Zine Workshop

Mar 18, 20232 min read

The challenge:

To make three editions of a zine in two days. They could be about any topic and created using any medium as long as it was personal to ourselves.

I chose to do a study of my houseplants. In the spirit of creating editions I wanted to use a traditional printing method. I had some Japanese plywood and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to create a series of miniature house plant prints.

I find it very helpful to write a short story to guide my creative process, to use as a narrative in which to illustrate. Here is my poem:

Ode to a Houseplant

My love, true love I sing to thee.

Would you please stay here with me?

I long to know will this seed I sow,

Bring only woe or grow and grow into a tree?

If I bring water, soil and light,

Would you display your true delight?

Or would you wither day and night?

A fallen leaf and drooping stem,

I long to see you tall again.

What if I were to bring you rain?

Would you regain your strength again?

If you could only speak my dear

You'd tell me all and not to fear.

Perhaps a pest, a fly or mite?

I promise I won't go down without a fight.

Armed with neem oil in hand,

Above insect turmoil I stand.

Could it be light? Some more, some less?

I touch your leaf, a gentle caress.

And suddenly in my distress

The secret to your heart possessed was just to move you a little left.

I didn't manage to take any process pictures while i made my woodblocks, as you can imagine carving 8 printing plates in 24 hours consumed all of my time. I printed them into simple folding zines and wrote the poem beneath the prints.

After I submitted my zines in the class I decided they were a bit messy. I re printed them as smaller zines and removed the poem, my handwriting is too scrawly. I also created a set of miniature postcards and some small prints.