About

Patrick Lay (he/him) is a cartoonist from Northwest Ohio. He gets just as excited about sad things as he does about happy things (imagine a Golden Retriever raised by cats). His comics are teen and all-ages stories about our relationships with each other and the ups and downs of a wild world.

He earned a B.S.F.A in Oil Painting from Valparaiso University and an MFA in Comics from the California College of the Arts. He is the artist for Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis with writer David Maass, released in early 2024 through Berger Books, an imprint of Dark Horse Comics. He has also self-published the webcomic Screaming Mimi Kids, the all-ages sci-fi adventure Multi-, along with writer Nick Dutro, and several other comics and mini comics. He co-hosted the podcast Pop!Whiz!Bang! A Comics Conversation with Meggie Ramm.

He is currently an adjunct professor at Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio, teaching Comics and Narrative Practice 1 & 2 and Self Publishing. He also works as a freelance graphic designer.

Drop him a line!

patrick.lay2@gmail.com

Teaching Philosophy

The goal of an arts education is not only to develop the expression and craft of emerging artists, but also to prepare them for the rhythm of an artistic life. There’s no single path to success. I believe each student can be given the tools and skills to build their own artistic rhythm and find their own path; to become thoughtful, lifelong artists.

My approach to curriculum is based on scaffolding lessons that take student art practice from the basic to the complex. As working artists are rarely given the opportunity to indulge in a career of pure production, I feel students should have lessons enriched with history, academic study of the medium and insights into professional practice. This includes lessons about the basic elements of art practice, coupled with discussion about the medium’s strengths and weaknesses. Readings that highlight the diversity of comics are essential for students seeking to understand the cultural context of their own work and the work of their colleagues. Critical comics, illustrations, and essays allow students to exercise their cartooning and analytical skills while exploring the form of the comic essay itself.

As a leader in a business environment, I have found a great deal of success when teammates are invested in each other’s triumphs. I have experienced the same dynamic in the classroom. Peer critique is essential towards that investment, with the instructor acting as a guiding voice towards productive and useful feedback. It is an essential mission to me as a creator and educator that respect permeate all critique activities and that diversity of experience, opinion, and expression is celebrated. A peer critique is an ideal opportunity to practice the skills needed to bring that philosophy out of the classroom and into professional and social lives.

Lastly, I place great value on the quality of effort expended. A successful artist can rarely be made from a mediocre effort and it is important to set the standards high for even the most accomplished students. That means individual assessment of achievement levels, allowing each student to grow at a pace that is challenging. I will ask students to be uncomfortable. The space for failure exists in that environment, a condition that I think is essential to the foundation of an artistic life. I will ask my students to try, fail, and try again; the embodiment of quality effort. Students who hope to perform art as a lifetime activity must come to understand that failure is not a closed door, but an opportunity to grow in unexpected directions.

My students leave the classroom with sets of terminology, tools, resources, and relationships that can be used as a foundation to an artistic life. Students will have thought critically, written analytically, and cartooned both narratively and didactically. Coupled with those exercises is the opportunity to express themselves verbally and lend useful critique to fellow artists. My goal is to help students discover a lifetime of art-making, with the tools to express themselves, the flexibility to adjust to changing priorities, and the passion to put forth a full effort without the guarantee of success.

Artist Statement

I love exploring personal narratives: the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. Whether you describe those stories as core beliefs or automatic thoughts, as cognitive behavior therapy suggests, they have a powerful impact on our decisions and actions. In my comics, characters confront and re-evaluate their personal narratives, modeling a process of growth that can be painful, de-stabilizing and difficult, but very healthy and often necessary to create better relationships with others and self. This evaluation often circles around the concepts of personal responsibility, familial connection, and moral re-evaluation. I’m also deeply interested in the concepts of Humanist and Existential philosophy, and my characters are engaged with re-defining their morality in a godless world and choosing the meaningful projects of their lives.

Depicting this process of re-evaluation in children’s and teen’s fiction can provide a framework as they begin that process themselves, and my aim is to create a text that readers can revisit as they grow. Comics are an excellent vehicle for that exploration, as the medium requires an active mind from the reader, interpreting the relationships between images and words, and creating narrative connections. That mental activation allows the story to be narrated in the readers’ own voice and intuitive logical framework for the reader. Comics are particularly adept at allowing a reader’s cognitive framework and ability level interpret the work.

CV

Education

California College of the Arts, Master of Fine Arts in Comics, 2017

Valparaiso University, Bachelor of Science in Fine Arts, 2009

Publications as Author

| 2024

Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis, Dave Maass and Patrick Lay, Berger Books, an imprint of Dark Horse Comics

| 2019

Hot Air Balloon, Patrick Lay, Self-published

| 2018

“Cough” in Vagabond Comics Issue #9, Vagabond Comics Collective

Screaming Mimi Kids, Patrick Lay, Self-published

“Who ya’ Gonna Call? Pt. 2”, Multi-, Nick Dutro and Patrick Lay, Self-published

| 2017

“Who ya’ Gonna Call?”, Multi-, Nick Dutro and Patrick Lay, Self-published

Ramble, Patrick Lay, Self-published

Screaming Mimi Kids, Patrick Lay, Self-Published

| 2016

“First Day” in Vagabond Comics Issue #4, Vagabond Comics Collective

Dance, Mini-Comic, Self-published

| 2015

“Kids on the Run pt. 1”, Multi-, Nick Dutro, Patrick Lay, Self-published

“Kids on the Run pt. 2”, Multi-, Nick Dutro, Patrick Lay, Self-published

Work Experience

| Columbus College of Art and Design • Columbus, OH

Jan. 2022-Present Adjunct Professor — Comics and Narrative Illustration I & II, Self Publishing

| P. Lay Comics & Illustration • Tiffin, OH

April 2015–Present Freelance Graphic Designer

Communicate with clients to define client briefs and timelines.
Design and deliver high-quality logos, promo materials, and design assets for digital and print use.

| MLAD Graphic Design Services • Tiffin, OH

Sept. 2019 - August 2022 Graphic Designer

Coordinate with clients and translate briefs to identify needs, timelines, and aesthetics.
Design assets primarily for print and advertising specialties.
Operate several digital presses and other equipment to deliver a wide array of physical products.

| Camden Falls Conference and Reception Center and Carmie’s BBQ & Grill, Tiffin, OH

August 2016-Present Operations Manager

Oversee front-of-house operations.

Generate orders and maintain inventory for beverages and dry stock.

Provide guidance and discipline to kitchen managers.

Create and implement marketing strategies.

Visiting Artist Presentations

| 2019 Sing a Song, Draw Along, A2CAF Program, Ann Arbor, MI

Fundamentals of Comics Workshop, 6th-8th Grade, Juneau Community Charter School, Juneau, AK

| 2018 Workshop, K-5th Grade, Discovery School, Mansfield, OH

Career Summary, Freshmen, Thunder Mountain School, Juneau, AK

Workshop, 3rd Grade, Mendenhall River School, Juneau, AK

| 2017 “Comics are for Everyone”, Fandemonium Youth Group, Ashland Public Library, Ashland, OH

| 2016 “Comics in Form and Education”, Regular Board Meeting, Tiffin Art Guild, Tiffin, OH

| 2015 “Comics are for Everyone”, 6-8 grade with learning and cognitive disabilities, Tiffin Middle School, Tiffin, OH

Conventions

| 2024 Emerald City Comic Con, March (planned)

Alaska Robotics Mini-Con and Comics Camp, April (planned)

TCAF, May (planned)

| 2019 Genghiscon, December 1, 2019

TCZinefest, September 21, 2019

SPX, September 14-15, Bethesda, MD

St. Louis Small Press Expo, August 17, St. Louis, MO

CAKE, June 1-2, Chicago, IL

A2CAF, June 15-16, Ann Arbor, MI

Alaska Robotics Mini-Con and Comics Camp, April 25-30, Juneau, AK

DiNK, April 13-14, Denver, CO

| 2018 Alaska Robotics Mini-Con and Comics Camp, April 27-May 1, Juneau, AK

Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, September 29-30, Columbus, OH

St. Louis Small Press Expo, October 13, St. Louis, MO

| 2017 Genghis Con, November 25, Cleveland, OH

Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, September 30-October 1, Columbus, OH

S.P.A.C.E, March 25-26, Columbus, OH

| 2016 Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, October 15-16, Columbus, OH

S.P.A.C.E. , April 9-10, Columbus, OH

Selected Exhibitions

| 2016 Emanata, group exhibition, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA

| 2013 Sustainability, group exhibition, The Diane Kidd Gallery, Tiffin University, Tiffin, OH

| 2009 Bachelor’s Degree in the Science of Fine Arts Exhibition, group exhibition, Brauer Museum of Art, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN