The Cartoon Art Museum hosts MariNaomi, author and illustrator of Estrus Comics, on Saturday, March 21st followed by Jimmy Gownley, author and illustrator of the popular comic Amelia Rules! on Sunday, March 22nd as part of its ongoing Cartoonist-in-Residence program. Museum visitors will be offered the chance to talk to the artists about their comics and watch them at work.

March 1, 2009 at 12:30 am
March Cartoonist-in-Residence Weekend:
***
MariNaomi, author and illustrator of Estrus Comics
Saturday, March 21st, 1 pm to 3 pm
***
Jimmy Gownley, creator of Amelia Rules!
Sunday, March 22nd, 1pm to 3 pm

About MariNaomi:

Currently residing in San Francisco, MariNaomi was born in Texas and raised in Northern California. Her comics were first published in Action Girl Comics in 1998. That same year, MariNaomi published her comic art in the form of a zine called Estrus Comics. Now a series, Estrus Comics is an autobiographical collection of stories chronicling, among many other subjects, relationships, sex and coming of age. MariNaomi’s comics have also appeared in many national and local publications including The Comics Journal’s Women in Comics issue, and the Storytime Anthology.

MariNaomi has also found success as a longtime painter. Her works have been featured in group and solo exhibitions throughout the Bay Area and beyond, including multiple live paintings/exhibits at the de Young Museum and an exhibit entitled TV of Tomorrow at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Her work has also appeared in galleries such as SomArts, 111 Minna Gallery, and at events like Ladyfest Bay Area as well as WonderCon. MariNaomi’s prints along with her Estrus Comics and some original works are currently available at Artist Xchange as well as the Femina Potens Gallery in San Francisco.

For more information about MariNaomi’s works and upcoming events, please visit http://www.marinaomi.com

About Jimmy Gownley:

Jimmy Gownley was born and raised in Girardville, Pennsylvania where he began creating and distributing his own comics in high school. Gownley now resides in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with his wife and twin daughters.

Gownley’s first success in the comic world came at the age of 15 when he wrote and published about 100 copies his comic book, Shades of Gray. He soon produced twelve more additions of the comic as well as a graphic novel and the distribution turned nationwide with over a thousand copies circulated.

In 2001, Gownley became recognized as a force in the comic industry when he created Amelia Rules!, a comic aimed at and about children. As an advocate for children’s’ comics, Gownley co-founded Kids Love Comics, an organization that promotes literacy and education through comics and graphic novels. Joined by other comic creators, publishers, and educators, Gownley travels to schools, libraries, and events to promote the distribution of high-quality kids’ comics. Gownley has received seven nominations for the Eisner Awards, a prize given for achievement in American comics. In 2008 alone, he was nominated for four of the awards, tying him for the most nominations of an individual that year. In addition, Gownley recently won the Pennsylvania Library Associations One Book Award.

To learn more about Jimmy Gownley and Amelia Rules!, please visit www.ameliarules.com . If you are interested in Gownley’s organization Kids Love Comics, more information is available at www.kidslovecomics.com .

This event is free and open to the public.

The Cartoon Art Museum hosts professional cartoonists in its galleries as part of its Cartoonist-in-Residence program. Museum patrons see cartoonists and work on their latest projects and learn everything they ever wanted to know about cartoonists – but were afraid to ask. Past featured Cartoonists-in-Residence include Paul Madonna (All Over Coffee), Keith Knight (K Chronicles, [th]ink), Paige Braddock (Jane’s World), Michael Jantze (The Norm), and Grady Klein (The Last Colony) among many others.