The Magic of Zines
Making more from your art
Do you keep a personal inventory of (images of) your art ? if so do you ever consider reusing your images to make something else ?
I like to keep a digital record of all my art -and as artists fortunately we always retain the rights to the imagery. One of the more wonderful aspects of our smartphones is the ability to take great photos -and keep a record of our creative journeys. I do appreciate the opportunity to reuse and resurrect my images in other creative ways -from postcards , to art prints etc. I have also utilized a print on demand company (Redbubble) to have my art printed on mugs, t shirts stickers,bags etc.
When I reflect on my photos it gives me some perspective of my work over time. I also notice recurring themes , and stages I have travelled through as an artist .
I can also film my process -or even a class ! The world has changed so much!
Have you ever made a Zine?
As it’s continued to be distracting for me to make art from scratch (sketching aside) this is something I can do in the meantime . It feels meaningful to me when there is a message ..and yes it can be political. I believe the illustrations speak for themselves so there is no need for them to be text dominant.
This Zine in reference to Palestine features a compilation of illustrations made while drawing live with Sarah Dyer’s (Sarahdyer_illustrator on instagram ) online fundraising draws for Gaza . I added a few of my sketches/small paintings that I have worked on over the past few months -and its quite satisfying to see them pulled together in book form (-This particular zine I had printed professionally as my laser printer is B&W only.)
I am offering these colourful zines from my online art shop - as another way to donate to Palestine /Gaza ..I will donate your payment to the struggling aid organization UNRWA. shipping is free in North America!
A few single page mini zines printed at home-which I have been handing out at our local ceasefire rallies
It provides me with an outlet ..I have made zines before and often they ideas spring from whatever is swirling around my head at the moment ..
In the Autumn I typically make paintings which lean towards sentimental thoughts about deer. Placing them alongside humans in a friendly way . Last Autumn I made a zine from my collected painting images and called it “Deer of My Heart” . There is no accident that my art making coincides with deer hunting season in my region.
the “deer of my heart” zine
Does a zine have to be political..no of course not. A day in the life of a toad is fine topic, and another I simply named House. Watching the antics of my roosters compelled me to incorporate them into their own little zine.
A little concertina zine..
Anna Brones on The power of Zines
Zines satisfy my need to make even when I am low on imagination fuel ..The one page mini zine is most satisfying as after you have figured out the folding and order to print and set up -then its just a matter of finding imagery that fits your boxes and theme.
I was delighted to find a tutorial generously offered on youtube which explained how to set up a template in Canva!
There are tons of resources online for making your zine !
I think if you enjoy mixed media and collage then you will find zine making very satisfying indeed !
Austin Kleon has a lot to say about zine making too
Of course you can make a zine as a small booklet or a concertina as well...I enjoy working with my digital images of my art and pulling them together to fashion a story.!
You can collage,cut and paste or draw from scratch. If you make the one page zine you can create multiples easily to distribute among your friends, to give away or even sell :-)
I will be participating in an exhibit in May of this year and decided the theme leant itself to a zine! Hopefully I will print out multiples to give away at the opening !
Below is a short video to give you an idea how it was printed and folded !
The truly fun part is that the only effort this takes is to assemble some of the art images that you already have in your photo library and place them together to become a little book!
Mini zines require only one piece of copy paper to create 8 pages of art!
If you make a zine in booklet form (folding 8 1/2 x11 in half ) its a good idea to print double sided to maximize your art and save paper .
On a day when you feel an urge and nudge to create yet are lacking in ideas or energy making a personal art zine may fulfil this need!
if you decide to make a zine from scratch then the sky’s the limit in how you wish to fill your pages ! For me ..going simple and small feels equally as satisfying as completing a painting !
Please share your zine stories!!
Thanks so much for reading “Get your artist jetpack On “
Cheers Heather
Fantastic post.. always so inspiring with great references, how-to’s; I would love to try this! Another wonderful meaningful fund-raising for a worthwhile cause.
Love all the different zines featured, and love that you made one for Palestine. I've made a lot of art for Palestine, this inspiring me to think about compiling them into a sine, even if just for me to document my art making in one place during this time of genocide.