Gateway Experiments
Stretching boundaries with genre
Experiment 1
For this first experiment, I took the opportunity to create a creative non-fiction short story. Previously, I have taken a creative non-fiction class and enjoyed the process, as well as the works I produced. Due to my good previous experiences, I wanted to dive in with a short story, but about something personal I haven't written about yet (at least academically or professionally).
The following experiment is an excerpt from a short story about my diagnosis of AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia), and my journey up to the diagnosis.
Experiment 2
For the second experiment, I wanted to push myself a bit more in terms of genre, as well as multimodality. I decided to play with the idea of a collage, but incorporated poetry into the collage. I aimed to blend linguistic art with imagery, to lend to a more interesting experience for the audience.
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The images used in the collage were all taken by me, and all have a personal sentiment for me. Within the collage, the backdrop contains zoomed-in pictures of artwork at the Museum of Art in Chicago, which my parents took me to during a break from the hospital. There's also an image of my dad, my childhood comfort item, and a portrait my father did of me when I was younger.
Experiment 3
For my final experiment, I wanted to push myself again in terms of using images in my project. The idea of a zine spoke to me, as it's more of a loose and free genre--you can make it your own!
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I decided to make a partial zine that talks about the concept of spirituality. Once again, all of the photos used for the collage aspects are my own and were taken on my trip to Maui, Hawaii. My experience there was vital for my spiritual journey, and centering myself after my tussle with cancer in the hospital. With this zine, I aimed to share my own personal journey with religion and spirituality, and what it all means to me. Using pictures from my trip to Maui felt necessary, as it was such a big part of my spiritual re-awakening. To the right, you'll find the images that made up my mini-zine.
