Just had to do a big ‘shout out’ for one of our very talented 6th year pupil, Chloe D. As previously posted, Chloe created a wonderful piece of digital art for me based on Marvel’s Hawkeye – Because, Hawkeye! 😉 – using Sketchbook Pro software. I love it! And now I’ve just discovered that Chloe’s design is available to buy as a t-shirt or as a phone case/skin, a mug, a pillow case, a tote, a poster, etc. via Redbubble, an Australian based online marketplace for independent artists and designers, and a champion of self-expression! 😮

As you can imagine, I’m thrilled to bits and I have my order in! 🙂 But how amazing is this, folks? A seventeen year old producing such high quality art and having the savvy to get her design expertly marketed – and sold worldwide! How enterprising is woman!

Chloe and I chat about comics, fandoms and pop culture – we share a passion for manga, animé, Marvel & DC universes, Samurai Jack, mecha, kaiju (Godzilla et al.), gaming, fanfiction, cosplay, etc. As a librarian I fully support pupils’ endeavours in these myriad e-communities and fan forums. This once shadowy digital world is no longer underground and can be unbelievably creative, producing highly accomplished fanwork. Whether it’s teenagers writing (and reading voraciously!) fanfiction on Wattpad, submitting stories/fanart for #prompts and #memes on Tumblr, or posting professional artist-level digital art on DeviantArt, etc., these fan communities are a powerhouse of talent and self-expression. I’ve known many BHS pupils – some who’ve gone on to study animation at college – whose tumblr accounts are quite frankly works of art.

So, what is fandom, fanfiction? Fanfiction had been around for decades before it exploded into the mainstream via the 21st century digi-teen psyche. Have a read of this article from the School Library Journal; it’s from 2014 but gives a good precis of the cultural phenomenon:

“As Robin Brenner, a teen librarian at the Brookline Public Library in Massachusetts, said, “My teens all know about [fan fiction], talk about it, and don’t particularly judge each other for being involved (or not involved) in fan culture. It’s ordinary, even expected, now, if you love a thing.” “ – SLJ

Whilst fanfiction brings with it issues of copyright and age-appropriate access for our school pupils, I would argue it’s worth pausing amid the prevailing depiction of teenagers as non-reading, Snapchat-obsessed, emotionally illiterate snowflakes, and recognising that a sizeable proportion of our young people are engaging in storytelling – fanfiction, 21st century texts (animation, podcasts) – and tech-savvy, collaborative visual art projects. Often with a business plan!

Teenagers are expressing themselves more creatively and entrepreneurially than ever before. This is something we should all celebrate. 🙂

 

Art credit: Redbubble  /©2016 Chloe D.   @redbubble