Hi friends, I am very excited to announce that I’ll be speaking at Creative Mornings this Friday (October 6th) at 8:30am at the Armory Theater here in Portland.
Creative Mornings is a free monthly lecture series where speakers appear on stages all over the world to deliver thoughts on a communal theme—all before 10am on a Friday. This month’s prompt is PIONEER, and I’ve crafted a talk all about belonging, childhood passions, and curiosity that I am super stoked to reveal.
I’m also hand-drawing all my slides, which has led to working on things like this all week:
WHAT IS THIS PERSON DOING WITH THAT FIRE EXTINGUISHER AND ALSO THAT BABY? Come to The Armory on Friday to find out.
Seats are free, and the CM Team provide donuts and coffee to get you pepped up in the early hours. All you need to do is reserve a spot through this website. I look forward to seeing you there!
This is it, friends! My last convention of 2017! If you’re in the D.C. area, come on out to Bethesda, MD for the Small Press Expo this Saturday and Sunday. SPX boasts an amazing roster of indie comics folks, and I’m so excited to be returning this year. I’ll be camped out at Table K9-A alongside the team from Cartozia Tales. You can check out the full exhibitor list and floor map here.
I’m also appearing on a panel on Sunday at 12:30pm:
Balancing World-Building and Character In Kids’ Comics
Laura Terry, Ben Sears, Janet Lee & Lucy Bellwood all create elaborate worlds for their colorful characters to dwell in. They will discuss how to balance the immersive quality of world-building with the development of character and story, particularly as it pertains to comics for kids.
Sunday, 12:30pm, White Flint Room
So what am I gonna have on hand? WELL.
I just picked up these extra shiny ✨new sketchbooks✨ from my time in Iceland. If you want 24 pages of watercolor studies, life drawing, and landscapes from two weeks in a totally unreal and gorgeous country, this is the book for you. (It’s also available as a PDF if you swing that way.)
I’ll also have a limited selection of miniprints from the 100 Demon Dialogues series, and the plush prototype for folks to get a handle on.
If you missed your chance to order a book or a plush toy through the Kickstarter campaign, there’s now a pre-order store where you can do all of that! No deadlines needed. Just for kicks, here’s a look at the letterpress print design I’m working on for the campaign:
In addition to these new treats, I’ll have gold foil box sets of my first 100 Day Project, A Life in Objects, which sold out in record time at last year’s SPX. (Don’t worry, I’m bringing a lot more this year!)
I’ll also have assorted travelogue minicomics and softcover copies of Baggywrinkles, if you somehow don’t own a copy yet. PHEW. Lots of goodies. Oh! AND. I’m also giving away copies of Mappin’ the Floor, the comic that came out of my three-week stint in the Pacific aboard R/V Falkor. Learn some stuff about oceanography in 12 bright and charming pages—fo’ FREE.
Okay, I think that’s legitimately it from me. SEE YOU AT THE SHOW!
Let’s take a brief trip back in time to January, 2016.
When Jessica Abel started posting the podcast adaptation of her storytelling handbook Out on the Wire, I was totally hooked. The series pulled from her own robust career and from interviews she’d done with luminary radio hosts and journalists, but took a wider stance on applying their lessons to an essential question:
What makes stories work?
I appreciated her candor at not knowing the first thing about making a podcast, and simply figuring it out as she went. I enjoyed the camaraderie of listening to ideas and practice exercises from other listeners. Most of all, I loved the way it helped me think about my storytelling work from a nonjudgemental, process-oriented standpoint. It was a community—not just a product.
So I tweeted about the show and how I much I was enjoying it, which I think is why she ended up watching this talk I’d given at The Animation Workshop in Denmark and following me on Twitter. It was one of those “WHOAAA A REAL CARTOONIST IS LOOKING AT ME WHAT DO I DOOO” moments, which I can tell you from experience everyone has. Jessica co-authored Drawing Words and Writing Pictures, which was a really formative book for me back when I was getting into drawing comics and couldn’t find a program that had the rigor I really wanted from a formal perspective.
Fast forward to this summer, when she wrote and told me she’d been teaching workshops about a creature called The Should Monster that was super similar to my inner demon. Jessica’s students had pinned their inner critics to the page, just as I had, in order to defuse their power.
Should Monsters from Jessica’s students
Then she asked if I would be interested in collaborating on a live, online event—part interview, part Q&A—where we could discuss work-life balance, creative practice, and social media.
WELL, DUH.
I was beside myself with excitement—especially because our dates aligned with the launch of my new Kickstarter, which explicitly deals with overwork and self doubt and a million other things.
And then she wrote this essay about it and I had to come to grips with the idea that somewhere along the way, I had become a working cartoonist. And what’s more, I was good at it. I had learned some things that other people might find useful, and someone I really admired wanted to get that knowledge out to a wider group of people.
It’s not going to silence the little voice that claims I’m a phoney forever, but it’ll definitely do for today.
So here’s our upcoming event!
What:
Demons and Monsters with Lucy Bellwood and Jessica Abel
Join us on Crowdcast to talk about
building an audience for your work,
using Patreon, Kickstarter, and self-publishing to pay (some of) the bills,
and fighting off the Should Monsters and Self-Doubt Demons that want to stop us from making it.
Ask your questions and get some answers!
There will be a replay for those who can’t make it, but you only gain access by registering, so be sure to sign up either way.
WHEN:
July 25 (next Tuesday) at 12:00 noon Pacific, 3 pm Eastern, 9 pm European.
WHERE:
At this link: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/demons-lubellwoo !
This event will be online in real time. You can join us from anywhere via Crowdcast, the online platform we’ll be using to stream. (There’s even an app if you’ll be out on the beach and still want to tune in.)
So reserve your spot here, and we’ll see you soon!
It’s time, once again, for everyone’s favorite West Coast Canadian Comic Arts Festival: VanCAF!
Yes indeed, I’ll be appearing at the Roundhouse Community Center in Vancouver, B.C. this weekend from 10am to 5pm (both days). You can find the Bellwood Comics Empire at Table I2 in the Gymnasium. I’ll have a bunch of Baggywrinkles books, Life in Objects boxes, minicomics, and SUPER SECRET copies of Mappin‘ the Floor in advance of its official release in June! If you say the secret password, you can have one for free.
Photo Credit to Dan Turner from Free Comic Book Day in Berkeley—thanks, Dan!
If you’re attending with a young person who wants to learn more about making comics, they can come to a special comics-making class with myself and Mariana Yatsuda Ikuta on Sunday at 2:30 in the Arts and Crafts Room. There are free workshops for kids happening all weekend, so check out the schedule here and go draw with your favorite cartoonists.
I’ll also be moderating a panel called “Hash Out Your Cash!” with Steve Lieber, Hope Nicholson, Jeph Jacques, and James F. Wright (WHAT A LINEUP) on Sunday at 10:30am in the Performance Center. We’re gonna talk all about money which a topic I’m getting more and more jazzed about discussing with cartoonists, so I hope to see you there! (And be sure to check out the whole panel lineup on the VanCAF site.)
Okay, phew, that’s all for this weekend! I’ll see you across the border.
Just a quick note to say that I’ll be stopping off in Berkeley, California this weekend for a Free Comic Book Day celebration on Saturday, May 6th at Tr!ckster, an amazing independent comic shop and art gallery. Here’s the details:
For the Free portion of Free Comic Book Day, I’ll be giving away BRAND NEW minicomic copies of Mappin’ the Floor, my oceanographic travelogue from a Pacific Ocean crossing with R/V Falkor and the Schmidt Ocean Institute! Supplies are limited, so these puppies will be first come, first serve.
I’ll also have copies of Baggywrinkles, A Life in Objects, and various adventurous travelogues for sale, plus my trusty squeaky shark for your squeaking pleasure. I hope to see you there! It should be a rollicking good time.
Big news this week: I’m heading to New York for my first-ever appearance at the MoCCA Arts Festival this Saturday and Sunday.
You can find me in the Second Floor Lounge with the gang from Patreon, hawking copies of Baggywrinkles, gold-foil box sets from my 2016 100-Day Project, minicomic travelogues, and assorted treats. I’ll look something like this:
If you’re planning on stopping by, do come say hello. I’d love to see you.
The time has come for me to fly away for my FINAL convention of 2016!
This has been a very, very busy year indeed, but I’m planning to go out with a bang at the wonderful Thought Bubble Festival November 5th and 6th in Leeds. If you’re a UK reader, now’s your chance to get Baggywrinkles, A Life in Objects, Bombshells, Irene #6, and all my minicomics without having to pay those pesky international shipping fees!
I’ll be away in the UK for two weeks total, mostly seeing family and friends since I don’t get to come out very often, but I might see about staging another sketch crawl while I’m in London. Drop me a line on Twitter if you’re interested.
Here’s a map of the Royal Armouries Hall (one of the show’s three exhibition spaces), where I’ll be exhibiting at Table 67. There’s also a load of other wonderful creators in the same hall. I’ve taken the liberty of pointing out some of my favorites on the map below.
I’ll also be on a Sunday panel with the great Dan Berry (whose podcast I had a really amazing time guesting on here) talking about MONEY IN COMICS. I’ve got a lot to say about this one.
If you’re coming out, be sure to let me know! I had a great time at Thought Bubble two years ago, and I really can’t wait to see everyone again. Tickets for the convention are available right here.
As for all you American pals, I’ll see you at the end of November!
Hold onto your halyards, Portland—we’re throwing a Baggywrinkles party this week! I’ve been counting down, and the day is growing closer…
Following last year’s fabulous Kickstarter campaign, Baggywrinkles: a Lubber’s Guide to Life at Seais about to hit comic shops and bookstores around the world, so let’s celebrate the official release with a bit of rumbustification at Floating World Comics on September 1st from 6-10pm. Here are the details:
We will have: DRINKS (BOOZY AND NOT-SO-BOOZY)! SNACKS! SPARKLY NAUTICAL TEMPORARY TATTOOS! COPIES OF THE BOOK! PEOPLE IN COSTUME! ORIGINAL ART! SCURVY!
Want to RSVP through Facebook? You can do that here!
If you got a copy of the book through Kickstarter and would like me to sign it, bring it along! I would love to give you a hug or a high five to say thanks for making this possible. If you can’t make the party, but would still like to get your hands on a copy of the book, you can order the softcover from me here.
Once again, the details:
WHO: Lucy Bellwood
WHAT: Baggywrinkles release party and art exhibit
WHEN: Thursday, September 1, 6-10pm
WHERE: Floating World Comics, 400 NW Couch St. Portland, Oregon
This year has been pretty bonkers, travel-wise, but I wanted to let you know that I’ll be at the First Thursday Art Walk in the Pearl district tomorrow (August 4th) from 5pm – 10pm slinging comics, art, and other treats. I’ll be hanging out with my pals James and Emily in Space 209 on NW 13th, between NW Irving and Johnson:
Here’s a silly image you can share on social media if that’s your speed:
What ho, friends! I come bearing exciting news today: the Baggywrinkles East Coast Tour Extravaganza is officially launching this week and I’ve got ALL THE TOUR DATES lined up and ready to share. Here’s the plan:
(Huge thanks to my pal Heather Cummings for helping with design and layout for all my tour graphics!)
As you can probably see above, I’ll be hitting tour stops in Portland, Mystic, Boston, DC, New York, and Ann Arbor over the next couple weeks. Some conventions, some book stores, some comic shops, and some MARITIME MUSEUMS (oh yes). It’s going to be a wild and crazy adventure and I really can’t wait to get out to see some maritime history and meet all you East Coast pals who I never get to hang out with!
USS Constitution Museum in Boston, MA. I’ll be doing a reading in the Discovery Center at 1:30, then signing in the gift store from 2:30 till 4:30. More details here, Facebook event here.
I’ll be bringing copies of Baggywrinkles: a Lubber’s Guide to Life at Sea to all these locations (not to mention postcards and other treats), and would love to sell you a copy/talk about boats/draw in whatever you have handy.
Not in the area? Still keen to pick up a copy of the book? Here’s a handy graphic you can convey to your local comic shop or book store to pre-order a copy.
I’ll be posting tour stop updates to Twitter all throughout the trip, so keep an eye out there if you’d like to help spread the word about upcoming events!
