Jamie Smith says that his long standing comic strip, “Nuggets,” which has run in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner since 1988, has made for deep connections across the state of Alaska.
“I’m grateful how much making art habitually becomes an everyday activity like eating, drinking, breathing, sleeping, exercise, etcetera, so there’s no waiting for any muse or inspiration,” Smith said. “Being a full-time art teacher definitely underscores this attitude: it’s called art ‘work’ for a reason.”
Smith is a cartoonist, painter and printmaker, and shares “Nuggets” weekly on his Instagram. In addition to his work as an illustrator, Smith is a faculty member of the University of Alaska’s Fine Art department, as well as a freelance designer, putting his spin on local business logos, posters and t-shirts.
“Another thing is the sublime perspective from being old enough to remember when comics were supposed to be bad for you, to see firsthand the paradigm shift where they are now instead viewed as fantastic opportunities to instill a lifelong love of reading,” Smith said.
In Smith’s youth, his dad taught Latin and French, and used non-English editions of “Asterix the Gaul,” the first volume of a 60s cartoon series laying around the house. Before he could read English, Smith says he began assembling his own narratives from the characters as they came across the pages, and then started making his own comic books.
“A librarian mom also ushered in a love of pictures and words,” Smith said. “Illustrators like Maurice Sendak, Garth Williams and Ernest Shepard changed my childhood. Later on, MAD magazine’s Don Martin, and discovering EC Comics and all the underground comics like Slow Death, and the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers.”
He says the biggest hook came after being introduced to B. Kliban’s single-panel gag cartoons. “His seminal work was the single most influential on my own,” Smith said.
“After recently talking with another artist friend about how much humor is a coping mechanism, a kinda buffer zone against the constant challenges faced by folks up here,” Smith said. “Sometimes you just gotta laugh at the absurdity of it all too, and a little bit of levity goes a long way when it comes to making it through the day these days — and the long, dark nights of 40 below.”
Sam Davenport is a writer residing in Anchorage. She's a leo and a plant-person, and loves spending quality time with her dog, Aspen. She is a Real Housewives fan and has been called a Bravo historian.