MARAMORA.

The stories we choose to tell

I’ve always liked to try something new within my chosen profession and reinvent myself from time to time. Sometimes it happens out of curiosity, sometimes out of crisis. This is how I’ve changed directions: from children’s illustration to magazine illustration, from magazine illustration to social; and my roles: invited illustrator, author of the idea, educator. And at some point, I’ve felt the need to reinvent and to bring some clarity at the level of meaning.

In the theory of storytelling, there is a concept of the Call. This is a voice that persistently calls you to go somewhere new. In tales and myths, the Call often has some magical origin. In real life, this is something like a clear answer that our subconscious gives us as a response to long periods of thinking and searching. But it still feels like magic! I clearly remember the moment when I was walking on a warm summer night during the full moon and had a sudden realization: “You are a storyteller”. A colleague on a project told me the same phrase several years earlier when I was particularly good at drawing extensive character stories in a laconic way. But I remembered it at that moment when I really needed to understand where to go next.

After that, there were many events, coincidences, meetings, work and routine tasks which reshaped my practice as an illustrator and comics artist – I began to consciously use storytelling tools to tell stories more vividly and arouse the interest, and as a curator – it turned out that stories are great for sharing important things and creating together.

The ability to evoke emotion and create a sense of belonging is one of the main strengths of storytelling. When I need to cover some, often complex, topic, I think about what emotions I want to evoke with my pictures. Depending on the task, I create characters that the audience can relate to or experience some kind of feelings for them. Character development is probably my favorite part of working with visual stories. Then, I create the atmosphere and world (fantasy or real) where the characters live – it helps set the mood and context for the story. Also, color solutions, composition dynamics, narrative, contrasts, stylization and metaphors come into play. While working, I try not only to keep in mind the story I’m telling, but also to do it ethically. It seems to me that illustrators and other professionals in visual arts have a certain responsibility for what kind of visual norm we create.

At workshops on storytelling, I give specific practical tools which can be used to work visually with any story. They include a script, narrative structure, characters, stylization, metaphors, colors. But what’s even more important, in my opinion, is the emotional connection the storyteller has with the story: why it is important to tell this particular story and how they feel telling it. It is often possible to create a trusting, creative atmosphere in which very personal and touching stories are born. This is what happened at the last workshop on visualizing family stories: through specific storytelling techniques, the participants drew, made collages and created comics on deep and personal topics related to their family.

From “The Power of Meaning: Crafting a Life That Matters” by Emily Esfahani Smith

Storytelling gave me support and meaning. I not only use it as my main working tool, a canvas on which I string what I create professionally, but also as a way of perceiving life. Psychology has a narrative approach. Simply put, it’s about what kind of story we tell about ourselves and how that can shape our perception of the world and ourselves in it. This story can be rethought and rewritten into a clearer and more inspiring one. By telling stories about myself, I have a better understanding of who I am, what I do and how it can help people. Both at the local and, I’d like to think, at more global levels. For me it’s a supportive and clarifying way of communicating with myself and the world. And I try not to lose it in moments of doubt, external and internal crises. I can't control much around me, but I can continue telling stories. And help other people tell theirs.

And then what happened?

from Neil Gaiman's Journal by Neil Gaiman

This story would be superficial and uninteresting if I said that I found all the meanings, my place and answers to all questions once and for all. Being at the intersection of mediums, disciplines and communities, I often don’t know where I belong. And a sense of belonging and people are some of my core values, so it’s quite important for me to understand where (and most importantly, with whom) my place is. Returning to the terms of storytelling – I'm following my own path. I come to some places, learn new things, meet new people. And I move on. Or I stay in this place for some time and consider it my home. Then I hear the Call again. And I go into the unknown. I don’t know where this journey will take me next and what other metamorphoses will occur in my professional and artistic path. But I hope it will be an interesting story. To tell and to draw.

P.S. And I hope that I’ll open the museum one day.