Theresa McCracken

Year of birth - 1957

Training - One art course in college where I received a D. The professor said my proportions were off. I said Picasso's proportions were off. He said I wasn't Picasso. My noses are directly proportional to the size of feet, all of which are always large.

First published in - The Intowner, a free weekly in Washington D.C. I was amazed the editor picked the cartoon he did because in my mind it was and still is one of the worst cartoons I ever drew. This may explain why I didn't sell another cartoon for six months.

Year first published - 1981

Cartoons published in - Hundreds of publications, ranging from the Saturday Evening Post to the Oregonian, to trade journals whose audiences range from anemic agriculturalists or Zen zoologists.

Exhibitions - When the Warsaw Museum of Diving approached me about exhibiting some of my SCUBA cartoons I thought it was--what else--a Polish Joke. But it wasn't. My work has also appeared in the Zenum International Salon of Caricature in Belgrade and at the UN.

Awards - None as a cartoonist, unless you count the time I once won the Cartoon of the Week contest on the The Wisenheimer, a cartoonists' board. As a naturalist, though, I was named the Pacific Northwest Naturalist of the year in 1994. My parents were very proud.

Books illustrated - My cartoons have appeared in hundreds of books, on topics ranging from nanotechnology, archaeology, human rights and surviving writing a pre-nuptial agreement. My work has also appeared in dozens of cartoon anthologies.

Location - Waldport, Oregon, a small town (population 2,050) on the Pacific Ocean. Actually, I live in the woods about five miles outside of town, so I guess you could say I live in the not-so-greater Waldport metropolitan area.

Hobbies - I lead nature walks and cruises where I talk about the secret life of slugs, why it takes a minimum of three whales to mate, the uses of plants for everything from preventing baldness to improving a dismal love life, to other sorts of odd ball stuff.

Specific expertise - I can tie my shoes by myself.

Professional projects - Yours, I hope.

Gag Cartoon

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