Dear cartoonists,

Here are some exciting events and opportunities coming up at our favorite gallery in Nordeast Minneapolis, Altered Esthetics.

Wenesday, Aug 17th, 6:30-8:30pm — “Love from MN” Suit Up – costumed figure drawing! Practice drawing the human figure in a variety of poses, with a variety of fabrics. Draw or be drawn! Suggested donation $3.

Wednesday, Aug 31st — deadline for the 2012 Featured Artist Contest. Enter for the chance to have your artwork displayed in the Altered Esthetics 2012 Calendar and on promotional materials for a show in the 2012 show schedule.

Thursday, Sept 1st — new deadline for 2012 Solo Exhibitions Program. For the second year of the program, Altered Esthetics invites emerging artists to propose a solo exhibition in any media. We consider emerging artists as those individuals with some artistic experience but whom have not had a substantial opportunity to exhibit a developed body of work, and whom have not had a previous solo exhibition.

Check out the Open Calls page for info on group exhibitions!

Altered Esthetics is a nonprofit 501(c)3 community gallery run by artists, for artists. Bringing together dimensional art, music, poetry, performance art, and film, we are one of the most creatively diverse galleries in the Twin Cities. Altered Esthetics holds group-shows so that multiple artists of all backgrounds can display their perspectives on a given theme, and works to sustain the historical role of artists as a true voice of society through exhibits, events, services, workshops, and programs.

…and the comics are already online here. Wow, what a lot of submissions!

Draw and chat this Saturday with your fellow cartoonists. The Open Studio is at the Minnesota Center for Books Arts. We’ll be at the high tables this time — so that’s nice. There’s also a nice coffee shop nearby and free, semi-functioning wi-fi. Perfect for cartooning.

Saturday, August 13, from noon until 4 p.m., MCBA Bindery (high tables)

This is an open studio — all are welcome.

Minnesota Center for Book Arts
Open Book building
(Just down the street from Big Brain Comics)
1011 Washington Ave S, Suite 100
Minneapolis, MN 55415
Phone: 612-215-2520

Future Sat. Open Studios:
Sept. 10 (bindery — high tables)
** Oct. 1st – 2nd. is 24-hour Comic Day! **
Nov. 12 (bindery — high tables)
Dec. 17 (bindery — high tables)

NORDEAST COMICS SUMMIT
Summary: Rob Stenzinger discussed how to take your comics and turn them into games, and highlighted the architectural similarities between successful games and successful comics. As always, we videotaped the Summit, and those videos will be posted online eventually.

BONUS: Rob’s entire presentation is available to view through prezi.com!

Next month the Nordeast Comics Summit is excited to welcome Danno Klonowski to the stage for a discussion about collaboration in comics — the joys, the pitfalls, the triumph, and the heartache. Bring a friend! And after that look for Adrean Clark to discuss body language and visual iconography in comics (Oct. 6), Maxeem Konrardy on artistic theft (Nov. 3) and then a special non-denominational holiday GAME SHOW episode of NCS complete with prizes and so forth (Dec. 1).

If there’s a topic you’d like to see or even lead yourself, contact me at nordeastcomics [at] gmail.com. The next available date is January 5, 2012.

Follow us on Twitter! handle: NORDEASTCOMICS

INTERNATIONAL CARTOONIST CONSPIRACY
We don’t like to be political here at the Cartoonist Conspiracy, in fact we try to maintain a level G-Rating as much as possible, but after the past few weeks of Washington bickering we thought it only fair to pay homage to the unruly Capitol Hill bunch with:

Hostage Crisis on Capitol Hill

Click image for pdf — a fiscally sound 5.4 mb!

Please enjoy.

The opening party for our comic cookbook/gallery show Just Add Ink is this Friday! I can’t wait!

Click on the image for details.

Please consider using the above image to help promote the event!

Some recent press:

City Pages

Downtown Journal

The Daily Crosshatch

Opening Reception
Friday, August 5, 2011 – 7pm-10pm

Artists’ Discussion
Saturday, August 20, 2011 – 1pm-3pm

Altered Esthetics
1224 Quincy St NE, Mpls MN 55413
612.378.8888

Fun! Our friends at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts are having a Day of the Dead postcard contest. The prize is 250 smackers! All entries will be displayed in the lobby gallery! Note that cards will not be returned. Read the details here.

Registration for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival is now open. Apparently, it usually sells out very fast.

August 7000 BC Meeting | Saturday, August 6 | 1:00-4:00 | Collected Works Bookstore | 202 Galisteo Street | Santa Fe, NM

7000 BC will hold its monthly meeting at Collected Works Bookstore, a landmark independent bookshop and coffeehouse in Santa Fe. Join us for an afternoon of socializing, planning, talking about — and maybe even making — comics. Among other things, we’ll be making plans for 7000 BC’s table at Bubonicon.

All interested in independent comics are welcome; send an email with any questions. Parking and directions here.

We’ll move on to Flying Star at the Railyard for food and visiting after.

Appallingly, Marvel Comics recently prevailed in court over Jack Kirby’s heirs in their challenge over ownership of and proper compensation for the creations that Mr. Kirby made for them (i.e. “The Whole Damn Marvel Universe”). If you are as disgusted by this as I am (or if you just want some food for thought), please consider reading what Steve Bissette writes about the issue. Marvel may have triumphed legally, but that does not mean we have to let them win. Why buy any new Kirby or Kirby-derivative comics from Marvel? Do you really need to read more fifth-generation rip-offs of the master?

1) NORDEAST COMICS SUMMIT

2) MPLS CELL JAM

3) JUST ADD INK release at ALTERED ESTHEICS

http://www.nordeastcomics.com/

TOPIC: Making Videogames out of Creator Owned Comics
MODERATOR: Rob Stenzinger
DATE: Thursday, August 4, 2011
TIME: 6 – 6:30 pm (right before the Cartoonist Conspiracy Jam)
LOCATION: 1618 Central Ave NE, Ste. 216, Nordeast MPLS

Join us on August 4th for what is looking to be the perfect storm of everyone’s interests: comics and video games. Rob Stenzinger (Art Geek Zoo) will be taking the podium to discuss how to bring your established comic book characters into the video game realm, touching on everything from how your characters’ conflicts, abilities, desires & goals fit game scenarios to the need to limit the scope of your game interface and complexity in order to ever get the damn thing done! I told Rob I’ve always wanted to make a Shanks sidescroller, so hopefully he won’t get sick of answering my inane technical questions.

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

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

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.

http://cartoonistconspiracy.com/justaddink

The reception event will be at Altered Esthetics Gallery on Friday, August 5th – from 7pm-10pm. 

Copies of the Just Add Ink book will be available for purchase and original artwork will be on display. Many of the participating artists will be there and if you ask nicely, maybe they’ll even sign your copy!

Altered Esthetics
1224 Quincy Street NE
Minneapolis MN 55413
612.378.8888

Hope you can make it!

For you facebookers – here’s the facebook link: facebook.com/event.php?eid=178089625587499