Cole Pauls: Artist Talk and Comic Workshop
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n March, AISA and CIS partnered for an artist talk and comic workshop with Cole Pauls, a Tahltan comic artist, illustrator, and printmaker from Haines Junction (Yukon Territory). Pauls is best known for the hilarious Pizza Punks comics and his award-winning Dakwäkãda Warriors series. Equipped with 8.5" by 11" white paper, pencils, pens, and erasers, students joined Pauls for two hours of comic making! At the start of the event, Pauls shared a little bit about his recent projects and his art career. Pauls has been drawing his whole life, but started self-publishing zines for family and friends at the age of 15. He shared the importance of staying true to himself throughout his career, making comics that he is entertained by and comics for his community that he wishes he’d been able to read as a child. One of his current projects includes a land acknowledgment comic project with T’uy’t’tanat-Cease Wyss. During the comic workshop, students had a chance to create their own comic with a focus on a cultural heritage story, such as describing a family memory or tradition. Pauls introduced students to the basics of comic writing. First, you write the story, then pencil characters and backgrounds, and finally, you ink the text, then background and characters. Throughout, Pauls and students spoke about Indigenous futurisms and representations of Indigenous peoples in video games and science fiction. Pauls also spoke about how he incorporates traditional tools and his language, Southern Tutchone, into his comics with support of elders in his community. He also builds languages and phrases through a Southern Tutchone language app. The event was creative, interactive, and focused, leaving students inspired and dreaming up their next comic. Learn more about Pauls and his work at his website, tundrawizard.com.
A r t i s t S tate m e n t to acco m pa n y co m i c SUMMER TYANCE is an Anishinaabekwe artist from Gull Bay First Nation. She works in many artistic mediums, including pencils, paint, pastels, and beads, and does traditional singing and drumming. She is a current student at The University of British Columbia majoring in First Nations and Indigenous Studies. Find out more at berrytyance.com or email sptyance@gmail.com for other inquiries.
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