Buzzing Bees

[cmn324buzzingbees-blog]

complete

—————————————————————

“And there is nothing - not a swarm of killer bees, not a crooked house in a city called Gloom, not a blue-eyed boy and his sweet sweet kisses, not even a street full of beautiful sisters and violent miracles - that is strong enough to hold on to me forever” (186).

—————————————————————

This quote is the last mention of killer bees in the novel. Just like in the quote as she states that the bees can no longer hold her down, all the nervous energy of completing this project goes as it is now complete. 

[cmn324buzzingbees-blog]

write final reflection

—————————————————————

“Is this me? My body, kissing a boy? And there are no bees, no killer bees. No buzzing no jerking body no memories. There is only me and a blue-eyed boy, the lilac bushes full of fairy lights, and the silent angel graves” (169).

[cmn324buzzingbees-blog]

checking through quotes 

—————————————————————

“In the kitchen, I open my eyes and cough once, twice, three times. A swarm of killer bees rushes out my mouth and flies out the window. Sunlight pours through and warms my face” (162).

[cmn324buzzingbees-blog]

final product

—————————————————————

“-we’re losing we’re losing and I can’t breathe no air no air as the edges of my vision go fuzzy grey and the man on top of me bucks and brays in triumph, his hips grind mine and bees bees killer bees flooding my veins-“ (88).

[cmn324buzzingbees-blog]

illustrator and photoshop complement each other 

—————————————————————

“This is where I am today: on the other side of hopelessness. On this day, I decided to bake a cake. To see if I can make something sweet. To see if I can catch a swarm of bees” (158).

[cmn324buzzingbees-blog]

step ten - add basic caterpillar 

—————————————————————

“Sometimes, all you can do is lie on the sofa and your big sister trans girl’s apartment and wrap yourself in blankets and barely, just barely, cling to life as nightmares swarm up all around you and killer bees roil inside your stomach” (157).

[cmn324buzzingbees-blog]

step nine - move over to photoshop, duplicate, and colour in

————————————————————

“The kiss goes on and on, deeper and deeper. Clouds of thick black bees swarm up in my lower body, roil in my stomach, crawl up my throat, buzzing angrily” (122).

[cmn324buzzingbees-blog]

step eight - digitize sketch

————————————————————

“Black bees buzz and crawl under my skin. I don’t belong in this place, with this boy who used to be a girl who likes to read. Maybe there was a time when I would have, but not anymore” (106).

[cmn324buzzingbees-blog]

step seven - import bee sketch into illustrator

————————————————————

“ ‘Don’t be shy, don’t be shy,’ says Dr. Crocodile. ‘I won’t bite you know!’ [...] He does not blink once. Angry killer bees swarm through my body, snarling and stinging. They boul beneath my nipples, inside my private parts [...] I could break Dr. Crocodile’s toothy rin in half. I could snap his ribs and crush his windpipe. I could watch him bleed and beg for mercy. I do not move. I do not move” (58).

[cmn324buzzingbees-blog]

step six - choose which bee design think would work best

[cmn324buzzingbees-blog]

For my project, I want to design icons for both the bees and caterpillar encased in something. For the actual bugs designing them would be similar to a logo as they are simple and concise. Ryerson’s ProCom Technology website, mentioned in class, provided me with a good post to start! ————————————————————

[cmn324buzzingbees-blog]

step five - sketch some caterpillar designs

————————————————————

“A hot and ugly feeling worms its way through my anger and fear, a giant caterpillar wriggling around in my stomach. The caterpillar is saying, She’s right. You liked beating her up. You like hurting people. That’s why you killed that cop; it wasn’t to save Lucretia, that’s for sure. You’re not that kind of girl who saves people. You’re the kind who kills them” (114).

[cmn324buzzingbees-blog]

step four - sketch some bee designs

————————————————————

“In the City of Smoke and Lights, they say, anything can happen if you dream it [...] You can be anyone. They say. In the City of Smoke and Lights [...] Forget the scars you left one, two, three times on your left wrist. Forget flowers and killer bees and everyone you’ve ever known” (20-21).

[cmn324buzzingbees-blog]

this chapter was an important one

————————————————————

“They [the bees] landed on me, covered me with their vibrating bodies, crawled inside my lips and up my nostrils, into every orifice, and they drank up all the nectar they could hold. I did not move, did not scream, because I knew that if I did, I would be stung into oblivion. Instead I lay there, clutching the sheets in my fists, and waited for it to be over. I prayed to the ravenous swarm, forgive me. And at last, they were finished. They lifted themselves up on their wings and flew off into the night. Except. Some of them stayed. Addicted to my sweet blood, they crawled up inside my body and built their nests there. They are still inside me. They will always be” (17-18).

————————————————————

This quote shares the story where the bees attack the narrator to the point where she internalizes some and realizes that they will not leave or will they ever fully leave.

[cmn324buzzingbees-blog]

step three - pick questions & quotes————————————————————

Locating and recording pages of quotes that will help support the theme of the project as well as the storytelling questions.

————————————————————

“I guess it’s my turn. I don’t want to get up, but then my feet are moving for me. Ghost hands tug on my wrist, pulling me on. Bees buzz and rattle in my guts” (140).

————————————————————

This quote mentions the bees as something the narrator is conscious of with her. The bees rattling and buzzing are metaphors to her uneasiness. However, having her aware that they are the there makes them even the tiniest bit more manageable. 

[cmn324buzzingbees-blog]

step two - read with intention 

————————————————————

I read through the entirety of the novel noticing sections that featured the theme of bugs, anxiety, nervousness, and instinct.

————————————————————

“ ‘It’s time to fight back,’ she says to the group of us on the sidewalk outside the Femme Alliance Building. She looks each of us in the eye. ‘Who’s with me?’ Whispers sweep through the knot of femmes. Some look eager, others afraid. Everyone is buzzing with nervous energy” (71).

————————————————————

Just as this assignment is beginning, at this moment in the novel the girl group was forming. By stating “Everyone is buzzing,” it shows that the bees inside the narrator might also be within the other Femmes as well. #everyoneisbuzzing

[cmn324buzzingbees-blog]

step one - brainstorming

————————————————————

In order to get some direction and sense of project, I decided to write out a little brainstorm of product ideas, possible themes, as well as a few doodles to get my mind thinking about how I wanted to create my storytelling project.