My Art Zine!

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I mentioned in my post about writing cards and letters that I enclosed a mini "zine" in a letter to my friend, so I thought I would share a little about that. First of all, a "zine" (it's short for "magazine", so it's pronounced like that --"zeen") is not an actual magazine, which is slick and commercially produced and full of ads. A zine is a form of art - it's handmade and features whatever the zine maker thinks up, whether that's drawings, collage, photos, poetry, short stories, observations about the world, anything. It's a form of self-expression, so really anything goes. Zines can be printed and distributed. They can be sold, but are often traded for other zines or given for free. When I was a kid, I drew my own comic books, which were really kind of a form of zines, although I didn't know that at the time. I was just trying to make a little money, so I sold them to the neighbors for about a quarter each. Those comics were drawn on copier paper folded in half, which is a pretty typical format for zines. Zines come smaller, too, though: a "mini zine" is one that is designed to be all on one side of a piece of paper, then folded and cut so it becomes a little 8-page booklet, which is how I made this zine. I made this zine to kind of introduce myself and showcase some of the different kinds of artwork that I do. I figure I will use it as an insert in eBay and Etsy orders as a fun little freebie. I put a QR code on the back that links to my art blog, so in a way, it's kind of a business card, too.