Last Friday I was invited to be a part of a panel discussion about zine history in my town. I documented it with audio, video, and photos. This post has some of the photos, and I will describe what is happening in them. Oh also, this event was in the basement of an art space that I helped to start. It was great to come full circle, return to that stage and have a chance to share about zines! I haven't done that in years.
There's a new revival of zines lately , which , I could have told you would happen hahah... people get sick of the internet and how impersonal it is. Zines are intimate. Tangible. Personal. Sometimes when you make a zine, you hand you special little book that you made right to your audience, and they usually get to talk to you a little and a relationship forms between you. Its not always like that, but there is always an element of that because zine makers tend to share their work locally, and sometimes sell it online. The niche is so small, and unusual, that it is very personal/ human-human usually.
A zine is a publication you create yourself. Or I can create it for you. :)
Or, its something that you create with friends. Or maybe you have someone make it for you. I am for hire if you have content and you like the look and feel of what I am showing you here. I create all my zines by hand on a shitty copier and laser printer in my house. If you want something fancier, I know how to do that too. I will accept steem and USD. I also sell my zines, and I would love to add you to an email list so I can let you know when new ones come out! Comment if you are interested and we can talk in private message!
I have been making zines since I was a teenager
Here is my table from the evening. I brought a bunch of my old zines, just stuff from my collection, but also everything that I could find that I have personally made. I still have more than these, but actually I have never set them all on a table like this before. That is because I make them in small batches, and sell them , and then time goes by before I make the next one. So they rarely sit together like this! I was excited to have a chance to photograph them. ..
Lots of people came to the event!
We were all surprised as we are used to like 10 people showing up to something like this. It was hard to capture in photos, but there were easily 50 - 60 people there! Woahhh.
This is the table of one of my favorite artists, Ladypajama. Look her up!
This event also blew my mind because it called attention to the fact that I actually taught people in Missoula how to make zines, and then they went on to make zillions of zines, and have successful art careers now in their own right. The fact that I had an influence on people who I truly admire, was making me weepy! In an upcoming post, I have an awesome video of Ladypajama reading from her zine. I just want to post it to Dtube, and really feature it, so its going in a separate post.
Another great artist that came to my very first zine making class a million years ago is Theo Ellsworth
Theo, Katy, and some other artists and I started a small press collective together. Thats where the bike- powered bookmobile came in. Since then Theo has become very successful and widely published. But he still makes zines. Here is his table.
Here is the new zine on the block, Brine the Zine!
This zine is in its second issue, and I haven't even read it yet and i LOVE it. The women running it are doing it from such a positive place. They are tired of the negativity in the world, and wanted to create a venue for artists and others to talk , and share . Their zine always features a central interview. The woman featured in this issue is also a totally badass who has started a cake making business.
In addition to tabling, I was in a panel talk. Here is my view from the stage.
The people in the photo are the writers of the article I shared last week. The local weekly paper hosted this event. I recorded the interview but it is an hour long . A lot of it is particular to my town so it might not interest everyone. I want to edit it down into clips, and post later. So stay tuned if you are interested.
And that's it for now!
If you like what you saw, please check out my blog to see what else is new!
Art
Poetry, with audio
Art and a poem with audio
What a nice look into your person and background. Very cool.
I think I remember your hometown and it's not far from where I used to call home so I'll be interested. My cousin (who was here this last week) still owns a place there, and I told her that if I win big lottery I might build a summer home in Thompson Falls :) I love that place...
Sharing about my home with people who don't live here really rekindles my love for it .. it is very beautiful here, and has so many good qualities. I tend to feel hemmed in artistically and just cuz i am weird, but this event really helped ease some of those isolation feelings. Its a good spot! Lemme know if you are ever in the area!
I've always played around with the idea of wanting to create my own zine based off of the tribulations and cliches about "fashion girls." I always imagined it heavily illustrated and I'm a pretty sub par illustrated but you're motivating me to want to try a little harder! haha. Where can you purchase the Brine zine?
yesssssss! I am going to post tutorials soon! I can help you figure out how to do it. In fact if you want a specific question answered let me know because it will help me generate content. Brine Zine sounds right up your alley for your idea. Here is an article about them to learn more And here is their Facebook. I dont know if they are selling online. But I can maybe go pick a copy up for you and send if you can pay shipping --- or just get in touch with them too!
and please! If you make a zine , tag it #zines and please please spam me so i can see ittttt!!!! <3
ooooooo! I have so many content ideas in a Google doc for various blogs and things. I just start looking at them again from a Zine perspective! I'll spend sometime this weekend flowing some stuff out and thinking about it a bit more. Like all projects for me the hard part is just starting. I can't even tell you how long I procrastinated making this steemit account haha. I'll be hitting you up here very shortly I'm sure to brainstorm if you're down!
Thank youuuuuu for the Brine links! I'd totally pay you back for shipping if you wouldn't mind picking up a copy for me! <33
I have this same exact problem! Always up for some motivation! The interest people's how here on Steemit really helps me keep posting but I get stuck alllllll the time . Especially if I think the idea is good. I try to make it perfect in my head before even trying. The thing I am learning right now is something someone told me in chat ....done is better than perfect....just start....and I should know this because it's what I love about zines! One of the whole vibes of them is just throw some shit on the copier and make it art ...put it out there...it feels great and the raw feeling is actually so natural ... Refined and edited peices are also great but I think there is a place and a reason for doing wild creations with less inner critic ! Ok that's my rant and I am typing in my phone so hope it makes sense haha!
Post was 8 days old when @omitaylor dropped it in our promote-someone-else drop box, I will go to your page and pick a current post to vote on. It is a shame I came across the post so late, looks like a nice conversation was had.
Awww thank you!! I will post more about zines soon. I have been overcome by IRL income needs so I am off steemit a little this week but checking comments and keeping up best I can. Thanks so much for the nice comment and for offering to upvote a more recent post!! more is on the way.
yes - I just saw this in discord, too. Sending an upvote on a newer post as well :) I love these funky zines! I have been combining art and poetry for a little while but I had no where to put them.. making a zine is such a cool idea !
We need to teach us your wayyyys
I will! I have my ipad all set up in this stand thingie so I can film myself talking about zines....and how to make them!
xo
@limabeing I've been slowly beseeching her to teach me too. lol
Love it. I want in the movement. Would be really awesome if you had some tips on the best bang for the buck materials investments. I shop at Michaels craft store a lot and often get those 50% coupons. I also like the idea I saw on Pinterest where one artist used upcycled materials. That's really up my alley. I'm not sure about what I'd write about but this is so me. I can't wait to make my first Zine.
Ooooo ok I will make my first episode about materials. :). You are giving me great ideas <3. I will make sure to mention you in the post!
I got you in my ginabot notifications now. My upvotes aren't worth much right now but slowly powering up. I hope you consider making a discord channel someday too if you have several students. It might be a fun collaborative project to do a STEEM-ZINE with steemit related dramas and contribs. @limabeing seems to want to learn too <3
I liked what I saw! I've always loved zines. I've got a whole shelf on my bookcase that's nothing but zines. That's really cool how you taught others who went on to become artists. I think that would've made me weepy too. Sounds like you've got your hands in a little bit of everything, creatively. That's pretty cool! Missoula seems like a really cool place. I've always wanted to visit.
Also, I love zines for the same reason. It's this tangible personal thing. You can see how the little book has been hand-sewn together. How they printed the cover image on front. It's all so hands on and old-school low-tech. I love that.