CLS: Jenny Campbell

Join Cartoonist Jenny Campbell for an afternoon workshop on Tuesday, Aug 16 at 3:30 p.m. in the Train Station.

Campbell has been a freelance cartoonist and a children’s illustrator for 33 years. Most notably, She writes and draws “Flo & Friends” a daily and Sunday strip featuring an ensemble cast of senior citizens that is distributed by Creators Syndicate. Currently, “Flo & Friends” is published in newspapers from Kailua-Kona, HI, to Newark, NJ, and has a loyal internet following (creators.com/read/flo-and-friends).

In addition to the cartoon strip, Campbell has been a prolific children’s book illustrator, with more than 25 picture books to her credit, including several that have won national awards. Her other work in kids’ literature includes hundreds of K-5 textbooks and a myriad of children’s publications, including Highlights for Children, for whom she was a monthly contributor for more than a dozen years. Her work in children’s books has made her a popular speaker, who often takes her interactive art and literacy program to schools and libraries throughout the Midwest and occasionally nationwide.

In addition, Campbell is the principal cartoonist for Outside the Lines Creative Group (otlcreativegroup.com,) which supplies innovative cartoon communications to corporations and organizations across the country, ranging from manufacturing and healthcare to national parks.

Campbell, an avid animal lover, is a prolific contributor to multiple animal welfare organizations. Her clients started with Rescue Village, Geauga County Humane Society, when it was built in 2001. She created the artwork that was part of the shelter’s branding and has continued to contribute cartoons for fundraising and editorial materials. That relationship led to many other clients in animal welfare. Currently, her artwork graces transport vans for PetFix Northeast Ohio, the ASPCA’s Humane Alliance and the Cleveland City Kennel. Her other work in animal welfare includes the cartoon dog and cat on the state of Ohio’s specialty “Pet Plate” license plate.

Before she became a fulltime illustrator, Campbell was an award-winning newspaper writer for 13 years, first for The Arizona Republic in Phoenix; then the Pasadena Star-News and The Orange County Register in Southern California. Following in her father’s footsteps, she was a sixth-generation journalist when she graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in ‘79.

Campbell lives in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, with her partner of 33 years, Amy Sancetta, a retired Pulitzer Prize-winning AP photographer. She shares her studio on three acres in the woods with Tanner and Grayson, two enthusiastic hound mixes; and Rizz, a 9-year-old formerly feral tabby who is not amused by the pups. All were adopted from Rescue Village.