'Buddy, his Beat-up Gibson and the Gods of Guitar' 15 page comic - artist (Exhibited work)

Synopsis: Currently in production, Wise Up, Kid! –talkin’ peace, love and straight thinkin’ is a pilot for a comic book application for touch screen tablets. Aimed at 10–12 year old children, comics and activity pages address themes of self-worth, compassion, forgiveness, and tolerance. The project is based on the proposal that education lies at the heart of working towards global peace, tolerance and mutual respect. It asserts that a common ground can be found across religion, culture and ideology via a secular approach of curiosity and inclusion. In focusing on the ethical values informing the world’s spiritual traditions, valuable life lessons might be revitalized for contemporary children. The universal language of comics is leveraged to appeal to children; the challenge is to adapt traditional stories for a diverse contemporary audience. Buddy, his Beat-up Gibson and the Gods of Guitar takes its cues from the Jewish Mussar tradition with a story on gratitude as told by Dr. Alan Morinis. The anecdote concerns the famous violinist Itzhak Perlman and a concert in New York. The objective of this adaptation is to encourage children in an attitude of positivity, flexibility and perseverance—valuable attributes for meeting life’s challenges. Such an attitude might come from a gratitude for what we have rather than what we have not.