Veteran Writers at The Old Stone House

I had the pleasure and good fortune to meet Peter Catapano at the Joe Bonham Project exhibition reception this past weekend and he told me about a reading he was co-hosting at The Old Stone House. Presented by Brooklyn Reading Works, the reading showcased the incredible writing talents of several young writers who are recent alumni of the NYU Veterans Writing Workshop and have been using their war experiences to inform their creative writing. It was an incredible evening and I am looking forward to hearing more from this group of great writers. A collection of their writing, "Fire and Forget", will be available in February, but you can pre-order the book here.

Maurice Decaul is a former Marine who served in Iraq in 2003. He is a poet, essayist and librettist.

Matt Gallagher is a Senior Fellow at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and the author of the Iraq memoir, Kaboom.

Mariette Kalinowski served in the U.S. Marine Corps between 2002 and 2012, deploying twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She studies fiction at Hunter College's MFA program.

Phil Klay is a Marine Corps veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and a graduate of the MFA writing program at Hunter College.

Roy Scranton is an Iraq War veteran, and is the co-editor of Fire and Forget.

A Letter Lasts Longer

While at the Atlantic Center for the Arts' 3-week comics residency, studying with master artist Dean Haspiel, I made this interesting comic based on a script he generated. The script was interpreted by each associate artist in the group. These varied and beautiful permutations can be seen on the Trip City blog here.

Space Wino

Thanks, Maria, for the fun drawing commission!

Sketchbook Pages from ACA Comics Residency

I had the honor and great experience of taking part in a three-week long residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, Florida this past October. Things have finally settled down long enough for me to post these sketchbook pages.

(An outdoor yoga session taught by Ellen Forney and Lara Antal.)

(Clever hats on a boat tour.)

(Birds and houses and trees seen from the boat.)

(Gabby Gamboa, Lark Pien, Eleanor Davis, and Leela Corman in Gainseville, Fl.)

(Sketching one of the ACA interns, Greg.)

(Greg seated, three views.)

Joe Bonham Project on the Cartoon Picayune

(Photo credit: Josh Kramer, Cartoon Picayune.)

 This past weekend, the Joe Bonham Project's second public exhibition was held at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery in Downtown D.C. The reception was well attended and the feedback was incredible, it has been a great experience working with so many wonderful veterans alongside some seriously talented and incredibly gracious artists.

Josh Kramer of the Cartoon Picayune has some nice things to share about the opening, check out his coverage here on the Cartoon Picayune website.

Victor Juhasz posted some really fun photos on his Drawger page of the installation with a few of the other artists, you can see the photos and his reflections on the whole process here.

New York Comics and Picture-Story Symposium

Jess Worby and I will be speaking at Parsons The New School this Monday November 19th as part of the New York Comics and Picture-Story Symposium's Twenty Sixth meeting, facilitated by Ben Katchor. I will be speaking about my recent collaborations with veterans on my current nonfiction comic book project. Jess Worby, in addition to having one of the coolest names, is a talented and highly inventive comics artist. I always enjoy seeing the things he thinks of drawing, he's always up to interesting and weird things. If you're a fan of comic books and live in New York, you would probably not regret coming to this talk. Also, it's free, which sure is handy. You can read about it on the Parsons website here.

Rashad at Jalopy

Part of a semi-top-secret drawing project for the Brotherhood of the Jugband Blues. It's been too long since I last updated. I have a huge pile of work to scan and share, but am running off to Washington, D.C. for the Joe Bonham opening reception (are you free and in the area? Please come with friends!)

Post-Hurricane Survival

I've recently come back from a really amazing, three-week comics residency in Florida. I was lucky to get into LaGuardia Airport before it was shut down and flooded. Instead of celebrating my return from the residency and getting back to normal life, the hurricane hit. We have power and internet, but our gas supplier is no longer delivering oil--meaning no heat, and hot water for only a few more days.
 
I moved to NYC on August 28, 2005, the day Hurricane Katrina hit, and cannot describe what a terrible loss it was for me, my friends and family. It's surreal that a hurricane has hit New York and has destroyed so many lives. We are all very fortunate to have what we have. The subway tunnels are flooded, repairs will take months.  My nine-to-five job that I get by on is without power and internet, meaning I'm out of work for the indefinite future. I have already missed three weeks of work so that I could attend the residency, and to be honest, I am worried about making ends meet.


I'm taking advantage of this time off of work by doing drawing commissions. I will draw for one hour on a 9 x 12 piece of paper, using a phrase suggested by you (i.e. sexy librarian, Batman, flying objects). I'll also do portraits, please send me a photo. Email your drawing request with your Paypal receipt to callingthedog@gmail(dot)com.  The finished piece will be sent via email, but I will mail the originals out when I've got access to a post office later, so be sure to include your mailing address. Thanks for taking the time to read this and for spreading the word. It means so much to me.

Lots of love and gratitude, 

Jess

Open Studios at Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, Fl.

Page 2 getting inked at the comics residency.