I had a blast working with my students this semester at Brookline Arts Center in my Comics class. This was the first time I’ve taught the Comics class at the BAC, and the class is quite popular and well renowned in the community.
As always, I had a variety of personalities – some self directed, some distracted, some in need of lots of guidance. I always stressed that making comics is a process, it takes a lot of time to develop a full story – the text, the environment, the characters. Creating the world is harder sometimes than the dialogue you have to write. I never wanted my kids to feel like because they had a different style, or different working speed, they weren’t doing the right thing. As a storyteller myself, I am faced with the same daily challenges with my stories. They might not be comic books, but they still are stories.
Regardless, I believe that in the end – I did get through to each one of my students. They raved about the class to their parents at home. During our reveal at the end of our last class, they were proud of all their work – and we could see how they developed as artists in just a few short weeks.
Below is a selection of their work. It was funny, explorative, and inspirational!
Nicole Gsell 