Naturkunden

The Book “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek “ by American author Annie Dillard shows nature from a very special perspective. It’s a collection of miracles and observations. I imagined what her “meteorological journal of the mind” would look like if it were a collection of drawings and handwritten notes. With my project, I want to point out the essence of Annie Dillard nature studies (Naturkunden) without the need to read all 331 pages of the book regarding her discoveries, short stories and philosophical considerations. Sometimes I add my own thoughts, for example, when Dillard tells a story of a professor, who happens to see a bird die in the middle of the flight. It reminds me of how dying birds became a symbol of the climate crisis in 2020 due to the big forest fires in America, which caused the birds to fall dead from the sky. Also in the chapter “Starre” (The Fixed), in which Dillard writes a lot about insects, I often had to think of the future, where it won’t be so natural to observe so many different insects during the walks, because of the ongoing insect decline. With her book, Annie Dillard has pointed out a completely new way of perceiving and particularly appreciating nature. And that’s also what I would like to appeal on in my project. To expand the view, look at nature and really observe it. And after we leave the forest, we should not only think about the effects of our behavior but also of the consequences.

Challenges
_visualizing long philosophical stories without using many words
_pointing out the essence of the book
_appealing to observe, appreciate and reflect nature
_creating an varied layout and a handwritten typography
_deciding what parts are working for a graphic novel format
Sketches
At first, I marked the most interesting, beautiful and pensive parts of the book. Then, I made the sketches and asked myself the questions: how can I visualize this complex stories with just pictures and little text quotes? What is the layout of the graphic novel- comic style with squares or a free handwritten notes style?
After that, I structered the project after chapters and subjects.
The last decision I made is the use of colour. I determined against colouring everything and just highlighted a view parts.
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