The Zine Fair Evaluation.

Last year I felt as if the students of Contemporary Art History were overlooked within the School of Art, and their unit was badly planned with Unit X. I am glad to say I have enjoyed Unit X this year so much more than last year, and feel I have really excelled in this college. I have found the lectures and workshops guided me, and inspired me when making my zine, whilst allowing me the freedom to produce something that I liked and wanted to make. 

I worked on my zine alone, and although I knew that we were encouraged to work in groups, I decided against it as I joined this fair a few weeks after everyone else, and so everyone else already had their groups with clear ideas about what their zines were going to be about. As I had a clear picture of what I wanted to work on anyway, I felt confident that I could successfully produce what I envisioned, and was comfortable working alone. 

Although I have engaged with unit and enjoyed working alone, I feel as if I could have become more involved by working with others in different ways, perhaps by submitting some of my own work to other people's zines. One of my main concerns when in the Craft Fair was how discouraged Contemporary Art History students were to join, and the discomfort felt when working in a unfamiliar settings with unfamiliar people. Although I worked alone in creating the zine, my collaboration with other students when helping to organise the event removed me from my comfort zone and familiarity, yet I dealt with the uncertainty well, becoming a team member with people I didn't know.  

I responded to the information that we were given in workshops and lectures, and kept a sketchbook and diary. Although I didn't always get a chance to use the skills I learned (such as the risograph, which I liked the effect of), I know that I can use these in the future if i need to. I also taught myself new skills whilst working on this project. I had not used Microsoft Publisher before but managed to successfully make and print my zine (even if it did print upside down to begin with). I have also not drawn much or used Photoshop for a while and I found it difficult to remember how or what to do to create something. 

As for the content of my zine, I am happy with the outcome. I put a lot of research into each piece, and enjoyed the process of writing them. Given more time, I had planned to write about how to make your own bunting, how to make your own floral wall hangings, and to attend and write about 'Crafternoon Tea' at Whitworth Art Gallery. However, given the time spectrum of the project I am happy with the results, and perhaps I could use these ideas in the next issue of Crafty.

I feel as if the fair was a success, and constantly had a steady stream of visitors all day. I feel proud that I had a helping hand in the organisation of the event, and feel as if it was good experience to have when planning future events. 

Production

I produced my zine using the articles I have previously written and posted on this blog. I have also kept a handwritten diary and sketchbook throughout this project. In this sketchbook I have made some quick sketches and drawings, which I scanned and included in the design. 
I then produced some images for the front page of my zine using my limited Photoshop knowledge. I made these using photographs, scanned drawings and online fonts. I also edited my simple ink wash page, which had my Haiku on it, using a filter on Photoshop. 
I then put the zine together using a booklet template on Microsoft Publisher. I printed the zines on a regular laser printer on a4 paper, folded, and attached fold back clips to keep the sheets together. 

Distribution

After the lecture on the best way to distribute your zine, I saw the benefits of making a digital version of my zine a available online. 

I decided to make my zine into a PDF file and upload it to the website Issuu http://issuu.com/paulastatham/docs/crafty 

This also means that even if the physical copies become lost there is always a copy of my zine available online. Archives it online. 

I also signed up for Etsy, to begin to sell my handmade jewellery items that I have started making since writing this zine, as well as my zine. 

I have also put a copy in the Salford Zine Library in Nexus Art Cafe. 

Jewellery Making- The Bead Shop

So, I got a little excitable in Affleck's Palace's, The Bead Shop and ended up buying a lot more than I originally planned. There was so much on offer, and so many ideas kept popping into my head, I just couldn't resist. And next thing you know I have a bag full of trinkets and slightly less in my bank account.

 

The first idea was obvious really. Earrings. With so many beads and charms to choose from, choosing the right one is probably the most difficult task when making earrings. These cost 50p each. The earring hooks come ready made, use a jump ring to connect the charm and the hook. Voila. And a bargain cost of £1.20 to make.

I found these charms in the shop saying 'handmade' or 'made with love'. These really seemed to encapsulate what craft was about. 

Next i moved on to making bracelets, using the 'made with love' charm. To make this is bought some strong, thick thread. Using three colours I plaited them together, making sure i left enough room to tie the clasps on at the end, and added the charm half way along. The Bead Shop has a range of clasps of various designs, I chose this variation on the T bar clasp. Securely tying a jump ring in the thread, I then attached the clasp, and cut off excess thread from either end. 

Just visiting The Bead Shop will inspire you to create your own individually styled pieces of jewellery, and adding those ever-so-cute 'handmade/made with love' charms can be perfect when presenting someone with their handmade gift. 

Wallpaper Art Collage

Do you remember 'backing' your books when you was in school? You could cover them with wallpaper, magazines, posters, stickers, patterns, anything really. I always thought this was a really cool way to show your personality and creativity. 

I've seen this practice being used recently in those hipster bars around Manchester as a form of decoration. It's cheaper than buying wallpaper and its a fun collage activity which can reflect your personality. 

You can use anything to make these wallpaper art collages, magazines, newspapers, old books, flyers or posters. It is a great way to make use of those pages of books, magazines etc which are really just too interesting to be kept hidden inside a book or magazine cover, and shouldn't be thrown away.

Making a collage can be fun and really doesn't take up that much time. First of all, find your images. 

You can have images with a similar theme. Pages of fashion models pulled from Vogue. Images of singers and bands pulled from NME or Rolling Stone. Comic strips pulled out of your favourite comic books. 

Or you can mix it up and have a range of photography, text, and drawing prints together in your collage. 

Make sure you cut plenty of images, and don't be afraid to cut in a non-quadrilateral shape. Cut around the body shape of a person, follow lines in the image. 

Fitting the images together- it's not a jigsaw. They might not fit perfectly but that is the delight of collage. You can plan where you want the images to go if you like, but it is also quite fun to work on a trial and error system. If one image doesn't quite fit, simply cover it with another image. 

And if your landlord isn't crazy about the idea of you covering the walls with magazines/comics/newspapers, maybe make your collage on a large board which can be hung on the wall and taken down when necessary!

Kirsty's Vintage Home- Book Review

Kirstie's Vintage Home includes 30 simple guidelines for handmade projects to do in the home. Embracing your love of everything vintage can sometimes make your home look like a bric-a-brac shop. Using inspirations from times gone by is a sure way to give your home a look which will never go out of style. 

Kirstie Allsopp is recognisable face from our televisions, but does this mean we trust her to successfully craft in our home? Well, I'm going to suggest you should trust her. Many of the projects are practical as well as aesthetically pleasing. Just flicking through the book, makes me pine after every so many items of furniture and fashion. 

Nowadays, I feel as if the word 'Vintage' is just thrown around without a second thought to the actual meaning of the word and if it is being used in the right context. At the moment, 'Vintage' just seems to mean a type of fashionable look which may have once been popular a few decades ago, but the item itself can be brand new. Bought from Topshop. That's not Vintage if you ask me. Who cares? It looks pretty. For now, Vintage is FASHION. 

Kirstie seems to embrace the contemporary interpretation of Vintage; all the project ideas are cute, quirky and have a touch of kitsch about them. However she doesn't let the reader forget that in her opinion, the word vintage is 'just a smart way of saying second-hand', and she regularly encourages the reader to shop second-hand, to give life to an old something special. She even gives tips on where these gems might be hiding, and how to look past the grime to recognise the attractiveness of a piece.
She gives a low down on popular styles and inspirations from various era's, making sure the reader is well informed, and able to choose what kind of style reflects their personality. 

The book is packed with ideas of how to pop your personal and unique stamp on furniture, decoration and more. Picking up only a few ideas from this book will amaze your friends and have visitors envious of your individual style. You can't buy individuality from Ikea after all. 

'Ultimately my message is this: the past and crafts go hand in hand because they're both about seeing the potential in things for your home and giving them a new lease of life... You are creating a beautiful home who reflects who you are and what you are about.'

That is what I like about this book, the element of craft is ever present and the book shows many photographs of Kirstie herself taking part on creating these projects. They are do-able and stylish, using materials that won't break the bank and give that personal touch that a home needs. 

So despite my apprehension, prejudice and slight cringe of anything being described as a 'Vintage home', Kirstie has amazingly got it, spot on. Her ideas are original, she doesn't encourage you to convert your home into a shrine or museum dedicated to the 1930's, just to embrace the beauty of an item soaked in history and charm. Read the book, go forth, and craft vintage. 

Mean Miss Mustard's helping hand

In Natalie Bradbury's lecture about The Shrieking Violet she mentioned how she always liked to include a recipe for the reader. This gave them a reason to keep the zine and meant whilst following a recipe, reading the zine wouldn't be a passive experience. 

I liked this idea, and although I had already planned to have instructions of a different kind in my zine I felt as if cookery  and craft were ultimately a related practice, and so I should include a recipe. 

Then my thoughts led to Mean Miss Mustard, a girl and blogger I knew who regularly blogged with her own creative recipes, frequently made from left over ingredients resulting in an experimental culinary surprise. I had enjoyed reading the story that always seemed to go along with the blog and so asked her if she would like to join forces and create a recipe especially for the first issue of 'Crafty'. 

Crispy Gnocchi With Lemon and Chilli Broccoli and 99 Cupcakes recipes will be included in my zine, along with the amusing northern witty story which accompanies the food. 

http://meanmissmustard.com/