©Cory Cole
Cory Cole has a reputation around town, and her son, of all people, was the one who started it. Three years ago when her son Sam was in Grade 5 at Millbrook South Cavan Public School, Cory made a little pineapple lunch note and stuck it in Sam’s lunch box to be delivered to one of his friends. Like many school notes it was shared, and then shared some more and became an instant hit. Since then, the cartoon lunch messages have continued, and have rarely missed a day, and are a much-anticipated event in the school.
Cory arrived in Millbrook 14 years ago from Sudbury with husband Jamie, equipped with a fine arts degree earned at Brock University and a Graphic Design Degree from Durham College, where she was the highest ranking graduate in her last year. She currently works as a graphic artist in a small publishing house.
Her interest in art began early. As soon as she could hold a crayon, she was using it to create. She knew she wanted to take her love of art somewhere, but art classes for young people were scarce when she was growing up. Her mother overcame that barrier by talking instructors of adult classes into accepting her as a student, so she often found herself surrounded by seniors in her classes. This was not a deterrent: Cory loved the classes, and embraced the consumption of tea with her classmates as she learned about under painting, colour mixing and gesture drawing. She has developed a wide range of fine art skills from pencil, pencil crayon, watercolour, acrylic but she loves markers and prefers to draw cartoons.
Sam suggested she take some of her lunch cartoon creations and turn them into greeting cards, to extend their life expectancy. These cards are now available at the Quilter’s Bolt. Every cartoon on those cards began as a note in Sam’s lunch.
Given her own experience growing up, Cory is sensitive to the aspirations of youngsters wanting to develop their artistic talents. She held her first class for young artists at the Valley Shoppe in Millbrook in February which was very well received. A recent booking for a cartoon class for a Mom & Son retreat through Rustic Mama Retreats has been postponed until November. Private lessons are also available. Cory also accepts commissions, and designed a book Tom Staples requested for his young niece from Australia as a memento of her visit to Canada. She looks forward to getting back to teaching when restrictions are lifted. In the meantime, she has posted a cartoon challenge on her Facebook page for kids to try their hand and have some fun.
Cory has also agreed to provide us with a cartoon each month to share a smile with our readers. Her first reflects how many of us are filling these long days. Thanks, Cory, we need to keep our sense of humour these days. KG
