Month: July 2020

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Checking In

Checking in. 💜

I wasn’t sure about making the video, let alone posting it to YouTube. What’s too much information? What’s going too far? Is this what radical vulnerability is? What am I leaving myself open to by talking about my mental health issues?

But I’ve always been one who says you are not alone. I’ve always been about being open about my own issues because if it helped even just one person talk and reach out when they are struggling, then it’s always worth it.

So yesterday I posted the video about what’s been happening. Why I’ve been falling behind. Why I get teary pretty easily and have been trying to thank you all so much in previous videos but keep feeling like it’s not enough.

I reached out.

And you have been reaching back. 💜

I still don’t have the words to express everything… but perhaps ‘thank you’ will be enough for now.

I got out of bed. I made myself a cup of tea.

Upward and onward.

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What Has Been Happening

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyjTdngtHHE&w=560&h=315]

Hello, zine friends. This was a hard video to make, but… it’s one I’ve been saying I’d make for a long time.

I debated making this video, then debated posting it. What’s too much information, what do people want or need to know… In the end, I decided to go ahead and post because I feel as strongly as I ever have that we should be able to express ourselves about our mental health. Reach out when we need to. Talk about what we feel comfortable talking about.

This is a chat about what’s been happening, what I’m dealing with, and why I’ve fallen so far behind in pretty much everything.

Please note the warning at the start of the video.

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Happy Mail Monday – Many Zines, Many Places Edition

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8Xw7NPHQc4&w=425&h=315]

Hello, zine friends! We ended up with a pretty big video, so it only uploaded today instead of yesterday. All the zine goodness is hard to handle sometimes. Hahaha. Check out some lovely goodness from all around the world.

Thank you so much for watching.

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Awesome People/Places/Spaces Mentioned:

*Izalixe Straightheart – https://www.youtube.com/user/izalixe

*Billy – https://www.patreon.com/iknowbilly

*Anna Gecko –

*Alternative Incite – https://butter-lamb.com/

*Fire as a Metaphor –

*True Zine Marin – https://www.instagram.com/truezinemarin/

*Stoner Zines – https://www.jacksonstoner.org/

*Brushfire Press – https://www.instagram.com/brushfirepress/

*Sugar Skull – https://www.instagram.com/overmydeadcopy/

*Word Tonic – https://www.instagram.com/word.tonic.press/

***

My PO Box:

Nyx
PO Box 378
Murray Bridge, SA 5253
Australia

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You Can Find Me At:

seagreenzines@gmail.com

Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/seagreenzines

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Zine Review: goodbye 2019, hello 2020

goodbye 2019, hello 2020
Bree
https://www.instagram.com/starlyart/
https://dczinefest.wordpress.com/2020/07/06/starly-arts-zine-table/

goodbye 2019, hello 2020 is an A5 black-on-lilac zine about saying goodbye to 2019 and what Bree is (/was at the time of making) looking forward to in 2020.

Amongst hand-drawn swirls, shapes, and other fun art goodbye 2019, hello 2020 launches right into things on the front inside cover with an introduction to the zine. Bree writes about reflecting and focusing on the important reflections rather than comparisons on the achievements of others (that can often lead to feeling bad). From there, Bree launches to a 2019 year in review that includes fun/cool things they did in 2019, favourite songs, and more. The second half is about 2020: what Bree was/is looking forward to for the year as well as goals for the year.

Each page has text in an easy-to-read font accompanied by art that adds that adds to the fun feel given by the font. The aesthetic mixes a zine feel with a scrapbook/diary feel that makes me wish I’d thought to make a zine like this at the start of the year.

I really like that Bree kept to the thoughts they expressed in the introduction, filling the 2019 reflections with great experiences and memories. I was so excited to see that Bree made their first zine in 2019. (A belated welcome to the zineverse!) And favourite songs! Music is a great way to express yourself, of course, but it’s also like a YouTube music hunt when I see a play list in a zine. Bree also lists out projects they worked on (mostly zines) so that is also a fun way to get to know their interests and creations.

Given we’re already more than halfway through 2020 and the way this year has gone, I was very curious about how it would feel. Would Bree’s goals and things they were/are looking forward to have changed dramatically because of what’s happened in the world? There are things that must have changed, certainly, but there were a lot of things I’m sure Bree was able to still do. One fun note is that Bree was looking forward to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and it turned out to be such an incredible hit.

I enjoyed this zine for the aesthetic as well as the feelings of optimism that came from it. I’d really love to see a ‘goodbye 2020, hello 2021’ zine from Bree next year about how they adjusted things and accomplished things given the unique challenges of the year.

Plus, I really like lists.

I think this is a nice, pleasant zine that you’ll enjoy if the things I’ve mentioned appeal to you. I’m also very curious about Bree’s other zines now, so even better!

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International Zine Month Day 24: Zine Skills

Hello and Happy Friday, zine friends! It’s time again for a daily activity from the International Zine Month 2020 prompts list!

Today’s prompt:

Teach yourself a new zine skill like a new binding technique or how to make a 1-page zine

This prompt! This prompt… Every year I have the same idea for this prompt, and every year I haven’t taught myself yet. I’m going to postpone this one and hope that I can make the time to do it because I think it’s a pretty cool idea…

My apologies for the boring post for today. The universe isn’t really letting up on the world just yet, is it? All we can really do is hold on tight, appreciate what we have, and try to spread a little sunshine.

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You can pop over here for the 2020 IZM list of daily activities by Alex Wrekk. (Pssst! Go here to download your own printable IZM 2020 poster!)

Also be sure to leave a comment and let me know if you’re joining in. I’ll keep a growing list on each post so we can all check out what each other are doing.

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International Zine Month Day 23: A Whole New Distro!

Hello once more, zine friends! It’s time for another International Zine Month activity!

Today’s prompt:

Check out a zine distro you have never ordered from before.

Today’s prompt turned out to be a lovely surprise for me as I’d forgotten how long it’s been since I just looked up zines on Etsy. As in a general search. There are so many new distros that I haven’t seen before, and it was great to check them out. I ended up checking out and picking up a couple zines from an Australian shop Localamity.

It’s always great to see new zines and zinemakers out in the wild zineverse, so I definitely recommend zine surfing Etsy.

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You can pop over here for the 2020 IZM list of daily activities by Alex Wrekk. (Pssst! Go here to download your own printable IZM 2020 poster!)

Also be sure to leave a comment and let me know if you’re joining in. I’ll keep a growing list on each post so we can all check out what each other are doing.

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International Zine Month Day 22: ZineTube!

Hello, zine friends! Welcome to day 22 of International Zine Month on day 23. Haha. Maybe it’s still the 22nd somewhere? And what a day it is!

Today’s prompt:

Check out zine YouTube channels!

ZineTube! I looooove ZineTube and I love that zinemakers are expanding what they do to creating and sharing videos on YouTube. From videos to podcasts to art installations, I think that zines have always had and will continue to have this amazing potential to grow as we grow and provide us with ways to connect. The sky is the limit, as they say.

Here’s a short list of ZineTube goodness for your viewing pleasure (including the channel for yours truly):

Feral Publication
Ryan Pocket Thoughts
Sea Green Zines
Warglitter Zines
Zine Cuisine

If you know of any other zine YouTube channels, please let me know! I’d love to get the resources page all freshened up!

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You can pop over here for the 2020 IZM list of daily activities by Alex Wrekk. (Pssst! Go here to download your own printable IZM 2020 poster!)

Also be sure to leave a comment and let me know if you’re joining in. I’ll keep a growing list on each post so we can all check out what each other are doing.

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International Zine Month Days 17-21

Hello, zine friends! I hope this IZM catch-up post finds you well! I almost wrote mid-week catch up, but I just checked, and I’m ahead of myself. Hello, Tuesday! I didn’t mean to neglect you. Let’s see what IZM has in store…

Today’s prompt:

Make a flyer for your zine to trade with others.

I wasn’t sure I would have anything to do for this prompt because I’ve had a Sea Green Zines flyer for a long time… but it being a long time meant that it needed some updating! Not only do I prefer to go by Nyx or Silver Nyx these days, I’ve added on some additional contact info. Plus a little freshening up for the look of it, and we end up with…

Voila! I’ve printed some off, and these will be going out in orders and trades. 🙂

Today’s prompt:

Zine Trade Day! Ask someone to trade or swap zines with you.

Hehe. Would you like to trade zines with me? 🙂 You can email me at seagreenzines(at)gmail.com if you’d like to set up a trade. Just remember that international mail can take a month or more longer than expected.

Today’s prompt:

Zine Distro Appreciation Day! Tell people about your favourite zine distros! Order zines from a distro or zinester online shop.

Distro Day! I was really hoping to have the SGZ distro rebuilt by the time today rolled around, but we have to go with the flow of things, don’t we? Plus, more space for shouting out other distro goodness!

Portland Buttonworks is definitely an old favourite and the distro I have been ordering from the longest. I don’t think it was the very first place I ever ordered from, but it’s definitely amongst those in the early days of my zine newbieness. Haha.

That said, I want to shout out an Aussie favourite: Zine Gang Distro. They have a great assortment of comics and zines (even a charity zine – how awesome is that?!) by a variety of cool creators. I have my cart loaded up already just waiting for when I can place my next order. Definitely, definitely check them out.

Today’s prompt:

Tell someone about something you learned in a zine. “I once read in a zine that…”

I’ve talked about this in the past more than once but…

“I once read in the a zine that…” something I thought was just one of my ‘quirks’ is actually a whole thing with a label and that I’m not alone.

Hello demisexuals! Pieces 13 will always be a zine that sticks out in my mind because it explained to me so much of my teenage days. So many things I didn’t understand about myself and why I was different to my friends.

Knowing you’re not alone in so many different ways will forever be one of the biggest reasons that zines are close to my heart. Connection means so much in life – even with a stranger’s words on paper. It’s a beautiful thing. I didn’t learn that *in* zines, but I’ve learned that *about* zines.

International Zine Month Day 21: Zine Library Day!

Today’s prompt:

Zine Library Day! Search for a zine library in your area.

Alas, there isn’t a zine library in my area, and, with things as they are, visiting places is a bit precarious anyway. On that note, the Zine Librarian Unconference has been cancelled.

But there is good news! There will be a virtual replacement for the conference.

Until then, does anyone know of any virtual libraries? I’m curious…

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You can pop over here for the 2020 IZM list of daily activities by Alex Wrekk. (Pssst! Go here to download your own printable IZM 2020 poster!)

Also be sure to leave a comment and let me know if you’re joining in. I’ll keep a growing list on each post so we can all check out what each other are doing.

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International Zine Month Day 16: Zine Love List

Zines! How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

Do I make that joke every year? I think I make that joke every year.

Yes, friends, it is another day of luuuurve in the zineverse! Today’s prompt is:

Make a list of reasons you love zines. Share the list

1. They’re affordable. Affordability is in the eye of the beholder in a lot of ways. Generally speaking, though, zines are pretty affordable for the most part. A dollar or two, and you have some reading material and/or art to enjoy. A few more dollars, and you could have an adorable chunk of zineness ready for your enjoyment.

2. You can make them on any topic. My psych is still a bit mystified (in a good way) about the whole ‘zine thing’ and mentioned this yesterday, which is what brought it to mind. “So they can be about anything?” Why yes! Yes, they can! From a love of statistics to ‘How to Make Soap Without Burning Your Face Off’, zines are awesome in the amount of variety to be found. I’m sure there’s a zine rule out there somewhere that if you can’t find a zine on a certain topic, it falls upon you to make that zine! (So says the Zine Fairy.)

3. No-pressure learning. I’ve mentioned a few times in the past how much I have learned from certain zines – not just about myself as a person but also in things I would learn in a classroom environment as well. I like learning with zines in any form because I can sit with the zine as long as I like. Research more if I want. Let things settle in my mind. Plus, there’s almost always the personal experiences written into what’s being taught, with makes it all the more pleasurable (for me) to learn. Plus, no homework. Haha.

4. New perspectives. Whether or not you agree with certain perspectives, I think there’s always value in being open enough to explore them. (Nuance in everything, of course.) With most things in life, there’s almost always at least one other way of looking at a person, place, event, etc. It’s good on a critical thinking skills level to remember that, but I think it’s also good to remember in the continuing to grow as a person side of things as well. Zines are an excellent way to open yourself to new perspectives in a way that’s more comfortable than other ways.

5. You are not alone. This has been the biggest, warmest hug of a lesson I have learned about making zines, reading zines, and connecting with other zinemakers. You are not alone. There were things about myself that I thought were just me things, things I didn’t even know were actual things that had labels(!), and so much more I have come to see and learn about myself thanks to the shared experiences of others.

On top of that, people have been so incredibly, incredibly supportive to each other in the zineverse on a number of different levels. It’s truly heartwarming and is a huge part of why I’m such a fluffy cloud of glitter enthusiasm for the zineverse.

And on that beautiful note… Until tomorrow… spread a little sunshine.

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You can pop over here for the 2020 IZM list of daily activities by Alex Wrekk. (Pssst! Go here to download your own printable IZM 2020 poster!)

Also be sure to leave a comment and let me know if you’re joining in. I’ll keep a growing list on each post so we can all check out what each other are doing.