ZINES ARE WONDERFUL! HOORAY FOR ZINES!

one of the zines i got in the mail last week is EVERYBODY'S BOOK OF KITTENS by Gemma Correll. this zine wins the gold medal for squeal-out-loud cuteness! EEEEEE! it is so adorable!


the concept behind the zine is pretty simple, very straightforward, and that's one of the reasons it is so successful and great! i love it! it has quickly become the most prized zine in my collection. it's awesome.

if this is work after your own heart as well, i'd pick up a copy fast. it's an edition of 50 and the first round of them sold out with a quickness over at Little Paper Planes. It seems they've got a second round in stock now but i'd still make haste if you'd like to have one of these little cuties in your collection.

i also got 'daddy's little girl' by Ericka Bailie Byrne, a collection of letters she wrote to her father while they were estranged.


it's a very personal, very powerful zine. reading it, i couldn't help but be awe-struck by the bravery it took to even put this zine out in to the world! i am amazed by it, to say the least. this zine offers more than just the story of a girl's strained relationship with her father... it offers hope and comfort. Ericka's got an etsy shop where you can pick it up: FIRST AND FRANKLIN.

the wonderful thing about zines is that they can be (and be ABOUT) anything... which also makes them sort of daunting: no rules, schematic, or prototype to follow. the form is wide open and can be endlessly reinterpreted. zines can be used toward any end, or to no end at all. this makes the production of a zine a pretty personal enterprise, in my opinion, even if the subject matter isn't personal at all.

and i just love zines so much! i have turned in to a total fanatic about them and i don't care who knows it. i think everyone needs to get on board and support the zine-makers of the world. zines are wonderful. i hope the people who make them never stop doing it. i appreciate their work so, so much.

the allure of books...

so...
i've been making these book pages every so often when i'm in the mood to paint or draw but don't want to start another big project. i've got too many going as it is. it's really just a way to indulge my romantic fascination with books and book-making and zines (i'm expecting a few more of those little sweeties in the mail this week! YAY!). hopefully, i'll one day end up in a place or mindset when i can really utilize this fascination toward my own aims but right now it's purely for fun and i have no clue what i'll end up doing with them. i'm happy to just watch the portfolio i've got them in get fatter and fatter. here's a few of my favorites:








they're all done on tracing paper that has been folded in half and then glued together. i liked being able to use the transparency of the paper to my advantage and work from every side of the paper, allowing marks made on the back to show through to the surface. gluing them together is what gives them this wrinkled, aged look that i really enjoy. the last one is yet another study for "witch of the bayou". i am such a nerd! :)

but you know, art for art's sake is always a good thing. i've got no real expectations other than using these pieces as a way to explore ideas and learn more about what books can be. so many of my favorite artists are print-makers and book-makers - kiki smith and anselm kiefer to name just two. i think there's such an enormous value in working within this format and i guess i'm currently exploring its limits and potentials. plus, i am completely in love with making little keepsakes and small, precious one-of-a-kind things.

artist books are awesome and one day i'll have enough of these pages to create my own. it seems natural given my complete love for the written word, text-based art, and the influence writers have had on my art practice in general.

ZINES ARE WONDERFUL! HOORAY FOR ZINES!

YAY! i finally got my new zine in the mail yesterday and kept going back to it between drawing sessions all day long. it's sarah mcneil's zine "Lines on Paper and Other Things", a companion to the art exhibition she curated of the same name. all of the work is so great! and the zine itself is so well made and fantastically cute that, even today, i've had a hard time putting it down. i love it!



sarah mcneil's cute but creepy drawings captivated me some months back and i'm so glad to have a bit of her work now. i'll definitely be saving my pennies to buy the real thing one day. she's also got an etsy shop, fun is cool, where not only can you order this zine, but original drawings (like the one above) and her handmade, intricate and lovely bird broaches. check it out!