A1 Improv Showcase

Sunday, August 9, 2009 was my A1 Improve Showcase at Source in DC. I started taking improv classes with Washington Improv Theater this summer because it is something I have wanted to do for the past five years or so and was always a little afraid to go full force with. Then something hit me and I figured why the heck not. I took a trial class and had a lot of fun. It made me feel more confident than anything else in awhile, so that was when I knew I should give it a go. The classes are very enjoyable as well as the other students and our teachers Dan and Dereks. They pulled the best out of each of us. Everyone had a really good jive going on with each other.


I hope that these classes got my mind jogging with scripting comics and coming up with design or illustration concepts. I noticed the levels of thinking and how far you can really take things yet still have them connected to each other.


Something else I realized is that improv isn't only about being funny. It's about communicating and working as a team. I also learned to observe, not only with my eyes, but with my ears and with magical powers of group thought... and you know I love magic... and Criss Angel. So, here are some photos of the show from last night. I hope you enjoy!

AIGA DC Continuum Summer Party 2009

Last Tuesday, August 4, 2009, AIGA DC hosted a summer party to celebrate and recognize this year's AIGA DC Fellow Award recipient David Franek* and MICA student Sarah Machicado, the winner of our first AIGA DC Continuum Scholarship. David Franek is president and brand director at The Design Channel an award-winning design studio in Chevy Chase, MD.

Those who attended the event are AIGA DC board members, founding members of the fund, and official members of the 2008-2009 Continuum Circle. (The Continuum Circle is comprised of donors who make cumulative pledges of or exceeding $350 per year to the Continuum Fund).


The intimate gathering was hosted at Tamera Lawrence's home in DC. Everyone enjoyed catching up with each other over their busy summer and reconnected to focus on the Continuum Fund. AIGA DC Advisory Board members Beth Singer and Sam Shelton spoke about starting a permanent legacy of giving back to the profession of design and highlighted our achievements and upcoming plans.


David spoke about his super career path leading up to his Fellows Award and Sarah spoke about the value of her scholarship and what she wants to pursue in the future. AIGA DC President, Jill Spaeth, then fielded questions about the chapter and activities we are planning.


It was a great event that took time and effort from many people on the AIGA DC board, including myself, Kerri Sarembock, Jill Spaeth, Mira Azarm, James Hobbs, Tamera Lawrence, Beth Singer, Dan Banks, Emily Carr, and Sam Shelton. Thank you to all that contributed and attended.

The AIGA DC Continuum Fund would also like to thank C & R Printing for donating all the printing including the paper for the wine tasting event last March at The Art Institute of Washington. Please consider them for your printing needs and mention AIGA DC to show them how valuable their contributions are to the design profession.

If you would like more information about AIGA DC's Continuum Fund Scholarship or have questions about donating to AIGA DC's Continuum Fund, please email continuum@aigadc.org.

To view more images from the 2009 Continuum Summer Party 2009, visit the AIGA DC Flickr account: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aigadc/sets/72157621963880196/

Special thanks goes out to Joe Carabeo of Astray Productions for photographing the event!

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Carolyn Belefski
Continuum Chair, AIGA DC

*We will also honor David at an event open to all our membership this fall for the Fellows Award. Please visit aigadc.org for the latest updates on our 2009-2010 programming season as we start up again this fall.

Curls: The Undertaker

Well, I am a big fan of wrestling and The Undertaker, so I could not help but poke fun at his new love life in a Curls comic strip. Whenever I see the The Undertaker, my head whispers "SARAAAAAAAAA" and sometimes I say it out loud. It's all because of a storyline where Diamond Dallas Page was stalking Sara, The Undertaker's wife.

At that time The Undertaker had "Sara" tattooed on his neck and in the past few years he has been in the process of removing the tattoo and getting divorced from Sara. Now that he has a new love in his life with Michelle McCool, I figured it would be funny if he got "McCool" tattooed on his neck also. To this day, one of my favorite moments, while watching WWE, is DDP stalking Sara.

Curls: Michael Jackson Tribute

Many of you have asked me if I was going to do anything in tribute to Michael Jackson after his death last month. It took me a long time to process everything surrounding his death... finally tonight I felt ready to work on this Curls comic strip in honor of MJ.

For those of you who do not know, Michael Jackson is a public figure whom I considered one of my favorite celebrities and whom I talk about almost weekly on my radio show. I know the arguments you could say about him, but through his life and career, I found him to be one of the most entertaining individuals on the planet. I am amazed with everything in his life (the good, the bad, and the ugly). From the Jesus Juice to Neverland's Zoo to Michael's art collection to his Super Bowl performance and all of MJ's antics... I have to say I am a fan. He entertained me.

Musically, there is no denying he was a great. He was a creative visionary in more than one media. I hope you enjoyed my comic strip of Curls tagging the wall in memory of MJ. May he rest in peace. I will always believe in magic with you, Michael.

Here are some other times MJ has appeared in my work:


I recently rediscovered an image I drew of Michael Jackson for Project Resolution in 2005. The prompt was 'Jack-O Lantern' and it's awesome. You can go back in time and see the flyers I illustrated to advertise the shows by going to the Project Res website and clicking on past shows. I did most of them between the years 2003 and 2005.


Michael Jackson has appeared in Curls before. This illustration of him holding Blanket on the balcony was published on Thursday, November 21, 2002 in VCU's student newspaper, The Commonwealth Times.

My Muse Is

In April of 2003, I was a student in Virginia Commonwealth University's Department of Communication Arts and Design. We were given a poster for a department wide project called "My Muse Is" in which we could do whatever we wanted. The poster had blue grid and the title at top in a digital looking typeface. At the bottom, there was a questionnaire with some questions about the future and if you liked grids or not or if you thought MTV graphics were cool or not or if you drank coffee or something like that.


I selected to turn the poster over and work on the plain white back. I painted a picture of Curls with Bugs Bunny and wrote some of the questions given in paragraph form at the bottom. I remember one of my teachers saying that if he stood back and watched the entire gallery, my poster stood out the most... especially because of the hot pink border! Haha! Looking back, I can see how far I've come and how far I have to go. It is good to have this piece as a reminder of my original intent as an artist and a reminder of my love for Bugs Bunny. What's up doc?

Here is what I wrote: My name is Carolyn Belefski. I am graduating in May 2004 with a degree in Communication Arts & Design. I don't want or plan to be a millionaire, but if it happens, I bet I'll be the same person (but with better clothes). I believe a designer can change the world. Grids are useful, but very constraining. For inspiration I go on a walk and go out to see things and watch people. Sometimes I find inspiration from movies and characters. I really love to design characters. The girl posing with Bugs Bunny in this poster is a character I created. Her name is Curls Girl and she is a character in my comic strip, Curls. My Muse is Chuck Jones, who designed many of the Warner Brothers cartoon characters. His work is amazing. I looked back and realized how I got into art and drawing when I was smaller and thought of how much Chuck Jones and cartoons in general influenced me. Chuck Jones was really the first artist name I can remember hearing about and his work "drew" me into the art world. I'm lucky it did because I am happy to be where I am in life right now and it can only get better!

And here is a video I just rediscovered and posted to my YouTube channel of the reception at VCU's Anderson Gallery:

The General Design Company - AIGA DC Continuum Fund Button Campaign

Last month James Hobbs and I helped organize the second set of buttons for AIGA DC's Continuum Fund Button Campaign to help DC metro area students pursue a graphic design degree. The buttons premiered last month at Sea Change: AIGA Leadership Retreat 2009 in Portland, Oregon. All proceeds go to AIGA DC’s Continuum Fund Scholarship, which allows young people from minority and economically disadvantaged backgrounds not only to realize their artistic dreams, but also to give back to their communities.

Soung Wiser of The General Design Company helped coordinate this set of three buttons. The congratulatory, buddy nature of the fist bump, the high five and the thumbs up drove the idea for the thank you buttons. The hand gestures bring a feeling of connection, community and a "Hey, isn't it awesome to be part of this? Slap me some skin!"

The button sets will be available at future AIGA DC events for the suggested minimum donation of $5. Thanks goes out to Tamera Lawrence who designed the label and Joe Carabeo of Astray Productions for photographing the buttons.

If you would like more information about AIGA DC's Continuum Fund Scholarship or have questions about donating to AIGA DC's Continuum Fund, please email continuum@aigadc.org or visit www.aigadc.org/continuum.

More photos can be found on the AIGA DC Flickr page.

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Carolyn Belefski
Continuum Chair, AIGA DC

"Has Boobs, Reads Comics" Submission

Jill Pantozzi from "Has Boobs, Reads Comics" is holding a contest for a sign she can display on her trip to Comic-Con International: San Diego. I discovered her on Twitter last month and have since been reading her amazing blog. She is very active in the comic community and writes for Girls Entertainment Network.

For my submission, I wanted to focus on her with the title of her blog. In the background I included all female characters. I thought about using males also, but then decided to focus on the boobs because of Jill's funny title. On the left are Wonder Woman, Zatanna, and Poison Ivy. On the right are my original characters from The Legettes: Elle, Layla, and Gwen. The Legettes will premiere at SPX in September.

The Legettes is a burlesque group in the dark and dangerous future where analog and digital are at constant war and everything we were ever afraid of has happened. While not on stage, The Legettes work as super secret spies who dream of changing the world.