1. Storytelling through Art

So before I begin, I want to welcome you to my first ever blog. I hope that you find my content worth reading through and develop your craft even further. I will also eventually begin my own YouTube channel which I will create a vlog, but that will be in the near future.

I want to talk about storytelling. What is storytelling? And is storytelling only able to be told through writing? Let me begin with the second question. Storytelling is not limited in the medium it is told through. Whether it is through music, books, cinema, or photography, everything has a story to tell.

Take a look at the photo. The photo is telling a story of friendship and innocence. We can clearly tell that the environment is at a public park with tents, so we can speculate that there is a festival of some sort going on. The people in the background are just minding their own business and focusing on something else, which we can not see; however, what we do see are two toddlers (one being my son, Christian Vicente Arroyo Ramirez). The two prior to this photo had never met and here we see that they are becoming friends. Dakota, the girl toddler, was offering my son her own juice box and allowed him to drink from her own straw. My immediate emotion is of “awe” and “how cute." The more I look at this photo, the photo is telling me that they are already developing a friendship of kindness. The photo also is telling me that they are innocent. The two toddlers know nothing about germs or “cooties”; rather, this innocence allows for the friendship theme to occur.

This one photo told me this story. Remember that when creating something, what are you wanting to share with your audience? Now back to the first question. What is storytelling? I am not going to give a “dictionary definition.” Storytelling is evoking emotion. Storytelling can show differing cultures. Storytelling can educate audiences. Storytelling is documentary. Storytelling is sharing a narrative. Storytelling can be many things, but it can also be none of them. A story is nothing without the intentions behind the creator. And sometimes, storytelling can happen in the spur of the moment. When creating story, don’t feel the need to overcomplicate the scene. Still provide details, but stay true to the story by telling the audience what you want to either convince to them, prove to them, or inform them on.

Whether you’re an “artist” or not, everyone has a story to tell. So go out and create your story!

— Christian Allan Ramirez