The concept is simple: two girls on a road trip across Texas on a quest to return a lost magical cat. Yet, Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden has managed to create much more: a phenomenal narrative that lies under the surface to tell a complex story of human connection — beautifully wrapped in Walden’s exceptional illustrative skills.
Continue reading ““Are You Listening?” Final Essay”Working digitally has been a recent and hot trend for many artists, whether they are seasoned creators or just newly introduced to the world of art. Each method not only produces different results but also different processes.
One key difference between working by hand and digitally is the amount of time and effort spent before starting the creation of the work.
Continue reading “Thinking: Working Digitally Verus By Hand”For my final project, I want to do an essay about Are you listening? by Tillie Walden. It is about two girls who are running away from their own separate past traumas. Combine it with a surreal road trip, a magical cat, and West Texas, and you have the premise of the book.
Even though the story and plot can be very confusing at times with twists and turns in their journey that may not make sense at first glance, it is important to note that the main theme of the book is human connection.
I first fell in love with the book with the amazing art style and colours, but as I reread parts and looked back at scenes, I am certain that the book’s plot is irrelevant to the story and that the main focus should be on the two characters. Almost nothing is known about them as individuals but the way they interact and develop a relationship from strangers to friends is worth delving into and looking further.
Continue reading “Final Project: Graphic Novel Essay”In this project to teach/inform Canadians about an aspect of reconciliation, Alba, Tina, and I decided to tackle the topic of language revitalization. Since Indigenous languages are not well known especially in young children, we wanted to introduce an Indigenous language to school children through an interactive format. The design piece we created were cards, a board game, and an app to teach elementary school children, both Indigenous or non-Indigenous, about Squamish vocabulary.
Continue reading “Decolonizing Idea: Language Revitalization”Language is an important part of a culture and in the Indigenous groups of Canada, language can often be a link to traditions. However, many Indigenous languages are becoming extinct as fewer people are able to communicate with these languages. An important part of Indigenous languages that are often overlooked is Indigenous Sign Language.
In Canada, the three main sign languages are Plains Sign Language, Plateau Sign Language and Inuit Sign Language. Sign Language in Indigenous culture was created by Deaf Indigenous people but it is not necessarily for deaf people. People with full hearing capabilities also used sign language to visually narrate their discussion or to communicate during hunting.
The endangerment of Indigenous Sign Language is similar to the loss of Indigenous spoken languages. The number of people who can communicate with Indigenous sign languages is difficult to ascertain but it is speculated that a few community members in the Plains know Plains Sign Language while Plateau Sign Language is only partially known by a couple of elders. Inuit Sign Language is known by about 80 hearing individuals and 40 Deaf Inuit, but a similar issue in disappearing Indigenous spoken languages is still present. Indigenous Sign Language provides deaf First Nations individuals with a chance to participate in their community and connect with their Indigenous spoken language, but that chance can become null if Indigenous Sign Languages do become extinct.
For my project, I would like to promote the revitalization of Indigenous Sign Languages to all Canadians. Many deaf Indigenous people today use ASL (American Sign Language) or QSL (Quebec Sign Language) as the resources for learning Indigenous Sign Languages are often underfunded and not available because of colonization where people were not allowed to use their language. Revitalizing Indigenous Sign Languages is another piece of tradition and culture that people should be aware of when working towards Truth and Reconciliation.
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Research Links:
Theo Dimson:
Theo Dimson was a graphic designer known for his art deco style movie and theatre posters.
He began his career with a 3 year apprenticeship with Art Associates Limited in Toronto. After freelancing for 7 years, he rejoined AA as a vice-president of creative design. In 1965, he became president and director of a new partnership called Reeson Dimson and Smith Ltd. Later, it was named Dimson and Smith Ltd and it kept this name until Dimson created Theo Dimson Designs Inc. in 1985 where he was president and creative director.
Continue reading ““See life as a 10-year-old. Dress like an 18-year-old. Think like a 25-year-old” – Theo Dimson”
Daniel Pelavin:
Daniel Pelavin is an illustrator, and typeface designer whose work is best recognized for its precisely drafted shapes, unique colour palette, and original typography.
He began his career as an apprentice, working up through the ranks of a local art studio where he was able to train with all kinds of graphic artists. These included decorative, fashion, product, and technical illustrators. In addition, he was also able to train under letterers, typographers, and graphic designers.
He is a master at combining stylistic elements from different historical periods while maintaining unwavering focus on clarity. To do so, he uses a restrained and simplified vocabulary of geometric forms, rich flat colours, and typography that is inspired by the 20th century’s culture/objects. The result is a style that is retro and very deco and works that are timeless and enduring.
Continue reading “Daniel Pelavin: Timeless and Enduring”Noma Bar:
Noma Bar is a graphic designer, illustrator, and artist who is renowned for his negative space artworks that have adorned the covers of over 100 magazines. His graphic works are celebrated for their impact and simplicity and they translate a sensitive subject into thought-provoking art that exposes social and political situations with a wry sense of juxtaposition.
Bar does this by cleverly using negative space. With a limited palette, he subtlety and precisely manipulates shapes and forms where familiar symbols and pictograms evolve to form new meaning. He uses this technique best when dealing with social and political issues that are illustrated with a hidden twist of humour.
Continue reading “Present Technology and Tradition /// New Horizons: Noma Bar (b. 1973)”Chris Ware:
Chris Ware is a cartoonist known for his New Yorker magazines covers and is hailed as a master of the comic art form. He has contributed cartoons and many covers to the New Yorker since 1999 and his complex graphic novels tell stores that reflect on the role that memory plays in constructing identity.
Ware’s style of comic art is like no other’s. His work is usually devoid of the hatching or rendering that is found in most comics and his drawings are mostly outlines filled with colour. Linear perspective is often flattened or replaced with orthographic projection and he sidesteps atmospheric perspective in favour of utilizing colour for design and mood. His often muted colours are carefully chosen in relationship to not only to other colours on the panel, but also to the entire page as a work of design. In addition, Ware plays with the conventions of comic art page design and storytelling.
Continue reading “New Forms: Chris Ware (b. 1956)”Francis Livingston:
Francis Livingston is an American painter and is considered to be in the top ranks of American illustrators. In the beginning of his career, he painted primarily in a monochromatic style until he studied the work of the Bay Area Figurative Movement. This led him to experimenting with colour and developing a fondness for the California and French Impressionists.
Livingston’s paintings and works are famous and unique. He painted the Santa Cruz boardwalk for 8 years and did numerous portrayals of scenes from New York City and Coney Island. In these, he focussed mainly on the dramatic architecture and colour. However, his paintings of western landscapes and pueblo architecture are what makes him one of the West’s premier living artists: he is able to capture colours and light effects that are unique to west.
Continue reading “New Voices: Francis Livingston (b. ?)”