Lynda Barry, “What It Is” page 14

In Barry’s novel “What It Is”, Barry seems to be saying that our childhood relates directly to our creative inspiration because they are both centered around an image. Barry states that an image is alive in the same way that our memory and experiences are alive and that it consists of both memory and imagination. What I can take away from this information, is that Barry thinks that our child like imaginations are part of what allows us to be creative and inspired throughout our daily lives. It looks like this book was sketched by a kid using a pencil and some markers. This art style can be seen through the way Barry depicts the birds and cat on page 14. Their fur and feathers are obviously textured with a pencil, and their color looks smudged, which gives me the impression that they were colored with a marker. This art style relates to Barry’s message because it simply depicts a kids art style, which Barry thinks is important to our creative process.