Author: Kate

Reflection

At first glance of the Tracing Maus assignment, I was immediately overwhelmed.  I was intimidated by the several parts and steps that I had to take in order to create this project.  I didn’t fully understand how all of these pages would become a cohesive assignment and I didn’t have a vision for what to do and what to say.  I was able to realize that I just needed to take a deep breathe and go step-by-step. The first stage of choosing the page was challenging for me.  I didn’t want to choose pages that were the obvious choice or just laid it all out there. I wanted to dig deep to find the hidden overarching messages that Art dispersed throughout the novel.  Once I chose my two pages and started to analyze them, I couldn’t stop. It almost became a game of eye spy to me, I wanted to reveal more and more of the symbolism embedded within the graphics of the novel. I also had a lot of fun finding and creating pictures to go along with the text. Overall, I’m happy with my finished product and really enjoyed this project. Through this process I gained insight into how much work and thought goes into creating a graphic novel. 

 

Forming Connections

In order to understand the story of Maus, the reader must take note of the consequences of the Holocaust and make connections to the hidden meanings within the imagery of the novel.  An analysis of two pages, one from Maus I and the other from Maus II, are utilized to fully conceptualize this. Through these analyses, three overarching themes emerged: Reading Between The Panels, Life After The Holocaust, and Storytelling. Art Spiegelman takes the reader through the effect the Holocaust had on his family dynamic and utilizes the art within the graphic novel to tell their story.

unnamed

What’s in my bag?

IMG_3357

Laptop – essential in all of my classes for taking notes and checking my e-mail and canvas

Folders – used for holding syllabi and other looseleaf paper

Notebooks – if I feel like taking notes by hand or doodling

Headphones – can’t walk to class without using my headphones to listen to music

Sunglasses – I’m a huge sunglasses person and always like to have them for the good weather

Disposable camera – I love the look of disposable pictures and enjoy the random assortment of photos I always end up with

Markers – when I get tired of the gray pencil and want to spice up my white lined papers

Coloring book – I always have my coloring book in my bag for a study break and to focus on something other than school

Calculator – for those un-welcomed econ pop quizzes

Welly bottle – this is actually my brothers water bottle that he designed and produced, I’m always using it and spreading the word

Backpack – what makes all of the above accessible for my on-the-go lifestyle

I really enjoyed this sketch assignment because I never realized how much thought went into what I put in my backpack and  how much I have to anticipate for the rest of my day. This assignment forced me to evaluate the every day subconscious planning I take for granted.

I love finding items that offer the most convenience and maximize utility in my life while also represent my personal style.  I spent a good amount of time researching for a reliable backpack, because I knew it would be an investment that’s worth while and will last me.  I depend on my back pack every single day and I never took the time to fully appreciate how much it offers me.

What’s in my bag?

IMG_3357

Laptop – essential in all of my classes for taking notes and checking my e-mail and canvas

Folders – used for holding syllabi and other looseleaf paper

Notebooks – if I feel like taking notes by hand or doodling

Headphones – can’t walk to class without using my headphones to listen to music

Sunglasses – I’m a huge sunglasses person and always like to have them for the good weather

Disposable camera – I love the look of disposable pictures and enjoy the random assortment of photos I always end up with

Markers – when I get tired of the gray pencil and want to spice up my white lined papers

Coloring book – I always have my coloring book in my bag for a study break and to focus on something other than school

Calculator – for those un-welcomed econ pop quizzes

Welly bottle – this is actually my brothers water bottle that he designed and produced, I’m always using it and spreading the word

Backpack – what makes all of the above accessible for my on-the-go lifestyle

I really enjoyed this sketch assignment because I never realized how much thought went into what I put in my backpack and  how much I have to anticipate for the rest of my day. This assignment forced me to evaluate the every day subconscious planning I take for granted.

I love finding items that offer the most convenience and maximize utility in my life while also represent my personal style.  I spent a good amount of time researching for a reliable backpack, because I knew it would be an investment that’s worth while and will last me.  I depend on my back pack every single day and I never took the time to fully appreciate how much it offers me.

Four Eyes

After reading the assignment for this sketch, I started looking for everything in groups of three.  I noticed the number of posters on my friends dorm room walls, stacks of drawers under beds, countless hanging lights, etc.  However, nothing stood out in terms of creating a narrative. It wasn’t until I was sitting at my desk, when I noticed several photo booth pictures pinned to my bulletin.  Each picture came with an expression and the idea stemmed from there.

I have to admit I struggled in the beginning with this assignment. I was a bit discouraged, because the previous sketch assignments came to me fairly quickly.  I think this was in part due to the fact that we had to find or create the artistic visual as well as a narrative. As opposed to being given a page from a book, or using notes to create a visual image.

IMG_3228

Free Response

“The comix I like, and try to do, can be read slowly and often…. I try to make every panel count and sometimes work as long as a month on a page…. I’m excited by the ‘secret language’ of comics — the underlying formal elements that create the illusions” (24)

I think sometimes the details in the panels can be overlooked.  Readers may miss the hidden meaning because of how minute the elements of the comic are.  The masks are an obvious ‘secret language,’ however it’s details like the string that holds them to their face that you have to seek out.  I wonder why the string on the masks appears in part II of Maus.  Maybe it signifies an act or how people don’t always identify as what they are, they can take off their mask easily as opposed to it being something that’s apart of them.  There are many ways to interpret this.  One thing that I thought of was how, today, people in America who are 2nd or 3rd generation don’t cling to their nationality or religion as heavily.  At least for Jews, there was a study done in I believe 2013 where it showed that 1 in 5 Jews describe themselves as having no religion.

Don’t Q-tip your kayak!

I was home this weekend and took note of the ordinary objects I use on a daily basis and tried to associate those objects with an action.  So I set my eyes on the q-tips and thought of different ways it could be used.  My initial thought was someone bench pressing, but I figured the swabs on the end weren’t large enough.  My next thought was hands on a clock but that wouldn’t work considering q-tips are all the same size.  Then I started twiddling with the q-tip and gave it motion.  That’s when I thought of an oar and then came the sketch. sk3.jpg

Visual Note Taking

Creating visual notes definitely helped me understand the “products of evolution” more so than just plain text.  I find that when I’m in class I’m mindlessly typing and copying down notes as opposed to engaging and comprehending the information. Visual note taking allows for a more creative approach to grasping concepts, which I find to be not only beneficial but enjoyable as well.

IMG_3014

Literacy Narrative Reflection

I really enjoyed this writing assignment.  I’ve always been fearful of writing and enjoyed the more relaxed writing style and process for this mini essay. I also appreciated how the word count wasn’t daunting and was super manageable. The free-writing was a great tool and base for the start of my narrative.  It allowed me to get my ideas out there on paper and then go back and form them in a cohesive and structured format. Free-writing is the start to the editing and improving process to ultimately reach the final work.

From writing my narrative I learned that as I got older, reading became less and less of a priority.  Reading used to be a reward. Having the opportunity to read a book before bed was incentive for good behavior. Now it’s seen as chore or a burden because it’s assigned which is so sad to me. However, I’ve come to appreciate reading for pleasure way more than before.

Through writing this narrative I realized how unappreciative I was of my mom’s devotion to encouraging me to read and is something I hope to pass on to my kids one day.  I also learned that I should actually commit to keeping a journal because that’s where I can freely express my thoughts and practice my writing simultaneously.

A sentence that I think readers would connect with, not necessarily find interesting is when I wrote, “Once I turned 10, it meant I said goodbye to “little kid” picture books and hello to “big kid” chapter books.”

Literacy Narrative 

1 2 3