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A one-page comic titled “”Me” as a Character”. The cartoon character is drawn six times throughout the page. She has short hair and is shaped slightly like a bell. In the top left of the page, she is facing forward and saying “So hello all- this is me. I was not easy at all. It took my real version - my 3D version - many tries to get me looking like this. It's not quite right, but there you are. It is what it is and I am what I am, I suppose”. To the right, she is drawn twice. The first time, she is shrugging and beginning to say “Clearly I’m not very consistent yet. My tunic …”, but the rest of the sentence is cut off by her head and the second drawing of her, who is walking away, holding a sign that says “me!” over her shoulder, and is saying “Me! Me! Me! I! I! I!” “Whatev…” Below, on the left, she is sitting in a chair and holding something, saying “Here I am, sitting! This was really hard. It didn’t turn out too well. And what am I holding? Hmmm. Anyone’s guess!” Next to her is an arrow pointing to her hand and the question “? Can? Cup? Fireworks?” To the right of that, she is running towards the left and saying “In this one, I’m running! I hope that’s super-obvious. She messed up my right hand, clearly. Hey, it’s a process, right?” On the bottom, she is doing yoga, with her hands and head against the ground, her back arched, and her feet lifted up, saying “Down dog in a tunic is not easy”.
Image | 2020

Hello This is Me

R.C. Barajas

I admit to feeling a certain amount of guilt about how creatively productive I have been during this pandemic. Most certainly a defense mechanism or survival instinct or a desperate need of a shell into which I could shield my hermit crab self, I found the external restrictions permitted an internal freedom to explore.
There was not a moment in creating these things in which the pandemic did not factor. The mere fact that I had the time and drive to do them was in response to the pandemic, its horror for so many, its legacy. In looking back at this work, there will always be an asterisk in my mind regarding their genesis, their backstory.