Get Used to It Press Release
Get Used to It, Words, Thoughts and Drawings by Muriel Schneps a collection of Schneps’ original, light-hearted, often bizarre and flat-out funny cartoons, will be released August 10th, 2020 by San Francisco-based IFSF Publishing.
“Get Used to It”
New Book of Cartoons a Hilarious, Healing Take on Personal & Political Problems
Sterling, Kansas—Is cartooning the way to a healthier, less stressful life?
Artist Muriel Scheps is convinced it just may be.
“We all have things in our lives that we find unbearable, yet can’t seem to make go away. When this happens, our friends and relatives often us give us the advice, "Get used to it." Of course, that’s much easier said than done,” Ms. Schneps says.
“When it comes to getting used to it, a cartoon can do wonders. Maybe that’s why most people who pick of a copy of The New Yorker, read the cartoons first. It’s a quick way to distance one’s self from the problems of day by laughing it all off.”
Ms. Schneps knows all about ‘getting used to things’ and the book comes with a not-so-funny backstory—she suffered a mysterious collapse from low sodium several years ago, and when she awoke from a comatose state days later, she couldn't speak, didn't know who she was or anyone was, had no memories, and couldn't even feed herself. A few weeks into her hospital stay, a nurse, hearing that Muriel was an artist, gave her a pencil and paper. Muriel stared at them blankly and laid them on the bed tray. Then her brother brought up a photo of himself on his phone and laid it on the tray. Muriel looked at it, picked up the pen and made a drawing of the photo. Imagine that! Before she had recovered any memories or could speak a word, she could draw again.
According to her publisher, Brooks Roddan, the book came about in a completely unexpected way. “I’ve known Muriel for years,” said Roddan. “I knew her as a fine artist, an accomplished painter, but didn’t know she made cartoons. One day my wife and I were visiting her, and she happened to have a stack of her drawings laying on the table. We started flipping through them, and soon we were laughing our heads off. We decided right then and there that the world needed a book of Muriel’s cartoons.”
Schneps’s cartoons are quirky collection of cartoons involving maladjusted men and women, screaming moms, annoying dog owners, prairie therapists, surreal scenes, and animals and space aliens that are totally miffed by human behavior.
“Drawing cartoons has not only helped Muriel in the struggle to get back what she lost, but also is helping her get used the things she can’t change. Well, or at least laugh at them. She hopes readers will laugh, too” said Roddan.
“Laughing at adversity is serious business,” said Schneps. “We need all the help we can get doing it. Dancing and cartoons can chase any problem away.”
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Schneps briefly took classes at The Art Institute of Philadelphia and the Art Student League of New York. She painted for several years in NYC in the seventies, and then moved to Seattle, where she worked feverishly at her craft for another two years. Her next stop was San Francisco, which was her home for the next 28 years. Her art has been featured in numerous gallery shows in San Francisco over the years, and was often a familiar figure at the wharf, where she made pencil and acrylic portraits on the street. Muriel also painted on the streets of Paris for several months. She has received various awards for her work at art exhibitions. She is presently residing in Kansas.