Cartooning is very much the family business in her home, since she is married to a fellow New Yorker cartoonist, Michael Maslin. The two even co-wrote and drew a book, Cartoon Marriage / Adventures in Love and Matrimony by The New Yorker's Cartooning Couple ( Random House, 2008).“We met at a party” of New Yorker contributors, she says. Although you might expect that having a husband and wife in such a small and quirky field might get competitive or complicated, Donnelly says it’s actually quite simple.“We don’t show each other our work until it’s published,” she explains, so there are no spats over who gets to make use of amusing incidents from their daily lives. The couple, who live in a suburb of New York City, have two daughters in their twenties, “who are both artistically inclined,” not surprisingly.Having two cartoonist parents was fun for them growing up, Donnelly says, but they also saw “how hard it is, not having a steady paycheck.” New Yorker cartoonists submit their work each week, and even for established contributors such as Donnelly and Maslin, there is no guarantee their work will be accepted.Although she acknowledges that cartooning is a lot of fun, sometimes it isn’t easy.“When I was dealing with an illness in the family, it was hard,” she recalls. 9/11 was also a turning point for her. “Making people laugh is a wonderful job. But I had always had this feeling that I need to save the world. And I began to do cartoons that were more political, where I make people laugh through politics.”She also began to write, and now has a blog that runs on Forbes.com, where she writes about issues in the news that interest her.“It’s a great venue for me. I feel I’m really finding my voice,” she says. Recently, she interviewed Garry Trudeau, the creator of Doonesbury, after he did a series of comics about sexual abuse in the military, for the blog.Donnelly is philosophical about the fact that men still outnumber women in cartooning, and is working on a book called, Women on Men, that will come out next year. “When I meet women from all over the world who are cartoonists, we talk about why there aren’t more of us. And about how politics affect daily life, and how cartoons can be a way to share our humanity.”For more information on Animix, and Donnelly’s appearance there, go to http://www.animixfest.co.il You can check out Donnelly’s work on her Website at www.lizadonnelly.com
Drawing upon humor for change
From 'The New Yorker' to Tel Aviv: Political cartoonist Liza Donnelly heads for Animix.
Cartooning is very much the family business in her home, since she is married to a fellow New Yorker cartoonist, Michael Maslin. The two even co-wrote and drew a book, Cartoon Marriage / Adventures in Love and Matrimony by The New Yorker's Cartooning Couple ( Random House, 2008).“We met at a party” of New Yorker contributors, she says. Although you might expect that having a husband and wife in such a small and quirky field might get competitive or complicated, Donnelly says it’s actually quite simple.“We don’t show each other our work until it’s published,” she explains, so there are no spats over who gets to make use of amusing incidents from their daily lives. The couple, who live in a suburb of New York City, have two daughters in their twenties, “who are both artistically inclined,” not surprisingly.Having two cartoonist parents was fun for them growing up, Donnelly says, but they also saw “how hard it is, not having a steady paycheck.” New Yorker cartoonists submit their work each week, and even for established contributors such as Donnelly and Maslin, there is no guarantee their work will be accepted.Although she acknowledges that cartooning is a lot of fun, sometimes it isn’t easy.“When I was dealing with an illness in the family, it was hard,” she recalls. 9/11 was also a turning point for her. “Making people laugh is a wonderful job. But I had always had this feeling that I need to save the world. And I began to do cartoons that were more political, where I make people laugh through politics.”She also began to write, and now has a blog that runs on Forbes.com, where she writes about issues in the news that interest her.“It’s a great venue for me. I feel I’m really finding my voice,” she says. Recently, she interviewed Garry Trudeau, the creator of Doonesbury, after he did a series of comics about sexual abuse in the military, for the blog.Donnelly is philosophical about the fact that men still outnumber women in cartooning, and is working on a book called, Women on Men, that will come out next year. “When I meet women from all over the world who are cartoonists, we talk about why there aren’t more of us. And about how politics affect daily life, and how cartoons can be a way to share our humanity.”For more information on Animix, and Donnelly’s appearance there, go to http://www.animixfest.co.il You can check out Donnelly’s work on her Website at www.lizadonnelly.com