While ice storms hit the U.S. a group of Kutztown students spent 17 days of winter break in sunny Oaxaca, Mexico. We worked with a group of talented young printmakers in Taller La Chicharra (translates as the Cicada Studio). Alan Altamarino, who also goes by MK Kabrito, runs the studio. He is a recent graduate ofContinue reading “Printmaking at Taller La Chicharra, Oaxaca, 2015”
Author Archives: illustrationclass
Oaxaca Sketchbook 2015
The Hostel Don Nino gave us a welcoming reception of flautas, which are like fried enchiladas, guacamole, Oaxacan cheese and aqua de Jamaica. It is not easy to post from my ipad here, but I will share student drawings and post more when we return from our 17-day Oaxaca tour. 13 KU students and Prof.Continue reading “Oaxaca Sketchbook 2015”
2014 in review
WordPress.com’s 2014 annual data report for illustration concentration. Had about 35,000 visitors. If you want more details, click below. Here’s an excerpt: The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 35,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take aboutContinue reading “2014 in review”
PYONGYANG on my mind.
I’ve been to Seoul and Pusan in South Korea, but everything I know about Pyongyang I learned from a comic book. Guy Delisle drew a marvelous book, Pyongyang, a graphic memoir of working there in 2001. Few Americans ever visit Pyongyang. Delisle is Canadian from Quebec, He was hired by a French studio to directContinue reading “PYONGYANG on my mind.”
BRAIN BUG: Gross-out Fun!
BRAIN BUG is a new kid’s magazine by three enterprising Kutztown University students. “It’s called Brain Bug because we wanted to incorporate something to do with the brain (to emphasize knowledge, understanding and giving kids REAL information) but we also want to be about things that are gross-out fun, and science related, like bugs.” Editor-in-chiefContinue reading “BRAIN BUG: Gross-out Fun!”
Danny Gregory Sketches From Life
“Danny Gregory and his wife, Patti, hadn’t been married long. Their baby, Jack, was ten months old; life was pretty swell. And then Patti fell under a subway train and was paralyzed from the waist down. In a world where nothing seemed to have much meaning, Danny decided to teach himself to draw, and whatContinue reading “Danny Gregory Sketches From Life”
Paeregrine’s Kickstarter Flies High
UPDATE: FUNDED at $1800, 3 times original goal! Frank Marsters is also known as “Paeregrine” and “Frank of Mars.” A Kutztown Communication Design grad, he is creating a full-color comic book based on his popular web comic Paeregrine.Cast. The comic book project is already funded via Kickstarter and heading toward new goals. I’m a backer.Continue reading “Paeregrine’s Kickstarter Flies High”
Hansel and Gretel and Lorenzo and Neil
Once upon a time, in 2007, The Metropolitan Opera staged Humperdink’s Hansel and Gretel. Françoise Mouly, art editor for The New Yorker, helped organize an exhibition at the opera house based on the fairy tale. Contributors included stellar New Yorker cover artists including Roz Chast, Jules Feiffer, Anita Kunz, Christoph Niemann, Gahan Wilson, and LorenzoContinue reading “Hansel and Gretel and Lorenzo and Neil”
Return of the CD Grads
C.D. stands for Communication Design. I say C.D. so often I forget it is jargon used at Kutztown U, not everywhere. One of our annual events is the David Bullock Return of the CD Grads. This year we have two Renaissance men coming to campus to share their art and design. If you are in KutztownContinue reading “Return of the CD Grads”
Believe It or Not: Illustrators can be Rich!
In 1930, in the depths of the Great Depression, the highest paid artist in America was a cartoonist. Robert Ripley earned $350,000 in 1931. Presidents of railroads earned less. Babe Ruth earned $80,000. The average American earned $1,850. King Features syndicated his Believe it Not cartoons to hundreds of newspapers. That contract alone was worthContinue reading “Believe It or Not: Illustrators can be Rich!”
