If you are within driving distance of Santa Rosa, California this Saturday, October 13th, I highly recommend that you stop by the Charles Schulz Museum to hear cartoonist and animator Bob Scott, who will be giving a talk from 1-3 pm about his strip Molly and the Bear, which was syndicated by GoComics in 2011 after a two-year run on Comics Sherpa.
Bob is a remarkable and talented creator. In addition to doing Molly and the Bear, he is an animator at Dreamworks, and in a career spanning two decades has worked on numerous films including Wall-E, Toy Story 3, The Incredibles, and The Prince of Egypt. He also helped create the Oscar-nominated Day and Night and led the animation team on the Award-Winning Pixar short Your Friend the Rat.
After Bob's Molly and the Bear session on Saturday, be sure to stop by the ice rink next door and have a little something at the Warm Puppy Cafe, where your lunch will be served in a cardboard dog dish. The table by the fireplace where Sparky always sat is reserved, set every day with flowers and photos.
I know Bob wouldn't mind me taking advantage of the opportunity his lecture has provided to say that the Schulz Museum is a unique and wonderful place, so if you don't make it there this weekend definitely put it on your Northern California must-see list. The permanent exhibits and installations -- and the building itself -- are amazing, and there are always special exhibits and events underway, including frequent talks and workshops by cartoonists. You can get a flavor of how the Schulz Museum embodies the innovation and creativity of its namesake by looking at these photos from its 10th anniversary celebration this past August. A good way to keep ongoing track of goings-on at the Museum is to read the blog of Jean Shulz, Sparky's widow and the President of the Board of the museum, where she "chronicles her adventures in the cartooning and comic book world ."
If you are a cartoon person, you owe it to yourself to one day go to this place and get a jolt of inspiration from Sparky. And if you can get there this weekend, you can also get inspired by Bob Scott as he shares his insights into the art form which Peanuts helped inspire him to pursue. As a backup option for all those who won't happen to be north of San Francisco on Saturday, here's a terrific and heavily-illustrated interview Bob did about Molly and the Bear a while back.



Bob is a remarkable and talented creator. In addition to doing Molly and the Bear, he is an animator at Dreamworks, and in a career spanning two decades has worked on numerous films including Wall-E,
Posted by: Ivana | October 12, 2012 at 12:48 PM
The Incredibles, and The Prince of Egypt. He also helped create the Oscar-nominated Day and Night and led the animation team on the Award-Winning Pixar short Your Friend the Rat.
Posted by: Crissydo | October 15, 2012 at 12:16 PM