Wadsworth cartoonist Jeff Nicholas first picked up a pencil at age 4.
The rest is history!
“All of my writing is done in rhyme. If it’s not in rhyme, it doesn’t make sense to me,” explained Nicholas.
He took his love for writing and drawing to the classroom for decades, before retiring three years ago from Highland.
“I couldn’t stand being in retirement,” Nicholas explained. He missed the children and teaching. So, he headed back to the classroom where he currently teaches part-time at Wadsworth Middle School.
Vibrant, passionate and talented describe Nicholas perfectly. He loves his hobby, loves sharing it with others and loves seeing how each child interprets his drawings.
“I teach kids to write and draw and I just love it.”
Over the next two months, Nicholas will visit 76 libraries in Ohio and Michigan. He comes to the Wadsworth Public Library on June 16 at 1 p.m. for a free presentation.
Nicholas also does a class at Sandy Hook Elementary.
Many Wadsworthians have heard the story of Sylvia Beach who disappeared in 1824. Her tombstone reads, “lost in the woods and never found.” What you may not know, is that Nicholas was the author and illustrator behind the 2014 book, “The Story of Sylvia Beach.”
“It’s about a little girl who wanders away from a cabin and never comes home. Roger Havens (Franklin Elementary School principal) explained the whole history to me…and so we had to make this story a nice cheerful thing for the candlelight walk,” Nicholas explained. “Eventually, Sylvia shows up each year at the candlelight walk, drawn in a very light-hearted way, and it ends with her possibly being in a ‘friendly’ bear cave.”
To see Jeff’s schedule, artwork and website, click here: http://www.jnicholasart.com/.
