Young Adult

Magic of Comics and Cartooning Workshop

Sep 1, 2016

$101-250

Byline

Beth Lowe, Program Coordinator, Fowlerville (Mich.) District Library

This was a workshop that was taught by a local artist who specializes in graffiti, comics, cartooning and anime, among other art forms. We hosted this workshop as part of our teen summer reading workshop. Our summer reading program theme was "Hocus Pocus: Discover the Magic at Your Library!" We wanted one area that we focused on to be art, so a Magic of Comics and Cartooning workshop was a good fit.

Advanced Planning

As the programming coordinator for our library, I am responsible for planning our programs and booking outside presenters. I started planning this event three months in advance. I met the artist at the time that I was planning summer events.

I contacted the artist and negotiated a date and cost. An unexpected challenge was unplanned press coverage for this event. Personally, I find it distracting to have a professional photographer taking pictures during an event, but the positive press coverage is always welcome!

Marketing

We marketed the event in our seasonal newsletter, in the local newspaper, and as part of our teen summer reading program.

Budgeting

The artist charged $100 to present the program. We also purchased pencils, felt tip pens and new dry erase markers for the program, which cost less than $20 total. We supplied blank paper and clipboards from our general supplies.

Day-of-event Activity

The day of the event we set up four eight-foot tables and placed six chairs around each table. We arranged the programming room so the tables and chairs ran lengthwise, toward the dry erase board, which allowed all participants to clearly see the artist’s demonstrations on the white board. We staffed the program heavily, with four staff members in the room.

The only challenge we had was that the artist got a little lost and was a few minutes late arriving; however, he made a point of staying past the contracted time to compensate for his late arrival.

Program Execution

The event lasted one hour. We had 22 teens attend, ranging from sixth to twelfth grades. For this age group a full program is 20 attendees, so this program was a huge hit with the teens. Not only did the artist demonstrate different anime drawing techniques, he also passed out handouts that the attendees were able to take home, and he gave positive feedback regarding each teen’s drawing.

Advice

I recommend going out to various community events and networking with people that you meet when you are out and about. I met this artist at a fundraiser for bringing art to Lansing area youth. I make a point to talk to vendors, business owners and other people who may have an art form to share at the library.