About the Workshop: In this special program, participants will learn about Laura Lee’s uniquely visual creative process for developing graphic novels, exploring original artwork up close. We will then co-create an original character as a group, building a world from scratch! Laura Lee will draw it out live and then model how to develop it into a short comic.
Along the way, participants will learn lessons about problem solving, decision making, healthy collaboration, and cartooning tips. Participants will then spend the rest of the workshop creating their own original mini-comic/zine with the option of drawing out a full-page spread. We’ll also learn how to fold a zine, access Laura Lee’s traveling zine library, explore the Schultz exhibit on site, and other fun surprises! 15 registrant maximum.
This workshop is presented in conjunction with Franklin, a traveling exhibition from the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, California—on display at the Barns from June 7 through August 31. Exhibition Info »
This program has been organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and is funded, in part, by the Paul Mellon Endowment and the Jean Stafford Camp Memorial Fund.
Photo by Alisa Foytik
About the Instructor: Laura Lee Gulledge (she/ they) is an Eisner Award nominated author & cartoonist, passionate teaching artist with an MA in Art Ed, and collaborative muralist based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Their books include YA graphic novels The Dark Matter of Mona Starr, Page by Paige, Will & Whit, and the interactive Sketchbook Dares: 24 Ways to Draw Out Your Inner Artist. (Abrams Books) Laura Lee's unique style of visual storytelling explores the intersection of graphic medicine, Neurodivergence, citizen artistry, and Artner love.
Date & Time: Saturday, August 2, 2025. The five-hour workshop begins at 10:00 AM and will conclude by 3:00 PM.
Registration Fee: This workshop is free to attend; however, advance registration is required, and donations to the Barns are encouraged. Due to the length of the class, registrants will have the option to purchase a boxed lunch for a flat fee of $12 during the registration process.
Registration Information: Register online or by calling the Barns of Rose Hill Box Office at 540-955-2004 (hours). When our Box Office is closed, please leave a message.