C.L.A.W. Open Swim

The Bezango Times was recently allowed into the (not so) secret chambers of King's Books, located in Tacoma, WA. This is where we viewed the proceedings of the C.L.A.W.  'Open Swim'.  C.L.A.W. stands for the Cartoonists League of Absurd Washingtonians and was founded by 'Electic' Elliot Trotter, R.R. Anderson, Mark Monlux, and James Stowe. 

According to the C.L.A.W. mission statement (excerpt): "Our mission is to gather talented Washington State cartoonists of great skill and humongous egos in frequently secluded gatherings during which the secrets and mystic arts of their sublime craft are practiced."

              

   
       

 

These Open Swims are essentially comic jams (pictured above). The Open Swims are held once a month on the fourth Wednesday and are open to all. The topics may change from swim to swim, and generally everyone draws a cartoon or illustration about a specific theme. C.L.A.W. always has a number of projects going on including a zine archive, comic book collaborations, public art projects such as sidewalk chalk art, and an awesome scholarship available to student artists. 

More information is available at their web site: http://www.cartoonistsleague.org/ and their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/97715012866/