Talking with Tim

So I decided to see if I could find a good site to locate art in public places–or more exactly in my home state of Georgia.

As part of my search, I stumbled across this state government orchestrated Georgia’s State Art Collection. Apparently at some point, the state of Georgia had a Georgia Art Bus Program. Well that program ended in 1991 and now totaling around 600 works (”sculpture, photography, printmaking, painting, ceramics, jewelry, fiber and silver work”), the art (from folks like “Benny Andrews, Lamar Dodd, Cheryl Goldsleger, Roccio Rodriguez and Joseph Perrin”) is definitely worth checking out.

Wow, I never get tired of find ways that my tax dollars are spent.

The overall buzz on Fred Chao’s Johnny Hiro (Half Asian, All Hero) [AdHouse] frequently boils down to words like “genuine” or “fun” or both. What else can you expect from a series that involves giant monsters, stolen lobsters and David Byrne? Well that’s just some of the things encountered in the first three issues. So naturally I was eager to interview him about his work, as well as an upcoming exhibition of paintings he has this Saturday, April 5 at Charmingwall Gallery.

Tim O’Shea: In terms of the backstory, I’m curious with Mayumi, why did you opt to create a character (in Johnny Hiro) who clearly is still learning the nuances of the English language but she makes a living as a copywriter (or is she a copywriter in her native language)?

Fred Chao: Perhaps it’s a weakness in my writing–I’m not sure yet–but the indulgence I let myself fall into most is humor. So a lot can be put aside for a good joke, as long as it doesn’t go against the characters. That said, I just thought it would be funny for Mayumi to be working on the editorial side at a major publishing house despite English being very obviously her second language.

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I can’t possibly link to all museums on the web. But fairly quickly, in searching the U.S. government’s official website, I found the following list of museums.

I include for your enjoyment, the following links, along with periodic commentary:

• American Art Museum

Now what’s cool to me about this museum’s website is its blog. In pretty short order, with two clicks, I was directed to this item that ultimately led me to this exhibit, A Thousand Kisses: Love Letters from the Archives of American Art

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Every once and awhile, I hear someone understandably questioning what we get for all the taxes that U.S. citizens pay (for those of you reading outside the United States, sorry for not writing to you). Any time I run across a government service, I always assume that my taxes have paid for a big chunk of whatever it is. And I’m happy to say, most of the time as delusional as I may be, that thought makes me feel just fine.

Look at the following picture:

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Last year when I decided to start this blog part of the thinking was to explore subjects far beyond my customary area of knowledge, but of interest to me. Volunteering at my son’s school allows me to interact with folks from a variety of professional and personal backgrounds. Bottom line, I get to befriend a lot of interesting and intellectually engaging people. One of those engaging folks is Michelle Bishop Turkington. Turkington is one of the forces behind Chic-Evolution in Art, a business that helps clients to find art that best suits their respective needs. I could try to go into more detail about it, but I think Turkington explains things far more effectively, of course.

Tim O’Shea: When and why did Chic-Evolution In Art begin?

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Andy Schmidt is a former Marvel Comics editor who I found consistently brought an engaging vibe to the books that bore his name. When I learned last year that he was going freelance (for a number of positive reasons, most importantly to care for his newborn child) , I was eager to see where his professional path went next. Soon enough, I found that path included tapping into his teaching and editorial skills in one spot, Comics Experience. As detailed at the website, Comics Experience is where “…you can learn to be be a comic book writer; be a comic book artist; self-publish your own comic book; [and/or] learn how to break into comics…”. The latest round of classes started last week (January 7). Schmidt and I discussed what’s coming up in the short-term as well as the long-term.

Tim O’Shea: At present, the main classes are Introduction to Comics Writing, Introduction to Comic Book Art, as well as advance versions of both classes. Based on response and interest, are there any other classes you might consider offering down the road?

Andy Schmidt: Oh, definitely, I’ve been talking about doing an inking class and a coloring class and even more recently a Manga class. The response to what I’m offering has been incredibly positive from students and creators alike. So, I’m hoping to grow this out a bit.

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