Another sneak preview!

So the zine is almost finished.  I'm just working on the front and back covers and then I get to work on assembling it into a form that people can actually read - not just the loose papers that I have now.

Check out these two pages:

I really have these chickens on my mind right now because THEY'RE COMING ON FRIDAY.  And I am not at all ready!!!  Do you think they'll mind if I keep them in a deck box until we figure out something for a chicken coop?  Hopefully they won't be picky guests...

One of the reasons I had so much fun making this book was because I actually dug deep into my stash of vintage treasures, and used a lot of the one-of-a-kind things I've been hoarding.  It was easy to use them, because I knew I would be printing copies and therefore they aren't "wasted" because lots of people will be able to see them.  That probably sounds neurotic and weird, but that's the way my mind works.  When I find special things I always want to wait for JUST THE RIGHT PROJECT to use them on, so that they won't be hidden away for perpetuity.  Happily, this felt like the right project!

There are all kinds of goodies in here:
 - tabs from a 1957 dictionary
 - pieces from a 1960 weather report
 - a newspaper clipping that I have been carrying around (no joke) for 13 years
 - a CN Rail switch list from an antique shop that I always look at but never use
 - a page from a 1930s copy of David Copperfield
 - bits from an old envelope (1950s?) that used to have a life insurance policy inside
 - a page from a 1960s first aid manual

This didn't even put a dent in my stash, but I think there will be a second issue of this zine (I already have a few ideas) so I'll just go on faith here and keep on making pages.

I also drew quite a few illustrations in this thing.  They went so easily (most of them) that it just felt like it was meant to be.  Do you ever find that?  I guess I was in the zone... it was a great feeling.  If you do any kind of creative thing, you will agree that it doesn't always work that way, and it's a huge treat when it does.  Best feeling in the world!!

Okay, gotta jet.  Lots to do today!

xoxo
Shelley

Go hard or go home

Hi guys!

Yesterday we did a bunch of yard work, cutting off all the wayward branches and shoots off of the trees around the property.  Now when I cut the grass on the riding mower, I won't have as much trouble as I did last year, with tree branches swiping my hat off my head and my earbuds out of my ears... it was getting downright annoying.  It almost felt like the trees were bullying me.  I'm a delicate flower, you know.

ANYway, I often wear whatever work gloves are lying around, but none of them fit well.  They're always too big and fall off and just generally aggravate me.  So yesterday I finally got a pair in my size!

Then I customized them, because, well why not??

What do you think?  (Of the gloves, not the photography work - my 7-year-old snapped this shot for me.)

WORK HARD, PLAY HARD

I was originally going to go with THUG LIFE, just for my own amusement... but the kids immediately got in on the game and got into the sharpies for their own work gloves, and I figure the neighbours have enough to talk about.

Hope you had a great weekend too,

Love Shelley!

Just Burn it Down

Do you guys know what a zine is?  I was going to attempt to explain it but here's the wikipedia definition instead (why reinvent the wheel, right?)

A zine ( /ˈziːn/ zeen; an abbreviation of fanzine, or magazine) is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier.

A popular definition includes that circulation must be 5,000 or less, although in practice the significant majority are produced in editions of less than 1,000, and profit is not the primary intent of publication.

Zines are written in a variety of formats, from computer-printed text to comics to handwritten text (an example being Cometbus). Print remains the most popular zine format, usually photo-copied with a small circulation. Topics covered are broad, including fanfiction, politics, art and design, ephemera, personal journals, social theory, single topic obsession, or sexual content far enough outside of the mainstream to be prohibitive of inclusion in more traditional media. The time and materials necessary to create a zine are seldom matched by revenue from sale of zones. 

I've done a couple before (one about the summer of 2008 and one called Letter by Letter - a mini-zine) but right now I'm working on a bigger one.  It'll be 24 pages when all is said and done.  That didn't sound like much when I started but it turns out that it's kind of a lot of work.  Fun, awesome, absorbing work, but still pretty time-consuming.  It's a half-size book, 5 1/2 x 8 1/2".

This one is all about meeeeeee, so self-centred, and how I'm trying to become more self-sufficient.  I didn't realize how much I had to say about the subject, so it's a little more text-heavy than I anticipated, but since it's almost writing itself, I guess I can't complain.


Hey, you know who else published their own zine?  BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.  Yup, I'm in good company, although I doubt my contribution will be quite as literary as his.  Plus his was for psychiatric patients.... hey, maybe we do have something in common after all!  HA!

Anyway, take a look at this sneak preview and see what you think:

 


I'll let you know when it's done, maybe put up a few more pages for you to take a look at.  Ultimately I'll probably be selling it in my etsy shop so you can have a copy of your very own if you would like.  It's not a how-to thing at all; in fact maybe you can get the benefit of my mistakes!  That sounds worthwhile, right?

And just so you know I let my sister read this before I put it up and she was both amused and horrified.  Which is pretty much what she thinks of me in general, so I guess my real personality is shining right through on these pages.

I guess that's a good thing...

Love Shelley!

Last one, I promise.

Quality time with Mom

GUESS WHERE I AM!

Oh you guys... this is heaven.  I'm in a HOTEL ROOM!  I'm on a weekend getaway with my mom, at a scrapbooking convention.

WAIT!  DON'T RUN AWAY!!!

Okay, I know that doesn't live up to the level of cool that you have come to expect from me.  (Haaaaa!)  But trust me, this is a good thing.

First of all, we found a treasure trove at a thrift store on our way out here.

Underwood typewriter: $4.85.  How they came up with that price is a mystery but OMG FOUR DOLLARS AND EIGHTY-FIVE CENTS?!  Sold.

Huh.  These pics aren't all that great... but can you tell that this book is like 5 inches thick and has TABS?!  I may or may not have snatched it up, clutched it to my chest protectively, and looked around madly to make sure nobody was going to try to take it from me.  And the best part?  Five bucks.  Five bucks!

To be fair the book probably isn't worth anything, in historical or monetary value, because it's been taken apart at some point and rebound with gigantic chicago screws. And while I admire the handiwork, that's just gonna make it all that much easier for me to start ripping pages out to use in my artwork and not feel like I'm destroying a precious artifact or anything. And the covers? Oh my. They are so, so beautiful. Even the spine is embossed. I can't wait to see what I do with those!

Oh wait... here's a pic of the spine:

And then I found a little postage scale for a buck, and after I got over the good old Catholic guilt of ripping apart something that formerly belonged to the Holy Cross Convent (according to the hand-written notation on the bottom), I snagged this tin plate from the front:

Now I'm off to go create something FAB-U-LOUS.  Or at least semi-interesting.  I'm working on a zine project that's almost half-done already.  I'll be back with previews.  It's a gooder, or at least I think so.   : )

So, as Jerry Springer used to say at the end of every one of his horrendous shows, be good to yourself... and each other.

Love Shelley!

PS: And, because I'd be lying to you if I didn't tell you that my sister and I take every possible opportunity to have fun at my mom's expense, I'd also like to share this little tidbit:

Meager

Holy crap, I can't believe it's been a month since I posted anything new here.  I got busy with some other stuff and it took a while to find my way back to my art supplies!

Luckily I'm on a break now between classes, I don't have to coach soccer anymore, and my part-time job is ending in a week.  So now I'll only have one full-time job!!!!  I'm pretty excited about that.  That will hopefully leave more time for getting my hands dirty with bright colours and fun projects.  Oh, also laundry. Aaaaaalways laundry.

In the meantime, I've been dreaming of smoothing colours together, creating shadows and lines, and playing in my art journal to try some different things.  Hopefully that will all come to pass really soon.

Lately all I've "made" is this one drawing of my daughter Joelle.  She was finally sitting still long enough to catch a decent likeness.  Actually she was watching America's Funniest Videos and laughing her ass off, but in between giggles, I caught her "concentrating" face.

Is it just me, or does she remind you of Penny from Inspector Gadget??

Huh.

Anyway, today? There I was walking along, minding my own business, when I suddenly saw something that literally made me do a double-take and go back to see what it was.  Local artist Chris Reid had some of her work set up in this tiny little room at the University of Winnipeg. What caught my eye was a 5-foot painting of some angry flying pieces of toast.  She has some of her other work set up at the Ukrainian Cultural Centre - if you have time and you're downtown you should check it out.  Her colours are amazing - bright and vibrant and wait, do bright and vibrant mean the same thing?  Well, they're really great and eye-catching and imaginative, unlike my vocabulary tonight.  You'll like them.  I especially liked the houses with chicken legs.  Here, check this out:

Seeing it this tiny doesn't do it any justice, it is seriously an unbelievably cool piece of art.

More soon, I promise. I have to go put some clothes in the dryer, then investigate why the children aren't making any noise. I'm deeply suspicious.

xoxo
Love Shelley!