• Writer/Artist

    I've been incredibly lucky to make a living at what I love to do- writing and drawing.

    I worked for 38 years as a writer/artist in the Humor Department at Hallmark Cards.

    Not only did I spend time with funny and talented people day in and day out, but I had the good fortune to collaborate with some of the top creative professionals in the world. We partnered with licensors Disney, Pixar, Peanuts, Garfield and Warner Brothers. It was fun meeting and working with kindred oddballs who lurked about in other companies.

    I am grateful for the friendships I have made and the lessons I have learned from so many accomplished artists.

  • Creative Lecturer

    Over the years, I’ve given talks on creativity

    It's an interesting subject. All children are creative. So are adults. Scientists, technicians, engineers, mathematicians. Oh wait, that's STEM. (or STEAM as we artists like to call it)

    Creativity is problem solving. Using your imagination to come up with something useful and valuable.

    The challenging part is setting up a process that supports new ideas and encourages collaboration. As I tell students, collaboration is just another way of saying- help each other out.

    Everyone wins in the end.

  • Animator

    As a young nerd, I spent my time drawing cartoon characters. Snoopy, Mickey Mouse, Bullwinkle the moose, Popeye and Gertie the dinosaur (okay, I'm not THAT old).

    Flipbooks were the root of my fixation with animated drawings. I started to decorate the corners of my notebooks with bouncing balls and rocket ships.

    I've done some commercial freelance animation projects to fund the making of my independent short film Boing.

    It was exciting to travel the film festival circuit. We got in a few fun family vacations and I was able to meet with like-minded filmmakers while picking up a couple of awards.

I am currently working on a project with Ron Green at the Digital Storytelling Center of Kansas City. DigiSTORY KC promotes programs and activities to help bridge the digital literacy divide in the urban core.

We are developing a stop motion animation course for grades 4 through 8. The objective is to have students work in teams to create a storyboard and animatic. They use many disciplines  (writing, drawing, photography, sound, music, math, editing) to create an entertaining story.

Like good writing, to be successful in technology you have to communicate quickly and clearly.

STOP-MOTION

I'm surrounded by a supportive and talented family.

My wife Jan not only puts up with my foolishness but encourages it. She helped behavioral challenged students as a Paraprofessional teacher assistant to students in grades 2 through 5. She retired after 25 years and we still have young adults who are taller than us come up to give a hug to Mrs. Daly.

Then there are my daughters Lauren and Kelsey. They are the funniest two people I know. And considering the top-rated cartoonists I’ve worked with over the years, that’s saying something.

Lauren is a Design Engineer, activist and way cool Mom. Her husband Leonard is a Senior Software Engineer who is into programming, 3D printing and building vinyl characters.

Kelsey is a Senior Product Designer in UX/UI design who is my IT support. She goes out of her way to help others and her generosity knows no bounds. Especially toward her spoiled puppy. (I'm talking to you Charlie)

But my two favorites are Samantha and Daniel. They are the only ones in the family who are always nice to Grandpa.

ALL STAR TEAM

Here we are after we failed our first Escape Room. We went on to win all of our other attempts. We once again proved the old adage that if you first don’t succeed, spend a lot of money until you get it right.