If This is All You Get

A while ago Shannon O'Leary had a book idea she ran by me, an anthology about cartoonists' take on feminism. I thought it was a good idea, because I believe that women are equal to men, but had no thoughts about how to make a comic that didn't feel like a college essay. Frankly, I always felt pretty equal as a woman, especially as a white educated middle class woman. That was, until I had a kid. Then suddenly all my dreams of artistic freedom were, uh, revised. It's the only time in my life where I felt like the difference of the sexes was laid bare. I really struggled with this piece... here's the first page, and the rest is up at Bitch.com. They put this comic up to promote the kickstarter for The Big Feminist But (Shannon and Joan's anthology includes great stuff from Vanessa Davis, Gabrielle Bell and Jeffrey Brown among others). If you feel compelled to donate, that would be awesome. I'd love to hear your stories as well if you are a parent and an artist struggling to do both. 

Growing....

I've not been updating my website for a long time. In the meantime the world is changing. Here's a drawing I feel internet worthy. Working hard on book now.

Carousel at MOCCA fest....

I will hopefully be reading a highly personal comic that I've been working on for two years at MOCCA on Saturday at 5:15, but I might just have too much to do before and I'll have to read old stuff, which won't be old to you so it doesn't matter, it would just be so perfect if I could get this thing wrapped up...Carousel is at 5:15. I'll be reading with the 16th funniest man in NYC, Michael Kupperman, Domitille Collardey, Shannon Wheeler, Leslie Stein and of course, R. Sikoryak.

outtakes

For about a year, I've been working on a four-page comic about what it's like to have a kid and try to be an artist at the same time.  I've drawn and redrawn it countless times because I really want it to speak the truth.  I've got so much stuff that got scrapped along the way.  They kind of make their own comics. Here are two examples...

and...

Still recovering

Hi.  I just came back from vacation.  I am still recovering.  I visited the oval office at night, saw some amazing comics at Warren Bernard's house, climbed around in a giant ant hill, tried a new latke recipe, spent three days with two sets of toddler twins, and ate and ate.  And the real question is, who gives a shit? Here's a piece from my sketchbook drawn last night:  

I went to see the Bad Plus at The Village Vanguard with Tim for a romantic date!   It was wonderful how I got so much work done, drawing the entire time I was listening to the sublime music.  Then we deposited our checks at a nearby bank and made the responsible train!  It's our seventh date without our daughter in two years and three months, but who's counting?

 

Introducing Miss Ellie!

  Hi everyone, this week I did a comic about my friend Miss Ellie, who always looks amazing even when her kid has wiped her nose on Ellie's finest angora sweater.  She makes a snot broach!  Watch out for more fabulous tips from her in the future!

Happy Birthday Ramona

Today is my daughter's 2nd birthday. It's weird being a parent and remembering what that entails--the actual birthing procedure. Here's a sketch I did a few weeks before thinking about the big day...

SPX

I’m going to SPX this weekend.  I think.  My husband wants to go.  My parents live in Bethesda.  But there’s nothing worse feeling than going to a convention when you don’t have anything new except for a kid (who is already two years old).  And then you go back to your parents who say, "It's okay honey!  You're our favorite cartoonist (except for Richard Thompson)!" I went last year and made this drawing afterward.

 

I also hate Bethesda.

Plensa

I have wanted to draw the Jaume Plensa sculpture in Madison Square Park since it appeared one day. I see it all the time walking to class to teach but I never have time to sit there and draw it because I'm always on the clock with babysitters. My mother-in-law is in town and babysitting is free. I made a date with the great Gabrielle Bell and we went to the park to draw the statue. We of course gossiped about our personal lives and that was very fun. And I realized that this was the first time that I'd actually been able to draw from life for more than 20 minutes since Ramona was born. I got home and wrote a letter to the parks department asking them to keep the sculpture up forever.