With just three days left before the Red Dot Auction, we wanted to share with you the stories of the artists who have donated art work (or in some cases, more than one) to this year’s Red Dot Auction. This fundraiser, now in its sixth year, benefits the programs of the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity. Today we feature artist Ron Ferdinand.Ron was born in 1951 in New York City. “My interest in cartooning began as soon as I could turn on a TV set! Crusader Rabbit, Colonel Bleep and Clutch Cargo were early influences,” said Ron. With the advent of the ’60s and Hanna-Barbera, I was in seventh heaven. The animated Disney films were also a sanctuary from the outside world.” Ron attended The School of Visual Arts from 1971-1973 and The Art Students League in 1974, where he studied anatomy with Gustav Rehburger. In 1981, Ron read an interview with Hank Ketcham in Jud Hurd’s monthly publication, Cartoonist PROfiles. “I sent Hank some pencil sketches of the various characters, and after a few months of correspondence, I was brought on board to work on the Dennis the Menace comic books for Marvel.” In 1982, Ron began drawing the Dennis Sunday page, which he continues to draw today.

Will you go home with Ron's donation to this year's Red Dot Auction? Ticket’s available at ChuckJonesCenter.org/RedDot. Pre-bidding is now available at Heritage Auctions, click here to place your bids

Chuck Jones Center for Creativity Presents a Creative Classroom Led byLeigh Rubin, Author & Illustrator of the Syndicated Comic Strip, Rubes®

Sunday, November 15 from 2 to 4 PM

A Musical Performance by Andrew Rubin Will Close the Workshop

Costa Mesa, Ca: Need more humor in your life? The world is a serious place and let’s face it, we all need to lighten up. There really is humor in almost any situation, but how do we find it? All it takes is a bit of mental twist to look at your world in a funny way. Discover the humor in your own life by mentally stepping out of your normal routine and into your very own twistedly absurd and funny world! This illustrated lecture and workshop is a comic adventure inside the ridiculously twisted mind of Leigh Rubin, Rubes® cartoonist and “sit down” comic. This afternoon presentation is free and open to the public and is recommended for ages 10 and above. At the end of the lecture, Leigh’s talented musician son, Andrew, will perform for approximately one-half hour.

Leigh Rubin began his cartooning career in 1978 by establishing his own greeting card company, Rubes® Publications. His first cartoon collection, the popular Notable Quotes musical cartoons was published in 1981. Originally self-syndicated, 2014 marked the 30th anniversary of his daily cartoon, Rubes®, which is now distributed by Creators Syndicate to more than 400 newspapers and media outlets worldwide. Rubes® appears in major daily metropolitan newspapers, such as the Los Angeles Daily News, the Vancouver Sun, the Oregonian, the Staten Island Advance, the Washington Times, the Sacramento Bee, the Houston Chronicle, and the Orange County Register. Rubin recently launched a new website, WhyGrowUp.Club, celebrating life’s simple pleasures.

The Chuck Jones Center for Creativity’s Creative Classroom began with a workshop led by children’s author and illustrator, Kelly Light, in February 2015 and is a quarterly free-to-the-public workshop presented by the Center. Award-winning actor and illustrator, Richard Kinsey delighted the summer crowd with his innovative take on storytelling. The Center is pleased to present “A Twisted Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste”, led by the funny and charming, Leigh Rubin, as part of this ongoing series.

Andrew Rubin, of California's Central Coast, has been cultivating his passion for music since he was thirteen years old. He is best known as the lead guitarist of the rock trio, The Spaces Between, and has a background of various musical projects involving Pop, Jazz, Funk, and more. In more recent times, Andrew discovered a new-found love for classical music and, with support from peers and mentors, has taken up composition. Now 20, he is currently working on his third classical piece, and aims to continue with great vigor the writing and performance that brings him so much joy, as well as further exploration and progress in all branches of his musical career. The Center is pleased to present Andrew Rubin in a short concert appearance after his father’s workshop.

The Leigh Rubin Creative Classroom is on Sunday, November 15, 2015 from 2 to 4 PM. It is free and open to the public. RSVP is required. Please contact Programs@ChuckJonesCenter.org or call 949-660-7793 x 107 to reserve your seat.