Wags-heimers

My good old friend Baby, 15 yrs old, is starting to show signs of doggie dementia, or as I call it wags-heimers. The latest episode: eating styrofoam, thinking it's food. So far, Baby's been O.K. considering she's already deaf and half-blind. I watch her closely, doing everything possible to keep her comfortable and happy.

You know how dogs have that guiding purpose that's awesome. Sometimes I believe she's hanging around until I complete the YNK trilogy.

There are times when she'll lay there like a bag of bones. Then I'll open the door and she'll leap over the steps and run around the yard like a puppy -- which usually is followed by a period of immobility. The most pitiful part: when she looks up at me and says, "Finish your book, Carol, please. I'm tired."

Birthday menu

Forgot to mention what was on the menu: Organic home-grown carrots. They taste remarkably better.

Shown here: the bunch itself, right after yanking them out of the garden. When I do this I think maybe it's not all lies.

Another one blew in

Batter up.

This week I will be a visiting artist at the Center for Cartoon Studies up in Vermont. Not sure exactly how it will go with the kids. I never can tell with students if I'm hitting the mark (based on their TM thumb swinging activity!)
My approach: 1950s Catholic school values mixed in with the Underground Comix ethos. Hope they're not disappointed.

Lacemaker

At the San Diego Comic Con, special guests were given a table in Artists Alley. Unfortunately, because I had to be at the other end of the convention hall most of the time, I rarely had time to sit there. But I did scout the perimeter of the enormous facility and found enough blooming things to make a bouquet for the table. Had to pluck by stealth, but truthfully speaking, my crime was committed in plain sight. You see, the fact is, nobody notices a middle-aged woman working over a planter box.
So here is a picture of the delight, a cluster of living California color. Very similar to the varieties in  my garden in Ohio.
I guess I was at the table long enough to cross-hatch the shadow below it on the plastic table covering with Sharpies they provided. This was taken a day later. You can see that the table had moved slightly.

Honoring Veterans

Welcome Home Veterans and thank you for your service.

The picture below is Dad & Mom (with scrunchy smile) at the 33rd Division Reunion in Peoria a few years ago.



Here's a little video made by the American Legion about my book and the class project I do for Veterans every year at Univ. of Cincinnati DAAP School of Art.
(I know it labels me as a student but I am actually the Professor. )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t61-WpS6aYE

Strath-angst

Strathmore 500 series Plate has been forever the go-to paper for cartooning. However, lately, I have had so many problems with the finish not acting consistently 'plate' (smooth). What happens is, I spend a bunch of hours with layout and penciling and then when I go to ink it, the paper absorbs too much in places and feathers out the lines.

At first I thought it was a bad batch, but now a new shipment has come in and it's doing it again.

!!!!!!!!!!

Blogging, battlefield style

Carol Tyler Interview

Nice interview by Rina Ayuyang and Dann Zettwoch. We talked about making comics, lawn ducks and other things.

http://comixclaptrap.podomatic.com/entry/2010-11-01T08_59_48-07_00

The Bardo Revisits

My good friend Rose just called. Her son-in-law, Curtis, just passed away from complications from hernia surgery. I ran down to her house and she cried so hard, she stuck a washcloth in her mouth so she could scream.

The bardo revisits. Tibetan Buddhists believe that the bardo state lasts for 49 days after a person dies. The bardo is this kind of no man's land where the soul/spirit goes to encounter challenges of all kind. The goal on the other side is positive rebirth.

Rose had prayed for years that Curty would find Jesus and convert away from that Buddhism stuff. Not too many African Americans are Buddhists, but when I met Curtis, I guessed it and we instantly struck up a friendship over pumpkin pie during Thanksgiving.

Now the family has plans about his burial. None of my business really. Church services and all that. I got a funny look when I suggested that maybe Monks come by to chant. It reminded me that I should write down somewhere that when I go, I want monks to chant.

I'm not Tibetan, but I do believe much of what the Buddhist Tradition has to offer. And listening to chanting brings comfort more than anything.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbE5HtqU7us

Live from the Contemporary Arts Center

I will be displaying original pages and signing books this Saturday from 2 - 4 at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. Thanks to Aaron for putting this together.

http://contemporaryartscenter.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=45

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=110831448981035&ref=ts

COME VISIT!!!