Ou Ba Po: Experiments in Comics 1M24
Age Group:
Adults
In this one day workshop we will be exploring the outer limits of comics. In the early 1990s a group of French cartoonists formed the OuBaPo collective, “Ouvrir de bande dessinee potentielle” or, “the open potential for comic book art”. This group looked to expand their creativity by making comics with unusual constraints. Asking themselves questions like: Can one write a comic that reads left to right AND right to left? What kind of story unfolds if you hand off your comic to someone else every three panels? What sorts of stories can be told by different cartoonists if the last panel is always the same? In this day long session we will be examining comics at the fridges of the form and following in the OuBaPo tradition. Come and experiment with comics, play games, and expand your creativity!
This workshop is not for people brand new to comics, some experience in the form is necessary.
Jerel Dye
Jerel Dye has illustrated two graphic novels; Pigs Might Fly in 2017, and Einstein in 2022, listed as one of the top 10 graphic novels of the year by ALA Booklist. He has been creating art and comics since 2005, producing dozens of self-published mini comics and creating comics stories for anthologies such as Inbound, Minimum Paige, Hellbound, and the award winning Little Nemo/Winsor McCay tribute Dream Another Dream. In 2012, he received the MICE comics grant for his mini-comic From the Clouds.
Much of his art stems from a deep interest in science and technology, though it frequently contains a healthy dose of wonder. Jerel Dye received his BFA from UMass Dartmouth in Painting, and his MFA at MassArt in the Studio for Interrelated Media. Jerel has been teaching courses in comics, drawing, and cartooning for over 12 years.
Website:
Specialty:
Drawing, Comics, Cartoon, Graphic Narrative
Materials to bring to class:
Students should bring pencils, pens, or any other cartooning tools they prefer.
$10 material fee covers all printouts and templates provided in class.