I am constantly amazed looking at the submissions Élan gets for both art and writing. There are so many talented teens in our community that I am glad they have found Élan as an outlet to make their voices heard. With every book every Élan member takes part in choosing the writing and art pieces that will be in the final look of the book that we create, no matter if it is an online or print edition. My favorite part is being able to read all of the writing and art before the list of both are narrowed down. This is my favorite part because it allows me to dive in to someone else's world for a second and see what is going on in their mind.
My favorite writing piece in our Fall Online Edition is "Icarus Drowning" by Isabella Tolbert. Icarus was one of the first of many mythology stories I read when growing up, and is a story that has always stuck with me. I love the way the images move throughout the poem, as well as how Isabella chose to make the poem about more than flying to close to the sun and touched further on Icarus' death too.
I feel mythology stories are very accessible overall because of how long they have been around and how many people know of them. There are many mythological stories that have been told over and over in several different ways, including Icarus, and when writing in the persona of a mythological character you can twist certain aspects of the story to your advantage.
My favorite art piece that is in our Fall Online Edition is El Sueno Produce Monstruos by Sam Pabon. I felt the strong emotion in this art piece the first time I saw it, despite the lack in color, which is what makes the piece so connecting to me. There is depth in the height shown and the darkness show in contrast to that height I feel tells a lot of the art piece's story. This piece is accessible because of the emotion and the perspective. The art piece was created to resemble first person point of view looking over an area from a high place. The perspective makes the art piece accessible because at least once in everyone's life, we have looked at an area from a high perspective (i.e. a Ferris wheel, bridge, etc.) The emotion that comes in with that perspective is also accessible because the perspective feels as if we, the viewer, is observing from a high place. Many people have different reactions to having that sort of perspective.
Art and writing both equally can have a large impact on many people and in many different ways. I encourage you to go read Élan's Online Fall Edition and allow the work to inspire you and your own art and/or writing.
- Catriona Keel, Senior Web Editor