Author: sarah

Drawing while watching TV

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I’m slowly recovering from a week of yucky flu. Man, I watched a lot of TV this week! I felt like such a loser for not working on my art. So I brought my sketchbook to the couch last night in an effort to redeem myself.

First there was the classic Law and Order SVU… God, why do I watch this stuff?

Larissa, known as Brandy by the disgusting abuser:

And Daniel, victim turned abuser:

I don’t consider myself a Trekkie at all, but I super love Star Trek Voyager more than any other TV show ever… But they started putting it on so late that I couldn’t stay up to watch it anymore. But last night I did! And it was awesome. Bellana was in a bad situation.

Luckily they did not leave it up to Tuvok to resolve the situation… Those silly Vulcans!

Anyway, that’s my first attempt at doing something useful with couch time. Perhaps more to come.

Tangles recommended for holiday gifts

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The Advent Book Blog and The Fabler recommend Tangles for holiday giving. What a great idea! Buy Tangles for your friends and family! If you’re in Vancouver, pick up a copy at Pulp Fiction or Little Sister’s. And if you want them signed just send me an email and we’ll work it out. I actually have kind of a system worked out with Pulp Fiction, since they’re in my neighbourhood. Speaking of which, they’ve sold almost 50 copies of Tangles at their store! I also heart Shelf Life Books in Calgary and Westminster Books in Fredericton. Support your independent bookstores; if they don’t have Tangles, ask them to order it.

Thanks to everyone for all your support. On November 29, Tangles was #8 in sales of Canadian- created comics (damn that Scott Pilgrim!). Thanks to Sequential for compiling this list!

Sarah Leavitt and Lynda Barry: animated!

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My friend Terra Poirier took these photos at the Vancouver International Writers Festival in October, and Donimo added effects and animation. She says it proves that cartoonists are weird. I think I agree.  That was such a fun day! At some point I might stop talking about it, but don’t hold your breath.

My comics workshop for youth at Youthwrites

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It was so great to be asked by the Vancouver International Writers Festival to lead their Youthwrites workshop this year. Each year, the VIWF runs a contest for all high school students in the Lower Mainland and then holds a workshop for the winners. These are the rules I made up for this year:

Submit a short story about a) a piece of clothing that was very important to you when you were a little kid, b) an unusual pet that belonged to you or someone you knew, or c) an important lesson you learned outside of school. The winners will transform their written pieces into one-page comics in a three-hour workshop with Sarah Leavitt, author and illustrator of Tangles: A Story About Alzheimer’s, My Mother and Me.

I had a great time with the winners. We talked about what comics are and how they work, and then they just got right into working on their stories — they got into that space where they’re writing and drawing with such concentration that it’s dead quiet and you can feel the energy coming off the pens and pencils. They all finished their stories in only four hours. Wow. I’m kind of jealous.

Read more on the VIWF website

Download the PDF of the booklet the youth made, Hamsters in Bathrooms