It’s Time For 365 Days Of Ward Kimball

A companion to my upcoming biography of Ward Kimball, 365 Days of Ward will be updated EVERY SINGLE DAY for the next year. The site is a bit of an online experiment–an attempt to explore biographical storytelling through the crisp rapid visual bursts of the Tumblr format. Perhaps there’s something dissonant about presenting someone’s life via a blogging platform that didn’t exist when they were alive, but considering Ward’s forward-thinking approach to life, I want to honor his legacy with a little unconventional thinking.

By itself, I hope 365 Days of Ward will provide a daily jolt of inspiration–an introduction to the wealth of creativity that flowed from Ward’s mind for over 80 years–but I also hope it’ll whet your appetite for the in-depth book Full Steam Ahead!: The Life and Art of Ward Kimball, which provides the context for much of what I’ll be sharing over the next year.

Below is the daily schedule of posts. I anticipate there’ll be breaks in the format, but this is the general plan:

Mondays: Animation-related artwork by Ward

Tuesdays: “Asinine Alley”, a look at the antique automobile comics that Ward drew for thirty years

Wednesdays: Animated GIFs of some of Ward’s famous animation moments

Thursdays: Dedicated to the Grizzly Flats, the legendary full-sized railroad that Ward operated in his backyard

Fridays: Music-related posts that explore Ward’s twenty-plus years as the leader of the quirky jazz group The Firehouse Five Plus Two

Saturdays and Sundays: Random fun–childhood artwork, personal sketches, caricatures, posters, photos, and other ephemera

If you’ve always wanted to know more about animation’s rebellious wild man, pay close attention for the next 365 days.