Sheree A. Bradford-Lea (SABL):  Biography (Updated 2010)

About My Cartoons I started selling my cartoon strip 'Life Outside The Box' around thirteen years ago. My cartoons appear in books, magazines, journals and calendars, all over North America.

Some cartoons don't appear with the 'Life Outside The Box' title, depending on the needs of a particular publication.  But they are still part of the 'Life Outside The Box' family.

A few years ago I formed a company in order to make and sell items with my cartoons on them, which includes mixed media artworks I create.   Some are for sale on this website, and others at art galleries, theatres and various places around Ottawa.   It's all very, very fun.

I Teach Cartooning and Illustration Too! When I'm not creating cartoons, books and other artwork I'm teaching fabulous groups of adult students how to create their own cartoons, which includes illustration, through classes at Algonquin College.   I also do cartooning workshops for school children, teens and adults, and teach the 'Mad Skills' Cartooning Career Sampler day camps at Algonquin College for 12 to 17 year olds .

But Have I Always Been A Cartoonist?  And How Did I Start, You Ask? I am an Ottawa cartoonist, living with my terrific husband and two equally terrific children.  Ottawa is a very inspiring place for a humourist to live--where else, for example, do people pay homage to Ice Hogs? But I wasn't always lucky enough to be a cartoonist.  Before that I was a Psychology researcher who did humour writing on the side; drawing was always just a hobby.  And before that I was doing theatre work, and doing humour writing on the side.  I tried to write more serious things, but people kept asking me when I was going to write my funny stuff again!   And who am I to argue? At some point, when my children were toddlers, I realized I didn't have big blocks of time to devote to writing.  So, I started cartooning.  It turned out to be a great venue for that varied mixture of psychology, writing, humour and theatre knowledge I'd acquired.  The visual perception work I did in Psychology helped a great deal with the drawing part of cartooning.   All that and a great family too. It all adds up to one happy cartoonist!

How Does Mixed Media Art Fit In? The artworks I create allow me to use my cartooning and general art skills to create three dimensional works on two dimensional surfaces.  I sometimes stick to one medium, such as oil pastel or inks, but usually prefer to mix things up.  I also get a kick out of using re-claimed materials.  And, I do sculptures as well!   Whether the art ends up mixed media or not, it's always very much cartoon inspired!

Click on picture to view larger image.

Some Publications With 'Life Outside The Box' Cartoons Homebase:  A Forum For Mothers Hip Mama Herizons The Best Contemporary Women's Humor (Crossing Press) The New Quarterly The Crafter's Network Resource Book Pigeon Lake and Area Visitor Guide Horizon magazine Cahoots ezine Mothering Canada:  Interdisciplinary Voices (Demeter Press) The Herstory Calendars

Cartooning & Illustration Class Information Cartooning Skills For Hire Talks/Workshop Information Guest Book Email

Art Exhibitions Ottawa Little Theatre, Ottawa (April to May 30, 2010) Ikea, Ottawa (Jan 2010) 'Luscious' at Britannia Art Gallery (May 2009) 'Small Wonders V' at Nepean Vistal Arts Centre Studio Gallery (Dec 2009)

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