Congrats to Carli Idhe, the 1st Dave Simons Scholarship recipient!
From the Inkwell Awards press release:
On May 14 the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art revealed information and photos regarding their 2010 Scholarship Ceremony. Among the many winners, second year student Carli Idhe was the first recipient of the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund sponsored by the Inkwell Awards. “Carli is a very talented 20 year old from Green Bay, WI, who currently has a Cumulative QPA of 3.6 at the Kubert School. Her inking samples were selected from about 20 submissions by members of our faculty of professionals” said Michael Chen, Kubert School Special Projects Coordinator.
Bette Simons, Dave’s sister added “Congratulations to Carli, the first recipient of The Dave Simons Inkwell Awards Memorial Scholarship! It’s refreshing to see such a young, talented artist pursuing the career that Dave loved so dearly. I wish her much success and happiness.
Dave would be floored by this whole process. So many talented and devoted people came together to make this scholarship possible. It is beyond what my words can express to see this come full circle. I hope that with the combined efforts of those so close to Dave that we can continue to make this scholarship an annual event. Thanks to everyone and best wishes to Carli.”
Veteran comic book ink artist Dave Simons joined the Inkwell Awards as a committee member in December 2008 when his cancer had relapsed. He served in the organization until his passing the following June. Following this committee member and friend Bob Shaw presented the committee with the idea of creating the scholarship fund as a tribute to Dave. The organization worked out the details with the consent and support of Bette Simons and contacted Michael Chen that summer. It would consist of a $1000 annual scholarship to a promising student in financial need who would be tested by their non-digital inking samples on bluelines on board. “This is how Dave would have wanted it, with a focus on the traditional craft of inking” said Inkwell Awards director Bob Almond,
“and a sincere congratulations to Carli for all the hard work!”.
