“Anne’s reliance on her books for mental well-being and personal happiness was clear – ‘What is there like gaining knowledge?’ she once said. ‘All else
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There is one moment in Pippi Longstocking that nailed it for me…
As a child, I desperately searched for characters in books that aligned with my anxious outward ways and my happy reclusive interior. Charlie Brown came
One must not be too romantic about madness…
Feeling burned out today from my bread and butter work, I decided to ignore my entire to-do list this evening, decided to not to catch
Nature moves through carcasses…
Illustrating decomposition by allowing the newsprint to deteriorate over several years and for the dead bird to slowly be encompassed by embroidered roots and the
Relaunch and new look: my online graphic novel “Molly, a True Crime Analysis, the third draft”
Molly- a true crime analysis is my experimental graphic novel, originally workshopped online in weekly instalments between January 15, 2017 and January 13, 2018.
Potato Nose Diaries (1977): Instalment 9- Torpet
Previously on PND: Instalment 1: Introduction Instalment 2: The First Entries Instalment 3: Do Tendu Jetés en Balance Instalment 4: Sex Education Instalment 5: They Don’t
Potato Nose Diaries (1977): Instalment 8- The Letter
Previously on PND: Instalment 1: Introduction Instalment 2: The First Entries Instalment 3: Do Tendu Jetés en Balance Instalment 4: Sex Education Instalment 5: They Don’t
Inktober 2018: 31 studies of Truman Capote’s IN COLD BLOOD
Imagination, of course, can open any door– turn the key and let the terror walk right in. – Truman Capote No. 1 Richard Hickock: “It
Potato Nose Diaries (1977): Instalment 7- Grad and the Party
Previously on PND: Instalment 1: Introduction Instalment 2: The First Entries Instalment 3: Do Tendu Jetés en Balance Instalment 4: Sex Education Instalment 5: They Don’t
Father, daughter, Fenrir, Gleipnir and “Drawn Together”- the book: 6 years later.
Wow. October 25, 2018 will mark the sixth year since my father passed away. I am so aware of all the dates in October… so
Come back to me.
Come back to me, Molly. It’s been a strange time- hiding you from the world in order to explore new ways of telling your story.
A Potato Nose Diaries (1977) Short- The Audition
Previously on PND: Instalment 1: Introduction Instalment 2: The First Entries Instalment 3: Do Tendu Jetés en Balance Instalment 4: Sex Education Instalment 5: They Don’t
A Potato Nose Diaries (1977) Short- I am 15 now.
Previously on PND: Instalment 1: Introduction Instalment 2: The First Entries Instalment 3: Do Tendu Jetés en Balance Instalment 4: Sex Education Instalment 5: They Don’t
Potato Nose Diaries (1977): Instalment 5- They don’t know what it is.
Previously on PND: Instalment 1: Introduction Instalment 2: The First Entries Instalment 3: Do Tendu Jetés en Balance Instalment 4: Sex Education Today’s instalment:
Potato Nose Diaries (1977): Instalment 4- Sex Education
Previously on PND: Instalment 1: Introduction Instalment 2: The First Entries Instalment 3: Do Tendu Jetés en Balance Today’s instalment: © Katarina Thorsen 2018
Potato Nose Diaries (1977)- Instalment 3: Do Tendu Jetés en Balance
Previously on PND: Instalment 1: Introduction Instalment 2: The First Entries Today’s instalment: © Katarina Thorsen 2018 — Potato Nose Gallery:
Potato Nose Diaries (1977)- Instalment 2: The First Entries
Previously on PND: Instalment 1: Introduction Today’s instalment: — © Katarina Thorsen 2018
Potato Nose Diaries (1977) Instalment 1: Introduction
Subject to change Instalment 2 August 12, 2018 © Katarina Thorsen 2018
“Potato Nose Diaries- 1977” illustrated weekly instalments start Sunday!
©2018 Katarina Thorsen
Bird School: The first rule
I am obsessed with birds. I have this strange belief that I will not uncover truths that I seek in my art without first understanding
Bird School- Head feather groups
I am obsessed with birds. I have this strange belief that I will not uncover truths that I seek in my art without first understanding
Books are life rafts. I climb into them to keep moving forward…
Books are life rafts. I climb into them to keep moving forward when life seems in limbo and my energy is fully depleted. Here is
I promised myself a library…
When I turned 10, my parents gave me this book– Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tales illustrated by Jiří Trnka (published by Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd, ©1959,
New comic: Come Into Me, Issue 1
Creative process for me is not about the end product. It is about the entire process. But that doesn’t mean I don’t celebrate end products!
Reclaiming the act of creating…
I could sit and wait. Ask myself: how I will get back to that beautiful, exhilarating buzz of creative process and my soul’s work? But
30 strange chapters completed.
I am workshopping my true crime graphic novel online. 30 strange chapters completed. I am working on the 31st today. Then 15 to go. I am
From the heart- a 15 day journal exercise Part 13: The Act of Dying
I am re-reading Stephen Levine‘s A Year to Live- how to live this year as if it were your last as a personal exercise schedule to take
Celebrating 95 pages with a vulnerability hangover…
I am workshopping my graphic novel through a weekly online serial. So far… we have been witnessed a crime: Looked at the original headlines: I’ve
Boundary by Emily Cowan
Wow. Emily Cowan, comic book artist, has just completed an extraordinary book: What a beautiful journey it has been to dive into Paige’s teenage life. My cheeks
The best things in life are free…
Sitting here, surrounded by drawings and notes and cold coffee in multiple cups… butterflies in the stomach… I want to honor Molly, who reached out
My weekly serial format serves as a means to workshop the graphic novel…
My Molly site mollygraphicnovel.com launches with Part 1A on Sunday. The work is presented in an experimental form. I will simply allow the creative process
Molly- a true crime analysis, a visual serial goes online January 15!
How do you escape from a convincing story? After enough repetitions, the facts come to serve the story and not the other way around. –
Around 3 am… I felt a tap on my shoulder.
Around 3 am yesterday morning (November 19) I woke up because I felt a tap on my shoulder. More like a double jab. On my
“Always, remember, you are the best.” No, you were, Pappa. #toliveuntilwesaygoodbye
My greatest cheerleader was my Dad. 4 years ago today, his heart stopped beating, but his spirit lives on. His pep talks were the best.
Delicious book! ‘Awakening Joy- for kids’ by Michele Lilyanna and James Baraz
I reconnected with a sweet friend/soul-sister/colleague last Friday, sharing sacred hours at my kitchen table. When I lived on the Sunshine Coast 1996-2003, I was
“I recall a childhood dream…” with visual storytelling.
Toying with creative process. Thumbnail sketches and experimenting with storyboarding the PREFACE (preamble) portion of Molly, a true crime analysis: RECALL:
First line… let’s go.
Recall: I sit now surrounded by my manuscripts, references, inspiration and pressing fingertips to keys and (re)typing. (Re)COMMITMENT! This version will be from the pelvis. First
It is important now for me to honor this call for retreat. #creativeprocess
I sense it is time to really retreat in between work schedules and ensure cave time to focus on my passion project: Molly, a true
The importance of the vintage photograph as creative resource.
There is no end to the inspiration I get from looking at vintage photographs- through immersion comes awakened imagination. The central characters in my
Death is not the end of the story, but just the beginning.
I am deep into the creative process this morning. This current drawing is being prepped for embroidery re Molly, a True Crime Analysis as I simultaneously
Embroidered drawings and forensic taphonomy
My passion project, Molly- a true crime analysis, centres around a 63 year old Vancouver cold case. On January 15, 1953, the skeletal remains of
Group mind mapping: RJ as a pedagogical tool @SFU
— On March 30, 2016, I took the Criminology 315 (CRIM 315) students at the Simon Fraser University Burnaby Campus (teacher: Associate Professor and
Stanley Park. Birds. Angel whispers. And Pledge Drive.
I walked around Beaver Lake today. I was infused by the profound beauty of nature. Warm sun. Blossoms. Skunk cabbage. Herons were dancing in the wind
The 5 W’s. #Molly #GraphicNovel #Process
Working on Molly. Keep at it. Revise manuscript. Organize the collected research. Walk around the lagoon. Think think think. Massage the timeline. Spend hours in the
Ponderings on the “idea.”
As a creative, I find it as important to make time for input as well as make time for creative output. And allow myself some
Using Braid Theory to explain triple timeline. #Molly #graphicnovel
It has taken me years to create a structure for Molly that could combine two stories that run both parallel to each other and have
Now her ghost wheels her barrow…
In Dublin’s fair city, where the girls are so pretty I first laid my eyes on sweet Molly Malone As she wheeled her wheelbarrow through
Ok, Molly, I’ll eat a shit sandwich for you.
I had a very anxious week last week. It was a crawl to the finish line. It was a mix of grief, self-doubt, money stuff,
Lessons from Pippi- strength, generosity and gentleness…
Being Swedish,Pippi Longstocking has been an icon to me all my life. Yes, there are troubling racist elements in the books and, my God, as a
And so, the vulnerability shakes set in…
Hi. As you may know, I’ve been fully immersed in process in the last month or so- working on my book presentation for my agent
I write of what I cannot speak- the truth.
I write it over and over wherever we find shelter. I write of what I cannot speak- the truth. I write all I know of
A marker for Molly
I do not take my work on Molly lightly. I respect that her story is a tragic one. I respect that Molly somehow chose me
A certain preface this way comes.
Writing for me often happens in stolen moments. It is easy for me to plan time for and execute illustrations. It is easy for me
Stick to the facts in the text, avoid assumptions, yet draw conclusions.
In my current project, Molly, I use mainly primary sources and secondary sources such as news articles, as well as well-vetted research in order to
When grief is like a wave crashing on shore…
I attended an event last night at the Vancouver Public Library. I am so glad I went alone, for not only could I soak in
1940’s kitchen. The importance of historical context cont.)
Recall the importance of historical context for my graphic novel research in my post yesterday: LINK. As the story is mainly set in the 1940’s, I
“What do we know?” Drawing conclusions from the facts. #graphicnovel
My graphic novel is more of an illustrated thesis rather than pure graphic novel. My words are based in fact. The drawings are where I can take
“Write the f*!king book.” The importance of mentors in creative projects.
I am all about creative process. I am not worried about that. I have creative process down to a science. No worries. It’s a habit
Autopsy and the somewhat autobiographical nature of my graphic novel
I have been on a bit of blog-haitus of late. Just experienced an amazing pull back into the past as a dear friend spent 9
Lilla My #fanart custom made composition books.
I love customizing composition books. Prepping a new one for today. I am particularly in love with this one so I’m making this version available
