Instant Criticism
While our year-long students were taking a break, our online network continued humming along merrily, through thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year! Here we bring you some of the highlights from Mighty Network. We’ve got everything from comics recommendations to new class materials. Let us know what you want to be seeing more of in 2020!
TUESDAY COMICS INSPIRATION
The Nib has a slew of new comics reading material each day, and this one by Sarah Mirk (from all the way back in December 2019) recounts the impact of little-known architecture critic Jane Jacobs on our contemporary understanding of Urban Planning.
Next up we’ve got more material from the comics banner of Medium, Spiralbound. This lovely colored pencil meditation on nature and moving through it by Corey Corcoran follows a journey along the Charles River.
The next one isn’t quite a comic, but a reminder that nothing is new. Donna shared this (pictured right) from the Brooklyn Musem: a c. 3,200 year old ostracon, with a drawing of a cat servant, waving a fan to keep a mouse cool. There are a number of such scenes that have survived from ancient Egypt, showing animals acting as humans with their natural roles reversed.
And thanks Emma for sharing another great reminder on twitter (below) to be kind to your drawings!
FREE RESOURCES
Thanks Emma for sharing this link to the Google News Initiative Training Center, which allows you to reverse search an image to find the original source.
Mini-zine wonder, Lud Grump, shared their method for making an eight-page accordian fold zine to the free resources, here. Their post includes some very important captioning not included with the photos below!
The newest free resource is a new online comics criticism site, SOLRAD. They’ve only just launched and they’ve already got some great material up, including an extract from Bailey Sharp’s comic in the latest kuš! anthology – #37 DOWN DOWN UNDER.
IN FLOW
The comics flow group has been working through a number of exercises over the break. The latest incarnation of Tom’s flow class - Vinyasa - is now accepting enrollments for commencement at the end of January. This class, as well as new class Get Seen Get Good, allow access to the ongoing flow for the length of the course. That means you get access to a backlog of comics materials, as well as an established support network for whatever project you’re working on.
FROM THE MEMOIR GROUP
There are a whole lot of links to share from the memoir group this week! First up, a reader on Documenting Trauma in Comics. The book pairs comics criticism with a series of comics, which illustrate the ideas of trauma in graphic narratives.
Next a TV show recommendation: Undone, the story of 28-year-old Alma who nearly dies in a car accident, and discovers that she has a new relationship with time; she develops this newfound relationship to find out the truth about her father's death. It’s Amazon Prime’s first original animated series.
Beth passed on a link to a recent episode of the podcast, On Being, with Bessel van der Kolk whose work has been valuable to many people in the memoir group.
Join the memoir group for more great resource sharing (and there’s a lot!) on top of the regular workshopping and creative support!
BIG THANKS
We’ve been a bit slow to get back on the horse this new year, but we hope it’s not too late to extend a big thank you to everyone who came to our end of semester show. It was a great night and we were excited to share the hard work of our year-long students. Thank you to everyone who continually shows support, we couldn’t exist without you!
UPCOMING CLASSES
Whether you’re in Gainesville or part of our online learning, there are always new learning opportunities. Tom has a range of classes, from short to long, to email prompts to in depth assignments. The latest Flow class, Vinyasa, will launch at the end of January, while his latest short courses - Get Seen Get Good and Let’s Make a Holy Book - are enrolling anytime.
If you’re here in Gainesville keep an eye out for our regular one day workshops. Our next one is coming up on Sunday January 19. It’s a good opportunity to sit at a table with a group of other people and make comics for a day!
Leela Corman is teaching Your Story Matters, starting January 23. Do you have a story you’ve been dying to tell? Whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, fantasy or autobiography, or a combination of genres, the world needs to read it! Leela has been making comics for 20 years, on topics ranging from historical to humorous to the deeply personal. She will take you through 8-weeks of image and story-making designed to help you develop your own symbolic language, explore your narrative depths, and hone your visual storytelling craft. Your story is a gift. Come share it!
Our 3-day memoir workshop in February is sold out, but don’t worry, we’ve got another week-long workshop coming up in March with the ineffable Jackie Davis, sign up now before spots disappear! Our next week-long won’t be until May!
In March, we’ve also got a SAW open day planned, so keep your eyes peeled for the chance to sit in the library and devour books!
WANT MORE SAW CONTENT?
Do you want to hear more about what’s going on at SAW? Join us at the Mighty Network, and support us over on Patreon to receive regular updates about the school including interviews with students and visiting artists, behind the scenes of comics making and even digital comics in their final form.