Zine Fest

Wow the last day of April- seems very strange for some reason- time seems different now-and the underlying fear makes for some challenging times throughout each day.  Several of my artist friends have said they are frozen- can't go to their studios to make something- I found myself getting totally into making zines. These are made with one sheet of paper and one cut is made and they fold into a book form. I add a cover for mine.  There are many variations. Zines were popular in the late 60s and then again in the early 80s for the punk scene- then there was a rewed interest in the mid to late 90s.  I have always loved them- it's a way to make something that I can share with my friends. I have made several different ones in the last few weeks- some I made the collages and then scanned them into my zine template to print out.  One I did digital collages for but mostly they are actual cut and paste collages. This zine has 4 double page spreads. I will share them  one at a time.  Here is the first one.

Hope this finds you all safe- healthy.

This is the front cover- the background is an altered gel print.

This is the back cover of the zine.

 

First spread- gel print background and pieces, collage  and

text from an art education text from the 1950s.

Second spread-gel print background collage elements and 

text from that art education book.

Third spread- gel print background, collage elements

and found text from a magazine.

Fourth spread- gel print background, collage elements

and a vintage vocabulary card used in a school in

the 1950s.

This the the diagram for making the zines.   Why not

try one yourself?

 

The Fragility of Being Human

Greetings-I wanted to post this spread I did yesterday. I am in a collage group that puts out regular challenges for the members. The latest challenge is the title of this post. I did this spread in a journal I made that has some fold outs- when opened this fold out is 22 inches long the spread is 7 inches tall. While making this spread did feel cathartic I have to say it did not lessen the fear factor. I hope you are all doing the social distancing- staying home. I have stopped going to the virus news feeds several times a day- Once a day is enough. Take care- stay safe.

Empty Chairs

I did this series of  eight inch square collages. It is The Empty Chair Series.  I use chairs a lot- I am drawn to them- I have always been it seems.  They are rich in meaning for me. There are a few different meanings here some personal and also it seems the virus is always present in my work of late- how can it not be- it has changed all of our lives. So sad there are now many empty chairs because of this plague. Be safe my friends- and please stay home.

Empty Chair #1

 

Empty Chair #2

 

Empty Chair #3

 

 

 

Pleasant Distraction

This is such a hard time for so many- the virus has forever changed things. I find myself going through many emotions from fear to anxiety to anger.  I am so glad to have my art as a tool to express my feelings.There is a terrific artist that has a free online collage class going. Crystal Neubauer is a terrific collage artist- her class is just what I needed- I will share some things from that- the first couple of lessons we did 4 inch square collages that are timed- you have 5 minutes to complete each collage. I ended the post with a journal spread that I did in response to the social distancing.

First set of 4 inch collages each done in 5 minutes.

Second set of 4 inch collages each done in 5 minutes.

the next assignment was to do an eight inch square

collage using just 3 pieces.

This is a journal spread I did. The social distancing or self-isolating

we are to practice was the subject of this spread.