Coming all together

My project was changed several times from the very beginning. At first, I wanted to make a story out of drawings kids would make. Then, I decided to place drawings and stories as a final coat on papier mashe, and that was my suggestion during last semester. When this semester started, I changed my idea again. I wanted to make a comic book inspired by data I’ve collected, but it would take a huge amount of effort and I time I simply wasn’t prepared for. So my idea transformed into a book with pictures. But even though the shape shifted radically compared to last semester – the idea was the same. I wanted to include my own research as an emotional aspect, and other, more professional researches, to make my project both – artistic and scientific. This idea was massive, and honestly, I wasn’t able to handle it.

Luckily, I’ve spoken to my classmates and got inspired to create a zine instead of a book. It also changed the idea itself, from a really descriptive project that would take a huge amount of time to make and to read, to something a bit more abstract. Another reason why I’ve chosen to make a zine it would look significantly smaller and more welcoming, compared to a book.
And yet, I am really happy with my final decision, since it still has lots of aspects of my original idea. It is a bit abstract, the same as sculpture, and has scientific information as an article. It is also really emotional in lots of ways. First of all, I’ve made it as a kids’ magazine, so lots of people, especially those my age would feel nostalgic. Secondly, the form of zine and playful way to talk about the sensitive topic would cause plenty of feelings in different people and would be intriguing and interesting. And last, but not least – there are real stories of real kids, and some of them are really sad, so it will make people take this topic seriously.
My zine is really full of content, the same as every kids’ magazine should be. There are articles about abuse and scientific research on the topic, written in understandable for young teenagers language. There are comics and characters, designed specifically for this zine, who reflect real feelings that cause and could solve problems between kids and their parents. Those feeling are illustrated as heroes and villains who force parents to make bad decisions. It is based on real psychological mechanisms. I’ve made lots of different games and puzzles that are connected to a topic as well. There are drawings of kids and my artistic answers to them, and there are real stories with some advice or opinions from my heroes. I also made a poster that could be hung on the wall at the entrance to the room and remind of the importance of love and empathy. I also made a test based on information that could be found in the zine, and once more would provide information about my research and the research of groups of scientists. I am really happy with this project, and I think is mainly done, but since I enjoy it that much, I would continue working on it, on details and design.
In my presentation, I would like to focus on the variety of outcomes I’ve made in my final pieces and made it work altogether, on feelings, that my project should cause. Also, I would like to discuss my research and how I could improve it in future since I would love to continue working on this project.