Category Archives: Events

Suit Up at Altered Esthetics Tonight! (Wednesday, June 20th)

Did you know they have live drawing sessions every month at Altered Esthetics (third Wednesdays)? Well, they do. In costumes! Another of the many reasons to love AE. Info below.

Time to suit up! Join us every third Wednesday of the month for an evening of figure drawing …in costume! Volunteer models will suit up in a costume that best fits the theme of the month. This months suit up is titled “Cleanin’ out the Closets”. Our models this month will be suiting up in some of their old threads that most likely should have been donated to goodwill long ago. If you want, you can model too, the help would be greatly appreciated! No previous experience is needed, just a laid back attitude.

We will draw a variety of poses, for what is sure to be a pleasurable evening of figure drawing with a twist. Bring your sketchbook & drawing implement of choice. Suggested Donation 3$.

If you’re interested in modeling for this event or any another Suit Up event in the future please contact Cassie at workshops(at)alteredesthetics.org

Thanks and hope to see you there!

Lutefisk Sushi E call for minis!

Lutefisk Sushi E is coming this fall! Want to participate? Yes! I know you do. All Minnesota artists are invited to submit work. Here are the guidelines. All you have to do is follow them, and turn in your mini-comics by September 15, 2012. If you aren’t already familiar with Lutefisk Sushi, visit cartoonistconspiracy.com/sushi/history to see its previous incarnations.

How to participate

1. Make a mini-comic. (See specs below)

2. Make 160 consistent copies of your mini-comic.

3. You will need to fill out a submission form AND a contract. First, go to http://www.alteredesthetics.com/events/116, click the “Open Call for Artwork” link on the right hand side of the page, and fill out the form. You will need to submit a jpeg of your comic–this can be a photo of your comic, or a scan of the cover. Next, download the exhibition contract (http://www.alteredesthetics.org/LSE-exhibition-contract.pdf), read it, and fill it out. If you have any trouble with the form or contract, please email exhibitions@alteredesthetics.org

4. Deliver or mail your contract and mini-comics to: Altered Esthetics, 1224 Quincy St NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413 no later than Saturday, September 15, 2012.

5. If you want to show off your original art in the Lutefisk Sushi E exhibition at Altered Esthetics, drop it off by Saturday, October 27, 2012. Artwork must be wired and ready to hang! No glass, please. Be sure to label your artwork with the title, your name, and price.

6. Bring all your friends to the opening reception on Friday, November 2, and the artists’ discussion on Saturday, November 17.

Mini-comic specs:

Your mini-comic must be 5.5 x 8.5″ or smaller, in order to fit in the box, and must tell some kind of sequential story. We encourage creative and unusual formats as long as they fit in the box, but we ask that all submissions be at least a couple pages in length. (ie, don’t be lame–our readers will be paying money for reading material, so don’t give them postcards or advertisements.)
Not sure how to put a mini-comic together? Check out this handy guide by the Cartoonist Conspiracy:
http://cartoonistconspiracy.com/images/lil_library/minicomics_comic.pdf

Participants will receive one free Lutefisk Sushi E box per submission. We welcome collaboration! However, since supplies are limited, participants working with a friend or a team to produce a mini-comic will receive one box to share. If each participant wants a box, they will be available for purchase during the exhibition.

If you have questions about participation, please contact Lupi – lmcginty@alteredesthetics.org

Minneapolis Jam and Double Barrel Party at Big Time Attic Tonight! (Thursday, June 7th)

Party at Big Time Attic tonight to celebrate the release of their fantastic Double Barrel anthology, currently taking the world by storm! Click the image below for more info.

Also:

This month’s Nordeast Comics Summit topic: The History of Comics with Jon Sloan

TIME: 6 – 6:30 pm (right before the Cartoonist Conspiracy Jam)

LOCATION: 1618 Central Ave NE, Ste. 216, Nordeast MPLS

MORE INFO HERE.

And, of course:

Please join us to draw some jam comics, socialize and drink caffeinated beverages. Afterwards, we often have uncaffeinated beverages somewhere else.

The Minneapolis Cartoonist Conspiracy meets at 6:30 until 10:00 the first Thursday of every month at Diamond’s Coffee Shoppe in Northeast.

The meetings are open to anyone who wants to draw with us, and the results are posted here sooner or later (and sometimes even printed). Diamond’s Coffee Shoppe 1618 Central Avenue Northeast Minneapolis, Minnesota

Bus info here.

Please spend some money at Diamond’s while you’re there, even if it is just a cuppa coffee… they are excellent hosts, and we wanna stay welcome there.

Mini-Comics Day 2012 in Minneapolis

Mini-Comics Day in Minneapolis was a whole lot of fun… of the numerous cartoonists who showed up, at least 15 comics were completed (pictured below… apologies if I didn’t get a photo of yours for some reason). Afterwards we went to Grumpy’s to drink, eat tater tots, and give out the 2012 Stapler Award for the Best Minnesota Mini-Comics Day Mini-Comic. Eric Lorberer (Editor of Rain Taxi Review of Books), Courtney Algeo (Editorial Director of Paper Darts and Marketing Coordinator at The Loft Literary Center) and Miles Johnson (of the Read My List blog and Altered Esthetics gallery) deliberated for quite a while to determine which mini was the best one by their subjective standards… and a winner was picked! The award went to Athena Currier for her very deserving entry “My Little Sister Phoebe Just Graduated from College,” which made me laugh out loud when I read it… I wish I had remembered to take a picture of her with the award. Additionally, last year’s winner of the Stapler, Dan Murphy, was given an honorable mention for his entry “The Spider Lady,” which was good, because if he had won we would have had to change the name of the award to the Dan Murphy award.

Here are some (bad) pictures from the event, and pictures of the completed minis.

The Stapler-Award-winning comic by Athena Currier

The runner up, by Dan Murphy

Dan’s comic with the cover opened:

A.Z. McGinty‘s untitled comic:

“The Bridge” by Carlos Merino:

“Darkly Swoops” by Chris Beck (unforutnately mangled by my bag):

“Danno and the Giant Apple” by Danno Klonowski

“The Fledgling” by Erika Finne

“Hazards” by Joe Combs

Untitled mini by Lars Kommienezuspadt

“Finger Football” by Matt Reints

“Stinky & Inky” by Michelle Silva

“The First-Ever Mini-Comic About Making a Mini-Comic” by Mike Toft

“Abra-Ka Deborah” by Thomas Boguszewski

“Shift” by Vivian Meger and her Dad

“Plotz #2” by Stwalley

#minicomicsday2012 is Today! (May 26th)


Pictured above: The 2012 Stapler Award for the Best Minnesota Mini-Comics Day Mini-Comic

You’re encouraged to use the hash tag #minicomicsday2012 for whatever you may want to use a hashtag for.

Cartoonists around the world will be drawing and printing a mini-comic in a day. Any cartoonist anywhere can participate.

There are event sites this year in:
Sacramento, CA
San Francisco, CA
Baltimore, MD
Minneapolis, MN
Keene, NH
Albuquerque, NM
Norfolk, VA
and McCleary, WA
(and we had a site in Newcastle Upon Tyne in the UK participate last month)

If you live near one of those locations, go here for the details of your local event.

Mini-Comics Day Minneapolis 2012 (This Saturday, May 26th) Info… You Could Win the Stapler Award! Judges Announced.


Pictured above: 2011 Stapler Award Winner Dan Murphy holds his prize.

The self-descriptive “2012 Stapler Award for the Best Minnesota Mini-Comics Day Mini-Comic” will be given out around 8PM or so in the side room at Grumpy’s downtown after the event at Book Arts. You will need to submit three copies of your completed-that-day comic to enter.

This year’s judges for the “2012 Stapler Award for the Best Minnesota Mini-Comics Day Mini-Comic”

Eric Lorberer, Editor of Rain Taxi Review of Books
Courtney Algeo, Editorial Director of Paper Darts and Marketing Coordinator at The Loft Literary Center
Miles Johnson of the Read My List blog and Altered Esthetics gallery (hosts for the upcoming Lutefisk Sushi Volume E project)

UPDATE: Besides the award, there will be cool prizes for the winner… a $25 gift certificate to Big Brain Comics courtesy of Big Brain Comics, and a free pass to the Northeast Ride ($25 value), courtesy of the Northeast CDC.

Here is the previously posted event info:

Mini-Comics Day is this Saturday! On Mini-Comics Day, participating cartoonists draw and print a mini-comic in a day. Any cartoonist in the world can participate in the event… if you would like to host an event in your community, contact us and we’ll get you set up.

Here is the information for those of you participating in the Twin Cities:

The Minnesota Center For Book Arts
1011 Washington Ave S
Minneapolis, MN
May 26th, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
A copier will be available on site. Copies will cost $.02 each, but Big Brain Comics and Big Time Attic will generously be helping defray some of the expense.
Table space will be provided on a first come, first served basis.
Bring your own drawing materials.
Afterwards, we will move a block over to Grumpy’s to give out “The Stapler Award for the Best Minnesota Mini-Comics Day Mini-Comic 2012.” To enter we will need three copies of your mini-comic before 7:30PM.
Grumpy’s
1111 Washington Ave S
Minneapolis, MN
Contact: Steven Stwalley
webmaster(at)cartoonistconspiracy.com

This may be a good opportunity for you to get a mini-comic ready for the upcoming Lutefisk Sushi Volume E project happening at Altered Esthetics in November.

Help promote the event! Here are assets for the Minneapolis event by 2011 Stapler Award Winner Dan Murphy.

Here is a poster you can print and hang.

Here are flyers to leave around town.

Here are graphics for your website, social-networking site, etc.:

If you use facebook, you may want to sign up here.

Mini-Comics Day 2012 is this Saturday! (May 26th)

Mini-Comics Day is this Saturday! On Mini-Comics Day, participating cartoonists draw and print a mini-comic in a day. Any cartoonist in the world can participate in the event… if you would like to host an event in your community, contact us and we’ll get you set up.

Here is the information for those of you participating in the Twin Cities:

The Minnesota Center For Book Arts
1011 Washington Ave S
Minneapolis, MN
May 26th, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Copier will be available on site.
Table space will be provided on a first come, first served basis.
Afterwards, we will move a block over to Grumpy’s to give out “The Stapler Award for the Best Minnesota Mini-Comics Day Mini-Comic 2012.” To enter we will need three copies of your mini-comic before 7:30PM.
Grumpy’s
1111 Washington Ave S
Minneapolis, MN
Contact: Steven Stwalley
webmaster(at)cartoonistconspiracy.com

This may be a good opportunity for you to get a mini-comic ready for the upcoming Lutefisk Sushi Volume E project happening at Altered Esthetics in November.

Help promote the event! Here are assets for the Minneapolis event by 2011 Stapler Award Winner Dan Murphy.

Here is a poster you can print and hang.

Here are flyers to leave around town.

Here are graphics for your website, social-networking site, etc.:

If you use facebook, you may want to sign up here.