Catherine has been married for the past two years. She married Elijah’s son Samuel and they inherited Elijah’s grove when he passed away. Samuel works closely alongside Henry as Elijah once did. Henry’s orange grove has expanded; they were able to plant trees over all 50 acres after the first couple of years. They are making good money from the groves and directly sell their fruit to markets and companies, instead of packing, shipping, and juicing their oranges themselves. They have been able to stop growing so much for their own food, they don’t need to. Now they can buy almost anyting they need from the merchant, and more merchants are being built all over. Now newsletters and bulletins from the USDA arrive directly to their home in the mail because of rural free delivery service. The Turners now also have a radio. Every evening they listen to the farm report which gives them the current prices for produce, followed by the weather. It helps them with planning and decision making.
Now it is time for the farm report!
The Texas Fever Tick continues to sweep Florida. In order to continue efforts to eradicate the problem the State Livestock Board has been established.
The Board is ordering that all cattle be dipped every two weeks in a solution of arsenic that is strong enough to kill the tick but does not harm cattle.
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As some of you may know a cow will generally show signs of Texas Fever 10 to 15 days after contracting a tick. Once cattle are affected by the tick they contract a chronic fever causing them to become anemic, to be weak and stunted, and to lose weight.
While the fever does not necessarily cause death and cattle may recover after many months, it does cause cattle to be susceptible to other diseases. The fever is costing a major loss to the economic wellbeing of the cattle industry and must be controlled before it spreads even further.
Samuel and I can’t ignore the Texas Tick any longer. We will have to round up the cattle and find the nearest dipping station. We might be gone for week or better; the cattle are spread out more than ever.
The Board is helping to aid cattlemen with dipping efforts. Throughout the state private companies have been contracted to build dipping facilities where anyone is able to bring their cattle. Futhermore, cattlemen will be reimbursed 3 cents per head. We want to thank everyone involved in this very important effort.
And now for the weather. There are clear skies predicted over Central Florida for the rest of the week, with temperatures in the 80s.
In 1920, Caleb started working at the local processing plant that the Turners have been selling their fruit to for about a decade. Caleb decided he wanted a dierent role in the citrus industry besides working in the groves. At the plant his role is much dierent. He loads trucks and railcars with citrus shipments that travel all over the country. While working there he has fallen love with Elizabeth, the daughter of the plant owner.
the processing plant
Good evening Mrs. White. OFFICE
Evening Mr. White. You wanted to speak to me? Hello Caleb. Yes. I was hoping that as my future son-in-law you would become manager of the plant. I need someone with your experience and I trust you to do a good job.
Oh Caleb! Come in, come in.
Oh Mr. White, of course! I would be honored to become manager.
Another hurricane has been predicted to hit Miami later this week. This will be the second hurricane the city has seen this season. Let us all hope this one does not cause a great amount of damage and that the people of South Florida stay safe.
Unfortunately the Miami hurricane of September 1926 sparked the economic depression in Florida. Damage was costly and the death toll was high. Property values declined and thousands of people were left homeless or displaced. Miami was the biggest city in the state at the time and money and credit ran out as the city was being rebuilt. The hurricane became known as “The Big Blow” and went down in history as the country’s greatest natural disaster since the 1906 earthquake and fire in San Fransisco.
GA
Atlantic Ocean
FL
Miami
Florida’s economic depression was unfortunatly only the beginning of a number of challening years to come for both the state and the country.
Something’s not right with my oranges.
OH NO!!
THE MED FLY!
Henry has heard horror stories about the Mediterranean Fruit Fly and feared that this is what was affecting his crop. He decide the best thing to do is to contact the local agricultural extension agent in order to figure out how to combat the problem. Henry is able to connect with an extension agent at his local merchant shop. A few years before, in 1914, the Smith-Leaver Act was created. The Smith-Leaver Act helped to federally support agricultural extension agents through land-grant colleges all over the United States. Extension agents provided educational programs and solutions to any farmer who asked for their support. They also gave public demonstrations about agriculture and home economics in order to bring college studies to local communities. Education programs often included scientific and technological practices and solutions to agricultural problems in order to advance the field. Land-grant colleges were created in 1862 as public universities in order to provide agricultural, engineering, and military training. Henry has never met with an extention agent before butis thankful that they existed during this crisis. During their meeting the agent explains the problem of the Med fly to Henry.
The fly is not established in the US but various outbreaks occur as goods are shipped internationally, bringing hitchhiking flies with them.
The Mediterranean fruit fly is a fruit pest originating from sub-Saharan Africa.
Female flies are attracted to fruits that are beginning to ripen.
They dill small holes into fruit and deposit 2-6 eggs there.
In her 60 day lifetime, a single female is able to produce 1,000 eggs.
When the eggs hatch the larvae begin feeding.
This means just one fly can affect hundreds of fruit.
They tunnel around the inside of the fruit as they continue to feed.
Eventually, they reduce the fruit to a juicy, inedible mass.
The situation in Florida is grave as many groves are infected with the fly.
When fruit becomes infested with the Med fly it must be destroyed so the fly is not able to spread.
Infested areas are sprayed with arsenical-molasses.
Entire trees are cut down by the masses.
The National Guard created roadblocks in order to enforce the embargo on all citrus.
The Mediterranean fruit fly infestation in Florida lasts almost 18 months, destroying about 60% of the state’s fruit production.
Unfortunately, the roadblocks and embargo d0 not help to prevent the spread of the fly and it is found in other states.
Henry and Samuel focus their efforts on their cattle.
The loss impacts citrus growers negatively as their income is cut drastically.
And closely inspect their groves daily.
During the Mediterranean fruit fly infestation the nation is having an even bigger crisis. The Great Depression begins in October of 1929 when the stock market crashs, leaving thousands without jobs and the prices of crops plummet. This means that farmers are unable to sell their crops for a fair price, making very little if any profit. This leads to many farms declaring bankruptcy and losing their land. The Turners are lucky in that they do not lose their land, but times become tough for them.
Ruth, I’ve been thinking that you should start to grow more things in the garden again. It’s becoming more difficult to get supplies from the merchant and money has been tight. I haven’t grown much in a long time but I’ll do my best, of course.
I even saved some seeds, just in case we would ever need them again.
How are things at the plant Caleb?
They’re not great, Papa, I’m afraid.
Not many oranges have been coming in. It’s not a big surprise but we’re worried about what it means for our future.
I am not sure how much longer we can survive the Depression.
The plant has many debts. We invested in new equipment like conveyer belts and trucks when I became manager. At the time it seemed like a good idea. The industry was booming and we needed to increase production. But now, now I’m not sure we can cover our losses.
At the tail end of the Depression, Roosevelt created the New Deal. The thought behind the New Deal was that economic recovery depended on the recovery of agriculture. At the time, throughout large portions of the country an increase in crop yields led to a decrease in crop prices. This meant that many famers were putting more money into growing their crops then they were getting out of them. The New Deal raised prices through an artifical scarcity of crops and food products in order to create parity. This meant that prices were back to a fair exchange value but it also meant that perfectly good crops were left rotting in fields, cotton was plowed under, and piglets killed and discarded. Farmers involved in the New Deal were given subsidies for these actions.
For the Turners, the New Deal meant that that they could once again gain a profit from their oranges and nationwide shipments increased dramatically.
OFFICE
Have you heard about pasteurization? I heard about it on the radio last night.
I heard about it too. But I don’t quite understand. What does it do? Well the orange juice is heated to 168 degrees for just a few minutes. It helps to kill the mircoorganisms that make the juice spoil.
We need to heat the juice in copper, I believe. It also requires a lot of santiziation in order to avoid contamination.
Hmm okay. I think I understand. What special equipment do we need for it?
Well, son, we have been doing well; business has recovered after the Depression and our debts are close to gone. We need to keep up with the times. Let’s order the equipment we need.
With the increase of newer airports and better railroad systems the Florida citrus industry reached an all new high. Citrus soon became Florida’s main export and most Floridians were farmers. The citrus boom led to an increase in fruit production as well as an increase in jobs. All fruit had to be picked by hand and virtually anyone could be a picker. This increase in production and jobs helped to revive Florida’s economy.
The end of the 1930s into the beginning of the 1940s brought about a massive change in production methods. As technology began to advance at an even greater rate, agriculture advanced with it. Many areas of the industry could rely on mechanization which in some ways increased productivity, efficiency, and yields, and in other ways decreased labor and past restraints such as daylight hours. The idea during this time was to produce more and to produce better, and with the world beginning to become smaller and more advanced, this way of doing things seemed natural and necessary. World War II also brought about changes to the citrus industry with the creation of frozen concentrate and the need to fill jobs in plants as many men left their careers in order to fight in the war. These jobs were filled by women and in many plants more women worked there than men. As for the Turner’s, Henry passed away in the spring of 1943. Catherine and Samuel inherited his groves and they now have a son named John. Caleb and Elizabeth also have two children, two girls named Mary and Rose. Ruth still lives in the house that Henry built and keeps herself busy by spending time with her grandchildren and gardening and canning more for pleasure than for survival.
WHITE’S ORANGES
Hello Caleb!
It’s nice to see you. How’s Ruth doing?
Hi Sam! You can just leave them there. I’ll get someone to unload them.
She’s getting by. She’s excited about the new electric lights in the house. Makes it easier for cooking and cleaning she says. It’s great that the house Pappa built now has electric lights! I’ve been waiting to see when y’all would get them. Ma’s keeping busy I bet. How’ve you been? Oh, fine. Busy. I’m thinkin’ about hiring a few more pickers. The groves haven’t been moving as swiftly with your father gone. I understand, Henry was a hard worker. I could never keep up with him. That is one thing that hasn’t changed over the years: still gotta pick fruit by hand.
And how have you been Caleb? Oh, very well. We just got in some new equipment. Do you want to see?
We had to get some new equipment for pasteurization. We’re doing this new thing called ‘flash pasteurization’ because the old way of pasteurization gave the juice a metallic taste. What’s the difference? Well now we heat the juice to a higher temperature, 180 degrees, and for less time, only 3 seconds. Now we heat it in a copper-nickel alloy and it improves the taste.
We’re increasing our frozen concentrate production too. I thought frozen concentrate was just for the war. It was developed during the war to give soldiers vitamin C as it is easy to ship. But it’s becoming more and more popular here at home. I expect production to double. How exactly is it made? It’s not too complicated, some scientists figured it out. We just remove the water in the juice with a vacuum evaporator. It doesn’t alter the taste too much.
A lot sure has changed around here. Very true. We’ve also even found a way to make a profit off of our orange waste! Now how’s that?
We sell the waste like pulp membranes, seeds, and rinds to a cattle feed company. The cattle love it!
Governor Fuller Warren approved Senate Bill No. 34 today. The bill, also known as the fence law, requires owners of livestock to prevent their animals from straying into public roads. Ranchers will now be held liable for damage done to property or persons by free-roaming livestock.
Along with this, law enforcement officers may collect free-roaming livestock and fine their owners the cost of caring for detained animals. Livestock then must be claimed within three days and if not the animals will be sold to the highest bidder. If no buyers come forward, the animals may be slaughtered and disposed of.
Catherine, this changes everything. It changes how we’ve kept our cattle for decades. It’s closing the open range. We are no longer cow hunters.
After fence laws were passed, marking instead of branding livestock becomes an even more widespread practice, making it easier to identify animals. Marking different sized or shaped earmarks becomes more efficient to use as a sort of brand as they are easier to read from a distance and can show variety within a single herd. Before the fence laws, branding was important in order for farmers to claim their free-roaming livestock. Traditionally flank branding was done with a hot iron and was used to idenfity a specific farmers herd. Farmers created their own unique and distinct brand that set their cattle apart from others with different brands.
An important mechanization in the 1950s was pruning. Citrus tree pruning studies led to the development of the first mechanical hedging machine which made pruning more efficient in terms of time and labor. Samuel, with over 400 groves of trees, invested in two of these machine. He found that pruning mechanically helped to manage his trees and keep production high. Along with pruning, irrigation was found to be important for citrus growth. Like pruning, proper irrigation of a grove led to healthier trees. With 400 groves it took Samuel and his hired workers a few months to lay down irrigation lines. Now when it’s too dry or there hasn’t been enough rainfall they can simply water their groves with the flip of a switch.
The 1960’s saw a major reduction in citrus grove and cattle ranch acreage due to increased commercial and residential development across the state. Florida was becoming a haven for people to vacation and retire to, not just a farmer’s paradise. Many small farms, especially those located in Central Florida, sold their property for a large profit. Samuel still has and runs his grove with his son when his son is home from college. With the help of their hired workers they continue to have high yields and harvests of oranges. They now mostly grow Valencia oranges, which are used mainly for juicing, because they bring in the most profit. They keep fewer cattle than they used to and now mostly raise calves. The calves are sold and then shipped to ranches out in the western part of the country where environments are more suited to produce the efficient grains for cattle feed. There they will be raised for beef production.
A cold snap has been predicted for later this week with possible temperatures dipping below freezing for two to three consecutive nights.
Hi John.
1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.0
I’m not sure what the best method is.
What’s wrong Dad? You look upset. There’s a freeze coming John, we must prepare the trees or we might lose them.
There are quite a few options that I’ve learned about in school.
wooden shelters over each tree
spray trees with water slat shack over multiple acres
flood groves
canvas covers iron stoves
It appears that on average this frost has led to a loss of 50% of citrus production.
Well we can try to keep as many pests away as possible in order to give the trees a boost. There are new petroleum oil sprays that have been developed. It is expensive but worth a try.
We must do something to help get our crop back.
What can we do?
We have to do whatever we can.
What?
It’s will open next year!
Walt Disney World!
We want to be first in line, don’t we Mary?
Oh, yes, I can’t wait! They say it will be a once in a lifetime experience!
You know, I’m not sure we should go there and support their business. They bought out so many farmers. People who had lived there for generations. It’s not right! What if it were us?
But it wasn’t us! And besides...I heard all those farmers got a lot of money for their property. That doesn’t sound so bad to me.
Maybe I’m just getting old...
Excuse me sir, are you Mr. Smith? I’m interesed in buying your property. You may name your price.
Yes. How can I help you?
I...I...I’m not selling!
OFFICE
Hello? Speaking.
Yes, it’s a deal!
!!! The phone call Caleb receives is much like the interaction Samuel has in his grove earlier that day. However, Caleb’s reaction to this confrontation is much different from Samuel’s; Caleb wants to sell his plant and he is excited about the idea of retiring and still having enough money for his family to live comfortably. The next day Caleb tells Samuel that he sold the plant. Samuel is devastated. He feels somewhat betrayed and defeated. He can not understand why Caleb would not want to keep the plant, to pass it down to his children. He wonders if it is because Caleb has no sons; maybe his daughters cannot or do not want to run the plant. Either way Samuel is worried about his own future. He wonders if his son will want to run his groves and what will happen if he doesn’t.
It feels like we’re spraying all the time now. It’s really helping. Yields haven’t decreased too much in the past few years.
These new chemical fertilizers seem to be doing some good as well. It has become the new way to grow oranges. The way of the future.
Sam kept his groves until the mid 1980’s. The 1980’s saw four major freezes in the state and it was too much for Sam to handle, especially while running the groves on his own. After the second freeze he decided to sell all but five acres that he wanted to keep in the family. John did not ever join his father in running the grove and he did not want to inherit them. John did not see farming in his future and after attending college he decided that he wanted to continue his studies in order to become a lawyer. Sam sold his groves to one of the fifteen major citrus companies that exist today who now together own 40% of the state’s citrus acreage. Many of the oranges grown are Valencias as they are best for juicing. Sam passed away in the early 1990’s and his story is not unlike that of --many other orange farmers and cattle ranchers of his time. He tried to hold on to a part of Florida that is slowly being lost as it becomes dominated by large and conventional growers. Florida is still a place for vacationers and retirees, but it is no longer a farmer’s paradise.
In creating this graphic novel I have attempted to answer the questions perviously posed. However what I discovered I did not entirely like. So after creating this graphic novel I have posed new questions, the most important being should we stick to the path we’re on? A path where citrus tychoons rein and small and organic growers struggle to survive or get bought out and turned into condos or strip malls. A path where chemicals are continuously sprayed onto our crops and much our beef is sourced unsustainabily. I must admit this book only scratches the surface of the history of agriculture in Florida. I encourage you to dig deeper. Form your own questions. All histories are vast and wide and the more we try to understand them, the better our future will be.
Berry, Wendell. (1996). The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture. Counterpoint. Citrus Research and Education Center. (2015). History. Retrieved from: crec.ifas Conkin, Paul K. (2009). A Revolution Down on the Farm: The Transformation of American Agriculture since 1929. The University Press of Kentucky. Edwards, Rebecca. (2012). How the Great Depression Saved Florida. Retrieved from: legacy.usfsm.edu Florida Citrus Mutual. (2012). Citrus Industry History. Retrieved from: flcitrusmutual.com Florida Memory. Timeline. Retrieved from: floridamemory.com Fresh From Florida Plant Industry. (2013). History of the FDACS Division of Plant Industry. Retrieved from: fldpi.wordpress.com Hagen, Kenneth S. et al. (1981). Mediterranean Fruit Fly: The Worst May Be Yet to Come. California ---Agriculture. Retrieved from ucanr.edu Hurt, R Douglas. (2002). American Agriculture: A Brief History. Purdue University Press. Hurt, R Douglas. (2003). Problems of Plenty: The American Farmer in the Twentieth Century. Ivan R. Dee. Smith, Patrick D. (1996). A Land Remembered. Pineapple Press.
DESCRIPTION My senior project will be the creation of a graphic novel that follows four or five generations of one American family farming in the southern United States. It will be created using Adobe Illustrator and will be printed out and bound into a tangible book. The story will focus on agricultural changes over time, including different scales, methods, and practices, seen through the eyes of farmers who are experiencing these mass changes and what it means in terms of production, cost, income, and physical work. It will heavily focus on this mysterious idea of farm life that has always eluded me, its role within society and relationship with the government. It will also have greater themes of sustainability and sufficiency interwoven throughout the novel. Although the finished product will in fact be a novel it will follow historical events and progresses as if it were real; I want the family that I create to be able to walk right out of my illustrations and come alive as their triumphs and failures stem from realistic events. I chose this subject matter simply because I am passionate about farming and gardening and because it is the profession I plan to have for some years to come. I have worked on many farms over the last two years between participating in WWOOF UK (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms in the United Kingdom), working with a small scale farmer and beekeeper while studying abroad in Italy with Heath Cabot, and my current internship on an organic farm in Florida. Most of my education about farming has been strictly organic and in the form of just getting out there and doing it. There have been very few books have I have read, let alone glanced at, that have taught me how to grow food and sustain an organic garden. All of my teaching has taken the form of watching, experiencing, and doing, as well as of course failing and succeeding. I have not taken any formal classes on agriculture and I have not ever grown anything completely on my own or even for myself. But I want to change this with my senior project. I want to crack a few books and soak in the American history of agriculture because there is still so much I do not know and need to know in order to better understand this subject matter that I am so fascinated with. With this project I aim to gain a better understanding of the history of farming in the United States, how and why it has changed over
time, and what it has meant for the farmers and people involved in these changes. Some of these things I already know but only on a large scale, I am missing details, names, dates, and reasons. I know a fair amount about organic farming and why some people, including myself, believe it is better than conventional farming but I am at a loss of the big, real, factual issues that people are concerned with. This is very important for me to be able to understand because one must understand the past in order to understand the present and ultimately where they are going in the future. My hope in creating this graphic novel is so that people like me, people who want to learn about the history of farming, have a different medium other than conventional books to both view and read about the subject. The graphic novel aspect of the final project was inspired by my passions of graphic design and creating books. Graphic design is not something I have done for very long but something that I really enjoy, feel good at, and also want to improve my skills in. This part of the project is going to be the most challenging for me as I will not only be designing a lengthy book but also creating a fictional story, something I do not feel as confident about simply because it is not something I do often or have ever done on this scale. However, I feel that with help and inspiration from the books and articles I plan to read during my research portion of the project I will be able to create a story I can feel proud of. There have been a great number of courses and experiences that I have participated in during my time at College of the Atlantic that I have put me on the path to create this project. First and foremost, Graphic Design with Dru Colbert has really inspired and propelled me to approach my project in this fashion. While taking that course I found that I love creating images and using them to tell stories. The final project for that course is to create a book, which is where I got the overall idea for my project and have created two additional books for other courses since. Participating in two independent studies has also helped me to know how to budget my time, set learning goals, and how to plan, execute, and carry out a project from start to finish. Other courses I have taken that have helped to put me on this path include Climate Justice and the attendance of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Cancun, Mexico, Geographic Information Systems, and This
Marvelous Terrible Place: the Human Ecology of Newfoundland. While all of these courses and experiences are very different they have helped to fuel my curiosity about land and resource use and they have all showed me different ways to display and share information. Other experiences that have helped me to prepare for this project include working on Peggy Rockefeller Farm, which was my first farm experience, WWOOFing in the UK for six months, working with a farmer in Italy, and interning on an organic farm in Florida. All of these farming and growing experiences have helped me to understand some of the struggles and triumphs of everyday farming that go beyond just growing crops. These experiences are of the utmost importance for me for this project because they are a way for me to directly connect with and understand what I am writing about in certain situations because I have been there and experienced it. GOALS My first and foremost goal is to gain a better understanding of the history of agriculture in the United States. Not only do I want to have a better understanding but I want to have enough of an understanding to be able to translate it into a graphic novel that makes sense, flows, and can teach others. I must do very thorough and extensive research in order to be prepared to undertake this task. This means that I cannot simply read books and be able to translate my understanding into words but I also need to be able to translate it into images. My second goal is for my graphic novel to be separated into four or five different sections, a section for each generation, that will follow each other chronologically. I want these different sections to have a slightly different feel to them depending on the major historical event or experience going on during that time while still keeping the style of writing and illustrations the same throughout. My third goal, which goes along closely with the former, is to improve my graphic design skills and learn new ways of design and how to turn large ideas and events into illustrations. This means doing throughout research, working closely with my project director, pushing myself to think outside the box and challenge myself, and being able to take criticism and advice when needed.
My final goal is to write a fictional story that follows history as accurately as possible. I see this as the most challenging part of the project because I will be writing about something I have just learned therefore I need to make sure that I fully understand it in order to represent it accurately. Not only do I want to explain certain parts of the history of agriculture but I also want to accurately explain this history through the eyes of the farmers who are experiencing these events. NEW LEARNING & BIBLIOGRAPHY In order to execute my project I will need to learn a great deal about the history of agriculture in the US. This means I will be doing very extensive research and reading quite a few books, both historical non-fiction and historical fiction. The fiction books will help to give me inspiration and ideas on how others have written about farming in a fictional setting. I will also be reading a few books about how to write as well as design comics, which will help me to complete the writing and designing portion of my book. I also plan to improve upon my graphic design skills and learn new techniques and ways to display information and tell a story with both pictures and words. This learning will happen through both reading and sketching as well as with more and more practice and time spent designing in Illustrator. Bank, Richard D. (2010). The Everything Guide to Writing Nonfiction. Avon, MA: Adams Media. Berry, Wendell. (1996). The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture. Counterpoint. Conkin, Paul K. (2009). A Revolution Down on the Farm: The Transformation of American Agriculture since 1929. The University Press of Kentucky. Delisle, Guy. (2007). Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea. Drawn and Quarterly. Delisle, Guy. (2010). Burma Chronicles. Drawn and Quarterly. Delisle, Guy. (2012). Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City. Drawn and Quarterly. Hurt, R Douglas. (2002). American Agriculture: A Brief History. Purdue University Press. Hurt, R Douglas. (2003). Problems of Plenty: The American Farmer in the Twentieth Century. Ivan R. Dee. Lemire, Jeff. (2009). The Collected Essex County. Top Shelf Productions.
Monteleone, Tom. (2010). The Complete Idiots Guide to Writing a Novel. New York: Alpha Books. O’Neil, Dennis. (2001). The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications. Rasenberger, Jim. (2007). America 1908. New York: Scribner. Sass, Erik. (2010). The Mental Floss History of the United States. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. Smith, Patrick D. (1996). A Land Remembered. Pineapple Press. Steinbeck, John. (1952). East of Eden. New York: Penguin Group. Tate, Ken. (1996). Good Old Days on the Farm. Indiana: House of White Birches. ROLE OF THE DIRECTOR(S) I feel that Dru Colbert is appropriate as the director for my project because of the final product that I want to produce. I feel that she is the most knowledgeable in the graphic design process which will help me create a lengthy graphic novel. As I will be off campus winter term for the first two credits of my project I plan to email with Dru at least once a week in order to check in with where I am at with my reading list and to share storyboard ideas which she can help to critique and shape toward the final product. I also plan to Skype with her at least every two weeks in order to have more in-depth real time conversations about my project. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION I would like to be evaluated on the overall quality of my graphic novel. By working with Dru she will be able to see how I have or have not improved my graphic design skills after the completion of this project. I would also like to be evaluated on my ability to create a fictional story that both makes sense in terms of historical accuracy and its cohesiveness and ability to span multiple generations without feeling choppy or confusing for the readers. Also I would like to be evaluated on how well I am able to translate the topic of the history of specific agricultural events into a graphic novel, focusing on whether or not I am able to paint vivid and realistic pictures of this history. I want someone with very little knowledge about the history of agriculture to be able to read my book and walk away with a visual and factual representation of this history. While creating my
graphic novel I hope to stick to the timetable I have created for myself and I would like to be evaluated on how well I am able to manage my time, communicate, and work with Dru in terms of handling criticism and suggestions for how to make my book more accessible for my audience. TIMETABLE I plan to do two credits of the project in winter term. One of these credits will focus on the background research I need in order to execute the project and the second credit on storyboarding. During this term I will be off campus and volunteering on an organic farm in Florida, an extension of the internship I completed this past fall. I feel that this will help to fuel and motivate me for my project as I will be doing some of the exact work I will be reading and writing about. I plan on spending the month of January reading four to six books about the history of agriculture and farming in the US and figuring out the time period in which I want my novel to start. Once I have that start date I can figure out the major topics I want to focus on and read a couple more books about these specific events and periods. At this point, the beginning of February, I will start story boarding my project. This will entail writing the novel and making a great number of sketches. I plan to devote about two weeks to each section/major event of the novel, this time frame including working over spring break as I will still be volunteering at the farm, and have a complete rough draft of the novel by the start of spring term. Spring term will include one credit of the project which will be the execution of the novel in its full Illustrator glory. As I will already have a complete rough draft of the novel in a tangible form this part of the project will involve translating what is on paper onto the computer. In some ways this task will be somewhat easy, as I will have a complete story board and know what I want to produce, but in other ways this task will be extremely difficult, as I want to make sure that my illustrations work well together, flow, and are something that I feel proud of and challenged by. In order to complete my senior project I will need to complete the book one week prior to graduation, however, I hope to be done designing and illustrating two weeks prior to graduation in order to ensure time for printing a few hard copies.
ACADEMICALLY ENGAGED HOURS
begin to produce them in February.
I will spend at least thirty hours a week in January reading some of the books I have outlined in my bibliography. Starting in February I will continue to go through my reading list, as well as any additional books I find important for my study, spending only 15 hours a week on reading. The other 15 hours a week during this month will be spent beginning to write the novel and sketching. During the month of March I hope to be finished reading and will now spend 30 hours a week completely on storyboarding. Some of this time however may also be spent on any additional research I feel that I still need in order to complete my story. I will be keeping a time log during this time as well and meeting with Dru over Skype at least every other week. I also plan to send Dru copies of my sketches weekly when I
In the spring I plan to spend 15 hours a week creating my final designs in Illustrator and laying out the book. At this point I will meet with Dru weekly for critics and Illustrator help. FINAL PRODUCT My final product will be a graphic novel that I will submit to the college. I will also submit a copy of many if not all of my original sketches and notes that will aid me in creating my final product in order to show my process in creating my final novel. I plan to have a working journal/sketchbook where these original works will come from. In this I will also include an explanation and abstract.