ZineWriMo 2019 Day 16/Zine Review: The Common Cold
Hello, zine friends, and welcome to the latter half of the month. In today’s prompt, we have a bit of sharing is caring in the form of a review!
Sharing is Caring: Review a Zine
It’s pretty easy to see my bias in regards to reviewing zines, but I still stand by my opinion that reviews are an incredibly important way to share the word about zines you love, zinemakers you admire, and all the things between. So read below for my offering for this day…
The Common Cold: A Zine About Mental Illness Presentation and Priorities
Kirsty
https://twitter.com/MsKirstyFace
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/ForeverIncomplete
The Common Cold is a full-colour A6 perzine about the beginnings of and growing up with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, the complexities of dealing with more than one mental illness, and finding peace with how you prioritise things in your own treatment.
The Common Cold starts off with an introduction to Kirsty that had me smiling. (Why does pizza taste so good? Hm.) From there, Kirsty writes about having Obsessive Compulsive Disorder since the age of twelve and the paths of medications, therapy, and finding peace in how you want to prioritise things with your own mental health treatment.
A big part of this zine is Kristy using the metaphor of having a cold – dealing with OCD on a regular basis as a constant but manageable condition – versus being punched in the face – struggling with things like depression and anxiety. I think this is a great way to make things clear to people whether they are people who don’t deal with mental illness or people who also deal with multiple mental illnesses.
The aesthetic of this zine feels open and calming to me with clearly printed text pasted onto patterned paper backgrounds. The topics discussed are difficult ones, and the small touches to make the reader feel more at ease are appreciated. (By this reader, anyway.)
I identified with a lot with this zine, and I’m very grateful to Kirsty for the metaphor to use in my own life and way of thinking. The funny thing is the timing as well considering that I have been struggling a bit with my own therapy with the idea that I’ve been getting “off track”. Reading Kirsty’s words has helped me to see a way of being kinder to myself.
I didn’t know what to expect with The Common Cold, but I am so glad I read it – and have read it at this particular time in my life. I think it’s a great read whether you also have OCD and/or are dealing with multiple diagnoses.
Other Participants:
https://www.instagram.com/violett_komplett/
https://www.instagram.com/bydhiyanah/
https://www.instagram.com/dungeon_maven/
https://hadass420.wordpress.com/
https://echopublishing.wordpress.com/
https://www.instagram.com/gothcupcake/
https://www.instagram.com/14thframe/
Novice Zinester
Herinza Syadza
Call for Submissions: Phenomena 2
Call for Submissions: Final Dear Anonymous Zine
World Zine Events Calendar – Get Your Event Listed!
The World Zine Events Calendar is your index for zine events happening around the world! Zine clubs, fests, and other events are all listed here.
Even better, if you don’t see your event, you can let Fanzines know on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
Check it out and have some zine fun!
ZineWriMo 2019 Day 15: ½ Way Point! Your Day, Your Way
Hello and happy Friday, zine friends! The halfway day falling on a Friday? Wonderful! So what does the halfway point mean?
½ Way Point! Your Day, Your Way
Rest, read, review, reflect, relax, and all manner of different things – even ones that don’t start with the letter ‘r’.
I spent my Friday in the ‘rest’ mode for the most part – with a heaping bit of self-forgiveness for doing so. 2019 has been a year of many lessons, and taking time to rest has become a big one. It doesn’t make for the most exciting of blog posts, haha, but it makes for a happier Nyx.
How about you? How have you spent your fine Friday? Let me know in the comments and be sure to check out the other participants below.
Until next time, spread a little sunshine.
Other Participants:
https://www.instagram.com/violett_komplett/
https://www.instagram.com/bydhiyanah/
https://www.instagram.com/dungeon_maven/
https://hadass420.wordpress.com/
https://echopublishing.wordpress.com/
https://www.instagram.com/gothcupcake/
https://www.instagram.com/14thframe/
Novice Zinester
Herinza Syadza
Mini-Zine Review: Zinespiration
Zinespiration
Nina
https://echopublishing.wordpress.com/
https://www.instagram.com/echozines/
Zinespiration is a full-colour A7 mini-zine about stimulating creative inspiration.
With it being November when I’m reviewing this and thus the month of ZineWriMo, I though a zine about inspiration would be absolutely perfect to review during this month.
Zinespiration is a little mini that packs a lot of awesomeness. Nina takes the reader through ‘things that help simulate my creative mind’ to ‘things that inspire me’ in the form of words accompanied by colourful art, patterns and pictures. Each page is full of goodness but not cluttered with both words and elements making me smile and feel ready to take up my pen.
I especially love how Nina works in reminders about self-care because, even in my creative life, it’s something I personally forget often.
As with all of Nina’s work, this zine is a pleasure to look at. Nina’s handwriting is amazing and absolutely clear – as are even the smallest elements like a small bicycle and a small record player. Everything flows together so nicely that it’s as if you’re being carried along in a gentle river as you look through.
And, of course, one of my favourite elements of a mini-zine: the surprise inside. When you unfold Zinespiration, you find an awesome collage of stickers, art, patterned paper/tap, and short phrases to keep carrying you along your creative inspiration journey.
Have I mentioned recently how much I love Nina’s creations?
Zinespiration is a fantastic mini-zine in every way that will add something wonderful to every zine collection.
ZineWriMo 2019 Day 14: Organisation Station: Organise Your Zines/Zine Supplies
Hello, zine friends, and welcome to this Thursday before the mid-month midpoint where today we are…
Organisation Station: Organise Your Zines/Zine Supplies
Zines! There are so many different ways of organising them – many of which I have tried over the years. Various containers and whatnot have been the home of my zines, but now, as I need to keep things more organised with incoming to review, incoming not for review, so on and so forth, a better system of keeping everything together has been needed.
Thankfully, beginning of 2019 Nyx got it all sorted out.
At the beginning of this year, I’d finally put together all the flat boxes I’d ordered at some point in 2018 to store all of my zines. I washi-taped and cut with glee until I finally had the system pictured above.
Oooh, those organised feels. Mmm.
And… well… this is still the system I use! The annoyance *still* is that I don’t have enough boxes. However, I am pleased as pie that this system set up over eleven months ago has still held up. I’m usually one for tinkering and changing things all over the place, but this system has really stuck for me.
The space in the picture is now where my Wall of Awesome now resides, but the boxes still function in the same way not far away from where they were in the picture. (No updated picture because the zine cave is a mess.)
How do you organise your zines? I absolutely love checking out people’s creative spaces, so be sure to leave me links in the description if you are showing off your space today.
Until next time – spread a little sunshine.
Other Participants:
https://www.instagram.com/violett_komplett/
https://www.instagram.com/bydhiyanah/
https://www.instagram.com/dungeon_maven/
https://hadass420.wordpress.com/
https://echopublishing.wordpress.com/
https://www.instagram.com/gothcupcake/
https://www.instagram.com/14thframe/
Novice Zinester
Herinza Syadza
ZineWriMo 2019 Day 13: Work in Progress Wednesday
Hello, zine friends, and welcome to the middle of the week. Today’s prompt is…
Work in Progress Wednesday
…on which we work on our Works in Progress in whatever ways we care to do so.
Today was a day for ideas in the land of Sea Green Zines. I’d originally planned to work on Monday’s double-sided zine, but then I got an idea for a second double-sided zine. Then I started thinking about various things that I wanted to include in the Missives…
I enjoy days like this – especially when they are unexpected. When the ideas flow and all I can really do is write them all down before they float off into the ether.
How about you? How have you spent your Wednesday? Let me know in the comments.
Until next time, spread a little sunshine.
Other Participants:
https://www.instagram.com/violett_komplett/
https://www.instagram.com/bydhiyanah/
https://www.instagram.com/dungeon_maven/
https://hadass420.wordpress.com/
https://echopublishing.wordpress.com/
https://www.instagram.com/gothcupcake/
https://www.instagram.com/14thframe/
Novice Zinester
Herinza Syadza
ZineWriMo 2019 Day 12: Warm Up: Stream of Consciousness Writing
Hello, zine friends, and welcome to day twelve of ZineWriMo. Today we have a warm up prompt…
Warm Up: Stream of Consciousness Writing
Stream of Consciousness writing is an exercise in which you try to relax your mind and just write down whatever comes to mind. Some people say that you *have* to keep your pen moving across the page, but I find that a little too stressful. My mind takes brief breaks and I see this activity is more about releasing than forcing.
While it may sound quite simple and easy, this should be approached with some caution. This exercise can take you in mental directions you don’t want to travel. So while it’s good to relax and let your mind wander, keep awareness of the paths you’re mentally walking.
I don’t mean to scare you off this by any means, but as someone with trauma in her past, it’s something I try to be aware of in my own creative work.
Have you tried stream of consciousness writing? Has it helped you creatively? Let me know in the comments.
Other Participants:
https://www.instagram.com/violett_komplett/
https://www.instagram.com/bydhiyanah/
https://www.instagram.com/dungeon_maven/
https://hadass420.wordpress.com/
https://echopublishing.wordpress.com/
https://www.instagram.com/gothcupcake/
https://www.instagram.com/14thframe/
Novice Zinester
Herinza Syadza