FOR THE PAST few weeks I have been teaching a "comics arts" after-school class at Michaela's school. We call it "Captain Claire's Comics Club." (I know, I know. The name was a group effort.) Most of the time it is goofy and fun, but sometimes things get a little out of hand. Some kids want to get right to work, while others are more boisterous. I was struggling to find a balance until I asked them to come up with a Code of Conduct. They suggested the terms and I wrote them on the dry-erase board. I swear I never planned on being this alliterative but, ahem, here is "Captain Claire's Comics Club Code of Conduct:"
- No comics about other people here [i.e. in the class]
- Don’t throw other people’s comics away
- Do listen
- Be kind
- Don't talk while other people are drawing
I realized that this needs to be a regular thing at the start of every Comics Club, since it seems to ground us. I don't know if it will always work, probably not, but it's a nice reminder that in a cooperative it's really hard to get stuff done without ground rules. And respect for the rules, and for one another.
I'm having a slow work week so in lieu of a personal comic here is the next installment of Cat Person. You can read the first two installments here and here.
Three Things That Kept Me Going This Week
- We went to see Third Coast Percussion perform at DePaul after I heard them interviewed on local radio. We particularly enjoyed "Study No. 1," a new composition written for percussion by Jessie Montgomery, who is composer in residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The musicians used tom drums and blew into air hoses and it sounded like the wind.
- I'd never had any desire to see Mamma Mia but the three of us went on Sunday night and, guess what, I was a dancing queen. I had no idea that it was primarily a story about a mother-daughter relationship and I was not expecting to be as moved as I was, especially when Christine Sherrill who played Donna sang "Slipping Through My Fingers." The only link I could find for this song was to the movie version with Meryl Streep, and it's actually not bad.
- I have to thank Khemenec P. and Nicole D. for cluing me in to the Drake/Kendrick Lamar feud, especially this song. I'm glad I first learned about it through trusted friends who knew I would get a kick out of it before it blew up and is now, well, this.
That's all for this week. Hoping I'm more productive next week, and you are, too!
Claire