I'm having a great time with Evie in Haiti... although I confess to not feeling like I have complete control over her. She has a mind of her own. Did she really go to Haiti on a one-way ticket??
I decided to let her have her own FaceBook page, so if you want to follow her adventures more closely, go to
Every year Lee Salem of Universal Uclick sends out a deadline reminder, in the form of a "revised" Christmas carol, to all of us errant cartoonists who might hold up everyone's holiday plans with their inability to meet their deadlines in a timely fashion.
Like we're not frantically trying.
I love these parodies, though, and this year fired back my own. My editor thought you might enjoy it, so here it is.
Ho Ho Ho!
Mondays are my writing days. Writing is the underpinning of a comic strip... perhaps more important than the art, given the size our strips are printed now. Syndicate sales people will tell you that writing carries a strip that isn't well drawn... although I will always be partial to strips that manage both well.
I can't afford writer's block. Whether I feel like it or not, there are 7 strips due every week. The best way I know to get the writing juices flowing is to simply sit down and write. Just start. Every Monday.
After 16 years I have devoloped some rituals. This Monday, before heading to my favorite writing spot, I had to make a detour to the university bookstore. I was out of the spiral notebooks I like to write in. Ones that have the spiral at the top, so that my hand is never resting on it. Preferably without any significant logo, mascot, or advertising on the cover to distract me. With perforations at the tops of the pages so that I can tear them out without that messy sprial notebook feh falling about.
(Does this sound a little anal? Well, believe me, when you have to produce, you go with whatever works.)
Having secured two acceptable notebooks, I headed over to my favorite cafe. The requirements are this:
1) Not too quiet. Background noise helps me concentrate. If it's too quiet my mind wanders away from the task at hand. College crowds are good ones— they text rather than talk on their phones, they have laptops and ear buds. They sit for hours with just coffee...and I go unnoticed.
2) Needs to be a place where I put in my order at a counter and pick it up when ready. No wait staff asking me every 10 minutes if I need something else.
3) Must have a small table in a corner that I can occupy for hours and not feel like I'm putting someone out.
4) Must serve breakfast all day.
I don't like to eat first thing in the morning, just a cup of tea or coffee. But by the time I've dealt with necessary emails, last minute requests, pet demands, etc. it might be 10:30 or 11 before I head out to write. I'm going to want breakfast when I get there.
So here it is, my ideal writing scenario. Sausage egg scramble, Assam Tea, fruit and toast. Small table in the sun. Writing pad with spiral at top. College students tapping away, listening to tunes, oblivious of me. (Although I think one of them wondered why I was photographing my food.)
With luck this will result in a minimum of 7 (if I'm lucky 18 or 20) little scripts that will become a Stone Soup storyline. If I'm not lucky... well at least I had breakfast.
PS. If your interest is writing, you might enjoy my pal Val's blog— http://gobsmackedwriter.blogspot.com
There is an annual event coming up in my hometown of Eugene... the Author Artist fair. It's an all-day event that features dozens of local artists and authors selling their creative endeavors... and a big chunk of the proceeds benefit Library Summer Reading programs. I do it every year, so if you are nearby, I hope you'll stop in.
I will be signing my two newest books (2011), and will have a selection of the older collections as well. Plus, I'm hoping to have 25 Women Build/Haiti shirts to sell, all proceeds going to the Santos Women's Solidarity Association (the group the Women Build team met with in Haiti).
I know many of you are not local, but if you are, it would be great to see you.
Author/Artist Fair • Saturday, December 10 • 10-6pm
Lane County Fairgrounds, Eugene, OR
• • •
Finally, if you can't be there but would like to get Stone Soup books, you can order them through this website.
Habitat for Humanity International has made a 5-year commitment to Haiti at this point. They have secured a large piece of property that will eventually have 500 homes on it, with house and plot being owned by the family that moves in. Right now the property has lighting, for security, and vented latrines. You will also see chain link fence and barbed wire in some photos. This is necessary because Haitians are desperate, and theft is understandably a problem. To protect building materials and tools, etc., some security has been necessary. HFHI also has staff in Haiti, working with local groups to build a successful community at Santo.
An Irish group named Haven completed the first 50 homes, including paint, and you'll see those in these pictures. We finished our 100 houses to near completion, and a group follows us this week to wrap up construction, paint, etc. Though these little houses are very modest in size, they are amazingly cool and solid and a huge step up from current conditions, which included living under tarps, in tents, and in make-shift shacks made from materials salvaged from crumbled buildings. It's very HOT under tarps and in tents, I can tell you, so these little coolers will be a welcome change from this:
What follows is a visual tour of the Habitat build in Leogane. Hopefully the community of Santo will grow and prosper with our help.
Our homeowner, in the orange top, Charles Judy (pronounced Char-lay Ju-dee— Charles is the family name, Judy is the first name). She spoke little English, but fortunately understand my simple French. She taught me the creole words for screw, nail, hammer, and hot. My French phrases for "please", "thank you", "that's good!", "I understand", "come with me", and "I'm sorry" went a long way to bond us :-) We became the mistresses of the Hurricane Clips, nasty little brackets with too-small nails that had to be attached throughout the roof trusses to make the roof more wind resistant. Many smashed fingers!
Part of Habitat's community building is working with SOFAS, which translates roughly to Santos Women's Coalition, formed for the protection of women in children in what is basically a refugee community. The new neighbors will be forming community for the first time, they were not necessarily friends and family before the neighborhood of Santos was being built. The hurricane and earthquake scattered and separated people, and many lost most of their family members.
Habitat's Women Build director Lisa Nickerson (left in blue shirt), Women Build blogger Tracie Troha, and I met with SOFAS to express support and ask for proposals of projects that Women Build could fund, in order to support the efforts of these women. They are teaching children, supporting each others' entrepreneurial efforts, cheering each other on. I was truly impressed, and gratified that Habitat had a concrete way of helping them. Much as we all enjoyed meeting, they need concrete help.
Notice that in every pic we are SWEATING? It was that hot. The Haitians seemed more comfortable.
OK, now as promised, Garth and Trisha. Indeed, much to our delight, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood were with us, working on the same house as the Carters. They also treated us to an impromptu concert on Wednesday. Garth playing "I've Got Friends in Low Places" on an acoustic guitar, and asking "Miss Yearwood, who wears the pants in the family because she's the one with more Grammys" if she would join him on stage to sing "She's In Love With the Boy". "You think we can get Miss Yearwood to sing one more?" as the crowd roars. The crowd being clearly Country fans knew all the words to all the songs and sang along, much to Garth's delight. We could not photograph this performance, so you have to take my word for it... it was heaven.
Even a Georgia boy sweats in Haiti...
Here's our crew. Daryl, Garth, Vajra (team leader), Jo, Cathie, Brenda, Tracie, with me, Trish, cousin of our homeowner Claude (who was mystified by all the hooplah) and Lisa. This group included an MIT grad, a director of a large corporate foundation, former Peace Corps and Americorps volunteers, skilled and unskilled people alike. I'm guessing the average age was close to 50. The world is full of need, but rather than being overwhelmed by it, they each just pitch in where they can.
The result? Happy Homeowners...
Who may someday have a safe, prosperous and beautiful homeland again.
I have great respect for the Carters and Habitat for Humanity International. I'm not pitching for them, although if you want to help Haiti and don't know how, the Carter Foundation and Habitat Haiti is a good bet. Whatever charitable cause you choose, just do something for someone. It will help, believe me.
Finally, my Stone Soup connection to all this. My Stone Soup characters "work" to help promote Habitat programs. I did the t-shirt for the Haiti Women's Build. Here is our former first lady wearing it:
That's the new President of Haiti on the left, with Haitian and US secret service behind. He seems promising... let's hope he can begin to do the work that needs to be done. Haiti deserves it!
I just returned from a week in Leogane, Haiti. The epicenter of the earthquake that leveled what was left of Haiti after the giant hurricane.
I was there with 450 other volunteers for Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project 2011. JRCWP is an annual Habitat for Humanity International event that rotates from site to site, domestically and overseas. Two years ago I went with volunteers to Thailand.
Both trips I was invited by Women Build, part of Habitat for Humanity International, a division that was founded to encourage women to get more involved in building. Women Build teams are meant to foster a welcome environment for women of all skill levels and physical ability. They also often include men, since the goal is not to exclude anyone, but include everyone. Our team included two great guys who were invaluable. For instance, Carl, who often positioned himself in places I probably wouldn't go.
Since the week was filled with a huge number of experiences, impressions, and wonderful people, this blog will mostly be pictures. Beginning with our gathering place, Atlanta, where 450 volunteers met and received equipment and instructions.
A sea of hard hats and tool bags...
Jimmy and Rosalynn gave us an overview of Habitat's efforts in Haiti (a five year commitment at this point) and cheered us on. Despite Jimmy having two new knees (August), being 87 and Rosalynn 84, they came with us to build.
Delta Airlines provided our two charter flights.
And the pilot made sure he could see clearly as he flew us there. I didn't know they did this!
We flew 2.5 hours to Port Au Prince. Have you ever heard of "Planet Airways"? Perhaps defunct.
Then we loaded buses, and headed off to Leogane. About 25 miles, but 2 hour's drive because of poor roads and traffic. I'll just put photos here so that you can see Haiti as I saw it from the bus.
The tarps and tents are temporary, but now permanent, homes. The truck is a typical affordable taxi.
Can you balance a cooler on your head?
Amazingly, out of the rubble, there are signs of commerce here and there...
And even more amazingly, little girls get their hair done, and school kids appear every day in clean, pressed uniforms. They arrive on motorcycles, ferried by guys who pay off their bikes from the small fares they get every day.
finally...
We arrived to a gated community of tents, generators, outdoor cold showers, and Irish food. The Irish group Haven, who built houses before we got there, stayed on to cater the food for our week. Fortunately for all of us, they were also allowed to open a PUB. Since we couldn't go anywhere at night, we LOVED our pub.
My tent, which I shared with 13 other women...
The dining hall was air-conditioned with WIFI. I saw someone sleeping there one night.
Ummm... yum? That's mashers in the middle... and we often had jello with something for dessert... Jello with ice cream, jello with custard... but we were grateful for anything the Irish could manage for us. AND, afterwards—there's BEER!
It really did feel like we were in an episode of M*A*S*H. Including the helicopters, which brought the Carters into camp after visits to the Dominican Republic.
OK, enough for one post. Next...
THE SANTOS COMMUNITY HABITAT BUILD...complete with Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. I'm not kidding.
It's been a big month of travel for me, with a few days here and there to keep up with my deadlines. I've always wanted opportunities to travel... anywhere, anytime. Be careful what you wish for. I'm learning to write Stone Soup on airplanes, and refine drawings in hotel rooms.
But all this is great fodder for the strip, and buoyancy for my creative spirit. So let's start with DC. I attended an International Women's Forum conference. Accomplished women from all over the world. Elsie, a Bio-tech Engineer from Ghana. Irene, who just got approval for a Women and Gender Studies program in Nigeria. Kathy Sullivan, the first American woman to walk in space and current assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction and deputy administrator NOAA. Oh, and she's been to the deep ocean, too, in Alvin.
Phew. Hi, I'm Jan. I draw cartoons.
But then there was a bonus... two of my very fun cartoon gal pals were in attendance. Ann Telnaes, pulitzer-prize winning editorial cartoonist (washingtonpost.com), and Barbara Dale, of the famed Dale Cards formerly published by Recycled Greetings and now by Sellers (barbaradale.com). Like kids who've gone to the same summer camp (and gotten in the same trouble) we had a blast.
First, we posed in front of the White House. Me, Barbara, Ann at right.
Then, well... when you let cartoonists loose without chaperons...
And finally, the inevitable "get the creative juices flowing" session...
OK, enough frivolity. (Well, there's never really enough frivolity, is there?)
BUT NEXT
I take the trip that helps me give back, in appreciation for all I have in life.
On to Leogane, Haiti.
Tomorrow I will be traveling from Atlanta to Port au Prince with 450 volunteers from Habitat for Humanity International. We will be participating in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project 2011, building 100 houses just outside the epicenter of the earthquake. The 7.0 earthquake left 1.5 million people in need of shelter. 100 families is just a start... Habitat has made a commitment to serve 50,000 families over the next 5 years in Haiti.
YouTube video / Habitat in Haiti
I'll be part of a Women Build team. We'll be sleeping in 6 person tents, in a modest encampment that will have limited internet access. My plan is to tweet from camp, sharing each day's experiences. You can see those tweets at the right on this blog page, or—
follow me on twitter: @stonesoupcomics
Wish me luck, no blisters, and warm connections with the wonderful Haitian families I'll meet. And stay tooned!
I'm always a bit nervous when I'm sent work by an aspiring cartoonist.
I mean...who am I to judge?
Sometimes the art is lovely, so well-executed, clearly an artist at work. But the gags... lag. Will the art carry the lukewarm jokes? Or the opposite, more common— simple, almost crude artwork with funny bits. Lettering that runs on a slant and looks like a 4 year old did it. Made me laugh, but oh so hard to look at. Will the humor carry the cringe-worthy art?
Two things have helped me put this all in perspective recently. First, I came across this cartoon by Judy Horacek, an Australian cartoonist—
We all start somewhere, at our own beginning. This was brought home to me VERY clearly by the second thing... one of my early pieces being included in a Library of Congress exhibition of new acquisitions, "Timely and Timeless".
The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs division has about 30 Stone Soup comic strips in its collection, something that I'm extremely honored by. But my vanity suffered for a minute when I saw the strip they chose for this show:
This strip appeared on January 12, 1996, just a couple of months after Stone Soup debuted in 25 papers. Val and the rest of the crew have evolved a lot since then... going from weekly production to daily production of a comic strip improves the look of the work very quickly. I've spent the last 16 years studying cartoons and cartoonists I admire, always hoping to improve the quality of what I produce.
BUT... looking back at the early work, despite the awkward drawings, I love the ideas I pursued, and my willingness to be bold since I had little to lose when I only had one, rather liberal, newspaper. This strip was written when I was still doing just one strip a week (Universal used the best from that period, plus new work, to put together the first 6 weeks of strips for my launch). Once syndicated, it's possible to feel intimidated by public opinion, be terrified of losing a paper, and these fears might lead a cartoonist to be overly cautious in what they produce— and that would be unfortunate. Unlike Web cartoonists, who have a lot of editorial freedom, and no real editors, we newspaper cartoonists reside in, and sometimes bristle against, a rather conservative landscape.
I mean, you still can't use the now ubiquitous word "sucks", as in "this sucks". Which it does.
Next week I'll be visiting DC, and will tour the Library of Congress and the exhibition with Martha Kennedy, who first approached me a few years ago with a request to collect my work. (Thanks to the amazing Ann Telnaes, a true cartoon goddess, for mentioning me to Martha). It will be amazing to see this cartoon up on the wall. Warts and all.
So, cartoonist hopefuls out there... embrace your beginnings. March past the doubters, if you love cartooning (and only if you really really really love cartooning) and keep the faith. And try printing better, OK?
PS. New Stone Soup books published this year— available at online booksellers, or from this site. Happy Reading!
One of the privileges in life is being able to help people who have less than you do. We all have our favorite charities and causes, and these efforts over time help make our world a better place.
One charity that I have a special affinity for is Habitat for Humanity. My Stone Soup character Gramma has been involved in Habitat builds in Uganda and Thailand, and Holly and Alix got some early lessons in generousity through a Habitat build in California with their great aunt Marge. These storylines reflect experiences I've had in real life... like Gramma, I worked on a build in Thailand, part of a Women Build team with the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project 2009.
October 4 is World Habitat Day, and Habitat For Humanity International is celebrating their 500,000 house. House number 500,001 will break ground on October 4 in Patterson, NJ.
You can view a short video about this accomplishment by following the link below. Near the 2 minute mark you'll see me at the build in Thailand, talking with the CEO of Habitat, Johathan Reckford, from atop the Women Build house I worked on in Chiang Mai.
Celebrating 500,000 Houses and Beyond
In November, I'll be travelling with Habitat again. I'll be part of a Women Build team joining 450 volunteers in Leogane, Haiti, to help build 100 houses there. I'm hoping to chronicle this next experience once again through Gramma in Stone Soup. So stay tuned. WIFI permitting, I'll also be sending tweets from Leogane.
Meanwhile, I'm honored to be able to use my talents to support these efforts. If you are able, I hope you will celebrate our wonderful life on earth this month in your own way, with whatever cause you admire.
