Thursday, February 28, 2013
New York Times: Trauma Turns Female Veterans to the Streets
Here's a very wonderful yet terribly haunting article about the failings and betrayal of the U.S. Military to take care of its soldiers and veterans.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Good Times at The Drawing Center
A few weeks ago I had the honor and privilege of speaking about my involvement with the Joe Bonham Project, an artist activist group that seeks to raise awareness about wounded veterans (physical as well as psychological traumas).
I was nervous about speaking, so I tried out this neat trick I learned from Lacy Rhoades. He once had to give a speech in front of all the staff at his job (he's a programmer for Etsy and also a talented photographer). Before he started the speech, he quietly took a picture of the crowd at the podium with his iPhone. Looking back at the photo I took now, I am amazed at how kind and sweet everyone in the crowd was--I couldn't see it clearly at the time because of my pre-speech jitters. It ended up going well and I had a really great time. A lot of fabulous questions were asked and really helped me think about my work in new ways. So thanks to the friends reading this who came out and showed your support, you are loved and appreciated! And I hope you think you look lovely in the photograph below.
I also took a photograph of myself in the downstairs bathroom at the Drawing Center because:
a) The entire space has been remodeled and it is a really lovely restroom, especially for a public restroom (in New York, no less!)
b) I thought I should document the experience; it was handy I thought I looked pretty fly in my fancy dress, with my new haircut. I'm also showing support for one of the veterans I met at Bethesda in August, Nathan Rimpf, with a wristband his sister designed. His family sells them for $1 to help with the bills, but you have to beg them to take your money, they pretty much give them to everyone they meet. There's a great photo album on his support page on Facebook, documenting where in the world all the wristbands have made it to, it's amazing. You can check it out here: Where in the World are Nathan's Wristbands?
I was nervous about speaking, so I tried out this neat trick I learned from Lacy Rhoades. He once had to give a speech in front of all the staff at his job (he's a programmer for Etsy and also a talented photographer). Before he started the speech, he quietly took a picture of the crowd at the podium with his iPhone. Looking back at the photo I took now, I am amazed at how kind and sweet everyone in the crowd was--I couldn't see it clearly at the time because of my pre-speech jitters. It ended up going well and I had a really great time. A lot of fabulous questions were asked and really helped me think about my work in new ways. So thanks to the friends reading this who came out and showed your support, you are loved and appreciated! And I hope you think you look lovely in the photograph below.
I also took a photograph of myself in the downstairs bathroom at the Drawing Center because:
a) The entire space has been remodeled and it is a really lovely restroom, especially for a public restroom (in New York, no less!)
b) I thought I should document the experience; it was handy I thought I looked pretty fly in my fancy dress, with my new haircut. I'm also showing support for one of the veterans I met at Bethesda in August, Nathan Rimpf, with a wristband his sister designed. His family sells them for $1 to help with the bills, but you have to beg them to take your money, they pretty much give them to everyone they meet. There's a great photo album on his support page on Facebook, documenting where in the world all the wristbands have made it to, it's amazing. You can check it out here: Where in the World are Nathan's Wristbands?
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Alfred I. duPont Awards Comic
The nonfiction comic piece I did for the Columbia University School of Journalism's duPont Awards, Passing the Baton, went live today! You can check out the comic here. Thanks to Abi Wright and Beth Canipe for the fun assignment!
*Edit*: The comic is no longer available on the Columbia Journalism School website, so I've posted the full comic here.
*Edit*: The comic is no longer available on the Columbia Journalism School website, so I've posted the full comic here.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Drawing Commissions
Here's two drawing commissions I finally finished. Slower than Christmas, please forgive me! Thanks George and Amber (and all the rest) for being patient with me. The Batman one was lots of fun!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Drawing Center Talk Tonight
If you're in NYC, come check out this talk I'm giving at The Drawing Center about my participation in the Joe Bonham Project:
For Immediate Release
Comics Journalist Jess Ruliffson Collects Veteran Narratives for Upcoming Graphic Novel
February 13th, 2013, 6:30-7:30pm, The Drawing Center, 35 Wooster Street, NYC 10013
Jess Ruliffson in a Brooklyn based comics journalist currently working on her first graphic novel. In this presentation and comic reading, Jess Ruliffson discusses her work with the Joe Bonham Project, where she and several artists visited wounded veterans at Walter Reed Military Medical Center, drawing and documenting their stories to serve the public in cultivating a better understanding and awareness of the impact of war on this generation. The Joe Bonham Project was founded 2010 by Michael D. Fay, a combat artist and former Marine, along with several other artists, in an effort to catalog veterans' experiences as part of the public record. Jess Ruliffson has taken these veterans' narratives, along with other service members' stories, and serialized them in comic book form. Q + A with the artist to follow.
For Immediate Release
Comics Journalist Jess Ruliffson Collects Veteran Narratives for Upcoming Graphic Novel
February 13th, 2013, 6:30-7:30pm, The Drawing Center, 35 Wooster Street, NYC 10013
Jess Ruliffson in a Brooklyn based comics journalist currently working on her first graphic novel. In this presentation and comic reading, Jess Ruliffson discusses her work with the Joe Bonham Project, where she and several artists visited wounded veterans at Walter Reed Military Medical Center, drawing and documenting their stories to serve the public in cultivating a better understanding and awareness of the impact of war on this generation. The Joe Bonham Project was founded 2010 by Michael D. Fay, a combat artist and former Marine, along with several other artists, in an effort to catalog veterans' experiences as part of the public record. Jess Ruliffson has taken these veterans' narratives, along with other service members' stories, and serialized them in comic book form. Q + A with the artist to follow.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Sketches From Last Night
Last night in the studio: drawing Ai Wei Wei, listening to Beyonce. Life is interesting. I recommend checking out the doumentary Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry. These are drawings for a secret project-- I can tell you about it in a week when it's done!
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