Let's make a ZINE together!
I don’t know the first time I saw a zine. But I remember how I felt when my world collided with one. Like I was being pulled into this raw, analog, work-in-progress, unfinished experience of life. It was one of the most honest things I had seen. I was peering into the window of a reality that called to my explorative soul - a reality that didn’t have to be perfect or overly curated or even make sense. It was human. It was connected. It was fun!
Originally more of a collage artist, zines felt like a natural, punkier way to extend my natural artistic leanings. Plus, they challenged me to push my artistry a bit further. It invited me into poetry, hand-lettering, drawing, and mostly allowing my art to celebrate the first drafts as the ideal form. Permission to be a novice. The more raw the better.
I have made all sorts of zines, mostly about my journey around mental health, and mostly for me, but sometimes they’ve been about my travels or wisdom I’ve gained from this or that experience. About a year ago I had thoughts of creating a collaborative zine that was made up of many voices and not just mine. Then earlier this year, at BAD ART CLUB in Bozeman, MT, they decided to have a BAD ART SHOW. I am new to identifying as an artist because I never thought I was a real one, which I now know many artists can relate to. So, I said to myself, fuck it I am going to create my first art show submission and invite people to make a zine with me.
So, if you’re here for that, welcome! If you found this post some other way, welcome! Below is 1) a brief history of zines, 2) how to make a zine in the simplest way I can describe, which some videos/photos, and 3) how to share it. NOTE: You can also google some of this if I am too wordy for your tastes, which I know I can be lol. Let’s do this!
First, though…WTF IS A ZINE?!
a zine (pronounced ZEEN) is short for "fanzine" and is usually a small-batch, independently published work that circulates less than 1,000 copies. Anyone can be a zinester (aka "someone who creates a zine"), and most people make zines for the love of creating rather than for seeking a profit. ~Purdue University
They’re a glorious mash-up of art, letters, story and emotion; just like the brains, hands and hearts of those who produce them. Their small, simple format belies their unique ability to speak creatively [and loudly] for even the softest voices. Zines provide a safe, independent platform of expression for underrepresented and marginalized voices: Black, Indigenous & People of Color, young people, people with disabilities, the LGBTQ(+) community, persecuted religious groups, and people with limited economic resources. ~The Bindery
Zines are “do-it-yourself” (DIY) handmade magazines that come in all different shapes, sizes, and formats. Many are handwritten, photocopied, and stapled, while some may be professionally printed magazine-like publications. They are a unique form of personal self-expression and can cover just about any subject you can think of. Building community through sharing this way is an integral part of the zine experience. ~The New York Public Library
A medium that basks in the unruliness and unpredictability of the creative process, zines are gloriously chaotic and difficult to pin down. Requiring little more to produce than a copy machine, a stapler and a vision, zines played a hugely democratizing role in art during the 20th century and have managed to stay popular and relevant in spite of web-based innovations, like blogs, that might have supplanted a less compelling medium. ~The Guardian
Fanzines emerged as early as the 1930s among fans of science fiction. Zines also have roots in the informal, underground publications that focused on social and political activism in the ’60s. By the ’70s, zines were popular on the punk rock circuit. In the ’90s, the feminist punk scene propelled the medium and included such artists as Kathleen Hanna, who produced riot grrrl out of Olympia, Washington. (source: University of Texas Libraries, https://guides.lib.utexas.edu/c.php?g=576544&p=3977232). The history of zines is vast and fascinating: read more about it here.
MAKE YOUR OWN ZINE:
s u p p l i e s - Grab a piece of paper. Any color. Ideally 8.5x11, but you can tweak this to make it work for what you have. Other supplies you might want are, but not limited to, pens/markers, scissors, magazines, quotes/books for inspo, paint, charcoal, string, stickers, stamps…you get the gist.
f o l d i n g - take your paper and fold it down the center (hotdog style), then open it and fold it down the center the other way (hamburger style). Now, with it still folded hamburger style, fold it hot dog style again down the center. Unfold it and you will be left with a piece of paper that has 8 folded sections. I love the below visual created by Outlet PDX as reference.
c u t t i n g - fold the page hamburger style one more time and then cut the fold that is in the center (I also just use a sharp knife or razor blade on a cutting board to cut the center fold).
r e f o l d i n g - lay your paper flat to start, then fold it hotdog style again. Then pull the 2 center pieces apart, while simultaneously pushing the edges together so that you made a cross with the paper. From here, simply close all the pages together and you will have a little booklet!
t h e m e - pick a theme, any theme will do. For this post I will invite you to make a zine about what inspires you in NATURE. If you went to the BAD ART CLUB, then you saw my “Letter From Nature” zine. Here I let nature write me a visual letter that unfolded into wisdom and reminders of what nature means to me and what I have learned while being on the road (I love road trips!). If you don’t like this theme, then go wherever you feel called.
e x e c u t i o n - You can have a title for your zine or not. You can date it or not. This is your playground, so let go of whatever you think this should be and instead allow the process to unfold intuitively. Sometimes poems come to me or words. Sometimes I feel like drawing or highlighting people that feel connected to the theme. Since this is a zine on nature, maybe you go on a nature walk and pick up leaves or grass or flowers and press them into the zine. You do you, here. This is all about explorative expression and allowing it to not have to be perfect. <3
b i n d i n g (optional) - you can leave the zine as is or you can sew in a binding or you can staple it. or maybe you have another clever idea for the binding - have at it - there are no rules here, so have fun.
c o m m u n i t y - when finished, you can unfold your zine so it lays flat and then reproduce it by simply photocopying it as many times as you want. You can use colorful paper or just white. You can do black and white or in color. Zines are about belonging and community. They are a low stakes way to create your little corner of the world, creatively, and sharing it with others. And then witnessing and celebrating other human’s little realities, too.
SHARING + COLLABORATING (last but not least)
I’d love to see your zine! I’d also love to hear about your experience making a zine. Tag me if you post it on IG @rachel.bellotti, or send me a xerox copy of your zine through snail mail (40 Spanish Peak Drive, Unit 101 #47, Bozeman, MT 59718), or you can email me the flatted PDF (rachel.unstuck@gmail.com) and let me know what you discovered while making your own zine.
If I get enough replies, maybe I’ll create a bigger community zine from the submissions by pulling one page from each - a snapshot of this moment in time. I like the experience of art bringing us all together. I like the idea that the randomness of each submission may shed light on a thread that weaves us all together that we hadn’t originally seen or expected. We are usually more connected than we typical realize. <3
For more spaces that celebrate and foster the zine life, check out ZineWiki.com, WeMakeZines.com, and certainly peruse Chicago Zine Fest's international zinester directory!