In 2013 I began to synthesise a range of teaching techniques I’d been testing & refining over many years, into a process I called thINK Draw Connect Learn, or thINK for short. You can read more about thINK here. The thINK Process includes deconstructing drawing into abstract ‘Elements‘ and modelling how these simple building blocks […]
SCHOOL OF CARTOON ARTISTRY: Cartoon Workshops Designed To Make You THINK! Read More »
Plenty of cartoonists have offered ‘how-to-draw’ workshops on ways to capture emotion in cartoon faces. Often the ‘workshop’ is more of a demonstration or performance – the style is quick and sketchy, a quick fix aimed at entertainment rather than learning, and usually intended to promote the cartoonist’s latest book or other product. Of course,
Creative Communication: Cartooning for Emotional Literacy Read More »
It took me many years to get used to drawing on any kind of large scale, especially anything larger than A2 size. Several different experiences helped free me up in this area; in particular, when I began running cartoon workshops in schools, drawing on large blackboards (remember them?) and whiteboards in front of a class.
Murals & public art Read More »
As described elsewhere in this archive, the 90s were a creatively prolific period for me, and I developed simultaneously in many directions, and through many different media. Most of my focus was on the four strands of esoteric art I was developing – Essence Portraits, Power Symbols, Personalised Mandalas & ‘cave paintings’ – but I
Cartoon illustration: Funky 90s Read More »
At various times during the early 90s, in an entrepreneurial effort to generate some income from my cartoon art, I designed and self-published several series of gift cards & cartoon art prints. Self-publishing, in this case, meant spending what little money I had on laminated colour photocopies (not particularly cheap back then), and hawking them
Cartoon illustration: Card designs Read More »
Even as a five year old I was a keen observer of human behaviour, often coupled with a sense of the absurd, so it’s not surprising that caricature became part of my cartooning repertoire from an early age. Comics and cartoons, to a child of my interests, were a form of sociological and psychological text,
Cartoon illustration: Caricature Read More »
Over the years my illustration has often found a home in various areas of health & well-being, with clients ranging from government health services, mental health organisations, educational ‘well-being’ projects through to private practitioners and community arts projects. My empathic nature, my sense of social conscience, along with my personal insights from lived experience (long-term
Cartoon illustration: Health & well-being projects Read More »
Community arts, health & well-being and education seem to be where I gravitate in my creative work. Over the last 20 years I’ve often been engaged by councils, usually via their Community Arts or Community Development teams, to facilitate workshops, youth or community arts projects, or provide illustration such as promotional art, logo design &
Cartoon Illustration – Knox City Council (2007 – 2016) Read More »
One of my most enduring creative relationships was as in-house illustrator & creative consultant for music education publishers Bushfire Press. Bushfire Press are a passionate team of ex-music teachers / musicians, who began writing & publishing Performing Arts resources for primary & secondary schools in the late 80s. My work for them has included a
Cartoon Illustration – Bushfire Press (2000 – 2016) Read More »
In Oct 2015, Relationships Australia Tas employed me as a “visual mapper”, to illustrate in realtime the core themes and ideas that emerged from their annual 2-Day conference of 150 employees from around the state. I stood at the back of the room, listening, observing, interpreting & translating into symbolic images & key words. At
Visual Scribe @ Relationships Australia (TAS) Conference, Hobart Read More »
Following my experience as visual scribe at Calvary Hospital’s Death Café in 2015, one of the organisers Belinda Clarke approached me about being involved in an innovative pilot program she had devised in partnership with Calvary Hospital & two Hobart high schools.A group of Yr 12 girls who were considering a career in nursing, were
Visual Scribe @ Calvary Palliative Care schools pilot program 2016 Read More »
In 2015 I was invited to provide live cartoon “scribing” for a 2-hour “Death Café” event at Calvary Hospital in Hobart. The general public were invited to meet and have open conversations about death and dying – not a grief group, but a safe space in which to normalise the usually-taboo subject. More than 1000
Death Cafe: Visual Scribing @ Calvary Hospital 2015 Read More »
2-DAY WORKSHOP: JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF YOUR MIND!!! See drawings from last July’s Journey here: MELBOURNE and HOBART. TUES SEPT 29 & WED SEPT 30 @ Cooper Screen Academy, Hobart 10am – 2pm | $100 | ages 9 – 14 only (why?) A 2-Day Creative Cartooning intensive for experienced drawers, using thINK drawing games
SEPT 2015 2-DAY CARTOON INTENSIVE Read More »
TERM 4 begins OCT 21 | 27 Albert Rd, Moonah WEDNESDAYS | 4 – 6pm | Ages 9 – 14 | $200 Can you help spread the word? Download & print this poster for your local shop or school! CRITTERS – real or imagined, they offer endless opportunities to explore creative drawing skills. In Term
8-WEEK CRITTERS @ MAC, TERM 4 – HOBART Read More »
In 2003 I spontaneously answered a small hand-drawn ad in MacFie’s Music shop in Nth Hobart, someone looking for interested parties with whom to play guitar music of a Eurofolk bent. It was Luke Yates, a young uni student recently-returned from travels in France, previously an 80s metal guitarist who had an acoustic epiphany while
Mini-Exhibition: Spondooli Brothers artwork Read More »
Apr 19 – Kids Like Us (Sandringham) On Sunday April 19 I’ll have the pleasure of continuing some drawing exploration with a small but highly-creative & enthusiastic group of young people from Kids Like Us. This will be our third gathering, and I’m really looking forward to seeing where the journey takes us this time.
Kids Like Us – vital work for (twice) exceptional kids Read More »
Years ago I used to run a cartooning course for adults (5 x full day sessions) in Kingston, for what used to be known as Adult Ed (now Learn Xpress). Teaching adults is a whole other realm to teaching kids – insecurities & self-doubts are more deeply entrenched, as are opinions and habits of perception.
Cartooning For Adults, August 2013 – Kingston Read More »
The Big One! The Kingston LINC cartoon workshops have traditionally been the most well-attended, and this one was no exception. Most of the kids were old-timers who have been coming to these sessions regularly, and most of them went for the hardcore all-day option. But it was also wonderful to see some new faces too,
TAS Holiday Workshops, July 2013 – Kingston LINC Read More »
It’s difficult to have favourites with these workshops because they all offer up fresh delights, but I reckon this day at Glenorchy LINC was one of the most fun for me these holidays. The morning session was just 3 kids (!), but all 3 had booked in for the whole day, so I didnt want
TAS Holiday Workshops, July 2013 – Glenorchy LINC Read More »
After the morning session at Bridgewater LINC, I zipped into Hobart to run a Parent & Child cartoon workshop in Criterion House in the CBD, at the invitation of Amanda Midgley, for the Hobart City Council’s school holiday program. Amanda has been involved in coordinating youth services projects for years now, and we’ve collaborated on
TAS Holiday Workshops, July 2013 – Hobart City Council Read More »
I was invited back to run another cartoon workshop at Bridgewater LINC these holidays (I was there last January hols), thanks to the wonderful Jordyan Coombe! Jordyan really cares about offering opportunities to her community that they wouldn’t normally access, and she very generously subsidised my visit out of her own budget so she could
TAS Holiday Workshops, July 2013 – Bridgewater LINC Read More »
This was an all-day workshop with a busload of kids from the outlying rural areas north of Hobart, as part of the Southern Midlands Council school holiday program. Greg Hunt and his devoted crew do an amazing job of providing these kids with opportunities & experiences that they might not otherwise access. Many of these
TAS Holiday Workshops, July 2013 – Southern Midlands Council Read More »
Back home in gorgeous Tassie after my dash to Melbourne, and straight into a full week of cartoon workshops for the Tas school hols, mostly at southern LINC (library) centres – first stop: Huonville LINC, my local. A small but very inspired group with plenty of wacky ideas! We kicked off with a combo of
TAS Holiday Workshops, July 2013 – Huonville LINC Read More »
Flew back to Melbourne briefly to run a day of school holiday workshops for Eastern Regional Libraries, who cover libraries throughout the Knox, Yarra Ranges and Maroondah shires. Thanks Janet for inviting me to be part of the library school holiday program! It was a fantastic day, kicking off with a morning workshop at Lilydale
Melbourne July 2013 – Eastern Regional Libraries Read More »
In 2001, Wesley College approached me to design a cartooning workshop program addressing bullying, for inclusion in a Yr 7 Resilience Program the college was piloting, and which incorporated many other materials such as drama, video, discussion, writing etc. When Wesley approached me with the commission I had just completed my year-long residency at Pembroke
Melbourne June 2013 – Wesley College Read More »
Another really rewarding 2-day visit to Rowville Secondary, one of my favourite schools to visit (yes, I know, I’m not supposed to have favourites!). This is the fourth year running that I’ve been invited to run the Creative Communication workshops there, thanks to the wonderful leader of the Arts Faculty, Robyn Geake. Each year that
Melbourne June 2013 – Rowville Secondary College Read More »
A whirlwind visit to Upper Ferntree Gully Primary School in the morning, two x 1 hr sessions with Grades 5/6, thanks to their awesome art teacher Nikki Ashman! We focused on facial expressions, the kids were wonderful, really engaged with the process and articulated some great ideas about emotions. Whenever I commence a workshop, there’s
Melbourne June 2013 – Upper Ferntree Gully PS Read More »
Tues June 11 2013 – Landed in Melbourne from Tasmania on the ferry first thing in the morning (boat-lagged!) for a two-week teaching binge, and headed straight over to Yarra Rd Primary School in Nth Croydon to spend a fantastic day catching up again with Grades 3 – 6. But first…. Rewind to March of
Melbourne June 2013 – Yarra Rd PS Read More »
