zinemaking

1991, Twelve issue #1

It was the early 90's.  My zine, Twelve.  Senior year of high school.  I would comb through the classifieds of Maximum Rock n Roll or Slug n Lettuce for penpals, and in the mail or in exchange for an SASE (Self.  Addressed.  Stamped.  Envelope.  Pre-e-mail!)  the world arrived in my suburban mailbox via handwrought letters and zines.  I started making my own zine to be able to send something back in return, a thank you and a hello from my corner of the world.  I met so many inspiring people I still know today with that photocopied how-do-you-do.

December 11, 2012.  It was late and I had had a crazy idea!  Make a zine in one day on 12.12.12.  Twenty or so years later I could write about whatever crazy stuff was in my head and be able to send something tangible to someone in the mail.  I posted on Facebook my intention and then had to do it.   (I do see the hilarity of posting online this intention, and the later solicitation of SASEs for a copy.  Its the times!)  Little did I know how hard it would be, or that relearning how to cut and paste a zine again would be so freaking difficult.  How unscrappy one can get from years doing design work on a screen.

I wrote everything in it and interviewed Alisa on 12.12.12 but it took way longer to be happy with the layout, just let be and Wabi Sabi or whatever and let it go.  Toss out a couple layouts, print out a ton of pictures and hack my way with scissors to a completed zine. I ran out of glue stick.  I ran out of double stick tape.  I ran out of regular magic tape.  Then I had to use Elmers school glue.  I finally dragged myself last week over to Ye Olde Copy Shoppe with the lovely mess of originals to print, cut and collate.

Photoshop is easy.  You proof it right there in front of you before you hit print.  By hand, you write everything, print it out, look for clip art, resize the clip art into many different sizes, look for backgrounds, etc.  in that whole process you can forget sometimes to spellcheck, or to check your margins.  Its just a totally different process than when you lay it all out on the computer.

I learned that I miss the tactile writing and bookmaking of making a zine.  When I was a kid I loved to make books and pamphlets which easily segued into zinemaking  Like making a mix tape, its so physical, you have to cut it out, lay it down on the page to assess whether it would work.  Do physical mockups to check the flow.

This issue is so not perfect because I am so rusty but I am inspired to start a NEW ZINE!  Handmade, hand wrought, conceived in the material.  It is the process that I get from craft, but with zinemaking added communication and interaction.

It is really a luxury to be able to build a website with a template to work from,  hit publish and there is the special message sent out to the world.  In an instant.  Maybe the feeling that is different between making a zine and writing a blog online is like the difference between cutting a record (full concept) vs. singles you can download as mp3s.  The conceptualization of a theme, and making sense of different stories in one issue of a zine.

So, the NEW ZINE.  It will tie in with the things that I write about here but with some other experiment involved.  More of a record, a full LP, with a beginning, an end, and a lovely journey in-between.  Maybe some crappy songs, but always a killer b-side.  Stay tuned.....

P.S.  I still have a few copies left of the above zine, if you want one leave a comment and I think I get your email address and I will send you the details to send a SASE.