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:
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.
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.