Not on Your Own

Not on Your Own
Originally uploaded by speartoons

This is an illustration I am using to introduce a game Sunday morning.

The game is called, "Not on Your Own." It is part of the Sunday school curriculum for "Living Inside Out." It is part of their Rescue 911 session. In this game, kids are encouraged to try to fit within a shape that is masked out on the floor.

The first time they attempt it, the kids are encouraged NOT to help each other. The second time, the kids are told they can help each other.

The lesson is there are some things we can't do on our own.

I'll be giving the lesson tomorrow at Madison Park Church of God in Anderson, Indiana. I lead the large group worship time for the elementary age kids.

Trick or Treat or Trunk N Treat

A few weeks ago, I drew an illustration for a church event. If you live near Anderson, Indiana, and you are looking for a safe place to trick-or-treat, our church will have a Trunk n Treat this Wednesday night. It will be at Madison Park Church of God.

This was one of those few times where I didn't start with a sketch in my book. When I thought of a trunk filled with candy, I wondered what it would look like if one had a giant jack -o- lantern.

I drew the original rough in Photoshop. I use a 8"X 6"Wacom Intuos 3 Tablet. Here was the first rough.I made this layers transparent and polished up the sketch.

Next, I hid the gray, rough layer and opened the finished drawing in Adobe Illustrator. I used Live Trace to convert the Photoshop file into an Illustrator Vector file. Then I used Live Paint to color the illustration.

Cold Water and Shells

Here is a little sketch out of my Moleskine.

The water has been a bit cold, but the kids are enjoying the shells. I am having a great time with my nephew and kids. The beach has been very, very good to us.

Coloring Nitpicking

Caption: “It’s nice, but Jesus needs a brown beard, the sky should be sunny and you put polka dots on the boy’s shirt. I don’t like polka dots.”

When I was four or five, I was coloring a picture in Sunday school. A teacher's helper came over to see what I was coloring. He said, "That's a nice cow, but cows aren't purple."

I continued coloring while I announced, "Well, this cow is!"

He went to the next kid pretty quickly. I thought he was nuts because I heard about a purple cow on "Captain Kangaroo."

With that attitude, I must have been destined to be an artist. To all you parents and teachers who wonder what in the world the kid is thinking when he or she drew it, don't worry about it. Let them be creative.

Quiet Reflection

It's school time again! The running, yelling and pushing abounds on the playgrounds and the classrooms. I was a quiet kid, so I can imagine wanting a little bit of that quiet reflection. Heaven knows I certainly did a lot of praying in school.
"Dear God, please let their be something new for lunch. Please let their be a place for me at kickball. And Please help that one girl not to have cooties!"

Classroom Consolidation

I love working with kids at my church. I pray I won't get too old to act silly in Sunday school, play a little Twister and drink red punch.

I've seen older people that just love kids and a few who... well, let's just say life has been tough on them and they are no longer user friendly to babies.

Let's keep the faith and stay young, if only young at heart.

Lessons Learned

Caption reads, "Sunday school was great, Dad. James agreed to go out with me when I'm old enough to date!"

I often wonder what my kids are learning when I'm teaching a Sunday school class. Probably more than I want to know. Hopefully they learn an eternal lesson that will change their lives forever-for the better.