Visit to Cul de Sac manhole cover

If you're a fan of Richard Thompson's comic strip Cul de Sac, you can physically visit the inspiration for part of the strip in Virginia. That's exactly what I did last fall to show some appreciation to this manhole cover and do some dances and jumps, just like Alice. Richard watched his young daughter dance on the manhole cover one day and it inspired him to draw it in his strip! 

Pay your homage at 2511 North Harrison Street in Arlington (across from Duck Donuts). 

Recap: Team Cul de Sac at Moving Day 2013

On Sunday, November 10, 2013 several members of Team Cul de Sac joined up to walk for Moving Day in Washington, DC. We walked for Richard Thompson, the cartoonist of the comic strip, Cul de Sac. Richard was honored with the 2010 Reuben Award for Cartoonist of the Year from National Cartoonists Society. 

The day was a delight. I really enjoyed being able to spend time with the team and it was nice to have the Nationals ballpark all to ourselves! We got to meet the Teddy and George President characters too. Our team united visually as a gang by wearing black with turquoise bandanas. The walking team included Steve Artley, Kathy Artley, Joe Carabeo, Carolyn Belefski, David Hagen, Olivia Hagen, Hannah Schum, Roger Scott, and Joe Sutliff.

Steve Artley is the member of our team who raised the most funds, so he was invited to join Jared D. Cohen (CEO for Parkinson Foundation of the National Capital Area) in the Nationals dugout before the walk.

More than 1,500 people attended Moving Day DC. The event raised more than $325,000 to support programs and services provided by PFNCA. The program also supports the National Parkinson Foundation. 

At this moment our team has raised $1,610 and is ranked #31 out of the top 100 teams listed.

You can view more of our photos here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151980827217381.1073741836.50763422380&type=3

You can also donate for one more month to Team Cul de Sac: http://www3.parkinson.org/site/TR/MovingDayEvent/ParkinsonFoundationoftheNationalCapitalArea?team_id=10070&pg=team&fr_id=1430

Thanks to Joe Carabeo for taking the photos. A special thank you to all who donated!

Harvey Award Nominations 2013

Two books my work is published in were announced earlier today as nominees for Harvey Awards in the same category (Best Anthology). I have work in Team Cul de Sac: Cartoonists Draw the Line at Parkinson's and District Comics: An Unconventional History of Washington, DC.

Team Cul de Sac is also nominated in the categories of Special Award for Humor in Comics, Special Award for Excellence in Presentation, and Best Biographical, Historical, or Journalistic Presentation. Way to go, Team!

The Harvey Awards recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art and will be presented at this year's Baltimore Comic-Con on September 7, 2013. Curls Studio will also be exhibiting at the show in Artist Alley.

View all the nominees here: http://www.harveyawards.org/2013-final-ballot/

If you'd like to be a part of the Team Cul de Sac Moving Day Walk on November 10, 2013 in Washington, DC, you can sign up here: http://www3.parkinson.org/site/TR/MovingDayEvent/ParkinsonFoundationoftheNationalCapitalArea?team_id=10070&pg=team&fr_id=1430

Registration is now open for Moving Day (NOV 10)

Registration is now OPEN to join TEAM CUL DE SAC for Moving Day on Sunday, November 10, 2013 at 11:30AM at Nationals Park in Washington, DC.

Please encourage your friends to sign up to walk and/or contribute a donation. It is a free cost to join the team to walk -- the walk is 2 miles. All donations benefit the National Parkinson Foundation.

Here is our team link: http://www3.parkinson.org/site/TR/MovingDayEvent/ParkinsonFoundationoftheNationalCapitalArea?team_id=10070&pg=team&fr_id=1430

Thanks to Richard Thompson and Chris Sparks for starting up the team for the book -- now the mission and outreach will carry on in other outlets. Please email me at info@curls-studio.com if you have any questions regarding the walk. I hope to see you this November.

For more info about Team Cul de Sac, please visit http://teamculdesac.blogspot.com or read all my previous posts here.

"Team Cul de Sac - Parkinson's Walk" Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-Cul-de-Sac-Parkinsons-Walk/470349846375079

Team Cul de Sac - Eisner Award Nomination

Team Cul de Sac: Cartoonists Draw the Line at Parkinson's (edited by Chris Sparks, published by Andrews McMeel) is nominated for "Best Comics-Related Book" in the 2013 Eisner Awards.

The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards is considered the "Oscars" of comics and are given out at a gala ceremony at San Diego Comic-Con. This year the awards are celebrating their 25th year.

It was great to be a part of this book with my contribution, 'Cul de Sac Meets Curls.' Thanks to Chris Sparks and Richard Thompson. To learn more about this project, you can read my past blogs about it here.

If you are a comics professional, you can cast your vote here: http://www.eisnervote.com

I am also planning a 'Team Cul de Sac' team to walk for Moving Day on November 10, 2013 in Washington, DC. Registration is not open yet, but if you want to participate or donate, please email 'info[at]curls-studio.com' to be added to our interest list.

Anthology Books of 2012

Team Cul de Sac: Cartoonists Draw the Line at Parkinson's and District Comics: An Unconventional History of Washington, DC were two anthologies I was glad to be a part of this year. I've already started to reminisce about 2012, even though we still have a little over one month left. The great thing about both of these projects is that they are a team effort.

Team Cul de Sac, lead by Chris Sparks, is a cartoon community dedicated to honoring Richard Thompson's comic strip, Cul de Sac. Richard was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease which led to him retire the strip this year. You can follow his blog with current updates on his brain stimulation surgery here. Being a part of this project, I was able to attend two book signing events, one of which was at One More Page in Arlington, VA and the other at Politics and Prose in DC. I was also able to take part in the panel at Baltimore Comic-Con. All the original art was auctioned off and so far the project has raised $100,951.42 for the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Here is a photo of the Obama family visiting the site of the first Team Cul de Sac book signing, One More Page. The Team Cul de Sac book is on the counter display. The Team Cul de Sac book was also recently included in Tom Spurgeon's The Comics Reporter 2012 Holiday Shopping Guide.

Here are some of my event recaps and other links related to Team Cul de Sac: http://curls-studio.blogspot.com/search/label/Team%20Cul%20de%20Sac

If you are interested in purchasing Team Cul de Sac you can order directly from this link. We all wish Richard luck and look forward to any future creative projects he'll be a part of.


District Comics is another project I was able to contribute to this year. District Comics contains many stories about Washington, DC that you would not normally read about in a traditional history book. Matt Dembicki is the editor and he really got a great group of mostly local creators to structure something that had never been done before. We were able to attend book signings at One More Page in Arlington, VA and Locust Moon Comics and Movies in Philadelphia, PA.

I worked with Joe Carabeo on the 11-page "Spytini" story about Elizabeth Bentley "The Red Spy Queen" and her activities in Georgetown, primarily at the restaurant Martin's Tavern. To prepare for the book, Joe and I ate at the restaurant and did research on the visuals there and I took reference photos. I used a different art approach and a lot of people have remarked that it is a more mature style.

The Washington Post recently ranked District Comics as a Top 10 Graphic/Comics Reads of 2012. It makes for a great gift this holiday season and an honor to be recognized alongside with books like Drama by Raina Telegemeier, Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis, and Drawn Together by Aline and R. Crumb. District Comics was also recognized by winning a 2012 American Graphic Design Award from Graphic Design USA.

Here is a whole rundown of the press District Comics has stirred up this year:
Washington City Paper (cover story during the week of SPX)
Huffington Post
Comic Book Resources
Kirkus Book Reviews
Scripps Howards Foundation Wire
DCist
Panel Patter
Comic Related

Here are some previous blogs I wrote about District Comics: http://curls-studio.blogspot.com/search/label/District%20Comics

Recap: Team Cul de Sac Book Signing at Politics & Prose

On July 11, 2012, I attended the second book signing for Team Cul de Sac at Politics & Prose in Washington, DC (read more about the first signing and launch party here).

If you don't know about Team Cul de Sac, you can read more about the project in their blog here, but it is a group of cartoonists lead by project organizer, Chris Sparks, who created some cartoons and illustrations to honor Richard Thompson and his comic strip, Cul de Sac. Richard is a great cartoonist... so great even that he won the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award for "Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year" in 2010! Unfortunately, he has also been recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

All of the original art for the Team Cul de Sac book was auctioned off earlier this year thru Heritage Auctions. You can still purchase the lovely Team Cul de Sac: Cartoonists Draw the Line at Parkinson’s book thru Sparking Design or Amazon to help the cause because the team is connected to the Michael J. Fox Foundation and some of the proceeds go toward Parkinson's research.


The second signing included a presentation by Chris Sparks and speech by Nick Galifianakis. I was happy Richard was also there in attendance. We signed books for almost two hours and really enjoyed meeting everyone who came to support. Thanks to Barbara Sutliff for the photo of the contributors sign and Steve and Kathy Artley for the photo of the team signing books.

If we do any more events, I'll be sure to let you know about them. For now, enjoy this photo gallery from this event: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151047817727381.451263.50763422380&type=1

Team Cul de Sac - Book Signing on July 11

I will be at Politics and Prose (5015 Connecticut Avenue, NW in Washington, DC) this Wednesday, July 11 at 7PM for the Team Cul de Sac book signing and presentation by editor Chris Sparks. There will be many other local creators and contributors to the book in attendance.

Richard Thompson, the Cul de Sac cartoonist, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2009 and began working with the Michael J. Fox Foundation to raise awareness of this illness. Chris Sparks organized Team Cul de Sac, which has solicited work from various graphic artists including Bill Watterson and Gary Trudeau, the proceeds of which have benefitted Team Fox, the Foundation’s fundraising arm.

Last month was the book launch and all the books sold out within the first hour of signing. You can read my recap and view photos of that event here. Be sure to get there early to purchase your book and have it signed.

RSVP to the event and share with your friends on Facebook here.

For more information about the Team Cul de Sac project, visit their website: http://teamculdesac.blogspot.com

See you this Wednesday,
Carolyn

Recap: Team Cul de Sac Book Signing and Release Party

On Sunday, June 10, 2012 a few dozen cartoonists attended a book signing at One More Page Books in Arlington, Virginia to celebrate the release of Team Cul de Sac: Cartoonists Draw the Line at Parkinson’s. The book contains original artwork from cartoonists and illustrators inspired by Richard Thompson’s comic strip Cul de Sac, including Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes) and Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury). The originals were recently sold at an online auction, which raised $47,000, for Team Cul de Sac, which is part of the Michael J. Fox Foundation.


The place was packed and I heard from an online post by Michael Rhode that the 75 books the store had ordered for the signing sold out! Usually at conventions, perhaps being that they are six hours per day and can last a full weekend or more, I have some lag time in between fans and customers at the table. There might be a ten minute gap before another person swings by. At this two hour book signing, I can say it's the most consistent crowd flow of signing book, after book, after book. We all must have signed around 100 or more books each!


This event was so fun! The man himself, Richard Thompson, creator of Cul de Sac (and 2011 'Cartoonist of the Year' Reuben award winner) was there along with the book's editor, Chris Sparks. Many local creators and comic supporters came out in droves to attend the signing. It was a large gathering of talent with combined forces ready to battle Parkinson's disease and come together to honor Richard Thompson. It was a delight to see this level of commitment and respect for Richard. Straddling a career field myself in the design and advertising industries, I can say most cartoonists are friendly people who really come together for a cause. It's hard to imagine another group of people making such an effort to raise money in a selfless way. It genuinely felt like everyone who came to the event was there for Richard, and that's the memory I will take with me for the rest of my life. It is an honor to be a part of this project.


The book is really beautiful and I urge you to purchase it and see all the art for yourself. It is currently $16.73 (list price $29.99) on Amazon.


If you missed this signing, there will be another one on July 11, 2012 at 7PM which will include a presentation with Chris Sparks at Politics and Prose in Washington, DC. Please RSVP on Facebook and invite your friends!

More event photos can be scene on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150940960942381.439013.50763422380&type=3

Thanks to Bruce Guthrie for taking the group photo. All other photos were taken by Joe Carabeo.

To learn more about Team Cul de Sac, visit: http://teamculdesac.blogspot.com

I hope to see you on July 11!

Recap: Capicons (June 3, 2012)

On this past Sunday, June 3, 2012 Curls Studio was a guest at Capicons. Unfortunately we didn't take too many photos of the show, but we did whip the camera out when Michael Rhode of ComicsDC stopped by with his Team Cul de Sac: Cartoonists Draw the Line at Parkinson's book. It was my first time seeing the book and it's beautiful and jam packed with art from several cartoonists all influenced by Cul de Sac creator Richard Thompson, who was honored as last year's 'Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year' at the Reuben Awards.


Here are some photos of the book and also remember to bid on the original art from the book at Heritage Auctions before June 10 (here is the direct link to my contribution: http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=510&lotNo=9).


In addition, there will be a book signing this Sunday in Arlington, VA. I will be there along with several other cartoonists and editor, Chris Sparks! Here is the RSVP on Facebook, join us and invite your friends: https://www.facebook.com/events/332334420171612/

If you can't make the signing, you can purchase Team Cul de Sac on Amazon. The book is currently $16.52 (list price $29.99).


The Capicons show was fun and it was good to meet a lot of local comics lovers. It's nice to have a relaxed show where you can talk with people and get to know them. It was also great to meet K. Michael Crawford, a children's book illustrator who was also a guest at Capicons. Check out her work at http://www.happilyeverart.com. I also thought it was innocent when a young man purchased Black Magic Tales, Volume 1: The Adventures of Roxy and Dean, World Famous Criminals and after I signed it he asked how much the autograph was. For now, my signature is free! So make sure you bid on my Team Cul de Sac art - the value will definitely go up!

Thank you to Michael Rhode for bringing the Team Cul De Sac book to Capicons. We wouldn't have photos without him!

Hope to see you this Sunday,
Carolyn

Team Cul De Sac Charity Auction

The original art from the Team Cul de Sac book will be auctioned off starting today thru Heritage Auctions.


Team Cul de Sac was created to honor Richard Thompson, creator of the award-winning comic strip, Cul de Sac, after his recent Parkinson's disease diagnosis. Cartoonists, artists, illustrators, and animators have donated original artwork for this auction, with 100% of the proceeds benefitting the Michael J. Fox Foundation to support Parkinson's research. The auction ends June 10 at 10:00 p.m. The artwork is also collected in a book, Team Cul de Sac: Cartoonists Draw the Line at Parkinson's (Andrews McMeel Publishing), to be published June 5, 2012. A portion of the proceeds from the book will also be directed to the Michael J. Fox Foundation.


Team Cul De Sac Charity Auction #510: http://comics.ha.com/common/auction/catalog.php?SaleNo=510

Purchase the book here: Sparking Design or Amazon


Bid on Carolyn Belefski "Cul de Sac Meets Curls" original art here: http://comics.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=510&lotIdNo=11053

Carolyn Belefski Cul de Sac Meets Curls Comic Strip Original Art (2011). Carolyn Belefski, creator of Curls (page 9): "For my Team Cul de Sac art, I wanted to create a story involving Richard's characters and my Curls character. I felt like the Otterloop parents needed to go on a date because they hardly have any time for themselves, so I wanted them to get away and introduce Curls to look after Alice and Petey. Richard Thompson is a brilliant cartoonist. I admire his skills very much, and I wish Team Cul de Sac the best of luck to raise money for Parkinson's research." This strip has an image area of 13" x 10", and the art is in Excellent condition. A computer color guide print is included with this lot.

Attend the book launch on June 10 in Arlington, VA: http://www.curls-studio.com/curls/?p=1603
RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/332334420171612/

Team Cul de Sac - Book Launch on June 10

On Sunday, June 10, 2012 from 5 to 7PM, One More Page Books in Arlington, Virginia is hosting a fundraiser celebration to launch the Team Cul de Sac collection.

Team Cul de Sac: Cartoonists Draw the Line at Parkinson's contains original artwork from cartoonists and illustrators inspired by Richard Thompson's comic strip Cul de Sac, including Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes) and Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury). The originals will be sold at an online auction to raise money for Team Cul de Sac, which is part of the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

The book comes out June 5, 2012 and One More Page Books will have them available at the launch event or you can also pre-order the book from Sparking Design or Amazon. Several of the contributors live here in the DC area and will be on hand to sign copies.

Wine and light snacks to celebrate the launch of the book and a portion of the day's sales will go to Team Cul de Sac.

I plan to attend this event since my Curls piece was selected to be a part of the book (http://curls-studio.blogspot.com/2011/06/team-cul-de-sac.html) and to show my support for Team Culs de Sac! For more information about the news surrounding Team Cul de Sac, visit their blog here: http://teamculdesac.blogspot.com.

One More Page Books
2200 North Westmoreland Street #101
Arlington, VA 22213

Team Cul de Sac Art

Last Friday, June 17, 2011 was the art deadline for Team Cul de Sac. The day before I posted part one (of two) of my "Cul de Sac Meets Curls" comic strip which you can see here.


On Saturday I sent the original inked art and glossy print in a package to Andrews McMeel Publishing. Above is a photo of me at the post office holding the art.

I will be posting part two tomorrow at www.curls-studio.com/curls.

The Team Cul de Sac project is lead by Chris Sparks, who formed Team Cul De Sac through Team Fox in honor of cartoonist and Cul de Sac creator, Richard Thompson. The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson's disease through an aggressively funded research agenda and to ensuring the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson's today.

Team Cul de Sac invited cartoonists to donate original art made especially for a book about Parkinson's awareness in Richard's honor. Part of the profits from the sale of the book would benefit MJFF, and the original art will be auctioned as part of the fundraiser with all of auction money going to MJFF. Additionally, there will be a limited number of deluxe edition books signed and numbered by Richard Thompson.

I'm really excited about this book and enjoy looking at everyone's contributions at http://teamculdesac.blogspot.com.

Washington City Paper: The Year 2010 in Cartoons

Mike Rhode posted his "Year in Cartoons" for Washington City Paper. He writes:

Other papers may pick what they think were the best cartoons of the year. Here at the City Paper, we're doing it differently. We've asked some local cartoonists to pick their favorite piece that they made over the past year and share it with us.

David Hagen, Steven Artley, Michael Cavna, Donna Lewis, Carolyn Belefski, Nick Galifianakis, Kevin 'Kal' Kallagher, Ann Telnaes, Molly Lawless, Matt Dembicki, Joe Sutliff, Richard Thompson and Matt Wuerker are all featured.


Read the full article here: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/books/2010/12/27/arts-in-review-the-year-in-cartoons