for some exciting upcoming events! First, this coming Saturday is the first annual Great Chicago Fire Festival, put on by Redmoon in conjunction with the City of Chicago. In addition to neighborhood events, live music, local food and a grand spectacle of pyrotechnics on the river is a three-block long bazaar along Upper Wacker Drive on the south side of the river. My distributor & pal Neil Brideau of Radiator Comics has a booth to sell comics, which is really exciting! Radiator Comics is on a mission to bring comics to the public in non-comics spaces, and this is such an exciting splash in that direction. The bazaar is open to the public from 3pm to 10pm, and I will be helping out behind the booth and signing comics from 3pm - 6pm; my super-talented friends Jeff Zwirek and Sam Sharpe will also be there, signing books and shaking hands. If you're in Chicago, I hope to see you there! 

Ragdale!

I'm also about to head off to my first residency: 3 weeks of reading, research, writing and drawing at Ragdale, a beautiful Arts and Crafts estate in Lake Forest IL on acres of wild prairie, starting on Monday October 6.  I had the pleasure of visiting book & paper artist Melissa Jay Craig when she was in residence at Ragdale years ago (maybe 5 years ago now?) and I've been daydreaming of being able to work there ever since. My plan for my time at Ragdale is to write and develop my next big project, after "In the Sounds and Seas: Volume III" is complete. If I end up leaving my 3 weeks with sketchbooks full of fragmented notes and failed experiments instead, I'll be pleased: I have spent so much of the last two years working on clearly defined projects with hard deadlines and little time between, I haven't given myself much time for loose, open, experimental development work. This is really exciting!

From Edie Fake's "Gaylord Phoenix"

by John Porcellino

This month also launches the gallery show I'm (insanely) honored to be a part of, "Like Comics Without Panels: The Visionary Cartooning of John Porcellino, Marnie Galloway and Edie Fake." The show is up from October 13 - November 13 at Harper College in Paletine, IL, and on October 30 is a panel discussion with the three of us. All of my gratitude goes to Brian Cremins for inviting me to be a part of the show and for being so supportive.

826 Compendium, Cricket and Ask

In just one week, three freelance projects I worked on this past spring & early summer manifested themselves in tangible, physical form! Last Friday night I attended the release party for the 826CHI Compendium, and yesterday I received contributor copies of Cricket and Ask magazines. 

The radiant Kendra Curry-Khanna (Deputy Director of 826CHI) introduces the event to a packed auditorium

Every other year 826CHI, the Chicago branch of the national writing & tutoring nonprofit, publishes the best of the student's work in a lushly printed book. This year they paired with DePaul University and their Big Shoulders Press to publish the fourth volume; students in one of DePaul's publishing classes helped edit and make publishing decisions on the book for hands-on experience. I was so thrilled to get to illustrate this fourth volume, which was gorgeously designed by Alison Kuczwara of Tiny Bold Creative. The highlight of last Friday's release party was listening to the student authors read their contributions to their work; I was on the edge of my seat re-living the drama of the jellyfish men rising up against the robot pelicans! Thanks so much to 826CHI Deputy Director Kendra Curry-Khanna and Compendium coordinator superstar Tara Jayakar--working on the compendium was such a dream, and I'm so proud to have gotten the opportunity to work on it.

Look at that die-cut!

The compendium is arranged like an atlas, with all the stories located in one imaginary landscape

Each of the six sections has a dense, full-bleed illustration with characters or scenes from all of the stories. Vampire bacon! Grandma T-Rex!

Shortly after finishing the art for the 826CHI Compendium last March, I started working on art for the Halloween issue of Cricket and then ASK magazines. I pitched a couple of two-page story ideas for Cricket, and I'm so excited that everyone agreed to my favorite idea: a chart showing hybrid costume ideas! I had so much fun working on this, and I'm considering dressing up as a zombie jellyfish myself for Halloween this year. The art for ASK was also a delight to work on: who could turn down a project about the science of baking cookies? Clearly not me, especially when one clearly has to do lots of hands-on "research" with cookies. Thanks so much to Art Director Karen Kohn for these most excellent projects!

October 2014 issues of Cricket and Ask magazines

THIS IS SO EXCITING TO SEE IN PRINT

That zombie jellyfish, you guys!

Caveman Fairy Princess also speaks to me on a pretty deep level.

Cookies + science!

Genuinely very informative on how to make cookies exactly how you want them

GRUMPY COOKIE ALSO SPEAKS TO ME.

St Louis, Notable Comics & More

Barely a week home from one Small Press Expo (which was predictably amazing), and I'm off to another! This Saturday, September 27 I will be selling my books & prints at the St Louis Small Press Expo from 11am - 5pm in the Firecracker Press space in Old North St Louis. STL pals, I can't wait to see you there!

That same day, this Saturday Sept 27, is a totally wonderful comics-focused gallery opening here in Chicago--and I'm heartbroken to not get to attend the opening! 8 original drawings (4 spreads) from "In the Sounds and Seas" Volumes I and II will be on display, alongside the work of some of my favorite Chicago comic artists. Chicago folks, do yourselves a favor and go out to see this terrific show! The opening is at Werkspace (2556 W Chicago Ave, near Western) from 6pm - 10pm. The show will be up all month as part of Chicago Artists Month, and there will also be a closing reception TBD.

Also, I learned yesterday that "In the Sounds and Seas: Volume I" made the Notable Comics list in the back of Best American Comics 2014! Neat.

And finally: in anticipation "Like Comics Without Panels," the upcoming gallery show with John Porcellino, Edie Fake and myself at Harper College, curator and generous comics scholar Brian Cremins asked me a few questions about my work for his blog; I'm pretty sure I didn't put my foot in my mouth too horribly. Check it out!

It's here!

"In the Sounds and Seas: Volume II" is here! It is as thrilling as it is surreal to have the book in front of me. Volume I was originally produced as two minis; illustrating the first half took 6 months (while I was also working 4 part-time jobs), and the second half took a speedy 5 months (I had reduced my labor to "only" 3 part-time jobs). Volume II, in contrast, took two and a half months of 12-hour, no-weekends, no-distraction work. Because of that, I feel like I have gotten so much less time to sit with the the story than I did with the first book. Turning the pages are familiar, but I don't sing along with the rhythm of the turns like I can with the first volume. It feels new and surprising, which is a completely new experience. 

Volume II continues the story of the first book; the three ship-builders turn sailors as they head out in search of the Singers. Volume III (2015) will conclude the story.

Volume II debuts THIS WEEKEND in Bethesda Maryland at the Small Press Expo. Come find me at table N12! I will also be selling my books and minis in person in St Louis at the end of the month (Sept 27) at the inaugural STL Small Press Expo. That is my last show of a busy traveling year, but my books will also be available for sale on my Etsy store, via Radiator Comics online store, or at your local small-press-friendly comic shop via my distributors Radiator Comics and So What? Press Distro.  

One of the joys of making a pile of bound paper is getting to write a dedication. I feel so lucky to come from a family of makers. My mom knits & weaves & spins & quilts, writes & sings & plays instruments; she is out there eating up the whole world, voraciously learning and spinning it around into something new. My dad is less conspicuous maker of things. The things he builds take time. His career is in construction; we'd drive around his job sites and he'd point to the buildings he built, and tell me stories about various near-catastrophes he averted. He plans his elaborate edible gardens for peaches and pecans he'll be able to eat in 3 or 4 years, assuming hogs or deer don't kill the trees first. He makes amazing dry rub barbecue that takes all weekend to cook. He hangs out sausages to dry for a few days on the back porch, the porch that he designed and built by hand, and sends them to me in a box with butcher paper. He has Big Plans for inventions that need a lot of tinkering; one of these years, he'll figure out how to perfect the fishing cannon and we'll eat like kings at the gulf. But there's no rush. My dad taught me how to draw not through lessons but in play; he taught me that sometimes the most beautiful things are slow to grow, and are best appreciated in silence. Here's to you, dad.

Middle school summer, San Antonio: me and dad, drawing with my first set of rapidographs

In the Sounds and Seas: Volume II

In the Sounds and Seas: Volume II is at the printer, in a knuckle-biter race to the finish line! The new book will debut at Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland on September 13 & 14. Find me and the pile of fresh, ink-smelling new books at table N12. Helpfully, the table is right near the exit for the bathrooms & on the way to the ATM, so if you're at the show I'm sure you'll pass nearby. See y'all in three weeks!

Summer and Fall 2014

Happy August, everyone!

It has been a long time since I have written here, but not from want of projects. Here is a short update on upcoming events and recent goings-on:

September 13 & 14: First and most urgently, barring unforeseen disaster, "In the Sounds and Seas: Volume II" is going to debut at this year's Small Press Expo in Bethesda Maryland! I have been playing this one close to the chest (save teaser pictures on Instagram and Tumblr) in case I didn't have enough time to finish for the show. I'm down to the wire finishing up the book now, but I'm confident that I'll have fresh, inky-smelling boxes from my reliable and lovely printers at Salsedo Press in time to jet down to DC. Find me tabling with generous-hearted and super-talented pals Beth Hetland and Josh Kramer--floor map coming soon.

September 27: I will be in St Louis for the inaugural STL Small Press Expo at Firecracker Press's new space in Old North St Louis. New books and all my minis and prints will be available at that show--so excited that STL is getting the independent publishing expo it deserves. Come out and say hi, St Louis friends & family!

For Chicago Artist Month, CAKE is sponsoring a show at Werkspace (a gallery/workshop space run by the wonderful book artist/printmaker/arts educator Jen Thomas) that highlights the great work done by women comic artists in the city. The opening is on Saturday Sept 27, and a closing reading is happening the afternoon of Saturday October 25. Mark yer calendars, details about the exhibition forthcoming!

October 6 - 24: Ragdale! I'm so grateful to my letter writers and to the jury who reviewed my application for the opportunity to attend my first residency. I have a work plan for my three weeks there, but I have a feeling that this is an opportunity best embraced with an open, experimental attitude. I can't wait to fail and fall on my face a whole hell of a lot this October. Chicago friends, if you want to come visit, let me know! Ragdale is just a metro ride away in Lake Forest.

October 30: If you know any students attending Harper College in Paletine IL, encourage them to enroll in Brian Cremins' entry-level English class--"In the Sounds and Seas: Volume I" is part of a syllabus that equally favors comics and classic literature. (My 10-year-old self just fainted from excitement!) As an extension of the class, there is a show at the Harper College gallery featuring the work of three comic artists whose work will be read and studied by the students: John Porcellino, Edie Fake, and myself. (My 29-year-old self just fainted from excitement!) There will be a Q&A discussion open to the public on the afternoon of Thursday October 30th, and the show will be up from mid-October until November 14th.

Other News:

August 9, this Saturday, is the Brain Frame finale! Chicago friends, if you have any time at all, please come out and help cheer on Lyra Hill and the community of experimentation and weirdness and joy that she has orchestrated the last three years. All good things must come to an end, alas.

I shared this on social media, but I'm thrilled to announce here that my books and minicomics are now distributed by Radiator Comics. If you know a friendly comic shop in your area that doesn't have enough independent comics in stock, point them towards Radiator; the growing catalog is already an excellent representation of some of my favorite self-published comics. 

This fall, a slew of comics and illustration projects I worked on in spring and early summer will be published and in-hand. Keep an eye out for the next 826CHI compendium, a book of student writing (kindergarten through high school) that I was privileged and delighted to illustrate, and a whole bunch of projects for magazines in the Cricket Magazine group, including hybrid halloween costume ideas in Cricket; cookie-baking science in Ask; dead author trading cards in Cicada; and a four-page myth comic in Muse. 

Bookmark this and come back frequently: Festival Season! Like Athena emerging fully formed from Zeus's head, this website populated by book reviews, show reports and comics community news is so well conceived, designed and written that it feels like an establishment that has been around for years. Three cheers, Kenan!

Cupcake Award! This is the last month you can apply to the Cupcake Award, a self-publishing microgrant of $250 that comes with email mentorship from Annie Koyama and a free table at next year's CAKE. Apply, apply!