Rade drawn from memory web

STORIES FROM R ADE’S GR APHIC NOVEL WORKSHOPS 2016

Author: Title

STORIES FROM R ADE’S GR APHIC NOV EL WORK SHOPS 2016

1

s t i d e r C Contributors: Gerard Brennan, Stephen Kearns, Derrick Hogan, Andrew Talbot, Terry Canty, Patrick Lynch, Raymond Doyle, Stephen Keenan, Wesley Wilson, Jody Jones

Art Facilitators: Paddy Lynch, Eoghan O’Neill

Design & Layout: Paddy Lynch, www.paddylynch.com

Creative Writing Facilitator: Karl Parkinson

Comics lettering, additional editing: John Robbins Printing: Baldoyle Print

Content Š respective contributors

d o r t n Iuction F

rom childhood experience, everyone knows when you mix two colours of paint together you get a third. It’s something we’ve seen fascinate children as they combine every colour available on the palette just to see what happens, even if it does result in the inevitable muddy brown.

But think of a pure red and blue - both primary, simple colours; separate and unique to each other and then think of the resultant purple - deeper, more complex and with elements of both of it’s parent colours.

This is how I often like to think of comics a unique art form built from the combination of two distinct elements, words and images.

Both elements, in isolation, can seem familiar and everyday to us but when combined they create something new and exciting.

The participants at RADE worked with me to explore this in a series of workshops through September 2016. In most cases they took inspiration from short written pieces generated during an earlier creative writing workshop with Karl Parkinson. We examined the imagery

suggested in these and pieced them together into rough visual storyboards. We then refined these somewhat and decided upon layouts and colour schemes that emphasised readability and clarity.

I tried to not get too involved in the drawings themselves as many of them communicate exactly what is needed in a beautifully direct manner, regardless of the different levels of artistic ability. Some of the participants may have been challenged in producing the artwork or unsure whether their anecdotes were ‘interesting’ enough but, when combined together, the overall work gained a certain depth that may not have been previously apparent. This is precisely where the alchemy of comics comes into play and a part of the medium I really love exploring in workshops.

Again, I’m thankful to all the participants for trusting in the process and producing the work in this booklet. I’m also deeply thankful to Eoghan, Sine and Michael at RADE for allowing me the opportunity to work with the group once more.

Paddy Lynch Comics Facilitator, November 2016

Derrick Hogan: The Rubbery Road

5

6

Derrick Hogan: The Rubbery Road

Derrick Hogan: The Rubbery Road 7

Jody Jones: Euphoric Recall

8

Jody Jones: Euphoric Recall 9

Ger Brennan: What If

10

Ger Brennan: What If 11

12

Ger Brennan: What If

Ger Brennan: What If 13

Wesley Wilson: The Backers

14

Wesley Wilson: The Backers 15

Andrew Talbot: Lairy Fairy

16

Andrew Talbot: Lairy Fairy 17

Patrick Lynch: Good Fork Lift Driver

18

Patrick Lynch: Good Fork Lift Driver 19

Raymond Doyle: The Fat Bastard

20

Stephen Kearns: The Barry

21

Stephen Keenan: Jim & John Go To The Offo

22

Terry Canty: Dreams of Fire and Ice

23

RADE Recovery through Art/Drama/Education OLV Building, Cathedral View Court, off New Street, Dublin 8 Tel: (01) 454 8733 Fax: (01) 4546406 Email: info@rade.ie www.rade.ie Board of Directors: Eoin Ryan (Chairperson), Fedelma Martin (Secretary), Colm O’Cleirigh (Treasurer), Theo Dorgan, Tony Geoghegan, Jennifer Coppinger, Carmel Furlong, Dominique Cleary, Anna Quigley Staff: Michael Egan (Director), Eoghan O’Neill, Sine Lynch, Averyl Swords, Terry Jones and Lucy Cullen

Author: Title

DR AWN FROM MEMORY: S TORIES FROM R ADE’S GR APHIC NOV EL WORK SHOPS 2016