A story in three panels: contemplative snippets of rough sketches based on one of my father’s recollection from growing up during World War II in Norway. This particular memory was one he returned to again and again. I’m struck by how the shadow of those wartime experiences lingered long after the war itself had ended….
Tag: Norway WWII
Listening Across Time: Portrait Studies for Occupation: The Long Shadow
As I sink deeper into the delicious research and development phase of my next large-scale non-fiction graphic novel, Occupation: The Long Shadow, I find myself using again quick portrait studies. These sketches are more than exercises in likeness. They become conversations with the dead, a way of listening across time. Recently, I completed studies of…
Note to self. Regarding research.
Absorb and allow. Then listen… and respond to primary source and place. Do not get too caught up in roots. Therefore… Enjoy the research. Absorb and allow. The research will find its way into the work without forcing it. Read with freedom and open heart . Explore with freedom. Go to place with freedom. Observe…
Evolving portrait of my Norwegian grandfather.
A larger project is in development: arts-based inquiry as a deeper approach to ethnographic methodology. As I process and develop a proof of concept for one component of the larger project – a graphic novel about my stoic Norwegian grandfather, Gunnar Thorsen and the generational effects of his POW experiences in WWII – I need…
Happy 81st birthday, Pappa! His WWII 1942 birthday card and his latest VIKING drawing
I have posted this incredible card before, but appropriate to re-post it today as my Dad turns 81! It’s AMAZING!
Remembering my Grandfather’s war experience in a handmade birthday card.
Birthday card to my dad from my grandpa and Norwegian soldiers (in German concentration camp) Aug 8, 1942.