MINI ZINES -
My Favorite Place
SEASON 2 | PROJECT 3/15 | 04.25.21
MODULE: Mixed Media
GRADE LEVELS: 1 - 6
DURATION: 1 Hour
MATERIALS: 1 Sheet of Paper, Pencil, Pen, Scissors, Colored Pens (optional)
CLICK ICON TO DOWNLOAD PROJECT GUIDE PDF
INSPIRED BY ARTIST:
Jillian Sandell
OVERVIEW |
Mini zines (pronounced ‘zeens’) are tiny homemade booklets that can be made on any topic using one sheet of paper and a pencil or pen. A zine is a fun and simple way to express your ideas, communicate your experiences, or tell a story through words and/or drawings. The best part about a zine is you can easily share them with your friends, family, or classmates at little or no cost! For this zine, we are going to focus on your favorite place.
OVERVIEW
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT​
-
​
Sharing and communicating with others.
-
​
A great way to explore interests.
-
​
Exploring an art practice.
-
​
-
​
Social emotional learning.
Simple book making techniques.
-
​
A great way to process personal stress, trauma or to pay homage to someone or something you enjoy.
MATERIALS
-
Paper
-
Writing or drawing tool (pen, pencil, markers, etc.)
-
Scissors
Optional Materials
-
Copier/scanner/printer
-
Camera or photographs
-
Collage materials (magazines, old birthday cards, photographs, etc.)
-
Anything else you want to use to create images on a page
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Make your zine template:
-
​
Grab a sheet of paper and fold it into 8 sections
-
​
Number each section as shown here...
2. Brainstorm your ideas:
-
​
Take out another sheet of paper and a pen or pencil
-
​
Begin writing down some places in nature that you like: is it your backyard? Or a place you like to visit, like a park or somewhere you’ve been on vacation? This can be a place you have been recently or a memory of a place from the past.
-
​
Close your eyes and think about your place. What do you see, hear, smell, and feel there?
-
​
Open your eyes and write down or sketch what you envisioned. These will be the notes for what you want to include in your zine
3. Fill in the pages:
Before you start, make sure you number your pages according to the template so you don’t get confused. Look carefully at how the pages are numbered on the template. They are a little out of order, so make sure you follow closely!
-
​
Start with page 2, then page 3, 4 & 5. See what to do in pink below...
-
​
Turn your page upside down to fill in the next rectangles
-
​
Finish with pages 6, 7, 1 & 8. See what to do in pink below...
4. Cut and fold:
TIPS & TRICKS
-
​
Use your thumbnail to make the creases in your fold extra crisp. This will help it fold better.
-
​
Once you’ve folded your paper into 8 rectangles, fold it one way and then another.
-
​
Number your pages in pencil.
-
​
Some people like to fold and then make the simple cut in the middle before drawing or writing
-
​
If you want to make copies of your zine to give to friends, the easiest way is to copy it before you cut it while it’s still a flat piece of paper.
-
​
For a beginner way to create your Zine try this...
CLICK ICON TO DOWNLOAD PDF
ASSIGNMENT
-
​
Create a mini zine of your favorite place.
OVERVIEW |
EXPERIMENT
Make a zine about your 6 favorite foods.
-
​
-
​
Make a zine that teaches the reader how to do something. Pick something you're good at and break it down into 6 easy steps.
-
​
Make a zine all about YOU!
-
​
Write six poems or draw six images about anything you want.
-
​
Make a zine that’s just abstract images, for example, on every page do a different design just with dots, or just with lines, or just with squiggles, or a combination of all three!
-
​
Make a chain zine! Decorate, draw, write, collage, whatever you want on one page of the zine then pass that along to one of your friends for them to do the same in another page of the zine. Keep passing it to different friends until the whole zine is filled. It will be exciting to see how it changes during the process and to see what the final product is!
ARTISTS TO KNOW
Emily Joy
Emily Joy is a new media artist and small press publisher right here in Joshua Tree, CA. She’s also the creator of a number of zines that come in various mediums, even incorporating virtual reality into some of her work. Joy kick started the first Joshua Tree Zine Festival back in 2018, and it has continued on over the last few years.
Planting Zine, n.d.
Caroline Partamian
Caroline Partamian is a resident of Yucca Valley and a teacher for Groundwork Arts. Caroline’s work is heavily influenced by her training as a dancer. She tries to incorporate the memories that are stored within our bodies into her zines and drawings. Caroline likes to focus more on the process of making her work, instead of the product. This results in spontaneous, abstract drawings that reflect the movement of the artist. Along with making zines, Caroline also runs a radio station called Other Desert Radio which spotlights many other artists and musicians of the high desert.
Automatic Sound Drawings, 2019
Adam Villacin
Adam Villacin is also a resident of the Morongo Basin. Over the past year, Adam has been illustrating one musician everyday which he will eventually turn into a book. He is also the creator of a number of zines that span diverse topics based around sub and pop cultures, such as basketball players, music stars, wrestlers, skateboarding, and sudanese warriors.
Alice Coltrane, 2020, archival ink on paper
VOCABULARY
​
Zine: Short for mag-a-ZINE. A self-made, self-published magazine
​