Blog Archives

Christmas card: 1992

12/14/2012

This Christmas I was a bit disenchanted with religiously-themed holiday greetings, so I remember feeling a degree of secular satisfaction when I drew this card with the simple message, "Joy." In fact, I had just finished drawing some very large (like, about 10' x 10') posters depicting the seven deadly sins (another long story) and I copied one of the medieval woodcuts which had inspired that series to draw this image (I think it was #4.... Envy). I just gave her a smiling face instead of an envious one.

There are some secret Tolkien-inspired runes lurking in the borders, which read: "Greetings to you from me," "Wishing you joyful holidays," "Wishing you rabbits," (an inside joke at the time), and "Samantha Ninety-two" (probably the only time I've written my full name since).

By the way, six of the seven deadly sins (the aforementioned enormous posters, that is) are still rolled up in my basement... know anyone who could use them?

Keep on going to the next Christmas card post.

December 14th, 2012

12/14/2012

When my son Alec was born, I started keeping a kind of comics journal in which I'd record just one brief anecdote or memory for each day. I don't do it every day - more like a few times a month - and I haven't been putting them up here. But after the tragic deaths of some children that took place today, I thought I'd post this one.

My brother John (my go-to person for all peace-related issues) gave me Raffi's book "Child Honouring" when I was expecting Alec. Gun control in the U.S. won't happen overnight - but child honouring can start right now. Thanks John - and Raffi, of course!

The first two years of my comics about Alec can be seen here.

Christmas card: 1991

12/13/2012

Well, this one's not much of an artistic wonder, but it does provide a snapshot of my 1991 state of mind. Back at home (Calgary, as depicted in one of the lower ornaments) feeling crowded in with my family (next to the the Calgary ornament) and dog (at the top); going to U of C (a wasteland of big cold square buildings connected by walking paths) and studying Shakespeare (the guy in the ruffled collar); but my heart was still in Germany (hence the medieval house and the Hanseatic ship... and the German-style writing of "91"). In fact, I was already plotting to get away from Calgary, but that wouldn't happen until 1992. To be continued!

Keep on going to the next Christmas card from 1992.

Christmas card: 1990

12/12/2012

The second Christmas card on my list was made while on an exchange year in Germany (hence the colours). I didn't realize there was an "h" in "fröhliche" so I had to squeeze it in there after the fact. I see I'm wearing a piano-y scarf, even though this was the year I started to stop playing the piano. My two best friends in Germany are depicted in this card by the tree ornaments - one's a watch and one's a pair of glasses (still excellent symbols for these two friends, should they ever need future symbolizing). There's also a nod to my Tolkien-loving friend back in Canada - her initials are written in Elvish on one ornament. But those ribbons on the tree - I really don't get it. They're covered with Tolkienesque "Dwarvish" runes, which I'm sure I put on there just so it would look good, but they don't seem to say anything. You'd think I would at least have written a cryptic message in there, but it seems not.

Since we're on the subject, here are my friends of the watch/glasses fame (see above). This is pretty much the way I spent several months, over a period of about five years, in Germany: in the back seat of a VW Golf between these two guys. They were such good friends that one could steer while the other changed gears. But that's another story. I always liked this picture because I drew it with a stubby little pencil while we were driving on a twisty road. Ach!

Take a look at the next Christmas card, from 1991.

Christmas card: 1989

12/11/2012

In 1989 I made Christmas cards for my friends, using a system that would later become my standard Christmas card method: I made an original drawing that was photocopied, coloured in by hand (with pencil crayons in this case), cut out, and glued on to a card. This first one depicts a scene of Christmas-carolling friends, which is something we actually did do each Christmas during high school. I remember our grade eleven year being the freezing cold winter at which we lasted for about five houses. But it was still fun. Do people still go Christmas carolling?

I like looking at old work like this, because of the quasi-historical record it provides. For example, of the fourteen friends in the picture, seven still live here in Calgary, and the other seven have been dispersed across the country (and one of them - my brother John - is even farther off, right now). After this, I started making Christmas cards every year, until about 2004. The whole "series" kind of documents my artistic progress (if such it could be called), as well as providing an annual check-in on where my mind was at.

I'll post a new one up here every day (give or take) until Christmas! Let's see, how many days until Christmas? Hm - twelve! (Really, I didn't plan that.) Well, we'll make it work somehow.

Click here for the next Christmas card, from 1990.

Art in the Hood

12/9/2012

Just got home from Ramsay's annual artisan fair, "Art in the Hood" at the Ramsay Community Hall! These pics don't do it justice... it was overflowing with amazing arts & crafts and lots of Christmas goodies. Not to mention a whole section of young entrepreneurs selling their own creative wares. So cool! I love being part of the Ramsay arts scene. Thanks to the organizers of this great event!

Above: a basket of Grinch-y green rice krispie treats!

Right: Here's my little comics display where I sat drawing the next Ramsay newsletter comic. Thanks to everyone for the feedback and suggestions about this ongoing neighbourhood feature! (You know, I've been wondering if I should continue doing it, but it's just too much fun to stop!)

GAK Magazine

12/6/2012

Digging through old files, I just found this strip about Gak Magazine. I don't even remember writing it. It's dated 2002, which is around the time the Night Gallery's publication (the aforesaid Gak Magazine) stopped appearing, I think. I do remember drawing some other pictures for Gak (although they were illustrations for stories written by other people). But I don't know if this ever appeared in Gak (so... why did I draw it??). Here it is, for what it's worth... a blast from the past (and a hint that I should keep my drawing files better organized... or maybe look through them more often?)!

After I put this up, I thought I might as well look and see what there was about the Night Gallery in The Drawing Book archives - so I put my findings in after the strip.

I also posted this comic on my website in my random comics gallery.

These four excerpts from The Drawing Book date from about 1998 - 2001. I like the picture of my friend & myself with our handsome dates (long story).

Happy birthday LN!

12/1/2012

It's my friend Ellen's birthday ("Ellen" - "L. N." - get it? old joke...). In honour of her birthday, here's a tale of a trip to eastern Canada we took together, back in 2000. Of course, these pictures are from The Drawing Book.

N.B. The Fat Cat is a St. John's blues club. And Robert the Russian Rocket was (maybe still is?) a local cab driver who was an acquaintance of mine. (There weren't too many Russian cabbies in St. John's - in fact, he was the only one - so it was always pretty easy to track him down when I was in town!)

Happy birthday, dear LN.

T-shirts that made me love comics

12/1/2012

When I was about two, I had a much-loved t-shirt. I'm sure it had a big influence upon my interest in comics. I've always wondered who did the artwork. I especially liked the handwriting. Here it is:

Even more inspiring (if possible) was this t-shirt that I bought at a student Christmas sale at the Alberta College of Art (later the Alberta College of Art & Design). I was in grade eight or nine and I thought this was clever and hilarious - even though I wasn't familiar with the Charles Atlas ad the shirt is spoofing. I still have this shirt (it's slightly pinker than when I first bought it, after having been stuck in a french washing machine that wouldn't stop washing... that's another story). I wish I knew who drew this strip. If you know, please tell me!

sam hester

I am a graphic recorder based in Calgary. I like local stories. I write comics when I have free time. And I leave eraser shavings everywhere I go.

Looking for a
graphic recorder?
Look here!

contact me

sam@the23rdstory.com

my website

www.the23rdstory.com started as a blog and now includes some information about my graphic recording practice as well.

I also have an (old) website which features a lot of my (old) work. Look out, it's a bit clunky and there are a lot of links that don't go anywhere, but there are still a few interesting things there:
www.thedrawingbook.com

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Some nice things people said about my work:

“If Breitkreuz and Foong [founders of the Calgary Comics & Entertainment Expo] represent the Type-A side of Calgary's self-publishing community, Hester may be the community's right brain.” – Tom Babin, FFWD Magazine

“…A strong graphic style similar to other autobiographically-inclined Canadian cartoonists like Chester Brown and Julie Doucet.” – Gilbert Bouchard, Edmonton Journal

The 23rd Story: an indie comics creator's tales of life in Calgary