Hey y’all! We’re almost halfway done with February, which means that another batch of snail mail society goodies are making their way through the postal system and to mailboxes all over the country (and one’s even traveling all the way to Switzerland!)
⋆｡°✩ I think this month’s issue of the catmothcrow chronicle looks especially lovely, as the collages have a sort of grunge-y fairytale feel to them. The newsletter features my picks for the Oscars, a spotlight on one of my favorite artists — you’ll have to read the zine to know just who it is that I’m spotlighting, but I’ll give you a hint: I think of them as my witchy zinester fairy godmother, as they were self-publishing “tiny magazines” all the way back in 1903! — and my monthly recommendation list of books, zines, bites, shows, and movies that I’m reading/eating/watching.
⋆｡°✩ Snail Stars are also getting the second issue of my catmothcrow revisits movie zine. This zine is an exclusive just for folks in the Snail Star tier! I’ve given myself a mission this year to re-watch one movie a month that I used to love but haven’t watched in at least 10 years (extra points if it’s one that I already have on dvd!) Then, I’m writing a movie review mini zine about the flick… does it hold up? Or did youth give me rose-colored glasses? This month’s feature is (spoiler alert) a bit of the latter!
⋆｡°✩ I’m also sending Snail Stars a copy of my “melt the ICE” protest zine. This zine is FREE, so if you’ve got a print hook-up, please print off as many as you can and distribute widely.
⋆｡°✩ Finally, Snail Stars and Sustainers are getting a playlist that I made to listen to on the full moon. If you’ve been a member of one of those tiers, you already know the password to the playlist portal page and can give it a listen now.
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🐌 Wanna see these zines in your mailbox? Become a Snail Mail Society member! When you join before February 20th, you’ll be sent a cheery envelope with this month’s newsletter, and you’ll also be able to access digital perks like exclusive vlogs and scans of out-of-print zines. Explore the tiers and benefits — subscriptions start at just $5/month. 🐌
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In addition to creating zines for the Snail Mail Society, I’ve been a bit of a busy as a bee this month: I’ve got 2 large works of art in process (one is a digital illustration, while the other is an art book), and I’m helping launch my city’s Bus Rider’s Union in less than ten days! This is also, hands-down, my busiest time of year at my 9-to-5 day job, so if I’m being honest, I sorta feel like I’m in a whirlwind! But I do feel like I’m making good on my new year’s resolution promise to try and stay balanced this year… I don’t feel overwhelmed so much as I feel like I’m in perpetual motion. I’m still having to backburner projects that I really, really wanna make, but I’d rather put them off than get burnt out. Maybe one day, I’ll find a way to make a living with my art so I can devote all my time to my ideas, but for now, I’ll do as much as I can within the limits of my capacity. Balance. It’s all about balance.
I also feel like I’m really living up to my other new year’s resolution of finding ways to help grow the zine community, as I’ve gotta a couple of in-person zine workshops coming up that I’m super excited about. If you’re local to Kansas City, I hope you’ll check them out.
This weekend, I’m hosting an all-day drop-in zine workshop during Pop Con at the Kansas City Public Library. I’m bringing some dice and calling it “Roll for Zine LIVE!” Participants will get this handy worksheet that will teach them what zines are, how to make a minizine, and give them 2 different dice prompts to get their creativity flowing. Bluey is gonna be there! Do you think I can convince Bluey to make a zine? Anyways, if you’re in Kansas City, come by and check it out!
And every Wednesday in March, I’m teaching a perzine workshop at the Kansas City Public Library! “Tell Your Own Story” is a 4-part interactive writing workshop series celebrating perzines. Whether you’re a prolific zinester or this is all brand-new to you, I’ll guide you through the process of crafting an 8-page perzine via word mapping, collage, and writing games. I am so, so excited to teach this workshop! It feels like a zine dream getting this opportunity, and to get this platform to share what I love about perzines with the library’s audience. If you’re local to KC, please join me!
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