4 consecutive Mondays starting July 26 * ONLINE at 5pm Eastern * REGISTER to receive link
Reading Yourself
It’s the hardest to see ourselves, isn’t it? Sometimes it’s hard to see the particular value and genius of our creative work, too. It can be challenging to examine our own creations after the blood, sweat, and tears we put in, but learning to look with new eyes upon the art we make can bring a sense of greater connection to our gifts, skills, and areas of curiosity. In this more analytical course, we’ll examine our comics together, to make it a little easier and to share our learning with each other. Be prepared to bring at least two completed comics to participate in this class.
Week one – Words (1 hour)
Materials: At least two comics you have made (they can be incomplete), whatever you like to draw and take notes with.
Letters are symbols you learn to draw over and over again, until they transform into language, into meaning. When we start to experience our own words as both meaning and drawing, we can learn so much about what we’re saying in our art – intentionally or mysteriously. You never know what you might be communicating!
Week two – Pictures (1 hour)
Materials: At least two comics you have made (they can be incomplete), whatever you like to draw and take notes with.
A single drawing can communicate a wealth of information and feeling; drawings in a sequence convey exponentially more. An entire story can emerge, with no words at all – so when does drawing become writing? How are pictures communicating a code, a language, and meaning? We’re going to scratch the surface to grow our awareness of the depths to be appreciated.
Week three – Layout (1 hour)
Materials: At least two comics you have made (they can be incomplete), whatever you like to draw and take notes with.
Comics have a particular meta nature to them: The story is contained within a form, the panels and layout of the space, and that layout is contained within whatever canvas you decide; screen, printed matter, something entirely new! In this way, layout informs the relationship of story to canvas, and guides the reader through pacing, atmosphere, intensity, feeling. What layout choices feel the best for you, and why? How can the shapes you choose create another layer of meaning altogether?
Week four – Medium (1 hour)
Materials: At least two comics you have made (they can be incomplete), whatever you like to draw and take notes with.
First of all, yes, comics are a medium, not a genre (don’t at me). We also use media to create comics – digital media, ink, pencil, paper, paint, photographs, and more. What do our media choices say to our readers, and to ourselves? It’s beautiful to choose intuitively, and it’s also beautiful to examine those choices and become more intimate with our tool kit. No wrong answers -- just lots of information, feeling, and thought!
If you have any questions or concerns about accessibility in these classes, please contact Georgia at info@georgiawebber.com.
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Drawing the Inside Out is a collection of online comics courses for adults and teens who want to create comics from their life experience. The first course is an introduction called Making Comics for Yourself, a primer on making comics for self-expression.
Note: The umbrella term “comics” is used throughout this description, and is the term for the entire medium of comics, so will be used as a singular noun. “Comic arts” is another term for the practice and product of creating comics, whatever the genre, style, or motive, and “comics artist” is my preferred term for my identity within this realm.
Testimonials from past participants
“We so enjoyed participating in Georgia Webber’s Drawing the Inside Out workshop. She was a fantastic facilitator and it felt easy to connect. Particularly during these trying times, this was one of our highlights of the week. Having participated allowed for both my partner and I to talk about what it stirred, how we felt, even after the class was over. This tapped into the core of some issues and shed light on our own perceptions and wellbeing. This is something I would highly recommend and we do believe this is an essential tool to help maintain good mental health.”
“Georgia Webber’s Drawing the Inside Out workshop was a wonderful opportunity for me to be introduced to comics as a way of understanding and expressing my own feelings.”
“Georgia brought a warm attitude, respect for each participant’s comfort level, mastery of her discipline and a great taste in music to bring out our creative energies!
“Georgia was genuinely interested in getting to know us as participants, gave us exciting drawing prompts, encouragement and kind and helpful feedback. This program was artistically and socially beneficial to me. I am continuing to draw comics as an outlet to process my experiences and believe I’ll continue to do so for a long time. I enjoy reflecting on what I learned from Georgia and my fellow participants, and the laughter and empathy that we shared.”
Biography
Georgia Webber is a comics artist, writer, and editor. She adores teaching and leads by exemplifying curiosity in the classroom. Her philosophy is that teaching is a relationship first, allowing the learning process to be fun and organic and suited to each learner’s specific access needs. Georgia is best known for her graphic memoir, Dumb: Living without a Voice (Fantagraphics 2018), the chronicle of her severe vocal injury and sustained vocal condition, which makes using her voice painful (though she manages it well these days). This experience led her to explore more deeply the intersections of creativity and health, through working as a Cranial Sacral Therapist, a meditation facilitator, and as an improvising musician, blending elements of healthcare, body awareness, and creative expression within constraints. Her exploration of health and creativity continue in a weekly online practice session called Drawing Health, which is free and open to all. Georgia’s comics have been published in major magazines and studied extensively by the Graphic Medicine community. Her most recent publication was a collaboration with dancer, athlete, and artist Vivian Chong to create Vivian's graphic memoir about losing her sight: Dancing After TEN (Fantagraphics 2020). Learn more about Georgia’s teaching and comics work at www.drawingtheinsideout.ca.
© Georgia Webber 2020
www.georgiawebber.com