By George Bell,
Everyone has probably heard of all the benefits to joining a club or society while attending university. So much so that it almost feels like a great pressure to get involved in SOMETHING, otherwise you’d be missing out on a vital part of the university experience. Strathclyde University has a good reputation for our sports and athletics, our cultural groups and political activism; however these clubs and activities are not to everyone’s taste. The Comic Writers & Artists Society was formed to fill this void in creative arts for our students. Comics are the perfect medium, blending creative writing and free expressive art, and we feel that this is the perfect time to explore the possibilities they offer.
Absolutely anyone can get involved in comics, no mater what their perceived skill level; even the best professional artists had to have started somewhere, and that is what this fledgling society is all about. We don’t care about how good you are (or think you aren’t), we just want to see what you want to do and then help make it happen. I mean, it’s all just so much bar room bluster to say “I could do that!” until you put pen to paper and actually produce something.
Some of our members haven’t drawn comics or anything like it at all since primary school and that’s OK! If it’s what they want to do then we facilitate workshops and point them in directions to challenge and help them improve. Those who don’t like drawing or find it too daunting are always welcome as writers; creative writing can have benefits far beyond simply improving communication abilities and opening up channels to accessing one’s imagination.
We meet up twice monthly to talk about our projects, get feedback and help one another improve. There’s always a welcoming atmosphere, we want to hear new ideas, not push our own agenda on you. Recently we’ve started teaming up with the editorial staff at the Strathclyde Telegraph and also a student run inter-university science magazine called The GIST, where our society members have a place that their work can be submitted to and exposed to the student populous; and believe me, we don’t intend on stopping there!
Entering our second year, we aim to tighten our focus and really bring out the best in our members. We’re working on special events and talks from established industry professionals as well as fundraisers for our projects that everyone can get involved in! We want to see you there, we want to hear your stories and we want to help you get them into the hands of people who will enjoy reading them.
If you wish to get involved with CWAS then please get in touch:
strath.cwas@gmail.com
strathstudents.com/cwas
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