Hourly Comic Day

It's time once again for Hourly Comic Day! On February 1, cartoonists around the world will draw a journal comic for each hour they are awake. Here's the skinny from Hourly Comic inventor John Campbell:

"THE GUIDELINES:

-for every hour that you are awake on february first (that's february first for whatever time zone you happen to be in), you make a comic describing something about the past hour. maybe you ate some cereal? maybe you used the restroom?

-say you wake up at 7am. make a comic some time before it becomes 8am! then after 8am, make a comic before it becomes 9am! it is pretty simple.

-when you are done, scan the comics in and post them on the message board (this year's will be HERE, and previous years went HERE and HERE.) , so we can all look at each other's days. i think that will be neat!"

Hilary Price Book Event; Website Reconstruction

Western Massachusetts cartoonist Hilary Price will present her new book Pithy Seedy Juicy Pulpy at Broadside Books in Northampton, MA at 7pm on Tuesday, January 22. The book compiles many of her syndicated Rhymes With Orange strips, along with a mighty multitude of extras.

The Trees & Hills Comics Distro is under reconstruction; unrelated troubles caused some delays, but I'm hoping to have it finished and up to date soon (maybe within a week or so). When that's done, I'll begin work on the main site. Marek Bennett has been bubbling and frothing (so to speak) with blogging ideas, so the new, not-yet-entirely-settled-upon look will be more of a change than originally planned. If you have any suggestions, send them to treesandhills at gmail dot org.

Megan Baehr also recently redesigned her website, hopping on the WordPress bandwagon. Where will this madness end?!

Sketches From The Stars & Skulls Craft Fair

The Stars & Skulls Crafty Craft Fair (in Holyoke, MA Dec. 2) was fun, and I sold a decent amount of comics. Nice people fed me weird chocolates, and other nice people fed me soup. I saw three mohawks, two of which appear below (the little kid wandered off too quickly). Here are some sketches from that day, for those of you who weren't there:

New Stars Release Party Sketches

I don't have a camera, but I've finally starting sketching from life somewhat regularly, so here are some drawings from the New Stars release party at Comic Boom. We have: pastries Dan Barlow brought (sent by Phayvanh Luekhamhan), Marek Bennett making music, the Sputnik pinata, and Comic Boom owner Corey Milotte doing important work.

"New Stars" Launch Party Photos

Presenting some unofficial PHOTOS from the event!

Here, Colin & Megan deal with a big crowd around the display table...

And here, the chief architects of the Trees and Hills Sputnik Project reveal their handiwork to the press. The elegant basketball-sized device boasts a gleaming aluminum coating, and a core of unknown composition, possibly enriched candy.

Thanks to Keene's own COMIC BOOM for hosting the event!

Next Appearance: Stars & Skulls Craft Fair 12/1

Moving on from the release party (though photos & sketches should appear at some point), Trees & Hills will have a table at the Stars & Skulls Crafty Craft Fair Saturday, December 1 from 10am-5pm at the American Legion Hall, 162 Russell St., Hadley, MA. Anne Thalheimer and (I think) E.J. Barnes will also have tables.

T&H Sputnik Moves to Launch Pad

Technicians used a complex system of home-made cat toys to hoist this ponderous device into position for Saturday's launch.

Trees and Hills Build Satellite

Here are some photos of confirmed Trees and Hills operative Dr. Colin Tedford, hard at work in an undisclosed laboratory location.

Authorities believe Dr. Tedford is constructing some sort of satellite for next weekend's New Stars Release Party!

An anonymous source within the Trees and Hills command hierarchy insists that Dr. Tedford's aims are "totally, totally peaceful... Well, okay, maybe he's gonna fill the satellite with treats and have someone whack it with a stick, but otherwise, TOTALLY peaceful." The same source later confided that Dr. Tedford had contracted with several agencies to purchase Papier Mache technology, and that Trees and Hills agents had collected scrap newspapers from local grocery stores.

How much more evidence do we need?

NEW STARS Release Party!

Come on out and celebrate our newest anthology at Keene, NH's newest comic shop this coming Saturday!

Also remember to check out our calendar for all the other cool doings, like the monthly Pioneer Valley Comic & Cartoon Schmooze coming up November 13.

In other news: I redesigned my website! Trees & Hills is next.

LitGraphic Exhibit in Stockbridge, MA

Hey, everybody! While you're cruising all the big art exhibit openings in Massachusetts on Saturday, November 10th, you can cruise on over the the Norman Rockwell Museum!

Illustration Show

CCS Portfolio Day

THE CENTER FOR CARTOON STUDIES PORTFOLIO DAY Saturday, November 17, 10am-1pm

Show your portfolio for an admissions review, Learn more about the program and courses, Meet faculty and students, and Tour the campus!

Who should attend? Prospective students, Applicants, High School seniors and graduates, College students.

Location: The Center for Cartoon Studies, 94 South Main St., White River Junction, VT (directions) Questions? (802) 295-3319.

R.S.V.P. Space is limited! Contact Robyn Chapman: chapman at cartoonstudies dot org.

24 Hour Comics Day & Other News

24 Hour Comics Day is coming up this Saturday October 20. If you would like to attempt the venerable challenge of creating 24 pages of comics in 24 hours, then here are the official event hosts (those that have registered at 24hourcomics.com) in our region:
-Artists' Mediums, 300 Cornerstone Dr. Williston, VT 05495 (802) 879-1236
-Center For Cartoon Studies, 94 S Main St. White River Jct, VT 05001 (802) 295-3319
-Modern Myths, 34 Bridge St. Northampton, MA 01060 (413) 582-6973

Time is running short to sign up for E.J. Barnes's non-credit workshop in Editorial Cartooning at Greenfield Community College! It runs We. 10/24 - We. 11/14, 6:30--8:30pm. It's for those who have some cartooning basics and will concentrate on aspects specific to editorial & political cartooning. The cost is $69 and will meet at GCC's Downtown Center in Greenfield, MA. The class code is CSW-183-2. Registrants under 17 require approval of the Dean of the Community Education Program. Registration info is here.

Vermont cartoonist Edward Koren, whose work has appeared in The New Yorker for 45 years, will be presented the Vermont Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts at a public ceremony to be held Oct. 26 at the Statehouse. Congratulations to him! You can read the full article at the Burlington Free Press.

We finally have a devoted Trees & Hills email address: treesandhills at gmail dot com. Also, I've managed to get our online calendar to display in a more sensible fashion, so email us if you'd like to be able to post events on it (also email us if you'd like to be able to post items to this blog).

Another party + more MoCCA fallout

Howard Cruse is launching a new free publication on August 1 - click the image for details on that day's launch party, sure to be remembered as a historic event! Read more about the origin of the Perp at Howard's blog.

While you're reading cartoonists's blogs, check out Marek Bennett's ongoing series chronicling his whirlwind summer teaching comics to kids over at his blog. Then head over to comics podcast Indie Spinner Rack to hear Marek interviewed during their MoCCA coverage. He's about an hour in, a ways after noted Vermont cartoonist Alison Bechdel (herself a prolific blogger, as you know if you've been watching our blogroll down to the right).

It's A Busy June!

Our next cartooning party will not be on the 3rd Saturday of June, but rather the 2nd - June 9 from 1-5pm at the Center For Cartoon Studies, 94 S. Main St., White River Junction VT. Bring drawing supplies & snacks & prepare for good times! The Senior Thesis Exhibition will still be up, so it'll be a good chance to check the quality work of CCS's first graduating class. For more info or to RSVP, contact Robyn Chapman (chapman at cartoonstudies dot org).

The next monthly Pioneer Valley Comic & Cartoon Schmooze will be June 12 7pm at the Northampton Brewery in downtown Northampton, MA. Schmmoze, eat, drink & maybe draw w/the cool cartoonists & friends of the region! For more info or to RSVP, email E.J. Barnes (art at ejbarnes dot com).

That same night, Alison Bechdel will read from the new paperback version of her graphic memoir Fun Home at the Stowe Free Library in Stowe, VT. Then on June 21 she'll appear at 7pm at Everyone's Books, 25 Eliot St., Brattleboro VT. Don't miss it!

Trees & Hills will have a table at the MoCCA Art Festival indie comics convention June 23-4 11-6pm at the Puck Building, 293 Lafayette at Houston, New York City. The table will staffed by Daniel Barlow, Marek Bennett, and Colin Tedford, with appearances by various other T&H folk, and we'll have a new mini-anthology for sale! E.J. Barnes will also have a table, as likely will other folks from the region.

Drawing Party @ CCS 4/7

This coming Saturday, April 7 we will be having a drawing party at the Center For Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, VT from 1-5pm. There will be drawing, socializing, and snacking, as well as talk about projects and some T&H planning. It promises to be a swell time. The address is 94 South Main St; here's a link for directions. Please RSVP to Robyn Chapman (chapman at cartoonstudies dot org) if you plan to attend.

Extended Deadline / Boston Zine Fair

The deadline for the Keene Free Comics TV Turnoff Week Special has been extended to the end of this month - email your submission to colintedford at gmail dot com (previously-drawn items are fine, as long as they fit in).

Also, don't forget to come see us and other fine cartoonists and zinesters at the Boston Zine Fair this weekend (March 24-5)!

TREES & HILLS SPRING TOUR

In addition to the above events, 3/19 is the deadline for the Keene Free Comics TV Turnoff Week Edition, and 3/20 is the Pioneer Valley Comic & Cartoon Schmooze - click over to our fancy new Calendar for details on all these things.

In other news, I'd like to remind people we do have a forum - I wandered by it yesterday to find a February post from a Missouri resident who's assembling a 50-State Jam! Check it out if you'd like to participate (I call NH, though!)

Also, Part Two of the awesome HOURLY COMICS DAY CROSSOVER is up on the Comics page.

Comics & Events 3/2

A month later, the first installment of the Trees & Hills Hourly Comics Day 2007 Crossover Event is up on the Comics page - more to follow! The strips's author, Tim Hulsizer, has just concluded his Charity Auction, raising enough money to purchase a water buffalo for the needy!

The Western MA Comics Creator's group meets at Modern Myths in Northampton, MA Tuesday 3/6 at 6:30pm - email Scott Sheaffer (kmacalp at aol dot com) for info.

The Fine Toon art show at the Helen Day Art Center in Stowe, VT runs through 3/31 and features art by Alison Bechdel, Stephen Bissette, Harry Bliss, Jeff Danziger, Gareth Hinds, James Kochalka, Edward Koren, Hal Mayforth, Frank Miller, Skip Morrow, Tim Newcomb, Rick Veitch, James Sturm, and more! The next T&H party might be cancelled due to St. Patrick's Day - how about a trip to Stowe instead?

CCS Portfolio Day

The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS)
CCS PORTFOLIO DAY
SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2007
10am-1pm

(click 'Full Article' below)

Bring your sketchbook!
Show your portfolio for an admissions review
Learn more about the program and courses
Meet faculty and students
Tour the campus

Who should attend?
Prospective students
Applicants
High School seniors and graduates
College students

Location:
The Center for Cartoon Studies
94 South Main Street
White River Junction, Vermont
Directions available online: http://www.cartoonstudies.org/wrj.html
Questions? (802) 295-3319
R.S.V.P. Space is limited!
Robyn Chapman
chapman@cartoonstudies.org.

About The Center for Cartoon Studies
The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) offers a one and two-year course of
study designed for a small group of dedicated students with a passion and
appreciation for graphic novels, storytelling, writing, comics, and design.
Experienced and internationally recognized cartoonists, writers, and
designers will teach classes. For more information on CCS programs, visit:
http://www.cartoonstudies.org/programs.html

Monthly Drawing Party & More

The monthly Trees & Hills drawing party (always the 3rd Sat. of each month except under extenuating circumstances) will be happening this Saturday 2/17 at Tim Hulsizer's house in Keene, NH; email Tim (escapevelocity at gmail dot com) for directions and other info.

Anne Thalheimer has a guest column up at Fleen - check it out! She uses fellow Pioneer Valley cartoonist Bryant Paul Johnson's work to discuss reading comics in different formats.

The Granite State Comicon will happen in Concord, NH on March 18; tables are $25, and some T&H folk have applied.

The Boston Zine Fair will happen March 24-25 in (of course) Boston, MA - which is outside our "territory", but T&H folk are applying for tables (a mere $15!).

I have all the Hourly Comics by T&H folk that I'm aware of (by me, Tim Hulsizer, and Anne Thalheimer), so once I've scanned Anne's I'll add those to our comics section. If you've done one I don't know about, let me know! I also still have a batch of artists to add to the links page.

Cartoons For Cats

Saturday, February 10 (12-3pm) Marek Bennett will be drawing cartoons for the Monadnock Humane Society's cat adoption promo event. Come on by for discounted kitty adoptions (with free cat toys!)...