Since 2014, the Kevin Workman Foundation has been offering a scholarship of sorts, granting one talented individual each year the opportunity of a lifetime to showcase, promote, and sell their work at San Diego Comic-Con. Recipients get an entire booth to themselves, plus a myriad of opportunities for networking with professionals, peers, and fans.

 

“I teach all week and all day on Tuesday. I actually teach a few sections of printmaking. My teaching philosophy has always been based around developing independence,” Santa-Maria said. “I am extremely hands on when the semester begins and try to impart an understanding of the medium. As the semester goes on, I am able to work alongside my students as a studio atmosphere develops. At this point, I taper off my involvement and call on the best students to help the ones who are struggling and only step in when that doesn’t work or if I am introducing a new concept or technique.”

 

Santa-Maria specializes in linoleum block printing — a unique art form that caught the eye of a KWF member at Designer-Con in Anaheim in 2018.

 

“I draw a design on a piece of material called linoleum, which has a leathery feel,” Santa-Maria said. “The image has to be drawn in reverse because after I carve out the design, apply the ink and press the paper onto it, it prints a mirror image. It’s a lot like making a stamp.”

“There’s nothing quite like Comic-Con in the world. The sheer size, scale, and history of the event is a treasure to communities of fans in San Diego and around the world,” Paul Wynns, president and co-founder of the Kevin Workman Foundation, said. “It’s a place to make connections, be inspired, and find your ‘tribe’ — those fellow nerds who share your passion.”