Black & White Art/Collage Mini-Zine Swap

I'd like to swap mini collage zines with certain personal/creative info on each page. I have a whole bunch of instructions here because I want these to be done in a certain way, but I also want you to run with the idea! Mostly, I want these to be really beautiful, black and white, collaged zines, not a piece of paper that you have jotted ideas down on.

the paper

For the zine base, use an 8.5"x14" sheet of paper and make it a little booklet, like this.

the text

*On the cover of your zine, put a portrait of yourself. This can be a self portrait or a photo you took. Just make sure it is you, by you.

• On the inside front cover, teach us a new word. It can be a word you know that most people don't; one you look up specifically for this swap; or an everyday word that you know the interesting etymology of.

• On the first page, write us a found poem. Take a newspaper or magazine article and cut out words from it that intrigue you. Rearrange these into a poem. You can cut out more words if you need to or write your own words in...but let the original words guide you!

• On the second page, tell us about the beautiful things you have seen today or this week. This can be a list, a picture with a caption, a long description, etc.

• On the third page, intrigue us. Tell us about something in your life that you find mysterious. Is there a woman who is always at your bus stop who smiles in a way that makes you feel she has a secret? Is something you just had suddenly missing? This should be something that inspires your curiosity, not something invites your frustration.

• On the fourth page, grab the book closest to you. Tell us the top line of text of five different random pages. You can mention what book it is or you can leave that out.

• On the fifth/last page, tell us a secret. Whether personal, national, or global, share with us something that is usually kept hidden.

• On the back cover, teach us “goodbye” in a language other than English.

For an outline of what goes where, see this image.

other notes

All zines must be black and white, unless you want to put color in by hand after you’ve photocopied them. The vast majority of the zine must be collaged with as little paper showing through as possible.

partners

Each swapper will send a photocopy of their zine to five other swappers.

sign up/send date

Sign up date is this Sunday (02/28) and the deadline to have these in the mail is 03/14, giving you two weeks to make them.

Have fun! I can't wait to see what people make!