Evan, my almost-9-year-old grandson, wants to be a cartoonist. As long as I can remember Evan has been drawing. He has always drawn mermaids, fairies and mythical creatures over and over again. He has now moved on to creating cartoon characters. 

During this visit he showed me some of these characters. He has been creating ink drawn characters inspired by Japanese Anime. And Lucy, a Japanese schoolmate, has taught him some Japanese words and the accompanying written character. 

When we decorated white fans, Evan decided to draw the Japanese character for moon with a graphic of a moon and stars. He also created a whimsical cartoon of a Meditating Popcorn, complete with folded legs, arms outstretched, eyes closed, flanked by candles and in a speech bubble, the Sanskrit symbol for OM.   

When I asked him what his favorite comic strips were, he said, “…Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbs, and Pearls Before Swine…I love them.”  He loves Classic Peanuts cartoon strips and we are looking forward to visiting the Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa in the near future. I am sure he will enjoy Charles Schulz’s original drawings and how it all began. 

When I asked Evan why he wanted to be a cartoonist, he said, “I could draw cartoons and get ideas from my mind…funny stuff.”  He told me about a cartoon he had created about one character asking another if he wanted to throw the pig skin around and then that character was seen dragging in the skin of a pig. 

While we were together Evan created 14 different fruit based characters for his series called Classic Friends – Fruit Duds.  We had so much fun coming up with names for his Fruit Duds. The characters were Allie Apple, Paul Pear, Grandma Grape, Betty Blueberry, Ollie Orange, Brittany Banana, Reagan Raspberry, Yin and Yang (cherries), Sally Strawberry, Wally Watermelon, Coco Coconut, Patty Peach, Peggy Pineapple, and Peter Plum. 

I am looking forward to seeing what situations his Fruit Duds will get into. He is thinking about adding 14 Veggie Friend characters, but one never knows what is in the mind of a creative child. The next time we get together an entire new set of characters will probably come to life. 

Each visit with Evan is fascinating and fun. I am continually inspired and entertained by our times together. I always look forward to the next visit and the treasures we will discover. 

Until next Wednesday, remember, it’s all “for the love of kids…”

In joy, Marilyn