Resource Development Team 2024

Authors: Clement Yeh, MFA Publishing Manager: Dani Collins, MEd Copy Editing: Kaitlyn Meyers, BA Production: Jessica Obando Almache, BCS

Artist Biography

Clement Yeh

Clement Yeh is an artist, parent, husband, community advocate, educator, and student of life. Born to Chinese parents in England, he grew up in Calgary on Treaty 7 land. Comics were an early  creative influence that inspired him to pursue fine art, leading to a BFA at AuArts and an MFA at Concordia University. He currently teaches in the Communication and Visual Arts department at Thompson Rivers University on traditional unceded Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc Territory (Kamloops, BC), and sits on the Board of the Kamloops Arts Council. His primary medium is figurative drawing, and he is passionate about supporting the role that art plays in personal growth, confronting social issues, and uplifting the quality of life in society.

Artist Biography

Bryanna Dyer aka Gouda Mourning

As a queer neurospicy kid with more bullies than friends I went into making my own comics as a means of acquiring the love and admiration I craved. My school peers didn’t read them, so I abandoned the idea of friendship in the pursuit of literally making my own companions. After years of growing up and exploring my Magnum Opus I found myself in this Graphic Novels course expanding on a concept I just scribbled as a fun exploration of zombie media in a more sugar coated lens. While I normally default to utilizing my oldest and most cherished characters for art projects, I found myself exploring this throwaway idea instead. This was my first time playing with the absence of color and writing a story in the Zombie Apocalypse genre of horror and all things considered I’m glad I was able to make something different. Currently I struggle to actually produce much art these days and I’ve been afraid to even post anything to my Instagram (@Bryannalynndyer) thanks to the generative AI panic. I see a million things I could’ve done better but maybe just having it exist is okay right now.

Artist Biography

Kazia Poore

Kazia Poore is an artist based in Kamloops, where she received her BFA at Thompson Rivers University. She focuses on drawing, painting, and photography. Her artistic focus revolved around hands, mental health, emotions, and dance. She often draws from real life experiences and finds that she can express herself better through art than words. You can find her with a sketchbook and novel in hand amongst the trees, cafes, and beaches where she likes to spend her free time.

Artist Biography

Reese Dolphy

Hello! Bonjour! Namaste! My name is Reese Dolphy, while my nom de plume is +Zeys+. My roots lie in the southern part of India, and I'm here at Kamloops' TRU pursuing a diploma in Visual Arts. I use he/him pronouns and avan/da pronouns in Malayalam. Growing up in India, I was introduced to Tinkle comics, which is a collection of comics published by Amar Chitra Katha. They were commonly found during train journeys and were big on entertainment back before phones. One of my favorite comics in Tinkle is called Ramu & Shamu, which is about twin boys and their everyday mischief. When it came to creating this graphic novel, I initially wanted to capture a similar mischief of my furbabies and what it was like living with them, and thus, Lunatics was born. I now have a way of treasuring my favorite memories in wholesome comic stories like 'Lunatics,' and I'm grateful to Clement Lap-Kung Yeh, my professor, for this.

Artist Biography

Augusta Nwuke

My name is Augusta Nwuke but my artist name is Theeafrican_ninja or TAFN for short. I am a Nigerian who is learning to embrace my creative identity in everything I am involved in. I love making characters and designing them along with making stories to match! I am currently working on a webtoon called SUPER AIGLE, which rightfully takes up much of my time, much like my work and school work, however I love it. I hope to one day tell different stories inspired by my religious faith and culture and hopefully encourage more Nigerian women to embrace their uniqueness and creativity, God willingly.

Artist Biography

Jaisung Singh Lidder

Hello, I’m Jaisung Singh Lidder and a student studying both Computing Science and Mathematics. With this project I have branched out from stressing over equations to stressing over whether the lines I have made are straight or not. I have little to no experience with making comics or drawing. However, I’m always willing to try new things. The “Afterlife Appraisal” was inspired when I did a bureaucratic intensive office job over one summer and my love for mythology. I’m hoping that readers at least find it somewhat funny and inspiring that someone with no comic experience has created a comic.