by Linda | Feb 22, 2012 | my creative journal
The latest issue of Pensieri Issue 9 is all about the art of paper-mache. I titled this issue The Magic of Paper and Glue and share my adventures and experimentations. It was a really fun process, even though glue and paper got everywhere. I discovered some interesting possibilities in using this medium (so affordable and accessible to all). It’s not just about Halloween masks.
I created a variety of items using paper-mache and glad to have this technique up my sleeve. It’s another tool in my toolbox, when it comes to crafting and having fun.
Of course, this issue took a while to complete. I couldn’t keep up with my schedule of publishing with everything else going on in my life. The weird thing is… I really love writing and sharing through my zine. I’ve blogged about my zine quite a few times and it’s actually something that sells in my Etsy shop. But it was becoming such a pressure and moving away from the original intent. Pensieri is simply published documentations of my art and crafty experimentations. All different subjects, at different times of my life. I can’t put a schedule on my creative playtime, so I will stop publishing Pensieri on a schedule. It’ll happen when it happens… if it happens.
I want to thank ALL the people who have bought issues of Pensieri. I hope to have inspired you… I hope that I shared interesting information to spur your creativity onward. I also hope to sell out the current issues I already have available. After that, I might consider making it a digital product… maybe…
So grab a paper copy of Pensieri while you can. Until my next adventure in print… enjoy!
by Linda | Dec 3, 2011 | my creative journal
From my blogging review the other day, I realized that I had not shared any news about my zine for the past few issues. I literally do not want to believe it, but I know from experience that life takes over and overcomes us at times. In my younger years, I always thought it was quite simple to keep track of things, cross out my to do’s and complete projects. What was the rocket science in all of it? Not until I grew up a bit – more life experience – did I realize that life can get really complicated. We can easily overlook, forget and/or purposefully forgo certain activities in life. It’s not easy (being green, as Kermit says). Goes to show, I am still growing up and learning about the limits in life.
So, better late than never, here’s a review of the zines I’ve created thus far. There are now 8 issues of Pensieri, a handmade zine about art and craft topics of interest to me. I started back in August 2010 and working on the latest issue this month. I’ve always loved how my zine has turned out, the idea of a big envelope turned into the cover… because it means I can include treats in the back pocket. Somehow that has always been the coolest feature for me…novelty, I know! I also really love writing. It’s very casual, like me talking to you. Here’s a backwards chronology of the issues…
Pensieri Issue 8 – Scrap Slam Smash
A mini history of memory, story, and life keeping… this issue is all about the art of scrapbooking. I’ve been scrapbooking in some form or another since high school, so it was a very satisfying topic to share and write about. I want to spread this hobby to others and hope to do so with this zine. I go through a brief history, quickly review design principles and color choices, followed by pages and pages of journaling prompts and project ideas in the zine. I hope that it will get you started on a project asap!
Check out Pensieri Scrap Slam Smash in my Etsy shop
Pensieri Issue 7 – Just Draw It!
Sharing my learnings and love for drawing and doodling in this issue. Believe it or not, I used to think that stick figures would be my only ability in the visual art arena. It took me a long time to overcome the fear and to find my own way of drawing simply. I might never be an expert realist drawer…but I’m pretty darn happy with my doodles and know from experience that I get better day by day. It’s amazingly fun and it’s very possible for all of us to draw. I go through some of the basics in cartooning and share lots of my own doodles throughout the zine.
Check out Pensieri Just Draw It! in my Etsy shop
Pensieri Issue 6 – Gustav Klimt
I’m a huge fan of Gustav Klimt’s work and realized I knew very little about him and his work one day. We have a huge print in our living room and it spurred me to do some research, really diving into his life story. This zine is all about his life and artwork, sort of an art history exploration of Klimt. I really enjoyed creating this zine…feels like discovering and learning about a cool topic with friends. I also include a mini handmade Klimt painting puzzle to play with – harder than you think!
Check out Pensieri Gustav Klimt in my Etsy shop
Pensieri Issue 5 – Chinese Brush Painting
A lesson in the freedom and loosening up fun of Chinese brush painting in this issue. I go through all the basics I’ve learned about using a brush as you do in Chinese calligraphy painting, as well as offering project ideas and an original bamboo painting by yours truly in the back pocket. I’ve learned so much in the process of writing this zine, because I was going through a period of needing to loosen up and lighten up! Ultimately, this zine gets you started in brush painting, but all of it revolves around the philosophy of how this painting style can help to loosen-up your creative life.
Check out Pensieri Chinese Brush Painting in my Etsy shop
Pensieri Issue 4 – Carve and Stamp
I’ve loved rubber stamping as a kid, but did not discover the wonders of carving my own stamps until much later in life. This issue goes through my adventures in carving my own stamps, providing lots of examples and templates for carving designs…with traditional as well as alternative materials. Stamping is sort of like the old fashioned way to “mass produce” something. Even though we can create digital prints, there’s something beautiful and real about the imperfections of stamping. I love the varied textures that come with hand stamping materials.
Check out Pensieri Carve and Stamp in my Etsy shop
Pensieri Issue 3 – Decorative Knots
All about the art of knot making that I learned in Chinese school, this issue goes through some of my favorite knot patterns as an illustrated guide, along with project ideas. I also include a bunch of string for you to start knotting right away. It’s pretty amazing what one long piece of string can become. I hope that this issue will help you to learn a bit about this “old” craft…
Check out Pensieri Decorative Knots in my Etsy shop
Pensieri Issue 2 – Pockets Galore
A foray into papercrafting, all about creating pockets for your art journals, scrapbooks and other crafty projects. It’s really not that complicated and I introduce a variety of pocket types to choose from with printed templates in the back pocket. I show you the examples and ideas that I have created, so hopefully you’ll get pocket creating straight away. It’s amazing how a pocket can liven up things – just a bit of paper fun.
Check out Pockets Galore in my Etsy shop
Pensieri Issue 1 – Art Journaling
My very first issue was inspired by iHanna because I loved her zine so much…so I decided to write about the beloved topic of art journaling. The whole zine is a “let’s journal together” type of book, the pages are hand painted, splattered and decorated, to get you started art journaling immediately into the zine. My hope is that you will make it into your first art journal or a unique collab art journal.
Check out Pensieri Art Journaling in my Etsy shop – by far the most purchased of my zines to date.
Although the amount of work I put into creating the zine is HUGE and even stressful at times, I also reap a lot of benefits from it. It’s not a product for profit in the end and to keep it sustainable, I’ve had to cut down the number of pages and items included in the back pocket. However, I love sharing my loves through the zine, writing about them and creating something that can inspire others. Pretty cool. I think moving forward though, I might have to change what Pensieri becomes – because it is getting hard to keep up with the production…
Recently, I participated in Alma Stoller’s zine exchange, so I’m really looking forward to receiving a whole bunch of cool zines to devour in the new year. Hopefully I will have a clearer picture of Pensieri’s future then. Are you a fan of zines? Do you make your own? Maybe we can trade?
by Linda | Apr 14, 2011 | my creative journal
Hi everyone! I’ve got the next issue of Pensieri completed and in the mail to subscribers…whew! It’s been a bit challenging to keep the vision of what I want under 100 grams when packed up for shipping. I no longer like these huge jumps in postage pricing…because it jumps from 4 euro up to 100 grams to 7 euro even if a gram more. After a lot of printing, testing, folding and weighing…I hope to have found a happy medium. Issue 5 is all about Chinese brush painting and my explorations in loosening up creativity. I thought it would be a great subject to explore and I’ve learned so much. Oddly enough though, I realized that you need to learn control before loosening up. Imagine that!
I’ve had a lot of fun sharing my thoughts and discovering, through my journey of exploring the ancient art of brush painting. I really do hope you’ll support me by purchasing a copy from my Etsy shop. There’s a really limited quantity given that I hand-stitch and compose every zine. It’s still got the envelope cover with a back pocket surprise – thankfully I was able to make that under the weight restrictions. Yay! Even if you don’t buy a copy, I want to share a few thoughts of what I’ve learned. Ultimately, it is the philosophy and way of thinking behind brush painting that really hit me. Learning control and techniques is all good, but in the end you have to bring forth your own energy and interpretation. A fine balance between controlled work and going with the flow of spontaneity as it happens. I think it’s a refreshing way to think about creative work in general…but also for life.
On the lighter side of things, I also simply enjoy the meditative process of doodling with paint, creating puffy little cute animals. Isn’t that little panda just adorable – LOL!
by Linda | Dec 15, 2010 | my creative journal
My creative time has definitely been filled these past works. From doing my paid project work to subsidiary design projects and commitments, the third issue of Pensieri really started to weigh down on my back. After finishing I’ve come to realize more important points about self-publishing and just physically getting a zine together. I might have realized this before as well, but maybe I didn’t take myself seriously enough…
TIMELINE
I totally understand why magazines have such future deadlines for submissions. I suppose the bigger the organization and the more people involved, the more time it will take. But even working alone, there is time needed for proofing, printing and construction. There are certain things that can never be an all-nighter kind of situation and I’m way past the age of all-nighters. Just can’t do ’em anymore. Also, if something personal were to come up, working ahead of time gives you the cushion for unforeseen events. I was actually sidetracked for a while in the printing of Pensieri because of our new puppy, not to mention it’s the holiday season. Eeek, there’s never enough time! So I should be already working on issue 6 of Pensieri already now…
PRINTING AND CONSTRUCTION
I’m still not totally satisfied with the printing quality of the zine and dealing with printers out there, suddenly the paper is too thin, then too thick… then you have to change to this other paper for another printer….ugh! I haven’t found the right combination yet, but I have to say this something that I totally did not consider beforehand. I mean, it seemed so simple – just get it printed at a shop, what’s the big deal? Unfortunately, lots of details start to pop up and you have to get the right combination for your needs. Balancing, cost, paper, printing sources and construction methods as well as considering the timeline from the point above – even to packing envelopes! I think it’s one of those things that looks simple and fine from afar, but when you are actually doing it, you realize it’s a lot of work.
POSTAGE
One of the aspects I’ve really struggled with living here in Italy, is the cost of postage to the rest of the world. It’s not too bad within certain weight ranges, but if you go 1 gram above to the next level, suddenly it’s double the cost. No such thing as a flat rate envelope or such like in the USA. I want to keep the price of the zine into the postage, because then it’s all up front. But at the same time, those farther should have to pay more… but… I dunno. I find it sad when I want to purchase something from far away but the shipping just costs soooo much. I suppose this is why real magazines have supplies and get it all over the world so folks can buy locally. It’s something I think about a lot, but don’t really know how to deal with. Besides working to keep things under certain weight limits and trying to account for the pricing…I don’t know what else to do. Someone should invent a teleporting machine already.
Finally, the big time suck in issue three was actually illustrating the knot patterns. I didn’t realize it would take so long, but it got confusing. In the end it might have been easier to just draw it by hand, but I had already gotten too far digitally. I suppose this goes back to the original point about working really ahead of schedule, because that makes everything more tolerable.
All in all, I am super happy with the latest issue of Pensieri and have knot projects left and right all over my desk as well. It’s super fun and I’m glad to be able to share it with others.
Thank you again for everyones’ support 🙂
by Linda | Dec 13, 2010 | my creative journal
Hi folks! Even though there were some production issues regarding my zine, but finally it’s out and ready to ship! Pensieri issue three is all about decorative knots, specifically with a Chinese knotting emphasis since that is what I learned myself.
This issue is packed full with a bit of story regarding how I started with decorative knotting, some general history and facts as well as going through some of the basic and cool-looking decorative knots out there. I then go through a huge section of project ideas to provide you with inspiration and a big list of resources to turn to.
As with many crafty techniques, it can look complicated from afar, but when broken down seems very approachable. I hope I can share with you my crafty journey in the artform of decorative knotting. One of my favorite knots is the monkeyfirst knot shown below… so cool especially with a larger rope type.
And of course with every issue of Pensieri you get a back pocket full of goodies to craft along. See the various cord types you receive to knot along with the zine…
You’ll find issues of Pensieri available in my Etsy shop – so check ’em out and enjoy! Thank you for all those who pre-ordered! As with every issue, there have been so many learnings in self-publishing and creating a handmade zine. I will be blogging about my experience and offering up a poll as well…to help me make it better each and every time 🙂 ciao ciao!
