Please feed the artists
If you’re reading this, you probably value comics and the arts in general. You may even be an artist. Which means you probably know just how little support the artists are given, both financially and emotionally, in spite of the value our art adds to our individual lives and culture in general.
Where would we be without the comic creations at the top?
SAW, The Sequential Artists Workshop, is here to at least fix part of this picture for a few (mostly) self-selecting students. We’re here to mentor them, as cartoonists, as artists, as thinkers.
I didn’t know how to fix this problem for the country or the arts in general. But I felt like maybe I could help a few cartoonists.
When I started SAW, I hoped to nurture a community of cartoonists. I hoped to give my students peers. I hoped to be a mentor and to connect them with other mentors, until they became my peers, and my students became mentors to future students.
It’s been five years now, and nearly 300 students have come through SAW.
Here’s the story of one of Maxine, whom your donations have helped.
“I still feel like I’m digesting all that I learned at SAW. One of the best things about SAW is working next to your teachers. Being up late, working next to Wolfgang, or seeing Tom thumbnail a comic, or talking to Leela about her research for her book. I learned so much just from watching them go through their process.
“It’s hard to put a value on being part of a community of cartoonists and artists. Gainesville in general has a great, supportive arts community, but it’s hard to beat the camaraderie that you feel when you’re working next to your classmate, or when you read a draft, or when you see their work published. I didn’t think I’d stick around Gainesville when I came to SAW, but by January, I knew I wanted to stay.”
Maxine also told her SAW story more in depth on our blog.
Please, feed the artists.
Donate today so that we can share more stories like Maxine’s.
From me to you,
Tom Hart
