I am spreads

I have completed my first spreads, below the images and brief explanation.

Spread1:
Baby in mother’s womb. The bay hasn’t got an identity yet. It can be identified only by it’s physical facts like the amount of bloodcells, bones etc. Identity here is abstract. To draw attention to the scientific factor I used math paper to draw on.

I have made 2 versions of the first spread.
The first is like it is torn from a notebook with connotations. It is kind of messy which could implicate the written facts aren’t true. The second is more organized which implicates the facts are real.

Spread 2:
The baby’s room. You can derive her identity only from the colour of the blanket and curtains.
Identity of the character here is: a girl and the number of her patient ID, that is written on the archive map.








Spread 3:

Girl in her crib under a blanket. The blanket is made from a Dutch-English dictionary, I used the pages that contain baby’s first words like mamma, mother, daddy, father. On the right side you see pages from an old music book with lullaby songs. This refers to the fact that babies get a lot of information from their parents and other family, but most is still abstract for them. It is also a one way contact.

Her identity starts to form due to her surroundings. Her parents gave her a bow from a well known brand that is usually worn by the upper class. This could implicate that she will be raised in a rich family.

Spread 4:
She is going to explore the world around her. The whole world is just one room for her at this age.
Her toys are part of who she is, she has a favourite, that is the cat. She will carry the cat through the whole book and at the end she gives it to her daughter.








Spread 5:

Her world starts to grow when she is able to walk. She explores the world outside and adds a new fact to her identity: a favourite colour, blue and flower a bluebell.
Her clothes are starting to change the moment she knows she like purple/blue.

The centimeter stands for the fact that she grows in the illustration. I have used different kinds of paper for the girl to express the felling of change.

I am not sure if I should add another spread between, maybe something with a birthdaycake and a school uniform on the background, as she is old enough to go to school?








Spread 6:
Her mom brings her to school. She takes her cat with her.
She has a little moment with her mother. Her mother wears clothes made from clothing labels which forms her identity of wearing a particular label. She girl wears a school uniform that hasn’t got a brand/label and isn’t unique at all so I used only paint to colour it.








Spread 7:
3 boys, the uniform implicates that their minds, thoughts are all the same. They are from the same group. The girl is a bit different she has her cat with her and picked along the way some bluebells.
The boys make fun of her because she brings her cat to school, at her age you have to be all grown up, they think. I placed the girl on one page and the boys on the other to implicate that she is all alone on that whole blank page.









Spread 8:
One boy wants to teach her lesson and starts to pull at her cats arm.
Her flowers are flying through the air. And eventually the cat loses an ear.
I used the crackled grey paper to express the feeling of the girl being threatened.














Spread 9:

Here she is a bit older and sad because she is unique and because of that she hasn’t got any friends. She still carries her cat but not in sight. A girl that is passing by thinks she is great and tries to comfort her. I used the metaphor of an umbrella to dry her tears. The umbrella is made of music paper, music is often used as a sort of comfort.

These are some ideas for the next spreads. I want to do some extra research on identity at these ages, so this can change.
Spread 10: The girl with her new friend at starbucks. She sees a boy.
Spread 11:Shopping with her friend, they buy trendy clothes,
at the back the advertisements of these clothes.
Spread 12: She and the boy on a date.
Spread 13: Her identity grows, she has a particular clothing style and brand she wears.
Spread 14: The girl and boy
Spread 15:Wedding cake
Spread 16: She is pregnant, the circle is completed

Hope you can give me some feedback, so I can move along with the rest and maybe with corrections on these spreads.

May break task: Sara Fanelli Sometimes I think Sometimes I am

developing collage style

The scenes of the illustrations are again random picked. It is for me to develop a new style and character that suits the theme identity. The illustration above contains a map of Italy (her skirt) this could refer to her nationality which is a great part of someone’s identity. The flowers add colours and a happy scenery, but the background contains a bit of grey which causes a dramatic effect.

All the materials used are collected during the day. The things around us can tell a little bit about ourselves. The books we read (the flowers are made from a textbook) the tea we drink (her hair is coloured with cinnamon tea and adds a scent to the paper (you have to trust me on this, if someone wants to publish it, I can ask the publisher if it is possible to add some scents to the paper ).

The cardigan of the girl below is made of a clothing label-clothes (dessins, colours, style) tell a little bit about your mood and character and a brand tells us something about the group of people you want to be associated.

Other materials used are math paper (is that the correct word?) it refers to building and (re)constructing an identity. I have used label stickers which refers to the labeling of identity, when people met for the first time they tend to give someone a label: a preppy girl, a skater boy etc.

The map normally used in an archive can refer to our identity in a hospital or government agency.

For them we are just a number in a map.

Material experiments

I am using different kinds of materials in order to find a suitable style. Most of the material used is one of a kind, which makes it unique. Uniqueness and identity are obviously connected to each other so the material suits my theme, now I have to create a balance between the materials used, and find a way to use the material to express feelings.

I had the thought of literally building the character during the story. E.g. I start with a blank page and on the every spread she meets, sees or hears a person, animal or a thing. From everything she meets, a little piece gets stuck on her; eventually these pieces construct and re-construct the character’s identity. Instead of I am the title could be: ‘I was, I am, I become.’ The mind and self are in motion even if it sometimes appears to be slow motion. They are in a state of becoming even if what becomes is similar to what has been (Jenkins, R. Social identity 2008).

Still not sure of this is a good way to express my theme…

The list I have made earlier is also an option. I am rewriting the list and trying to connect in order to create a story that makes sense.

I am:

Emotions (metaphors) like angry, happy, sad, confused etc.:
-feeling blue
-on top of the world
-lonely
-just the way I am

Medical Science:
-a network of cells (or not?)= issue between body and self
-fat (in real life she is slim)= body disorder, anorexia, identity and mirroring

-Unique (DNA)
-Diabetic, asthma= issue about relating our identity or the identity from someone else to a disease

Fashion:

-Chanel =brand issue
-because of my surrounding

Contemporary world:

-No: 2385674 =passport identity, patient identity etc. issue you are a number instead of a person
-2500 pixels= internet identity, avatar, social media

-Not alone=big brother is watching you

Perhaps I should choose just one or two to develop? So only fashion and medical science.

Sketches

Searching for:

1 An appealing character

2 A simple form, so it is easier to combine with the collage technique I would like to use

It needs to be a bit messy; identity isn't orderly or fixed, identity is constantly building and re-building.

Wordless book: Shadow by Suzy Lee