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!
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