christmas zine

This was my Christmas card for my family this year. I made it from photos of our 2005 Christmas, mostly taken by my son. There were several rules I tried to follow: include at least two photos of everyone, include random shots from walks, and field trips, no page should have just one photo. Oh, and I culled out the most unflattering photos. I think my sisters will thank me for that. It's all color, a two sided photocopy, each book is on one sheet of legal sized paper.


I have failed at metal casting and printmaking because I hate many-step art processes. I have been wanting to make some kind of book multiple, but was worried about having to sit and do the same thing over and over. I made this in about 12 hours, and spent another 4 hours assembling it. I think it cost around $25 for 15. If I had remembered to put the title and a birthday message on the master, it would have gone together quicker.


This is my master. The white lines indicate cuts, the black ones are the folds. They aren't there in reality, I added them in PhotoShop.

This was inspired by sinoun's zine, "small tasks of labour suit her slender bones." You can see her zines at anatomic air press. stolshsb is poetic and mysterious. I also love "the art of smelling and feeling paper."

Disclaimer: I'm using "zine" very loosely. It really seems to mean an ongoing edition, like a magazine. Mine are one-shot deals, but they are are meant to be fast (sort of) and cheap (relatively) to make.