With all the bitching we hear from the traditional medias about their longevity and survivability, one might get the impression print media is dying the fastest. One visit to a Portland Zine Symposium, admission gratis, will quickly and certainly smash that picture. Zinesters from about everywhere took over the main PSU gym over the weekend to mark the tenth anniversary of this annual D.I.Y. publishing celebration and workshop. What's a zine? That's like asking what a car is -- the answer is deceptively simple. Zines are essentially magazines that have been independently published and produced using non-mainstream methods, forms, and lay-out schemes. Think CD liner-notes, or a high school STD pamphlet, or even a church bulletin, and you'll have an idea of what a zine looks like. The content of a zine is limited only by the zinester crafting it... there are many, many different kinds of zines. Getting to the event was a bit of a challenge. My artistically bent friend and I made it to the PSU campus with ease using Portland's expansive public transport, but we were a little vague on the specific locale details. After a brief tour getting lost along some of the campus piazzas, and finding a private putting green, we were rescued by a couple PSU students... their names embarrassingly fail me. One of them had a small and rather nervous little doggie, and he wasn't in the mood for a photo. My thanks to so-and-so, and her friend. This year's PZS was good as any of the three I've been to before, but easily twice as big. 130 tables arranged in long rows, packed to the edges with all manner of publishianna, each with a friendly (and often pretty chatty) zinester behind it ready to answer any questions. I found all kinds of treasure at the symposium, most of it I had to leave there. *CURSES* Along with every shape and subject of zine imaginable, tablers showcased their self-produced patches, buttons, posters, CD's, bracelets, stuffed toys, and artwork. One button decanter caught my eye -- what a great way to re-purpose a disembodied dolly head. Nice work!! One piece of my symposium booty is a 4X6 picture of a plasma cloud far off in space with a cartoon profile of Reagan printed over the middle... he looks a bit like Ming the Merciless in a bizness suit. HAWZ!! In the corner, his historic nomenclature in large, bold red letters: Ronald Raygun. HAW HAW HAWZ!! http://chainsawcomics.com/category/images/ Thank you, Aaron Brassea... this is surely how Ronnie saw himself. The other is a zine titled: Nailed. I stood and kibitzed with zinester Mayzie Hart for a few minutes about her zine. She has a deep respect for the memory and recall skillz of the fashionista, and a related article she read in Vogue awakened her "deep obsession with nail polish." And she's not kidding. From cover to cover, she gives the reader a backstage tour of how intense, and deeply satisfying, her nail polish fascination really is. Hit her up at [email protected] for more information. Going to an event where so many creative and imaginative people congregate is always very stimulating, and this year's Portland Zine Symposium was no different. I came away brimming with new ideas and concepts, some of them surely to make their way into my various works. A big *Thank You* to the IPRC Staff, to PSU, and to the dozens of zine publishers and enthusiasts who made my time at the PZS very enjoyable. Here's to ten more years... [= P.s. Also my shoes looked awesome! *DIY* And have they been, like, looking for Elmo? Because... well, he didn't look that great when I saw him.
8 Comments
11/25/2010 09:29:18 am
The greatest happiness is to work for education.
Reply
2/24/2011 09:14:49 am
you can find what you want to in here,make your life full of color ,it's a perfect website.
Reply
3/2/2011 04:43:48 pm
Your blog is so great . I'd like to read the information about it, so how does it work? Do you want to know the MBT shoes ? MBT shoes on hot sale !
Reply
3/2/2011 04:45:43 pm
Your blog is so great . I'd like to read the information about it, so how does it work? Do you want to know the MBT shoes ? MBT shoes on hot sale !
Reply
3/3/2011 10:04:25 am
Truth is better than a thousand gold pieces, a warm WanLiHan frost, Can arrive a salute sent sweet, A salute all take my thoughts, Busy day take good care of yourself all gold and silver, A LuBao from a prairie greetings, Bring me fragrant smell. From the north's blessing, Let me feel friendship is precious.
Reply
3/9/2011 03:24:50 pm
you can find what you want to in here,make your life full of color ,it's a perfect website.
Reply
3/10/2011 10:08:21 am
I am very happy with the quality of her shoes and the added comfort they give ours.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
NOTE: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Please contact website administrator for more information.
Other Good BlogsMike's Blog
RoosterChick's BlogMaria's BlogTags
All
Archive
May 2013
|