Since 2006 I have had the good fortune to work with the Maryland based digital imaging company Direct Dimensions. This company is both conveniently located near my home and one of the premier companies of its type in the country.  They are involved in numerous interesting projects from scanning the Lincoln Memorial to football star Ray Lewis.

Direct Dimensions’ newsletter is always full of cool stuff that the company is currently engaged in.  The current newsletter features KAL animation projects.  There are some good explanations of the technology involved and interesting graphics.

You read all about it HERE.

Here is the official photo from the awards ceremony at the 2009 Ridep (Rencontre Internationale de Dessin du Presse) at Carquefou, France.   The Cartoonists pictured above are (left to right) Rico, South Africa; Paresh, India; Kal, USA; Xia Li Chuan, China; Nik Kowsar,Iran; Mofrey,France; Vladdo, Colombia; Cau Gomez, Brazil.

Sadly, Steve Bell, the great English cartoonist was unable to attend this year. Still other cartoonists from arund the globe were in attendance. The great French cartoonist Plantu of Le Monde made an appearance. Other noted cartoonists from Russia, Cuba, New Zealand, Israel and France also graced the event.

Below is a very short video quickly created for The Economist. We layed down some audio collected from my visit to the Inauguration on top of some sketches from the day.  I like this format and we will be exploring more ways creative ways to use video in the near future

Kal at the Inauguration 

I had the great honor to be in Washington DC for the Presidential Inauguration of January 20th.  It was a frigid day but the spirits of the million plus visitors was warm and bouyant. I was involved with two projects for the Economist on the day.  The first here is a great little video called “The Pilgrimage”. I teamed up with filmmaker Marguerite Howell to capture in words and pictures the special day.  I acted as an interviewer while Marguerite shot, recorded and edited together this nice piece. I am enormously proud to have taken part in this project.

The Pilgrimage

I drew a short cartoon commentary on the events of the day which I will also post on this blog later.

While in Carquefou France for the 10th annual Press cartoon Festival, I was interviewed by Ouest-France newspaper.  You can read the interview here… however you will only understand the article if you speak French! Bon Chance!

               Today the celebrated environmental group, The Chesapeake Bay Foundation launches a news blog called The Bay Daily.The blog will feature the prose and insights of Maryland based environment writer Tom Pelton.  The Blog will also feature a daily KAL sketch. Each day a different verson of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s signature Black Backed Seagull will appear. The mascot’s demeanor in the sketch will reflect the mood of the blog posting. Let’s hope the seagull is smiling more often than not!   Check out the blog HERE

Kal will be honored along with nine other cartoonists around the world in France at the 10th annual RIDEP 2009 in the Breton village of Carquefou. The event January 16-18 will also include cartoonists from China, India, Russia, Cuba, New Zealand, Cameroon, Iran, Colombia, Great Britain and France. There will be exhibitions, panel discussions and many bottles of Muscadet. All events are open to the public. I hope to see you there!

Details can be found at:

http://caricaturque.blogspot.com/2008/10/10th-ridep-2009-carquefou-france.html

I am thinking 2009 will supply a great deal of material for the commentators and satirists around the world. My New Year resolution is to post here on a regular basis.  Come back often and let me know how I fare…