Memorial Day Studio Set Up
Originally published at RKdia Comics. You can comment here or there.
Every cartoonists needs a creative space. A space they can escape to and lose themselves in and immerse themselves in their craft.
As a Senior, the Center for Cartoon Studies gave me a 9 month taste of that sort of freedom in the form of a group studio space shared with the rest of my classmates. It was the most productive and wonderfully liberating feeling I’ve ever had as a fledgling cartoonist, and ever since graduating from CCS exactly a year ago, I’ve been scratching my head on just how I can re-claim that space!
Enter Memorial Day Weekend of 2011! As I posted yesterday, my now fellow alumni and roommate, Lawrence Derks headed home to Virginia bright and early in the morning. It has long been my plan to convert his smaller of the 3 bedrooms here at “Hartford House” into a studio/office. The long holiday weekend plus the prospect of my new full time job gave me not only the opportunity but the resources to make it happen! I wasted no time Monday morning, tearing into what was left of his furniture and cleaning the space for my use!
Breaking down my old drawing space in my bedroom. I found having the place where I work in the same place that I sleep most unnerving. I spent many a night struggling to fall asleep, thinking about the drawing table I was staring at through the dark.
Out with the old…
…a little elbow grease to spruce the place up…
…and in with the new!
That was only the beginning…soon began the dreaded task of organizing all my lose papers and art work from the last several years of work! :O
BUT WAIT! What’s this? Social interaction time?! Helping (read: watching as…) Chris “Radical” Warren and Matt Young of Art School Fraud push and pull their 4-wheeled grill up to Bryan Stone and Ryland Ianelli’s for a traditional CCS Memorial Day BBQ!
Chris also brought along a fantastic home made portable Fryalator and there were french fries galore to go around!
Despite many cartoonists having left the area for the summer, just as many have stayed. The turnout was excellent!
Various toonies in conversation around the two grills. Smell that charcoal and propane!
I took a moment to grill up a fantastic sesame ginger cured ham steak!
Even the very busy, but lovely as always, CCS Librarian Catlin McGurk stopped by to share in the festivities. Colleen Frakes relaxes below.
Sinking my teeth into a home made burger, courtesy recent Graduate Carl Antonowitz. YUM!
What better way to celebrate and honor America’s Veterans and service members than fully enjoying the freedom the help protect every day? The BBQ was amazing fun and a great break from a hard day’s work…however that work was not yet over!
VOILA! After a couple days of moving and organizing, my studio is ready to go!
I very much look forward to creating many many comics in this space in the year(s?) to come! Now, time to get back to work!
-RD