Пишаємось нашою волонтеркою Веронікою Левченко, яка гідно представила молодь України в проєкті “Розкажи мені історію”, що стосувався теми коміксів.

The Erasmus+ short-term project umbrella really surprises with its thematic variety. There are hundreds of projects, each dedicated to a particular subject that holds significance for both the applicants and the facilitators; that’s beautiful because it allows young people to really explore their passions and interests. As a young person myself, I couldn’t resist the appeal when I was offered a place at the Tell Me a Story project which dealt with the topic of comics. Comics as a medium have a centuries-long history, contrary to what some might assume. Nevertheless, in its modern form, it mostly developed in the 20th century. Youth gravitate to this mode of expression while planning their activities or in an attempt to approach an educational task with some creativity. The first part of the project was a lovely teaching course with two equally lovely trainers – Natalia and Eduard. Participants from all over Europe, many of them from Ukraine, united to share their creativity, develop it, and enjoy the environment crafted specifically for the purpose of growing as a creator. For me, it was a refreshing reminder that a more inspired side of myself exists. It was also a sweet promise of more to come, as the project appeared to be a two-parter, with the second part taking the team from sunny Greece in May to the cloudy and tranquil Netherlands in late August. I was quite eager to see how this artful streak would mature into more designs and discussions. I am likewise eager to share everything I learned with Poruch community now that this journey is complete. During the first part of the project we learned the basics. What is comics? Why is comics? How do you even comics? It was fun to go through the ground rules with the others even though I like to think that I have some experience with the medium. We were practicing storytelling with Yasir and drawing with Eduard and Natalia and we made several fast one-pagers during the project. My own final work was a collaboration with a very talented artist and a visual-recorder Jo. We took a liking to a story that happened to me in Greece and committed it to paper. When I just arrived at Nea Makri, I took a stroll down the coast line to get more familiar with the surrounding territory. On a quiet picturesque bridge crossing a shady stream, I saw an old man feeding cat food to a cluster of turtles. Fortunately, he spoke a little English and we had a friendly chat as he explained to me that tomorrow when I pass by, the turtles would transform into cats. I was so captivated by the visual that appeared in my mind that Iinstantly knew what I would be drawing. Between Jo and I, the idea quickly developed into a somewhat horror-like urban legend of turtle-cats. Additionally, we were very lucky to visit the Comic Con in Athens and get inspiration from many talented artists and cosplayers. The city itself was a magnificent inspiration in itself. A more challenging task that we received was connected to movie-making. We were given one full day for the development of a short film, and we had the entirety of Nea Makri to film it. A seemingly simple task, but in reality – a tight squeeze and a good shocker for the nervous system, if I do say so myself. My group chose to do a philosophical picture called 40 Seconds of Vagelis and focused mostly on the perspective people have on life and its miseries. Participants also created a fun little Italian mafia drama Once Upon in Nea Makri and a reality-check suicide-themed film Happiness that left everyone truly speechless. As you can tell, participants really reached in every direction possible and were correct to do so. As Yasir always reminds us, each story deserves to be told. Each film was worth watching. Armed with fresh knowledge and skills, we left the first part of the teaching course and promised to continue working on our projects. We could present the homework in any form that would communicate the ideas we were discussing and further disseminate them throughout our communities. I, myself, decided to pour the awakened artsy spirits into a comic the subject of which is probably familiar to any Ukrainian out there who has fled the country due to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is a small project, a little story, although creating it didn’t feel little to me. It felt like an all-consuming task that was almost too heavy to complete. It tells a story of leaving one’s home, feeling isolated, and longing for change. It is a tale of being uncertain and helpless and waiting. It comes from a deeply ashen time period that I, as the author and the artist, felt personally and struggled to get through. It is deeply personal and yet universally Ukrainian. First and foremost, it is a story that I am here to tell simply because I am still capable of doing so. I still have my hands to make this comic come into existence. I am alive. The second part of the project was dedicated to developing a more complex story. Instead of creating a single page strip we were asked to focus on a story of at least 8 pages, which is a radical expansion for the people who are still new to drawing and visual arts in general. We started with developing the idea, sharing it with the crowd and splitting into teams of two. The ideas were as different as they were unique. Rafael and Emre chose the story of profound kindness taken from real life; Dasha and Marina told a tale of acceptance about a black cat; Anya made a philosophical comic about a Mortal and the complex idea of morality influencing life; Luka and Gloria presented a touching, almost cinematic story of making peace with yourself before dying; Veronika crafted a legend about the shadow kingdom and the construction of an identity. Many other captivating stories captured our attention, almost too many to really talk about each specifically, although I wouldn’t expect anything less. The development of the characters took us a day, and then we were ready to start the lay-outs, the sketching, the framework. Some were fast and chose a minimalistic art-style; others like me went overboard with the number of pages and suffered through production hell, coining the hashtag #PrayForNika. At the end of the day, we all presented our work at the final Comic Con event where our faithful leader and host Yasir invited his friends and fellow artists, people of great talent and dedication. Among them were a possessor of a beautiful voice – singer and voice actor Marie Noelle, filmmaker Jassir Jonis, another filmmaker and computer scientist Siar Sedig, Kennard – producer and screenwriter, an incredibly funny conversationalist and stand-up comedian Farbod, and last but not least – Amber Teterissa, a charismatic actress and acting coach. It felt incredibly vulnerable to present my story, a piece of my mind to these people. They were kind and unjudging, curious and attentive, careful and helpful with their feedback. As experts in their respective fields who have seen many works and heard many ideas, they really could give a piece of advice that lit people up. And, yes, I am talking about myself too. The second part of the project, unfortunately, didn’t include movie making, but, believe me, we were busy enough without it. We played with story-boarding and had fun pitching the story and creating characters. Eduard did a workshop on digitization, explaining the differences between pixel and vector art which I found particularly useful. We were given links to free resources that might come in handy as we continue utilizing our newly acquired knowledge in future projects. The Ukrainian participants were fortunate to celebrate our National Flag Day and Independence Day during the project. We found joy in our unity and though it was lucky that the intercultural night fell on one day prior to Independence Day; otherwise, we would have monopolized the event completely. The most personal and emotional event for me was, of course, the last night after all the work was done. The Final Love Letter. I could try to explain why it was so significant, but I don’t think I would be successful. It was the intimacy between the participants – after all, we knew each other for quite longer than 7 days. It was the live music from the very talented invited musicians. It were the candles and the toasts. It was the celebration of creativity and bittersweet goodbyes, although I hope to keep in contact with many of those whom I met. Even now, I am happily indulging in my project-forged friendships and enjoying my time in Croatia, invited to a CinemaWars project dedicated to the depiction of war in cinematography, something I would be eager to talk about as soon as the project is done. The human connections that I make on Erasmus+ are as valuable to me as any knowledge received. And I think that is the case for many of my fellow participants. We exist in a bubble for a handful of days and then we have to leave, but we keep the friendships with us and those are very precious. I am very grateful to be a part of this creativity. In the trying times like the ones we are living through, and when I say we, I mean the majority of Ukrainian youth that is either struggling with adaptation to new environments or plans for the future, it is always relieving to exist in a place like the one we created together not once but twice, filled with understanding and acceptance. In the end, I don’t have much to say apart from my ‘thank-you’s. I thank Poruch for the opportunity to be a part of a teaching course like this, to develop my artistic side, to learn and be able to share the knowledge. I thank the Armed Forces of Ukraine for standing strong, as without our brave soldiers I would have never had the chance to do any of what I am able to now. And I thank my sister, for when I need her she has always been there, and keeps being my confidant both when I need guidance as an artist and during the darkest times.