Harts Pass No. 280 - Happy New Year!

Sleep walking into the New Year... but The Force is strong with this one. Much love and Happy New Year to all! (Apologies for the droopy eyes.)

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 52 - 12.29.15

Huzzah! A skate skiing bear. Looking forward to doing a bit more of that myself when time allows!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 51 - 12.28.15

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 50 - 12.27.15

"Northern Lights"

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 49 - 12.26.15

A little holiday break in the post card action, but with today and tomorrow, still five new cards to President Obama to complete the week. Happy Boxing Day and a surly GRRR! for 50 total post cards so far!

A little hard to read I know, but today's card is special in that it also contains a poem by my 12 year old daughter Keeley. Time Somebody Told Me... is terrific (in my humble opinion) and was written as Keeley's own response to our trip to the Arctic. Enjoy if you can see it, and I may post it more clearly at some future date.

Over n' out!

Erik

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 48 - 12.23.15

With fond memories of the Minneapolis, MN Holidazzle :) Happy Christmas Eve!

Harts Pass No. 279

Merry Christmas and Seasons GRRReetings from all of us wild critters at Harts Pass Comics!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 47 - 12.22.15

Perhaps a Christmas theme for the week. We shall see :)

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 46 - 12.21.15

A slight posting delay due to the incompatibility of snowstorms and the internet. Patience is important this time of year :) Happy winter!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 45 - 12.18.15

Let's face it, as awesomely wild and "face of climate change" as they are, polar bears are also just simply cute! -- especially when they're cubs and till haven't opened their eyes yet - ala the viral video from the Columbus Zoo that's been circulating for the last day or two (Google it!). To wit, my baby polar bear -- as yet unnamed -- and drawn while watching the aforementioned 2 minutes of cuteness at least a time or two this afternoon :) Have a great weekend. More polar bears next week!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 44 - 12.17.15

My 44th post card for the the 44th President of the United States. With recent actions to stymie tar sands fracking and some vocal support for climate negotiations in Paris (among other things) President Obama is slowly but surely regaining some credibility as a President willing to act on the environment. Imagined here in the portrait pose of President Jimmy Carter - who took great strides on environmental protections in his own right - a presidential polar bear with some grit and determination to get things done in the final year of his second term.

Harts Pass No. 278

The ski season was officially underway several weeks back, but with a fall marathon finally under my belt I am happy to put away the shoes for a month or two myself :) Happy Holidays!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 43 - 12.16.15

Merry Christmas President Obama! (I really hope - fingers crossed - that all of these post cards are surviving their travels from Winthrop to Washington without too much damage.

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 42 - 12.15.15

A wet wash near water-based sepia inks. I like the soft fades and the loose/unpredictable feel of it.

More student Presidential Polar Bear Post Cards!

More excellent post cards for the President! This time from some friends of mine (and awesome polar bear artists) here in Winthrop!

Once again if others kids/students/classrooms are interested, revisit my first post for an explanation and this later one for a student template and the President's address at the White House :)

I'd love to see anything that you create and add them to the collection! Otherwise, stay tuned for more bears.

GRRR!

Erik

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 41 - 12.14.15

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 40 - 12.11.15

OK, this one's weird... but bees and bears are both in need. A snow hive here and some busy bees in fits of arctic exploration. 40 cards to the Presidents far! Send some of your own with the template here!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 39 - 12.10.15

Inspired by 1950's sci-fi movie posters, we DON'T want our polar bears to become the fodder of science fiction! A collective effort soon solidified at #COP21 #saveourseaice.

Harts Pass No. 277

The C$MyWallet®! Technology beyond your wildest imagination.

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 38 - 12.9.15

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 37 - 12.8.15

And then sometimes you just have fun with it. To wit, a snowboard bear ready for some sweater weather ;) Cheers!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card No. 36 - 12.7.15

Climate talks continue this week in Paris, and the little green leaf/flame with the Eiffel Tower at its midrib or primary vein is the symbol of the conference. LOTS of discussion regarding whether or not enough will come of this... but there IS optimism in both the numbers of participants and in the general sentiment that economic successes can go hand-in-hand with environmental policy. We shall see, and the bears remain optimistic as well!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card No. 35 - 12.4.15

December 5th is National Ninja Day (at least according to the good folks at All the Wonders and others I'm sure - I just haven't checked) and the Polar Bear Post Card Project is getting in on the act!

In this particular scenario, the massive adults of the world (IE the 150 nations currently meeting in Paris to create some consensus on economic and environmental policy regarding climate change) need to "bear" down and get their act together to keep the world from totally falling apart.

THAT way, the our youngest kids and cubs can busy themselves with creative, imaginative, and age-appropriate scenarios of awesomeness - rather than worry about their world slipping quickly into something decidedly worse and unrecognizable or untenable.

Ironically -- especially since this pairing of National Nina Day with these post cards was pretty random -- the following philosophy of the Ninja from the Bujinkan Kocho Dojo is pretty much just about perfect for the action needed on climate change:

A ninja, using the power of his spirit to see through the fears and illusions that would coerce lesser people into doing unjust and immoral things, can realize the harmonious playing out of the forces of the universe and act accordingly.

And so it goes. Polar Bear Ninjas for Climate Change!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card No. 34 - 12.3.15

In the spirit of coming together on climate change...

Harts Pass No. 276

It's been a while since I've done a "History of Grit" strip, but here you go! On this date in 1847...

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 33 - 12.2.15

"Snowstorm!"

A Polar Bear Post Card skype chat and student contributions!

A select few Polar Bear Post Cards from the kids at Daniel Bagley (more on the way!)

And a great post card (plus inspiring companion!) from a young home schooler :)

A few student contributions to the Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project have been rolling through the inbox of late... and today I am chatting with some excellent 4th and 5th graders at Daniel Bagley Elementary in Seattle. Thanks for pitching in and adding a few more bears to President Obama's mail box you all.

If others are interested, revisit my first post for an explanation and this later one for a student template and the President's address at the White House :)

I'd love to see anything the you create and add them to the collection! Otherwise, stay tuned for more bears.

GRRR!

Erik

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 32 - 12.1.15

And the work of forming a global perspective on climate change -- on scales both minute and grandiose -- is under way at COP21. The conference continues Nov. 30 - Dec. 11 but results should hopefully carry on for years beyond!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 31 - 11.30.15

The COP21 or the United Nations Conference on Climate Change began yesterday in Paris. And for my post card, a polar bear with the subtle likeness of Prince Charles.

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 30 - 11.27.15

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 29 - 11.26.15

Admittedly, this could be a lemming as easily as it could be a bear... but you can't fault a guy for playing around with style!

Harts Pass No. 275

Happy Thanksgiving!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 28 - 11.25.15

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 27 - 11.24.15

For Nola, the White Rhino who died November 23rd at the San Diego Zoo. There are now only three remaining White Rhinos left in the world... #Nola4Ever #EndExtinction

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 26 - 11.23.15

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 25 - 11.20.15

Hello all. PPBPC No. 25! Cheers to the first person correctly guessing today's inspiration :)

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 24 - 11.19.15

"Blue"

Harts Pass No. 274

Surprised by nearly a foot of snow in the driveway on Tuesday morning. Winter indeed! YES!!!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 23 - 11.18.15

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 22 - 11.17.15

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 21 - 11.16.15

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 20 - 11.14.15

For Paris.

Coloring Page: The Runaway Tortilla!

A fine week of sharing The Runaway Tortilla, The Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project, and many other bookish things at both SCBWI's Inside Story and with kids at Maple Hills Elementary School! Much thanks to all and I will have more to post from the school visit in another day or two :)

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 19 - 11.13.14

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 18 - 11.11.15

Arg! A little trouble finding a quality scanner in order to post this from the midst of school visit travels... Although its far less nice than it would be scanned at home, here is my Veteran's Day polar bear mailing. With GRRRattitude!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 17 - 11.10.15

Harts Pass No. 273

For their recent (and historically ongoing) support of SO many worthy causes -- both high school sports and otherwise -- the Liberty Bell High School Booster Club and the Winthrop Kiwanis get a special shout out in this week's Harts Pass. Its a stalwart and dedicated bunch, but they are also always looking for new members. Get behind a mountain lion and give 'em all a boost!

Presidential Polar Bear Post Card Project No. 16 - 11.9.15

Lots of GRRRowling wolverines in my Harts Pass comic strip... but the gritty determination is appropriate here for polar bears as well. GRRR!