Life is full (a nice way of saying crazy busy) these days. A new semester of teaching is underway in all my capacities (college, private students, workshops, etc.). My 3 kids all leveled up: Blaise is in high school, Soren moved up to the older kids building at his school, Bijou entered middle school. Needless to say, there’s a lot going on and a lot of juggling of schedules and expectations. So in this season, I want to try out sharing just 5 things that’s going on with me either related to work, art making, or things that I’m enjoying.
Here we go!
1. I’m in the home stretch of a project I’ve been working with the LJD Jewish Family and Community Services on. It is called WE COULD NOT BE SILENT. This project is part traveling exhibition and part comic book. The comic and exhibition tells the story of 17 Jewish leaders who went to St. Augustine, Florida to stand in solidarity with the local community in 1964 and stand up against injustice during the Civil Rights movement. It is an under known story and I am looking forward to sharing more of it with you.
2. I’m currently working on putting together ah horror anthology comic with Black Cat Comics and 30+ local creators who are contributing 1-page comics or flash fiction. My good buddy Andy Kozlowski, the great printing wizard, is helping with printing this book (risograph!) and we’re having a release party at Black Cat Comics on Halloween (a Friday this year). More details to come.
3. New comics I’ve been digging lately include: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Drome by Jesse Lonergan, all the EC Comics, and several comics from DC’s Absolute line: Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, and Batman. Starting in October on New Comic Book Wednesdays, I will be leading a Comic Book Club where we will be diving into the first Absolute Batman Trade. Reach out to Black Cat Comics in Riverside for more information.
4. Cool, old, stuff I’ve been into reading lately has basically revolved around Spooky Season. Been reading Edgar Allan Poe short stories, I reread The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, but I’ve also been reaching back to a bunch of the old EC Horror comics. In addition, I recently picked up Weird Tales of the Macabre, a 70s black and white horror comic magazine that ran for only 2 issues and was put out by Atlas Seaboard. Wild stuff!
5. This new semester of teaching has been excellent so far. At the University of North Florida I am teaching Figure Painting and Painting 1. I am also teaching a handful of private students. I had some drops off, but we’ll see if that picks up over the next month or so. On Saturdays at the South Mandarin Branch library I’m running a month long workshop on Digital Art for students ages 8-13.
That’s about all for now. Thanks for checking out the newsletter. I appreciate your being along with me on this awesome journey of making an artful living. Til next time!
Sincerely,
Thony Aiuppy