Ages 10-18
Monday, March 4, 2024
4-6 PM
Registration required
In this workshop, you'll use your own stories, ideas and pictures to make a comic story about you! Using Roz Chast's comic memoir Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? as inspiration, we'll practice how to pick ideas to comic-ize, drawing tips and create one-page comics about our worlds as we see it. Bring your ideas, favorite pictures and small items for inspiration!
About the Instructor:
Jen Hernandez (she/they) is an artist and educator based in Corvallis, Oregon. Through fine arts illustration, comics and crafting, Jen tells stories inspired by the natural environment, people, and stories of the Pacific Northwest and world mythology. Check out Jen’s website here: jenhernandezart.com and on Instagram @jenhernandezart
This workshop is part of the Big Read Series. Join the Shelton McMurphy Johnson House and Wordcrafters of Eugene for an event series funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, “The Big Read” Lane County edition! From November to March, we will be reading, talking about, and creating art around Roz Chast’s memoir in comics, Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant. Find more information about this program here: wordcrafters.org/big-read
About the Book:
From the NEA website: Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, written by Roz Chast, a long time cartoonist for the New Yorker, is a “tour de force” (Elle), “remarkable” (San Francisco Chronicle), “revelatory” (Kirkus), “deeply poignant and laugh-out-loud funny” (New York Times), and “one of the great autobiographical memoirs of our time” (Buffalo News). A finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the Kirkus Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Books for a Better Life Award, the memoir tells the story of Chast’s parents’ final years through cartoons, family photos, found documents, and narrative prose. “So many have faced (or will face) the situation that the author details, but no one could render it like she does” (Kirkus). “Anyone who has had Chast’s experience will devour this book and cling to it for truth, humor, understanding, and the futile wish that it could all be different” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch). “I want to recommend it to everyone I know who has elderly parents, or might have them someday” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).
Who is welcome at OP?
OP recognizes an expansive definition of girl. OP is for all trans girls and cis girls, as well as for nonbinary youth, gender nonconforming youth, and genderqueer youth, who feel or have a connection to girlhood or girlness. Welcome to your space!
Safety is a priority at OP
The safety and comfort of everyone at OP is our top priority. Face masks are welcome. You are also welcome to ask OP staff and interns you are in contact with to wear a mask. If you are sick, please stay home. Thanks!