Lynda Barry Wuz Here
Good Golly! Lynda Barry came to CCS this week and gave an absolutely great 2-day workshop. Even Alumni were invited, because we would have totally freaked out if we weren’t. I mean, c’mon, it’s Lynda Barry. The ceiling already fell in, they didn’t need the alums breaking the doors down too!
The first day of the workshop was held in the American Legion, because it had space and an intact ceiling. Lynda is so full of energy, it’s unimaginable. Or it would be, if we didn’t all already know Steve Bissette. At the beginning of each day, and after every break, she had to go out of the room and re-enter it as the teacher to get herself into teaching mode.
Any way you look at it, the workshop was amazing. We did a ton of writing, but it wasn’t about the writing as much as creating images in our minds. Lynda talked a lot about the power of images, and what images can do to adults and kids alike. She came chock full of stories about this, from the intense concentration of kids at play to studies where stroke victims could regain limb function by picturing the limb working, forcing the brain to rewire pathways between hemispheres.
She talked a lot about the “play” habits of children, and related the value of play to the value of artistic expression in adults. When we grow up, people seem to think singing, acting, drawing, dancing, etc., should be left to only the professionals or the drunk. But what if you told a child he or she wasn’t allowed to play for the first 18 years of their life? They’d be craaaaaaazzzzzzyyyy. So why aren’t adults allowed to play? Mental health and happiness can flow through these channels, so don’t restrict yourself!
Lynda giving a demo with her Chinese brush set. She has a great set-up with stone, ink sticks, and brushes, and she let us all take a turn making the ink and using the brushes. Definitely a great investment. One ink stick can last years and year and years, so when you think what you spend on jars of Higgins, Lynda’s tools start to make a lot of sense, even if they’re not considered traditional cartoonist paraphernalia.
Lynda at the second day of the workshop, giving us such sage advice as “don’t take mesculin and then go to a renaissance fair,” and letting us know how much her conservative Wisconson women neighbors like a good dirty joke. She forgot to take a “before” picture at the start of the first day, so at the end she had us create a fake before picture by all scowling and flipping her off. Then she immediately took the after picture, with us all smiling and happy and full of new knowledge.
Lynda was an absolute delight to have at the school. The workshop was incredible, and she even hung out with all of us at the Main Street Museum after the last day of her teaching. She’s irresitable! Even Chris Oliveros made it to White River and sat in on the second day of the workshop. If Lynda ever comes through your town, go see her!!! Thanks, Lynda! We hope you had fun too!