Monday, October 25, 2021

Zines

  When preparing to teach a class, i generally make notes of what I plan to include in my journal, and may add to my set of prompt cards. A fan of things 'tiny,' I  was intrigued a couple of years ago when I happened on a call with the lovely Denise Daffara on working in little "zines" 

... but I had missed the instructions, lol! 

So after the circle, I looked for more info on making these little booklets, and was enchanted! 
Calendar and Zines in process
Who doesn't like tiny booklets? And with the central slit, these fold into a cover and several pages - perfect for a little collage session, class notes, or a planning booklet! 
Double Calendar spread, paint and collage
I made a handout that would fold into a zine, and brought this project to our next Red Thread Circle - For my own, I used a double spread from this large biodynamic calendar. I liked the black and white illustrations of candles and beeswax, so worked around including them, and some of the text. The small blue Zine was created from another calendar. 

Acrylic paint and collage
A piece of Junk Mail, a double calendar spread, or even piece of notebook paper is great for a small "class notes" booklet, which can be written in directly or painted and collaged. 
Here's a little "kid friendly zine" tutorial.

A Zine could also used for:
  • A poetry booklet
  • A mini art journal
  • Class notes
  • A process page - write what you want to compost on the 'inside,' paint over' then flip and fold to "grow some lilies"
  • A booklet of symbols you use in your paintings
  • Writing about your painting
During the Color of Woman teacher training, we create Vision Plan and Story books on a half sheet of watercolor paper as part of the quest. These are a lovely visual way of collating ideas for our work with IC, but generally in a larger format. Here's one side of mine from the course - it makes a lovely background for an altar.
Vision Plan Book
I enjoy the compact booklets for collection my class ideas, as another option. They are a great size to tuck into a Planning Pocket, and a page may provide inspiration for a Story Card!

Happy Paint Party Friday!
Do you have a favorite style of art journal or booklet? 

4 comments:

Tracey@Hotchpotchcreations said...

Love the handy size of the zine, I agree they can be used to display a collection of so many ideas, stand alone or tucked away. Happy creative PPF Tracey.

Christine said...

Lovely to know about zines and nice work!

Gillena Cox said...

Lovely work

Much💜love

WendyK said...

Lovely, I’ve never heard of them, will look it up, I like small books.