Today Pierre Feuille Ciseaux ends and gets dissassembled, Yesterday and this morning have been a series of whistful goodbyes as each of the 22 artists shuffles off by train or car. And so I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures from the week. It was truly amazing. Below are a number of shots of the grounds. The Saline (old world salt factory) where it took place is a group of buildings arranged in a half circle around a huge courtyard the size of a couple of city blocks.

Each of the buildings featured this carved stone detail...a representation of salt crystals forming in the underground caves.

Apparently the outlook at the top of this building was where the site manager positioned himself to keep an eye on the workers below.

This building housed the work room, where we spent most of our days

The center of the compound was just an open field of grass, but behind the buildings, just inside the walled perimeter were a network of elaborate gardens. The pond outside my window was full of ducks most mornings.

The workroom. Several days stretched from, say 11am (I was a late riser) to one, two or three a.m. The time, ideas and impromptu projects flew.

South African painter and cartoonist Anton Kannemeyer ("Joe Dog")

Finn Matti Hagelsberg, discovering the woodcut. And and knocking it out of the park.

Zak Sally drawing a page for the last minute PFC zine.

Zak again, playing a short set for everyone Wednesday evening on a trip to the nearby city of Besançon.

Dinner in Besançon at Seize OGS. Tony Papin is on the Left. Zak, Anton, Matti and Sarah Glidden follow. The first course was edamame with sea salt and green tea. Much more to follow, including screenprinting, crowdsurfing, and several photos taken in a dimmly lit bar by someone who was slightly inebriated.

Over the Ocean

This last page I drew while watching musicians play in Besançon, Wednesday night.

The Interview Show

I'm in France at the moment at Pierre Feuille Ciseaux about which I'll have much to post soon. I also did a strip in my sketchbook about a conversation I had on the plane on the way here, but it needed some correction, so while the white out is drying there is this: I was on Mark Bazer's Interview Show at the Hideout a couple of months back (I posted a drawing I did of fellow guest Cameron Esposito's ear while I was there, back in September). Video of the event just came up at WBEZ. 

Somehow I missed the Liberty Bell

The night at Brickbat in Philadelphia was the night the Famous Canadian Cartoonist Flu of 2011 really took hold and I started feeling miserable. We stayed with the incredibly gracious Matt Leines and he outfitted me with the building's penthouse which had a private bathroom that was actually bigger than my bedroom at home. It was awesome. Below are a few pictures from the house, and in particular a bunch of Matt's art collection, which was amazing. Stuff by Chris Johanson, Barry McGee, R. Kikuo Johnson, Brian Chippendale, Marc and a bunch of others. The giant triangle is Matt's

This is another of Matt's:

The piece below was one of the coolest things on the walls. A small found object model of a telephone pole in a box frame.

A whole mess of tigers:

Lastly, here are a couple of photos from the event at Desert Island in Brooklyn. Huge thanks to Gabe for making it great.

Tonight: Montreal

Just checked in to a hotel in Montreal after a couple of nights in the place of my birth in northern New Hampshire, and a really great talk yesterday at CCS in Vermont. I had a chance to embarrass one of my favorite cartoonists ever, Jason Lutes, by discussing his great influence on me while he sat in the audience.

Below are a couple of drawings I did while sitting in the audience at one of the panels at the Brooklyn Book Festival last Sunday.

So: tonight I'm at the D&Q store in Montreal. On Saturday and Sunday I'll be in Toronto at the Beguiling and the Word on the Street Festival. And then blessed blessed home.

Dispatches from the road and air

I've been on the road on the second leg of the tour for a week and a half now, but have been too busy to post much. Here are some (pre)tour stories from my sketchbook:

So far I've been in Baltimore, Bethesda (at SPX), Pittsburgh, Philly, and, for the last four days, New York City. More about all the above to follow. Aside from a case of the famous Canadian cartoonist flu pandemic of 2011, it's been completely awesome. Being on the road with Marc Bell rules. That guy's awesome. Tonight I'll be in Providence at Ada Books. Below are a couple of photos from Pittsburgh. Bill at Copacetic put up a back issue wall for me to sign next to. It's all comics about birds. Awesome. Below that is a shot of people waiting for Marc and I to start.

Just to let people know...the Hardcover of the book has been a bit scarce and will be for another week or three. That said, both Copacetic and Brickbat managed to secure more than the usual allotment of copies (sworn to secrecy regarding their methods) so if you can't find one, you might contact them. Lastly, Gabriel at Desert Island in Brooklyn printed up this awesome little newsprint zine collecting a number of outtakes, thumbnails and other unpublished paraphernalia related to Big Questions. Along with the trading cards it's something of a tour exclusive for the moment. Below is the cover.

CartoonInk!

On Sunday I finished a wall drawing I was asked to do for the CartoonInk show at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago's Sullivan Galleries. The show was curated by Surabhi Ghosh, Christa Donner and Jeremy Tinder with help from Sara Drake. There's a bunch of cool stuff to see there, including a new piece by Deb Sokolow (which happens to be right next to my wall drawing) and one of Lisa Cline's originals which is completely gorgeous – the photocopier doesn't do them justice. After a number of delays the show opens next weekend.

Here's an image of the flyer for it, with a nice little Marc Bell drawing (did I mention I'm going on a little East coast book tour with him in a few days?).