After twice being delayed due to impending winter weather, cartoonist and snowman expert Bob Eckstein offered life lessons from his craft, as well as plenty of laughs to students and faculty on March 17. 

A nationally acclaimed humorist, Eckstein teaches writing and art at New York University and has also published his comical cartoons in The New York Times and Harvard Business Review. He has published 11 books, with a 12th on the way, covering various topics, such as the mystery of the world’s earliest snowmen to the world’s endangered bookstores, to a manual of suggestions for potential cat names (ironically, the artist is allergic to cats), all of which can be found on GoodReads.

Eckstein’s presentation included iconic images one might come to recognize after perusing the internet. One such is the Rubix cube guru. What started out as a draft between a prisoner and a lawyer turned into something more profound, until at last he found his answer in visual storytelling, conveying the original intent and keeping the humor intact, no words necessary. The image has been used as the logo for many yoga clubs across the country, Eckstein says.

Other stories and life lessons were told to students, such as the story of meeting his future wife at a funeral and asking “what if” to any scenario, taking inspiration from the world around him, as well as unplugging from the digital realm in order to catch it. He inspires students to be kind to everyone, and he guides others to “finding their voice” in whatever creative modem or career path is ahead of them.

Mostly, though, Epstein is grateful the talk was able to be held after two delays.