Pulitzer-Winning Cartoonist Speaks With OHS Students

by Cara Russell

Orcas High School Juniors and Seniors tune in to Horsey’s talk

Two-time Pulitzer-Prize winning political cartoonist David Horsey visited Orcas this weekend to speak at the Crossroads Lecture Series. Before he left, he paid a special visit to Orcas Island High School.

Junior and Seniors of OHS filled Kathy Collister’s classroom on Monday morning to see a special presentation by Horsey. Some of the kids were tired and blurry-eyed, but Horsey had their attention instantly when he said “I’m not usually up before noon. Do you guys like getting up this early?”

Horsey gave a multimedia presentation by showing slides of cartoons from his newest book The Last Refuge of Scoundrels. Horsey was engaging as he shared highlights from the book, which reflects his view on news over the last five years, and the “debilitating polarization of American politics in the age of Obama.” The political jokes were current enough that they did not go over the heads of the students. He had them laughing over every cartoon and caption—the kids pointing out details and smaller jokes within the cartoon.

The students had many questions about Horsey’s process and how he comes up with his cartoons. Horsey said that if he is experiencing an artistic block, he goes for a drive in his car to focus his mind. He explained that every week he creates four cartoons with a written column for each. He keeps up on current issues, still draws by hand, then scans it onto the computer to add the color, and captions. “The picture sets up the joke,” Horsey explained. But since he has been doing this so long, “I have gotten pretty fast.”

Horsey had inspiration while he was developing his craft—Mad Magazine, Disney cartoons, and political cartoonist Ron Cob. The high school newspaper was his favorite class. It was in this class where he developed his passion for art and journalism, and where he met his wife. “I feel like I’m getting away with something” Horsey joked to the class. “I get paid to draw!”

By the end of the lecture, teacher Corey Wiscomb asked Horsey for any advice he could offer the students who are looking to pursue a career in (political) cartooning and journalism. Horsey responded by saying that the narrowing field of editorial cartoonists was small to begin with back when he was just starting out—just a few hundred in the country. “It’s tough to get in to editorial cartooning, but with the internet there may be more options for future artists and journalists. You just won’t get paid very much.”

Perhaps Horsey’s visit to Orcas High School will inspire some of the students of OHS to bring back the journalism class, and maybe the next generation of journalists. “I like young people — they are much more open to the social changes that are happening in the country,” said Horsey.