Last month cartoonist Georgia Dunn took her Breaking Cat News comic strip characters to the American Library Association annual conference; and seemed to enjoy herself:
AMP: Georgia, you recently made your debut appearance at ALA, where Lupin Leaps In ~leapt~ into the hearts of librarians who came from all over the country. What did you think of the conference? Has your hand recovered from signing so many books?
GD: It was an amazing experience! I had a blast, it was great to meet so many BCN fans and to help introduce BCN to new readers, too! I learned that I need to maybe ice my hand after a longer signing. I finished a Sunday strip the next day and was definitely feeling it that night a little in my left pinky and ring fingers. It was an exciting problem to have, I hope I get to have it again!
GD: My favorite way to draw is pen and ink, followed by watercolor washes. The ink came into my drawings early on. I loved to draw, but I’m left-handed and hopelessly smudged my work all the time. In 9th grade I sat down to a desk in my English class and someone had left behind an extra fine Pilot pen. Something clicked, now I could draw over my pencil marks, save all my work, and erase the pencil and the smudges. When I was 19 my father, who is also an artist (he’s a photographer) insisted I take up watercolors. I had been using colored pencils occasionally up to this point, and he thought watercolors would suit my style and subject matter better. At the time I was working in his gallery, and he assigned a few afternoons of “sit there and mess around with this box of watercolors,” It changed everything, and shortly after I switched from regular pens to Microns because they’re waterproof.
Shortly after her ALA appearance Andrews McMeel interviewed Georgia.
Librarian images via Library of Congress