Comic illustrator Aaron Polk leads virtual workshop at Stillwater Public Library

Jun. 8—Renowned cartoonist and illustrator Aaron Polk is hosting an online workshop program with the Stillwater Public Library.

Polk is teaching children and teenagers the fundamentals of comic book creation hosted through a Zoom link. The program for kids in grades 1-5 is held on Tuesday while the program for teenagers in grades 6-12 is held on Wednesday.

Polk's work includes "Dog Man" by Dav Pilkey, "Hawking" by Jim Ottaviani and "InvestiGATORS" by John Green.

According to a press release from the Stillwater Public Library, Polk struggled with dyslexia, but he overcame it after being introduced to comics as a child. He said he started making his own comics and found a way to make an impact on those around him.

"I began using comics as a tool to teach and impact my local community in a positive manner," Polk said. "I eventually got involved with several local comic shows that were dedicated to opening up the medium to people of all ages, genders and backgrounds."

Jessica Howe has been the teen librarian for the Stillwater News Press for the past year and has been with the library since September 2017. She said she found out about Polk's classes through a teen librarian Facebook group.

"A couple of librarians in the group had Aaron give virtual presentations at some point during the pandemic when everything was shut down," Howe said. "They all had glowing reviews of him and I was looking for a comic artist that had experience teaching a range of ages virtually, so I reached out."

Space is limited for Polk's virtual workshops, but the library's patrons can watch recordings of the live event within 24 hours.

In addition to the comic illustration workshop, the library plans to host several author visits and virtual classes throughout the summer months.

Katherine Battenberg from the Midtown School of Performing Arts is in charge of leading the library's Bounce 'n Beethoven program at the library. The program is a parent and child music and movement class for children ages 0 to 5 years old.

Elizabeth Murray is the children's librarian at the Stillwater Public Library and has worked at the location since 2012. She said she knew Battenberg from the virtual programming at the Tulsa County Library last summer.

"I thought she would be a great addition for our arts-based summer program as her sessions are music and dance-based," Murray said. "Since Katherine Battenberg had experience doing her program in a virtual setting, we knew it would be a great fit for the virtual Summer Reading Program."

While the library's summer programs are usually focused toward teenagers, Murray said this is the first year that the library has done anything like this for young children.

"Summer Reading Program has always been very important to our community," Murray said. "One of the best things about being virtual is having the opportunity to work with artists from all over the country who normally would not be able to travel to Stillwater."

For more information regarding the Stillwater Public Library's summer programming, patrons can visit the library's website or look at the schedule located inside the building.