How chaos came into the world…
First – there were two worlds.
The first world was one of colour and chaos.
The second world was blank. It had edges and limits… The only people in the blank world were two siblings: Twins.
One was strict,
and the other was loosey goosey.
Together they would create the world during the day, and at night it would be erased.
They did this for a long time, until one day – they found some colour. After years of thin lines the twins decided they wanted to see some colour in their world.
The loosey goosey twin painted first, long strands of green that developed into an outlandish tree.
The second twin painted a tree that stood strong, tall and lush.
That night the twins slept and overnight the trees grew their own personalities.
The twins were surprised that their trees hadn’t erased during the night, but they liked the trees and their new personalities, so they weren’t too worried. The twins were excited to have the trees to talk to, and the trees were excited about existing in this blank world. The twins went to sleep that night easily, knowing tomorrow they would have new friends.
The next morning the trees had attached to each other. The colour, it seemed, liked to grow and attach things together.
The twins decided they should add in a stream for the trees. The strict twin started with the stream,
and the loosey-goosey twin didn’t like that so much.
The loosey-goosey twin wanted the water to be different from the tree, so the twin let blue bleed in.
That night – the water filled out to be a whole ocean.
When the twins woke up they loved the ocean and wanted to create something to keep it company so they added a bit of sky.
The sky grew bigger and looked so lonely that the twins made it a nightlight so it would have some company while they slept.
While they slept, something happened…..
The nightlight grew.
The twins awoke to see the nightlight growing and growing…
Soon, the trees could no longer see anything but the nightlight.
The twins were worried about the nightlight – it was spreading so quickly… would it know when to stop?
The light surrounded them, and it didn’t have the balance they were used to… it seemed to them without both sides. And it got closer…
Before it touched them they made a barrier,
and it worked… for a bit… but the barrier didn’t want to keep the colours out, the barrier wanted to join in. So it began to spread.
and it spread…
Until everything was covered. And the twins were left in a new world, different from the one at the start.
The twins would cover this layer in colour, and again and again until they had built up the layers of the earth.
I started painting this story thinking I would tell about evil entering the world, but as I painted I liked the colour more than I liked the blank world I began with so I changed my story to reflect that fact.
The twins were borrowed from the other story in The Truth About Stories (King 18). I was enamoured of the balance they brought to Charm’s story and I wanted to have the same balance. The colour then was less evil, but more chaos, building the world beyond their control. The idea that there was no created “evil” was one that I wanted to get across, but just like the witches story – when something affecting and chaotic is introduced it cannot be erased.
Thanks for sticking around – would love to hear your thoughts!
Work Cited
King, Thomas. The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative. Toronto: House of Anansi Press, 2003. Print.
Hi, Jamie! I absolutely enjoyed your post! King’s way of narrating his story allowed me to visualize the world that was being created quite colourfully (since he added such vibrant aspects: animals, water, mud, the sky, and so on) and I couldn’t help but compare it to yours. Yours actually provided wonderful images (that you painted yourself? Even more amazing!) and it created more connection to King’s story, which I absolutely loved. His story, I now realized, developed in the writing culture, leaving the readers to imagine the creation unfolding, while you were able to retell his story with a more (oral)art presentation, backing up your words with such great drawings and paintings. You two also had the same grappling effect, leaving me hanging on to the story as it progresses, eager to read more and learn what happens next. You were able to mix the two cultures flawlessly. So great!
-Angela Olivares
Angela,
Thank you so much! I too felt the visual side of King’s story and I loved that aspect of it so much. I took a lot of inspiration from the bit in his book (which I didn’t have in front of me so please forgive my misquoting) where the twins Charm described created all of the aspects of land we now know. The forests – at first perfectly ordered and then clumped together to be interesting. The rivers which flowed back and forth which one of the twins changed to all flow the same direction – to make things a little harder. These were not “evil” acts, they were a balance between chaos and order. I tried to replicate this and not cast colour as “evil” but as an uncontrollable force within order and chaos.
Thanks again!!!!
-J
🙂
Hello Jamie,
I loved your post! I am very much a visual person and being able to see the art that went along with the story made it that more enjoyable! It is interesting how the blank world in the end seemed to end up like the other one, full of colour and chaos. I look at colour as something that is inviting and that you want around you in life, and making it the evil that takes over a world unsuspectingly is a different change. I really liked it though, makes you think about what is warm and inviting and the true intentions behind the actions.
Can’t wait to read more from you!
-Kathryn
Kathryn,
“It makes you think about what is warm and inviting and the true intentions behind the actions.”
-Yes! This was totally an element of the story I wanted to get across. In many ways I think this story reflects almost a Sci-Fi sensibility, where a new element (some new technology) is added and then it performs beyond expectations and develops a mind of its own (ie – Artificial Intelligence).
However, I didn’t want the usual warnings against this but to imply in the story that destruction and creation are the very layers of the earth itself. We keep warning against these advances, but each generation creates something that could destroy the world and humanity still exists.
I also tried to keep from vilifying colour in my story; I wanted it to act as something that existed beyond the rules of the blank world. I didn’t want this story to read like a metaphor for how POC “destroyed” the white way of living, just that the old rules didn’t apply anymore.
Thanks for stopping by!
-J
🙂
Hi Jamie,
I love this. The story you told would not have been the same without the images you added. The paintings were super engaging and made this tons of fun to read 🙂
What a great idea to use colour as a way to represent how the world was created. Starting from a blank state and moving into a vibrant, constantly changing landscape really reflects King’s telling of Charm’s story. You think making one small change won’t affect much, but then that change continues to build and build until you can no longer control it.
The same goes for stories, particularly incriminating ones. I’m thinking along the lines of rumours in high school. You tell one thing to one person, and that person tells the story to another person with a little bit of embellishment, and the next thing you know, you’ve completely lost control of the story you started.
Interesting post! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Melissa,
Comparing this to rumors was something that didn’t even enter my brain while I was creating it, but I can totally see that interpretation after you mentioned it.
I’m a pretty visual person and I wanted to create something that functioned a bit like a kids book – part story, part visual.
Part of telling it like a children’s story is I thought that it would carry the weight of morality that is found abundantly in kids stories. I don’t think I ever read a story that was just entertainment when I was young – everything felt laden with morality and so this week’s assignment really harkened back to that type of storytelling (for me anyways).
Thanks for commenting!!!
-J
🙂
🙂