Bloomurder #1
Laura
www.facebook.com/bloomzine
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/BLOOMURDER
My 101st zine review. Wow. I feel like I have a clean slate and greater expectations all at the same time. Haha. To give my anxieties a bit of a relax and my brain box some enjoyment, I figured Bloomurder #1 would be the way to go…
Bloomurder is a collection of bits and pieces of experiences. I say ‘bits and pieces’ with no disrespect. The content is a mix of art and travel, music and television shows from her youth. It bounces around a bit and doesn’t have a theme for the issue as such, but sometimes it’s nice to go along with someone else’s flow to see where it takes you. This style of doing things reinforces the ‘scrapbook’ feel I get with this zine.
I found the pieces funny in a synchronicity sort of way. I’ve never been to France, but Wanderer has, and he had some very similar things to say about the places there. Laura also talks about South Australia and the Adelaide Fringe Festival. I just so happen to be looking at moving to South Australia. So in that strange way, I do have somewhat of a bias toward some of the content.
This zine also combines journal aspects as well with little additions to go along with the writing instead of a cut and paste fiesta distracting from the words. Had I learned after the fact that this zine was a product of ‘converted notebook ramblings’ (instead of at the intro), I wouldn’t have been surprised.
Earlier today someone asked if there were any rules when it comes to making zines. There really aren’t, but Laura provides a good demonstration of the ‘general understanding’ when it comes to handwriting in zines: make sure people can read it! Laura has easy-to-read handwriting (except for one word on occasion 😉 ), as you can see* on the first page here:
One thing I found interesting in this zine is that Laura uses handwriting for some pieces and typing others. If someone had simply suggested this to me, I would have assumed that I wouldn’t like it. As it turns out, I do. The change from piece to piece fits the overall ‘scrapbook’ sort of feel that I get with this zine.
I find it a lot of fun to look at a person’s first zine, especially after they have been making them for a while. I’m very curious to see how Laura’s style has changed or stayed the same in the issues of Bloomurder that follow.
PS. I have to mention that her contact/media details right in the front, clear and easy to find. Yes!
*I’ve decided to revisit my rule about no pictures of the insides of zines. I am looking at doing it more, but for the time being, I am going to be very picky about what I take pictures of.