When you can't find the right words to say, or when the advise of others just doesn't resonate, know that there is a quote out there that says just what you need to hear, and conveys exactly what you're feeling. That's why, even as a kid, I loved searching for quotes. Some were funny and witty, others were heartfelt and profound, but inevitably I always managed to come across one that precisely expressed what I felt or provided me with a valuable piece of wisdom. Besides quotes, I also loved cartoons, like most kids, and never really outgrew them. When I came across Zen Pencils, cartoons that illustrated quotes, it was impossible for me not to be a fan.
Australian artist, Gavin Aung Than, started Zen Pencils in 2012, and the idea for Zen Pencils began with a passion. In a segment of Another Beautiful Story, Aung Than states, "I really just enjoyed reading about famous people and inspiring people that I'm interested in and they all had quotes that I enjoyed reading. And I thought it would be a cool idea to turn those quotes into comics because no one had ever really done it before."Undoubtably, Zen Pencils is unique (and not just conceptually). The illustrations that accompany the quotes add new depth and meaning, making the impact on the reader even stronger. My personal favorite Zen Pencils cartoon is the first one I came across, "Frida Kahlo: Strange Like Me".
The quote by Rebecca Martin (inspired by -- but misattributed to -- Frida Kahlo) is this:
"I used to think I was the strangest person in the world but then I thought, there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways I do. I would imagine her, and imagine that she must be out there thinking of me too. Well, I hope that if you are out there, you read this and know that, yes, it's true. I'm here, and I'm just as strange as you."
Alone, those words are powerful, but accompanied by Aung Than's artistry and storytelling, it obtains nuances and becomes even more memorable. That quote narrates the panels of a cartoon about a young girl with a unibrow. Teased and embarrassed, she begs her mother to take her to a laser hair removal specialist to fix the offending feature. Her mother agrees but, instead of taking her to the specialist, drives the girl to an art museum. The girl is wholly uninterested, until she comes across the Frida Kahlo exhibit and view portraits of a woman with a unibrow not unlike hers. Suddenly, her face lights up. In the last panel, we see the girl leaving the museum with a book about Frida Kahlo in hand and the pamphlet for the hair removal specialist discarded.
I appreciate the narrative and artwork as deeply as I appreciate the quote, and they go together perfectly. Like most of the Zen Pencils cartoons, the quote and the pictures possess a remarkable synergy. The voice of the original speaker, be it Rebecca Martin or Rumi, isn't lost or taken out of context, but Aung Than adds his voice to theirs, thus adding dimension and gravity to the quote.
That's why people are drawn to Zen Pencils. It's a resource for those feeling depressed or uninspired for any reason. It's there for those who love cartoons or stories; for fans of Jane Goodall, Maya Angelou, or Theodore Roosevelt. It's there for those who can't find the right words to say or haven't come across the words they need to hear.
