Natalie Charlesworth's Life Map




Nakon Omelas

(Nay Cone OH-meh-lahss)


by Natalie Charlesworth



I named my city ‘Nakon Omelas’ because ‘nakon’ is the Croation word for ‘after’, and Omelas is the name of a city from a book. The book is called ‘The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas’, by Ursula K. Le Guin. The story is about a dystopian/utopian society where everyone lives immensely happy and at peace, but at the expense of a single child who must live their life in torment. Many of the citizens who grow up and realize what the cost is, choose to look past it. But there are some who are disgusted and choose to leave the city. As the book ends, you never are told where the ones who left end up. I chose to name my map after this book because I feel that the way I move about in this world is like someone who chooses to leave Omelas. My city is the place where I would like to imagine the people who left eventually found refuge in. So the name directly translates to ‘after Omelas’....

I drew Bridges to remind me of my time in Penang.

Pink trees bring back a memory of the spring time cherry blossoms I love.

I used several color pencils layered together for the ombre effect.

The pancake Dinner represents Jakes diner that me my dad and brother always went to. We also used to watch Tom and Jerry a lot so that is why I called it Tom and Jerrys.

Little Malaysia represents my time in Malaysia where there were lots of outdoor eateries.

I love open air Markets. We have one in Chico and we had one in Davis California. So Bubis Market represents my love for fresh food and cool community neighborhoods.

Sams creamery is for my brother who loves ice cream. I thought it would be fun to have in my map.

JCys Ball park is for my dad, Jay Charlesworth since he loves baseball so much and would always take us to games.

Downtown is where I am going to college next year for the school of design.
The carousel represents one of my favorite parks called Bibinka Park.

Animal Palace is a park where farm animals are free to explore and dont have to be worried about going to the butcher.  I am a vegan and so that is the way I have chosen to share this perspective.

Home is a simple apartment because I am moving to college and know I will have to share a small two bedroom apartment with four people.

Ghibli Hill is a Gondala I remember in Malaysia there’s a place called Penang hill and there’s a gondola that goes up it. one of my most vivid memories is looking up at it and riding it to the top with my mom and her friend Kim.... I also named it ghibli hill after the Japanese animated film studio called studio Ghibli. I love the films they’ve made!

Richmond Park is a nod to a Lake I used to play on with my Grandmother as a child.

Bs Arena is a reminder of how much I like music and going to concerts.
I got some great icon ideas from Nate and Sallies web site

I realized just how much the little plants and flowers changed the overall look of my piece. I think it made it look a lot more put together. That may be a little tip you can share with the class if they want to spice up their map! Or of course they can keep it simple and minimal which looks great too! I also used an ombre effect with different shades of colored pencils to fill in the background.





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