Do-It-Yourself Care
Nina Echozina
https://echopublishing.wordpress.com

Do-It-Yourself Care is a full colour one-page mini-zine about accepting emotion and self-care.

I think I’ve mentioned quite a few times now how much I like a self-care zine, and this one is certainly no exception. Starting off with a play on words in the title is a great way to get me smiling and grab my attention.

The zine starts off with notes about the importance of self-care, allowing yourself to feel emotions, and acknowledging that what is relaxing for someone might not be relaxing for another (kudos for that!). From there, we get a list of things that help Nina.

Nina’s list of ideas is a great one, including things like the joy of a blanket fort to folding zines. (Yay for mentioning zine-related activities in a self-care zine!) I enjoy discovering new-to-me things that work for other people.

The aesthetic is absolutely lovely with a variety of colours and patterns. On top of that, Nina has excellent, oh so readable handwriting, and the zine unfolds to reveal an equally enjoyable to look at collage inside.

This is one of those zines where I want to get a big stack of copies because I want to send this to so many people.

Definitely grab a copy.

Alone in a New City 1 & 2
Allysha Webber
https://allyshawebber.com
https://www.instagram.com/allyshawebber/

Alone in a New City 1 & 2 are A5 sized black and white photography zines.

I love black and white photography. I feel like there’s something about stripping an image of colour that makes it feel like you’re revealing something new.

“Everything has beauty but not everyone sees it.” – Confucious

Alone in a New City 1 opens with that beautiful quote from Confucious, and it speaks so well to photography and most any art, really. From there, both zines take you through a collection of images taken in and around Melbourne. While the first zine focuses a little more on people and the second seems to focus a little more on street art, they both have a varied collection of images. They give more of an ‘observations of the world around’ rather than focusing on one element in particular. (Though one could certainly argue for Melbourne/Melbourne suburbs being the element.)

Each photo is granted a page and a title of its own, and most of them are accompanied by a quote as well. I love a good quote, and I like the added layer of context and consideration for the photos. However, there were a few pictures where just the title alone gave me a different perspective of what I was looking at.

I should note that I do have a bias in this because I quite like Melbourne, and it’s a place that holds a lot of good memories for me. These photos had an added element for me of knowing this place or that. So, like any form of art, I can’t say as to whether they will have the same impact on you.

I did wonder what different paper and printing might have done for the clarity of the photos or the little details, but it’s entirely possible that it’s intentional. That perhaps you don’t always see things with crystal clarity when you’re in a new city.

I enjoyed Alone in a New City 1 & 2. I didn’t feel lost or confused as to what I was looking at. I enjoyed views in and around Melbourne, and I will definitely be flipping through them again.

For My Grandmother
Jane
www.etsy.com/au/shop/JaneSavelyeva

For My Grandmother is a 1/4(ish) size full colour tribute to a special grandmother.

This zine is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. Yes, zine friends, that is my opener.

From the belly band to the light, gentle colours used throughout, the entirety of this zine has a feeling of care and love – all dedicated from Jane to Jane’s grandmother. Opening this zine, you will find a collection of words and art about a woman – Hope – who was clearly loved very much.

The artwork is delicate and flows between some pieces with intricate details and others with simple lines and fewer details. Jane’s choice of colours, papers, and even using a vellum page further makes everything feel almost antique in a way. The whole zine is warm and beautiful – no doubt in honour of a warm and beautiful woman.

I do worry about belly bands on zines when the title isn’t repeated somewhere within the zine itself, but I think the zine is fairly self-explanatory without the title – and my copy will be safely tucked away in my collection anyway. 🙂

I really adore this zine in and of itself but also because it’s a very clear expression of feeling in zine form. It reminds me of my great-grandmother and all of our happy memories together.

I would definitely grab a copy.

Small Potatoes 3
Keira
https://www.instagram.com/k.huolohan/
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/ZinesByKeira

Small Potatoes 3 is an A6 size full colour perzine combining life stories, art, poetry, and more.

I’ve come to apprecaite a good intro to a zine more and more, and Keira has written an excellent intro to this zine that engaged me and made me feel curious in the first paragraph:

I am a person who is sick and tired of thinking about how sick and tired they are of being sick and tired. I am a person who has been alive 28 years but living for only a handful of these.

Keira’s writing voice – a voice I have come to know as one with compassion and gentle mystery – continues through the zine as they write about learning to drive, gender change forms, creating community, zines, and dissociative identity disorder along with sharing poetry, drawings, and recommendations. Small Potatoes 3 involves a lot of emotions, but Keira’s writing voice stays steady throughout.

The part about gender change forms is an interesting, albeit sad and frustrating, look int government biases, narratives, and even economic exclusions when it comes to obtaining gender affirming identification. I feel like Keira has touched just the beginning of the topic here and suspect there will be many more zines to come about these journeys.

This zine has quite a few things that made me respect Keira and what they are doing with their life and in the world. I couldn’t help but smile when Keira’s drive to create community and a safe place clearly showed through not just in writing the words but also in writing about what they have done so far with various get togethers and activity days.

What I really had to admire was Keira’s honesty. Despite having an initially negative, ableist reaction to their sister telling them she had dissociative identity disorder, Keira not only called out their own behaviour but defined ableism so as to be clear why their reaction was not a good one. I think it takes a certain kind of bravery to call yourself out on things.

The writing about dissociative identity disorder was a read that made me feel like I had just been given something special and precious. Something especially personal not just for Keira but their sister as well, who actually joins in the zine to write a bit about it. (Love that!)

I quite like the look of this zine – use of colour but as an accent and not anything overwhelming or that takes away from anything else. Keira is trying out new paper, a new font, and other things in this issue, and I love the idea of a zine changing and growing as the person writing it changes and grows. Even better, there are good reasons for this like accessibility but also learning to become more comfortable with empty spaces. The latter speaks to an interesting use of the perzine: documenting self-challenge.

As a quick side note – looking at some of Keira’s sketches made me think they might be interested in designing a tarot deck some day…

All up, Small Potatoes 3 is another excellent zine in the Small Potatoes series that makes me eager to read the next one. I feel like Keira has really found their footing in regards to opening up in both writing and art but in medium as well. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next.