I’ve been getting back into zines. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m going to talk about it again because now I have a zine shelf!

So, I bought a few at conventions a few years before the pandemic, and then during the pandemic, I made a few as part of Story-a-Day May. Each one was a tiny short story.

And Austin Kleon definitely inspired me to try those little zines made from one piece of paper.

A few months ago, I came across a zine-maker YouTuber (brattyxbre), and she inspired me to search out and buy more zines. More zines led me to another zine YouTuber–catmothcrow–and a zine short documentary.

A while back, I got an old drawer from someone in my Buy Nothing Group. I painted it black and added those sticker tiles to the back. Now, I’ve turned that drawer into a zine display–pictured above. My dad put in a little shelf, where you can see the small zines, and then the lower section is for the larger zines. I used an old mask from a Halloween costume to make a barrier across the front so that the zines could face out, and I wouldn’t have to worry about them tumbling to the floor. On the very top are some paper craft objects and an extra small zine. (The ghostie has appeared for spooky season, of course.)

Sometimes, I worry too much that zines are for cool people, and since I never feel cool, I’m veering out of my lane. You don’t have to be young and hip to make your thing. Make the thing you want.

Here’s a zine I made in the wild year of 2020, playing around with a page from a coloring book and lines cut from a magazine.

Have you ever made a zine? What about? Do you still make them? Or would you want to try? Let me know!

---

Sometimes I send my Patrons zines along with the usual art.