Crazy Comic Club

website update

2011-02-01T11:27:00.000Z

Hi,

Our website (www.crazycomicclub.co.uk) will be temporarily unavailable while we update it. We hope to be back online by tues 1st Feb evening. If you need to contact James in the meantime please use info@crazycomicclub.co.uk.

Thanks
rich
www.dbildb.com

More Kind Words

2011-01-05T14:41:00.000Z

Happy New Year! I'll be updating this site over the next few weeks, in the meantime, here's what some kind folks have to say about my workshops:

"Crazy Comic Workshops provided a fantastic mix of fun and inspiration to everyone who attended the sessions held in library and youth centre venues throughout Stockton on Tees. James conveyed his immense enthusiasm for creating comics, backed up with a wealth of knowledge and drawing expertise that brought positive feedback from the participants in every session. James worked with young people from 8 to 18, and and whatever level of drawing ability each participant had, James was able to pinpoint aspects of their drawing technique to improve, giving relevant and helpful individual advice and encouragment. Every session focussed on a different aspect of comic drawing, and James provided a range of resources to help even the most reluctant artist ‘have a go’ and gain confidence throughout the session. This was particularly helpful when working with teenagers, some of whom lacked confidence in their abilities, but who nevertheless finished the workshop with several pieces of art in progress ... I highly recommend James Parsons’ Crazy Comic workshops and would love to see him delivering more sessions in Stockton on Tees!"
Helen Wilberforce - Children and Young Persons Librarian, Stockton Central Library
“The workshops are a great way of engaging with young people, particularly teenagers, who wouldn’t necessarily come into the library otherwise. They appeal to kids of all abilities and interests and James is brilliant at encouraging participants to be as creative as possible. The workshops help young people who already have confidence in drawing and story-writing to develop their ideas but also make it easy for kids who don’t see themselves as talented or creative to produce brilliant pieces of work. The impact this has on the confidence of the participants is clear, and young people have reported feeling more positive about themselves and their abilities after the workshops. “
Lucy Gill - West Sussex Libraries
"James has got the right balance between planning and spontaneity and makes creating a comic book story really accessible so that kids can get straight into turning their creative ideas into storyboards. He makes everyone feel comfortable about their drawing abilities and supports all kinds of story-making including the unconventional and really out there. He’s got an infectious enthusiasm and sense of fun and is also an asset in a collaborative team."
Clare Halstead - Creative Agent, Creative Partnerships Sussex and Surrey
"James’s illustration workshops were part of our ‘Bringing Words Alive’ Project for year 8 where we linked art with literacy in a creative and fun way whilst increasing understanding of poetry and art. He got the interest of the students by inspiring the students with his work and by teaching some drawing with ink techniques. The students were very pleased with their drawings and seemed to enjoy every minute of it." - Helen Gibb - KS3 Art Leader Thomas Deacon Academy
Crazy Comic Club has run workshops at the school over the last few summers which have been very popular. The young people (aged 10-16) really enjoyed the workshops, especially learning some of the techniques such as creating 3D pictures, and they were proud to take home what they had made during the day to show family and friends. Feedback was very positive and some of them look forward to coming back each year. Those running the workshops really knew their stuff and and worked well with the young people and created a fun, interesting workshop for a mixture of young people of differing abilities."
Katherine Gregory - Falmer High School

kind words...

2010-11-01T10:06:00.000Z

... from a recent attendee at a workshop!

http://majorc.co.uk/sonicimages/2010/10/25/multicultural-manga-workshop-at-central-library/

AUTUMN 2010

2010-10-05T13:37:00.000+01:00

Comics in Clay Half Term Workshop - Design and draw a secret blueprint for a brand new character under the expert guidance of bestselling cartoonist James Parsons. Then professional sculptor Sarah Vosmer will guide you through the cunning techniques needed to bring your character to 3D life in clay!
Venue - Westhill Hall, Monday 25th October, 1pm - 5pm, £20 per child (includes all materials and firing)
For more info and bookings: info@crazycomicclub.co.uk
Just a few Autumn Dates:
16th October: Comic Workshop, Black History Month, Sutton Library
2nd November: Crawley Primary
27th November: Manga Workshops, Kenilworth Library
28th November: The Alternative Press Fair

THE FUTURE

2010-07-21T16:30:00.000+01:00

CRAZY COMIC CLUB AUTUMN TERM 2010
1st Wednesday club of the Autumn term will be 15th September, first Monday club will be 13th September.

Please let me know whether your child(ren) will be attending. Pre-booking is essential! dates of the sessions will be available closer to the time here on the website. Payment for half-termly sessions is required in the first week of term.

28th July - Seaford Library comic workshop
4th August - Lewes Library
9th August - Bexhill Library
11-12th August - Library workshops in the North East
13-15th August - Summer Sundae
23rd August - Comics in Clay, Westhill Hall Brighton
25th August - Lewes Library
27th - 30th August - Small World

exhibition, dates, and news

2010-03-03T13:04:00.000Z

Hello! I've got some artwork on display at The Children's Book Festival exhibition at The Lewis Elton Gallery at The University Of Surrey. There's some illustrations and a few pages from my new comic. It runs until 22nd April...

Just a few upcoming dates:
March 4th - East Grinstead Library
March 7th - Walton Library
March 15th - Crawley Young Carers
March 19th - Claremont High School
April 7th - Falmer High School
May 15th - Sutton Library
June 18th - 20th - Big Session
July 3rd, 4th - Cornbury Festival

2010

2009-12-31T15:16:00.000Z

Happy New Year! After school clubs at Westhill Hall start on Wednesday 6th and Monday 11th January. Booking essential! info@crazycomicclub.co.uk or 07854 797 342. I'll be running clubs with Kids Company on Thursdays and Fridays and also at Cottesmore Primary School, by popular demand, on Tuesdays. Lots of dates for various literary / book festivals, libraries and more to be confirmed, watch this space!

no time to hibernate

2009-11-02T10:01:00.000Z

Some more Autumn dates:
6th November - Claremont High School
10th November - Hangleton Junior School
23rd - 24th November - Cottesmore St Mary's
27th November - Rose Green Junior School
1st December - Castlechurch Primary School
11th December - Thomas Deacon Academy

After school clubs in Brighton are ongoing (Monday and Wednesdays at Westhill Hall) and Thursday afternoons at Kenbury with the amazing Kids Company.

new work and workshops

2009-09-19T09:22:00.000+01:00

I've recently been putting the finishing touches to a comic workbook for young people created with art therapists at the brilliant and innovative Kids Company. Cartoon strips, puzzles, and visual challenges based around issues like aggression, dealing with criticism, bullying and more. Its been an exciting project to work on and has completed the arc of my own cartooning from political satire to something that can be useful for young individuals.

A couple more dates for autumn...
October 6th - Hull central Children's Library
October 7th - Headspace at Burgess Road Library Southampton

autumn 2009

2009-08-19T09:16:00.001+01:00

Crazy Comic Club after school clubs at Westhill Hall in Brighton will be recommencing on Monday 21st September and Wednesday 23rd September (a little late, but I need a holiday!). Please contact me to reserve a place for your child on this very popular course - info@crazycomicclub.co.uk Booking is essential!

a few dates confirmed so far for Autumn -
26th September - Hurstpierpoint Library
1st October - Healthy Schools Celebration at Hove Town Hall
10th October - Word Play Festival
24th October - Guildford Book Festival
27th October - Worthing Library manga workshop
28th October - Chichester Library
30th October - Burgess Hill Library

Manga Art Course

2009-04-15T12:18:00.000+01:00

4 week Manga Art Course beginning at Phoenix Arts in Brighton on 23rd April (also 30th April, 7th and 14th May), 6pm - 8pm. I'll be running these workshops for young people age 10 - 14 years wishing to develop their comic art skills! Everyones' work will be printed into a comic at the end of the course... Please contact Sara Samson at Phoenix - 07971 226103 for more information and to book - 20 pounds for 4 sessions.

Spring 2009

2009-03-26T10:12:00.000Z

Next term's Crazy Comic after school clubs at Westhill Hall in Brighton start on 22nd April and 27th April. Please email me to reserve a place. info@crazycomicclub.co.uk

Summer Crazy Comic Club dates:

- EcoBug designing workshops at schools in London with Kids Company.
- Manga course for teenagers at Phoenix Arts, Brighton, starting 23rd April.
- Easter and Summer holiday workshops at Falmer High School - dates tbc.
- Kidz Stuff Festival, 29th - 31st May
- Manga workshop, Adur Festival, June 6th
- Big Session, June 19th - 21st
- Riverside Festival, July 4th
- Big Chill, 7th - 9th August
- Summer Sundae, 14- 16th August

Many more to follow!

2009

2009-01-21T10:35:00.000Z

I'm back running after school clubs at Westhill Hall in Brighton. We're very busy, please email me if you'd like your child to join! info@crazycomicclcub.co.uk

I'll be running free comic art workshops at Crawley Library on 24th January, having set up some really buzzing activities for teenagers there during the grand opening at the end of last year. Come along!
10am - 12:30pm 7 - 10 yrs 1pm - 3:30pm 11 - 14 yrs

Much of my time over the next few months will be spent creating an interactive therapy comic work book with Kids Company, that we've been developing since last Summer.

Spending lots of time studying the psychology of how we read comics and how their unique visual language has evolved. I'll be applying these ideas to workshops I'm developing for young people later this year...

After School Clubs Autumn Term

2008-08-19T15:33:00.000+01:00

Monday's club, Westhill Hall Brighton 4pm - 5:30, starts Monday 15th September
36 pounds to half term (6 sessions)

Wednesday's club, Westhill Hall Brighton 4pm - 5:30 starts Wednesday 10th September
42 pounds to half term (7 sessions)

Advance booking essential as spaces are limited! email info@crazycomicclub.co.uk or call James on 07854 797 342 to reserve a place or for further information...

Latest News!!!

2008-07-22T21:40:00.000+01:00

I'm very lucky to be working with the brilliant Kids Company charity up in London on several projects in the near future - I'll be running comic art workshops in schools across the capital, as well as developing illustration / animation work for the revamp of their website, and working with arts psychotherapists to create a Getting To Know Yourself activity book. www.kidsco.org.uk

I'm also very excited about working with the children's charity NCH running workshops in August and September across the UK with their clients - young adults and children, on comic artwork for an amazing exhibition. www.nch.org.uk

More Summer Dates

2008-06-17T16:34:00.000+01:00

June 21st - Safety Poster workshops with Whitehawk After School Project.
July 10th - Coordinating one day workshops culminating in multimedia performance, Falmer High School - Reading Day Celebration.
July 25th - Holiday workshop, Falmer High School
July 30th - Comic Art workshop for teenagers, Lancing Library
August 1st - Holiday workshop, Falmer High
August 4th - Holiday workshop, Falmer High
August 12th - St Albans Library workshops
August 13th - a.m Worthing Library - Boys Into Books
p.m Shoreham Library - Boys Into Books
August 23rd - Beachdown Festival, Brighton
September 12th - 14th - End Of The Road Festival
September 27th - Lancing Library
October 30th - Worthing Library, working with looked-after children
October 31st - Boys into Books - Haywards Heath and Horsham Library

summer dates

2008-05-08T13:18:00.000+01:00

Crazy Comic Club workshops booked for the Summer so far, plenty more to come!

May 23rd - 26th Small World
June 13th - 15th Big Session Leicester
July 12th Chagstock
July 19th - 21st Cardiff Kids Festival
August 8th - 10th Summer Sundae Leicester
August 15th - 17th Green Man Abergavenny
August 24th - 25th Bridgnorth Children's Festival
August 29th - 31st Ragged Hedge Fair

Brighton Children's Festival

2008-04-13T19:55:00.000+01:00

I'll be running workshops as part of the festival on Friday this week - more info here: http://www.stickiton.org.uk/kidstock/index.html

I'm also taking bookings for next terms Crazy Comic After School Club: Monday and Wednesdays at Westhill Hall, Brighton. Please email me for more details: info@crazycomicclub.co.uk

latest news

2008-03-11T12:30:00.000Z

The Crazy Comic Club is featured in an interview with Brighton Rocks green newspaper this month.

I've been asked to curate a second one day project culminating in a multimedia perforance at Falmer High School in July involving large scale illustration, oral narration, printed comics, animation and drama. These projects are very ambitious and unique - working within a tight time-frame to a brief which requires maximum creative input from the students.

Anyone between 11 - 18 is welcome to come to East Grinstead library 9th April. I'll be holding some groovy workshops all day which will focus on manga style comic art.

I'm starting to finalise the Summer 'tour' for The Crazy Comic Club. Full list of dates and events coming soon...

Latest News

2008-03-02T18:19:00.000Z

Welcome to the diary! Crazy Comic Club is very busy at the moment - my after school clubs in Brighton are full to bursting - please email me if you're interested in finding out about times and places - info@crazycomicclub.co.uk

I'm currently working very closely with Falmer High School. At Mac's Place, their young persons advice centre, I've been facilitating workshops that cover issues such as domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and healthy eating. In a few weeks I'm coordinating a large one day project involving cartoonists, illustrators, animators, drama and storytellers. We'll be working with all the year 7 students to create a narrated performance for the parents with illustrations and animation based around the theme of stories and storytelling.

Also coming up soon, I'm visiting Charing Primary School in Kent to create comics with the pupils based around acts of kindness. I'm looking forward to visiting as its just up the road from where I was born!

Half term was busy too - I ran successful workshops at Burgess Hill and Southwick library, and The Pottery Cafe in Portslade.

I'm also planning another packed Summer touring arts and music festivals.