I’m sorry I haven’t posted anything in awhile. One would think that with all this time on my hands it would be a great time to write but alas, nothing is that simple. Self-quarantine has left me empty and void of creative energy. Luckily, however, I managed to at least temporarily regain my creativity with a very special activity… zine making!
Today I made my first zine and it was a rewarding and revitalizing experience: a chance to get messy and make art that can just be what it is. There’s no particular talent or expertise necessary, you can just jump right in there and create. There are no rules. It’s just a tiny book and it can contain whatever you want it to!
I was inspired to make a zine by artist and author Austin Kleon. He’s been making them daily and posting them online under the hashtag #stayhomemakezines. Everything I know about zines and everything I’m going to tell you comes from him. So, if you want to speed up the process just go ahead and visit his blog. Also, I strongly suggest you check out his books about being creative and his art. I’ll put the link to his website at the bottom of the page.
Austin Kleon’s zines mostly contain poetry comprised of clippings from some sort of text, sort of like reverse blackout poetry. Here’s the link to my blackout poetry post in case you want a refresher on that: https://intermediatelyversed.poetry.blog/2020/03/08/blackout-poetry-with-bob-dylan/.
So since my inspiration came from Austin Kleon, mine is also of that type. I’ll show you what I made and tell you the process I followed so you can make one too! Here’s my zine:
And I found it! My spirit, that is. Making this zine helped me relocate it and maybe it will help you too.
The materials you’ll need are a piece of paper, scissors, glue stick, assorted writing utensils of choice, magazine clippings, and unwanted sheets of text (like pages from an old magazine or newspapers). I also like to use old sheet music for these things. And of course, be creative! Don’t let any rules stop you from being original. Add 3D elements, glitter, or paint. Make it completely textless. Use your own drawings instead of images. The possibilities are endless. I’m going to tell you how I made mine, which included National Geographic clippings, a Bob Dylan “Chronicles” blackout poem I printed out, sheet music, wash I tape, and colored pencils and pens.
Okay, now that you’ve gathered your materials you’ll need to fold your paper into a booklet shape. Here’s the link to Austin Kleon’s video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab4O9SWNl9g
Now that you’ve made the foundation for your booklet you’ll need to pick your text. This is my favorite way to do that:
1. Pick your topic or theme. Mine was “pandemic quarantine”, of course.
2. Scan the text that you have and cut out words or phrases that could fit that theme or just ones that you like.
3. Look at your words and arrange them into poetry. You can try multiple different arrangements before you pick the best one.
4. Decide which words go on which page.
Once you’ve decided what your words are going to be, check out your image options. Look at what words you’ve decided will go on each page and decide what type of visuals you think will go well with them. Cut out photographs you like, color with markers, cover with glitter, and scribble all over. In mine, I used clips from the same images throughout to pull everything together. I also combined contrasting images, colored with pens and colored pencils, and added metallic washi tape. Again, so many possibilities. Add your image(s) to the page and then glue your words on top. Repeat for each page until your zine is complete!
This is a super fun and low-stress way to spend your time and get your creative energy flowing. It’s also an opportunity to use any form of art that you like including collage, storytelling, drawing, painting, poetry, graphic design, calligraphy, and so much more. All you have to do is make a mess.
Austin Kleon’s website: https://austinkleon.com
Intermediately Versed 