Thoughts on Zines & Artist Books
This post is in part an ode to my lady, Mama Tripod the doe, who roamed the woodland next to my college apartment. She had a seriously injured leg, yet was completely self-sufficient and always taking care of the little fawns. I wonder if she’s still around? Even though she and I survived the supposed University of Michigan North Campus Cougar while walking home at dusk in the woods, it’s been over ten years so doubt it. I hope she is at peace somewhere in the universe.
The Old Informs The New
Mama Tripod’s memory relates back to art and books in my life. I recently uploaded the mini-zine, Non-Human Neighbors vol 2, which has been out of print since 2022, as an archived digital download for my zine subscribers on Patreon. She is featured on the cover and in a full spread caring for the fawns I often saw her with.
Tripod was originally a muse of mine circa 2011. I recently found an old woodblock of her while rummaging through the studio – which was perfect because I had just posted about her for the mini zine project. At the time, I imagined her legs as compass and protractor. The image was printed and collaged to make the mini coptic stitch notebook. This was just a tiny personal project I did on scrap from the art school wood shop, tossed paper and packaging tape… I think it’s pretty funny that a piece of my hair is accidentally taped down on the cover, a sign of my reckless abandon when in the midst of a project… a constant in my creative process.
It is interesting to see how old experiments have informed current work. Looking back shows me that themes of places and neighbors have been my focus for as long as I can remember, even when I wasn’t particularly conscious of it.
Books Are Like Music
I wanted to get back into using books as a medium for many years after I graduated college. After launching my studio a decade later, I created the mini-zine project Non-Human Neighbors when taking a workshop by Taxonomy Press in Detroit. I’m so thankful for that class because it finally got the ball rolling. The zine allowed me to combine two lost loves into joyful activism: printmaking and books. I am two years into the project and now I have ambitions to create an artist book this year – it’s very nebulous at the moment so more to come.
The element of pacing is my favorite aspect of the booklet form. You can play hide and seek with your readers to slowly reveal information, poetry and image, like a slow crescendo in music. I think books are a lot like music, really. It’s all about the fourth-dimension of time.
On top of that, I value many analog art practices and mediums. Sure, you can read a great web comic through a screen, or a novel on a tablet but the tactile and intimate aspect of print and books is what I want to incorporate into my artwork.
Upcoming and Updates
Mark your calendars for @gluestickzinefest + @ujamaacommunitybookstore +@flannerfarms‘ CHAPSTICK ZINE FEST on Feb 17th, 2024! I’m honored to be featured in the event celebrating local zinesters, activists, and community empowerment in Indianapolis. It will run from 11am to 5pm, I will be tabling until 3:30p. Hope to see you then.
I’ve been tearing, folding and sewing the last limited-edition copies of the zine, A More-Than-Human Society vol 1 for the event. I’ll be taking all inventory on hand to the festival. (I need to write a blog post about that project next. I feel like I’m all out of order with this.) These are the last 15ish copies. You can also subscribe to receive vol 2 in the mail which will be released spring/summer of 2024 (which my partner, Mark, and I are currently designing together).
Last but not least, you can now find my zines at Dear Mom in Indianapolis, Indiana! Liz has an awesome curated selection of local and deep cut art, zines, records, and food. Now there are cute wrapped bundles of the Non-Human Neighbors zine series (vol 6-10) and copies of A More-Than-Human Society vol 1. So if you miss the zine fest, I would definitely drop by the shop to pick up one of the last remaining copies of these limited-edition risograph prints.
Thanks for reading and I can’t wait to share more book and zine projects with you all in the new year!
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