My thoughts about Zines before I have seen the videos was that it was a complicated process of making an independently published material. I realized that making Zine seems very easy and fun. Having the materials on hand made it felt so real of being a budding artist author and publisher. I had made things by hand before. I remember making a book out of cloth years ago. I did some artwork on the cloth and made it in a cartoonlike story. I was able to sew the pieces together, it looked really cool, and it was actually placed on display at a youth club.
What I think the importance is in directly engaging in material objects that compose the books, is making sure you are comfortable using these materials and get the idea of how to use them appropriately in order to get an optimum result when Zines are created. It helps to get you think creatively having the right material to make Zines that will reach the intended audience. I think book production on takes a lot of patience. Having seen how Zines are made, makes me realize that printed books have a lot of process in order for them to be made public and bookmakers should be recognized more. I think people are driven to make Zines because it is a cost-effective way of showing their creative work and a medium of communicating with intended audience. The seems different from pamphlets, magazines or even artist books because in making Zines one will have flexibility in the design, format, and content they produce, the amount that is made or distributed can also be managed easily.
The role of digital media in making this kind of embodied work is of utmost importance as it helps one to see the works of other Zine maker and gives us idea of how to independently published work that can be useful to different audience. The digital media also helps to enhance the process in terms of showcasing instructions on how to make Zines especially the binding aspect of it. It takes a person with patience and passion in creating Zines to share the information on videos on how we can make them. Joanna’s videos were clear in demonstrating the process. The videos set the framework to understand the entire aspect of Zine making. The allows the hands-on process in real life to be easy.
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Hi Sharwane ,
Making a book out of cloth I am to see this amazing work , that just emphasizes how books can come in any shape or form and still ignite meaning . I agree with you about having the materials on hand gives you a sense of how a budding author may feel . I think this process makes us value books so much more . All in all good post keep at the cloth making book it sounds intriguing.
Hey Sharwane,
Great post! I really enjoyed reading about your experience with this project. A cloth book sounds so interesting, I would have loved to see that in person! I definitely agree that bookmakers should be recognized more than they currently are. This project certainly makes us think about how much thought goes into making a book, and I think it makes us much more appreciative of the bookmaking process in general.
Sharwane,
Thanks for sharing your past experience with bookmaking! That seems really interesting and I agree with Daniel that it would be interesting to see it. I wonder what happened to it after the youth club exhibit was taken down?