If it's the latest hottest weekend of the year, then it must see me spending three days in Scunthorpe. Thanks to the smashing 2021 Art Centre, I had an extended trip, which included staying in a hotel with a view of the Humber Bridge and lakes all round. V pleasant. One thing I was up against, for my class at Scunthorpe Library on Saturday afternoon, was the England v Sweden World Cup Quarter Final. Amazingly we attracted a class of 12 and did a fine class. On kid, oddly, was wearing a football shirt but wasn't bothered about the football. I shall be hoping this same syndrome extends to Welsh comedy fans when, this coming Wednesday, The Scottish Falsetto Socks attempt to do an Edinburgh Preview at the same time as the Semi Final.
The trip began with two Scunthorpe schools in a day. Well, to be accurate, it began with a 90 minute drive from a hotel on the M1 near Nottingham which came, in turn, after a drive from the Socks gig in Harrow which took three and a half hours (longer than it should). So these classes were managed on five hours sleep after five hours driving. Ironically they only added up to four hours of teaching.
Scunthrope's 2021 Visual Arts centre had organised the three day trip, and they got the final day's classes, on a hot and humid Sunday. Two more perfect classes, though I say so myself.
The timing of the two classes on the Friday meant that I had more time than usual on my hands to draw the flipchart. Sometimes I arrive in school just when we're about to start and getting nothing drawn. In this case, I arrived at a primary school at 8.30 in the morning and they didn't need me till 9.30, then in the afternoon at the secondary school I was there at midday and not needed till 1.30. So, a couple of nice looking flipcharts to leave them with.
At Scunthorpe Libray on the Saturday I gave them a tribute to Steve Ditko, whose death was only announced that morning. And on Sunday I took the opportunity to reference 2000AD comics - which hardly ever happens as no kid has ever heard of 2000AD and I haven't read it myself for ten years, sadly. It was too good an opportunity to miss to make the 2021 logo look like 2000AD's classic masthead.
It wasn't all Scunthorpe this week. There was also a one-off class at Coleford Library in The Forest Of Dean. Jolly good fun, and nice to work somewhere that doesn't take half a day to get to.
The celebs these seven groups chose to star in my demonstration strip were Kim Kardashian, Dwayne Johnson, Simon Cowell, David Walliams, Will Ferrell, Kim Jong Un, and, most original of the week, Sir Isaac Newton.
Kev F Sutherland, as well as writing and drawing for The Beano, Marvel, Doctor Who et al, runs Comic Art Masterclasses in schools, libraries and art centres - email for details, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter. View the promo video here.
No comments:
Post a Comment